Two of the world’s biggest airlines are betting that oil prices won’t rally any time soon, growing more cautious after losing hundreds of millions of dollars on hedges. United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. have reduced fuel hedging as oil plunged close to a six-year low. They’ve become more like American Airlines Group Inc., the biggest global carrier, which closed its last hedging position in 2014. “There is a growing realization that American’s approach was the smarter one,” Bob Mann, president of airline consultant R.W. Mann & Co., said in a phone interview. “These programs have not met expectations, costs are very high and the results have underperformed.” Getting it wrong has been costly. Hedging losses over the past three quarters totaled $1.95 billion for Delta, the world’s third-largest airline; $650 million for United, the second largest; and $326 million for Southwest Airlines Co., the fourth-biggest […]