take on the airline pricing matrix

Forget Einstein's theory of relativity, I can't even figure out how the hell the major airlines figure out their pricing matrix.    Now part of it has to do when you want to travel, when you book and whether or not you do the idiotic Saturday Night stay-over but considering that if you plan accordingly you can take a 14 hour to China for under $1000 round-trip but when I tried to fly out for a one hour flight to Detroit every airline is asks at least $1000.     I know that there is a supply-demand issue when it comes to this stuff but one of the biggest issues is that with all the airline consolidations there just isn't the kind of competition to keep pricing in line.  

I'm not even talking about a complete last minute fare; this is going out at least a week and even if that would be an issue when I look at similar cities with similar distances from New York the tickets is nowhere near that of a ticket going to Detroit.

Look at what Expedia quotes a direct flight from NYC to various destinations for a flight next Wednesday with a return flight on Thursday

Detroit (616 miles):      $1044  

Columbus (562 miles):  $258

Chicago (792 miles):      $242

Pittsburgh (372 miles):  $218

Cleveland (465 miles):  $1022 

Los Angeles (2792 miles ): $710

What gets me is that Detroit is not some little no-name airport in the middle of Topeka Kansas,  it's not an uncommon destination as there are at least 20 flights per day out of NYC that land in Detroit and it's not as if it doesn't have a major airline serving it as it is a major hub for Delta but getting a normal fair is completely impossible.   It's ridiculous that you can fly an additional 150 miles on the same airline for $750 less and can get out to California for $300 less all with the same travel day criteria.    

Now what gets me is that if you extend your trip by one day and return Friday the Detroit fare drops to $210 so it's not like they aren't willing to fly for that money, it's just that if you are only willing to spend one day there then they just hammer you on the flight.  I guess they realize people who fly to Detroit have very little choice and will go regardless of the fare but still you would think that the city of Detroit would be pushing to have people come and visit them and push the airlines to get some competitive fares going to entice people to come.  I can't tell you how many times I have avoided flying to Detroit for the sole reason that the fare is just ludicrous and each time there is a Holiday Inn, a Budget Rental Car, a local TGI Fridays and the Landing Strip up on 8 mile not getting my US currency.