Why is it cheaper to fly to Tampa through Atlanta than to fly to Atlanta directly?

Question

I was recently looking for flights to visit friends in Atlanta and Tampa. I was on Hotwire.com and found that flights from Pensacola to Tampa with a connection in Atlanta was $200. I then searched for the same flight from Pensacola to Atlanta and it was $244. I searched again for the flight to Tampa and saw that the time, flight number, and carrier was the same for both the departing and returning flight. So why would a flight from Pensacola to Atlanta be more expensive than a flight from Pensacola to Atlanta to Tampa?

Answer 1

Welcome to the crazy world of airline travel. Airlines, in trying to ensure more bodies on more flights to offset their fixed expenses such as fuel and personnel, often make it cheaper to fly multiple flights than to fly a single flight.  

Answer 2

Do not look for logic in airline fares. Since deregulation there has not been any, and there was darn little before!

Regards,

Dan

Answer 3

it may be some clerical mistake or flight distance may be different