re: How much do you typically pay for airline tickets?

Here is a trick: Try to find the best (cheapest) overwater flights first. Then build in your own connections. Also try to price out of the US hub to your destination, then see how you are going to get to your hub.

This is why: All airlines have different fare buckets. When one connection is in a more expensive fare bucket than the other, then all segments get bumped up to the most expensive fare bucket. This is why you will see prices jump up a lot when you add in connections. If you are based somewhere in LA, then IAH is your cheapest bet. Take a cheap Spirit/SW flight to Houston. I just drive up there. Well worth the savings. Last time I parked at a 24x7 WM close to the airport to save on parking for 2 weeks

Try to check flights out of houston, you'll see EVA flights that stop in Taipei.