I suspect the high prices from the East Coast are because the only way to get to AUS on US is through PHX & LAS, which add several hundred miles to the trip. I flew there a couple of weeks ago, and no BOS-PHX-AUS flight was less than $650; BOS-LAS-AUS simply wasn't available. I flew UA through ORD; ORD-AUS is a CR7 both ways, and often overbooked. For a better ride, IAD-AUS is an E70 (again on UA). *A options to AUS are just plain bad, especially from the east coast.

I really really really hope a PHL-AUS route gets added on an E90 (or better yet, CLT-AUS, though the E90s aren't flying out of CLT yet.)