There's a difference between buying futures (which may or may not pay off) and reliably predicting the price of oil. Also: Southwest buys fuel futures to hedge

There's a difference between buying futures (which may or may not pay off) and reliably predicting the price of oil. Also: Southwest buys fuel futures to hedge its exposure, which is different from speculation. People hedge because they don't know what the price will do, and want to be OK regardless of price movements.