hedges are insurance. They are a relatively small expense, especially for a company with great credit and lots of cash like LUV. You still buy insurance for your house even if you don't plan on burning it down. LUV has always bought this insurance, they didn't have a crystal ball or read Nostradamus' prophecies in the Weekly World News, it just really paid off this last year. Nobody was calling them a genius for hedging their fuel 5 years ago. And yes, they probably are hedging fuel at $60, $65 and whatever else because it can always go higher. Hedging allows them to accurately predict their costs five years down the road and manage their pricing and expenses accordingly. Most airlines can barely plan for next quarter.