There's at least some competition. I'm in Raleigh, and to get to, say, Chicago, I've got multiple airline options (some direct, some 1 or 2 stops, etc). If I want to see The Who in Greensboro, there's only one game in town.
In some ways, the airline industry is one of the most purely competitive industries we see. Most airline customers care about price above all other things. A $5 difference in price can make the difference between a person choosing airline A or airline B. While a company like TicketMaster will tack on convenience fees any time they think they can make an extra buck, the airlines are actively trying to avoid applying extra fees to their typical customer, because that typical customer will jump ship to another airline in an instant if they think they can get a better deal there.
In short, TicketMaster is charging "convenience fees" purely because they can, while airlines charge you for buying a ticket from a real person because competition makes them charge for what actually costs them money.
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What's interesting is that airlines work in the opposite direction: free if you buy online, fee if you buy at the ticket counter.
That makes more sense to me, since computers can handle a lot more orders per employee cost.
There's at least some competition. I'm in Raleigh, and to get to, say, Chicago, I've got multiple airline options (some direct, some 1 or 2 stops, etc). If I want to see The Who in Greensboro, there's only one game in town.
In some ways, the airline industry is one of the most purely competitive industries we see. Most airline customers care about price above all other things. A $5 difference in price can make the difference between a person choosing airline A or airline B. While a company like TicketMaster will tack on convenience fees any time they think they can make an extra buck, the airlines are actively trying to avoid applying extra fees to their typical customer, because that typical customer will jump ship to another airline in an instant if they think they can get a better deal there.
In short, TicketMaster is charging "convenience fees" purely because they can, while airlines charge you for buying a ticket from a real person because competition makes them charge for what actually costs them money.