A big deal, no doubt, but not the whole story by a long shot. I spent years working in ground ops before I started flying and what I see nowadays makes my skin crawl. There are HUGE savings to be had in ground ops.

SWA's fuel hedging was brilliant, but not the whole key to their success. Their management's 'big picture' view is the reason for their success.

BTW, I am not a pilot for SWA, nor to I really aspire to be one. But they are a company I admire.