I apologise for going OT but to address a question often asked
Airline ticket prices are not like taxis where there is a km and minutes waiting time applied to the time and distance.
Fares include amortisation of the airplane; (considerable) maintenance that is required based on the airplane’s total air time, calendar time, or landing-takeoff cycles whichever comes first; fund the flight crew and backup flight crews on standby for illness etc; gate agents; refuellers, catering arrangements, and baggage handlers. There are also Air Services, meteorology and airport fees such as landing fees, gate fees, and rental for their counters. In context of all the costs the actual flight time costs (fuel and hourly rate for the aircrew) may be negligible and for smaller regional airports the ground costs could be disproportionately high as municipalities want the airline(s) to essentially fund airport operation and ‘sock it to them accordingly’ when there are only 1, 2 or 3 commercial flights per day plus local general (private and charter) aviation.
There is also a concept of place and time utility (something in the right place at the right time is deemed to have more value than it might otherwise have). Since the capacity of an airplane is finite and a second airplane cannot be dispatched on demand, airlines charge more for the scarce seats; that effectively manages demand by making the ride unaffordable for some, or more attractive to many at other times with lesser demand and thus lower fares.
The airlines make out when they have full pax loads on each flight, as well as air freight when applicable. For the many unoccupied seats over the year they forecast fares and services to make up that revenue, while flying at full capacity most of the time is Very Profitable.
I hope that adds to why ticket prices seem ‘all over the place’ but short trips to regional airports are obviously very expensive, and seem ridiculously so in cases.
