As others stated, it all comes down to supply and demand. Currently, there is not enough supply to meet the demand. This is true not only with the number of seats flying through MSY, but also with the number of hotel rooms available in the city. There is a hotel boom going on now with several hundred rooms coming online in the next few months. Some of the new hotel properties coming are Aloft, Hyatt Place, Ace, and AC. Several current properties have expanded or about to expand as well.

Most of the airline routes out of the city are averaging 80%+ load factors through the first 6 months of the year. Thus, the airlines can charge a premium to fly here.

To the op, sorry that you dislike our fair city. You can always skip the convention this year if you have such strong misgivings about travelling here.