Ultimately the quest in this business for any company comes down to one thing: making money as AN AIRLINE hauling people. Fuel hedges have helped SWA stave off losses due to high oil prices. Hedging is a strategy to offset the effects of large swings in oil, not a continuous climb in prices. Ever increasing oil prices simply allows SWA to delay the inevitable: raising fares to offset high fuel prices. I'm sure SWA has collars in place that will limit it's downside risk should the oil bubble bust. The question is, are they making money as an airline or as a commodities trader?