With the record high oil prices today, its no wonder why the airlines are taking on less fuel for conservation. The way the news media reports it makes it appear dangerous, but in reality its not. Every airline flight has a dispatcher that tells the captain the minimum amount of fuel they must have for a safe flight. This min fuel as it is sometimes called also includes enough fuel to fly one approach & go-around to fly further to your alternate airport. An alternate airport is a backup airport that you could go to in case the weather at your primary destination is to bad. The alternate weather must be better than your destination weather. But, sometimes you don't always need an alternate airport. It all depends on how bad the weather is at your destination airport. The regulations say if the destination weather for your estimated time of arrival (ETA) is below 3 miles visibility, or less than 2000ft ceiling than you must have an alternate. 
The important thing to know is that if you don't need an alternate then you could take on less fuel because it requires less fuel now that you are not including the alternate. So airline captains take advantage of this regulation all the time. They must come to agreement with the dispatcher that taking less fuel is ok, & safe.