Why are roundtrip international flights so much more expensive when you are only staying a short time (2-3 days) in the other country?

Question

Title. Why would it matter to the airline how long you’re waiting between the two flights on a roundtrip, even when you’re scheduling both flights well in advance?

In: Economics

Answer 1

It indicates you are a business traveller instead of a vacationer.

If you are spending 20 hours in the air and 48 on the ground it means you are most likely doing it for business or for some reason that you NEED to be there for those dates. The airline then knows you are on the hook.