Airports define catxhment areas by time. Always have, so LeedApproach your comments are somewhat redundant.
In actual fact if you understood how it works it's more complex than simply catchment areas.
As for the fares, I would argue that the sentiment above is wrong. Is flybe are charging significantly more than the competition at EMA then that tells me demand is high. If they can charge double and still
Achieve the load factor then demand must exist. In this case it's a supply driven model and good news for flybe.
At the end of the day all of this is a balance between supplier and consumer. Where one wins the other loses.
Of course it's great when competition drives down fares (and it's competition that drives the fares down leeds approach not the size of the airport) but when the consumer 'wins' in the long terms it's unsustainable (aka Monarch). There has to be a balance.
Personally £100 for a fight to ALC is not that bad. You can not supply a flight for £39 profitably. It's impossible.