Will Southwest's Fuel Hedging Play Burn the Airline at Earnings Time?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been getting some serious love from investors as of late, as one of the leading airlines on public markets: but will its fuel hedging bet come back to burn the company? Southwest will report earnings later this week, and based on some of its competitors' performance, investors are buying in: shares rose more than three percent Tuesday after Delta's big beat -- Delta is another competitor that hedges fuel prices, which potentially bodes well for Southwest and its shareholders. Airlines' ticket prices have yet to fall in the wake of discounted oil, which could boost Southwest.