SWA's price was $169, while UA's was $340. Granted, SWA's route required 3 stops instead of one, and had 2 hours more total travel time, but is that worth $855?
And that is where the price/value ratio comes into play. Would I pay more to avoid 3 stops? YES, especially with small children. Someone else would buy the lowest price, no matter what. It's a similar decision when deciding on a resort. (ie value vs moderate vs deluxe)
Also, remember that most people buying airfare on this website have time to sit and watch fares change (ie they don't need to buy it on a particular day - they can monitor fares over a period of a few weeks or a few months)
I always recommend that people find the 'right' price for their route, and once they find a fare that is near that price, with routings that work for them, they purchase the fare.