The price of fuel is very volatile, agree? Hedging is a bet on future prices, but not the best way to pay for the cost.

In the US all fuel costs must be included in the base fare for any ticket that is considered a domestic flight. We have big fuel surcharges on international tickets because that is legal.

As fuel goes up and down, the base ticket fare still needs to cover it.

Every other business can add a fuel surcharge and does. Look at your deliver fee for your pizza, fedex, moving companies, sanitation, etc, the list is long. We as airlines cannot.

RA's statement that he would love to see the fuel component removed from the base fare is a wise one. As a fee or surcharge added to the base fare, it can fluctuate. It is added where the taxes are added. It allows us to price a ticket at a constant rate, and then add the fuel on at the time of purchase or check-in, thus taking that unknown out of pricing.