In my search for the cheapest way to get across the pacific ocean, I've discovered something quite odd. Plane ticket prices seem to go against intuition in a variety of respects. For example, when searching for "flights from SF to Hong Kong in October," I can find one for $250 that makes one stop in Shanghai. My intuition then tells me flying from SF to Shanghai must, necessarily, be cheaper, but when I change only one parameter so it's now "flights from SF to Shanghai in October" the lowest I can find is $290 and it makes a stop in Vancouver. Just to take it one step farther, I should look up how much a flight from Vancouver to Shanghai is in October (and find out where it stops along the way).
What a weird algorithm this must use. Yet, the thing to do mmustbe to find the $250 ticket going to anywhere that stops at where I really want to go before connecting.
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