The Airlines Attack Oil Speculators

(MoneyWatch)  I must admit that I've learned far more about the workings of the oil markets recently than I ever thought I would. The high price of fuel has certainly spurred an increased interest, but the airlines recently pushed that into overdrive with their seemingly ridiculous attempt to blame oil speculators. But is it ridiculous? I'm not qualified to answer it, but I can certainly stoke the discussion.

First stop, take a look at the airline's Stop Oil Speculators website and see what they're saying. The sky is falling, the sky is falling, or something like that.

Then go look at the tidal wave of pieces that say speculation is good for the market and this sort of policy is bad news. Dan Webb has a collection of interesting reads on oil speculation in general, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution put out its own editorial on the subject of oil and the airlines.

So what do I think? I find it hard to believe that oil speculation is really driving the price up as much as the airlines say. Then again, as Mark Ashley at Upgrade: Travel Better points out, Glenn Tilton, CEO of United Airlines, did run one of the world's largest oil companies before he came to United, so you'd hope he'd know what he was talking about before he'd sign his name.

Then again, he probably doesn't care if it's right or wrong. He just wants lower fuel prices, and that's why the country's airlines are banding together. I just worry that this could make things worse.