If crude jumps from $60 to $70 a barrel, the corresponding increase in the value of the airline's futures position will help offset the higher price it will pay fuel suppliers.
For every long futures position there's an offsetting short, and therefore just as many customers should be selling long positions as buying back short ones.
However, this kind of erosion is inherent to having exposure to a futures position and would be incurred by any financial instrument linked to futures.
