Anotherday - I agree with all your comments. We have become a dinosaur and the competition is moving way faster than us. Once CX could never lose with the geographic advantage but that has been seriously eroded. The airline needs to evolve fast and so does the AOA and the pilots, we are no longer tin gods.
Fuel hedging is a sound business practice to ensure the airline remains profitable during spikes. Problem is that whoever was paid to handle this massive decision got it seriously wrong.
IC - keep him away from the media.