Why N.Y.-L.A. is cheaper than N.Y.-London

The airfare game does seem like a maze, but there are some general rules. Among the biggest: Fares will be cheaper on routes that have low-fare competition. NY to L.A. does, but NY to London doesn't. As a result, the average round-trip from JFK to LAX in the second quarter was $1,088, while the average ticket from JFK to London was $3,610. From the WSJ:

Not only are business routes more expensive, but the London-bound travelers are more likely to buy business-class seats than the L.A. fliers. It's more expensive, too, for airlines to operate internationally, and international ticket taxes are higher. But the reality is that big airlines that fly to both Los Angeles and London from New York face low-fare airline competition on the domestic route, but not the international route, and so they charge far more. Bigger competitors often match prices of discount carriers like Virgin America, which had 20% of all passengers flying between JFK and LAX in the first quarter, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman Group's PlaneStats database.