If only NW mgmt would have been smart and hedged their fuel costs, they would be in a much better position financially. Any idiot with half a brain would have known that given two war fronts in the Iraq and Afghanistan, no lasting peace in Isreal (although not a oil producer, it is surrounded by them), ongoing acts of terrorism throughout the world, and massively increased demand for oil particularly in China, that oil prices would climb. Maybe no one thought they would go to $64/barrel, but they would have gone up. I guess all the smart ones with a whole brain are working at Southwest where they DID hedge and are currently paying the equivalent of about $26/barrel for approx 75% of their fuel needs through 2008. No wonder they still can make a profit. Now, I am no WN lover. In fact, I never fly them, but no company should FORCE it's employees to take a hit in the guise of massive layoffs and large pay and benefit reductions because of management's stupidity when it comes to other financial decisions. I will not be flying NW again for a long time until Dougie boy is gone and they have started to treat their employees with respect and dignity and pay a fair wage for work done. Everyone out there seems to be in self-centred mode. If half of your co-workers were to be fired because of management's mis-management of your company, and there was no guarantee that you would still be employed, you'd think about this issue in an entirely different light.