The bottom line and what phookat has so elagantly pointed out, is that the whole point of this game is to pit one side against the other and let their actions determine the outcome.
I.e. If TOD is going to be cool, there will be an AI that controls the whole arena and that AI creates orders for each country. Probably should only be two countries.
Missions are posted on the msision board, by the AI, for each countries officer pool. (People who rise to the rank of officers = Officer Pool )
An officer selects a mission and selects his squad members. If he can not fill the squad or number of people needed, then replacenments are selected by the AI from the non officers pools.
( Privates etc waiting for orders to report to a squad = Non Officer Pool).
If an officer does not want a private or the private is a trouble maker and doesn't follow the orders (Waypoints, wingman tactics etc), thus affecting the rank of the officer, the officer can ask for another replacement. This will make people follow the orders if they want to fly.
So say the AI cuts orders for a Bomber Mission and an Escort for one country and it cuts orders for a CAP or intercept mission for the other country.
The point here is for the AI to give coordinates and waypoints so that both forces will definately collied and the action that ensues will affect the outcome of the battle, which will affect therank of each person, their score and the overall momentum of the war. The missions are based on the over all numbers of people in each country and the officers and privates available to run missions. If there are not enough officers, then certain privates who azre doing well are promoted. If they select a decent mission and do well it will help increase their rank and possibly make the promotion permanent. And on and on this can go.
This will allow them to even out the numbers and create streams of nonstop action. The ranking system forces people to follow orders. If you lose your rank of an officer then you go back to the private pool. If you are a private and don't follow the orders then officers wont want to select them and they don't fly.
The long winded point is that
unlike real life, as phookat points out, where the action is avaoided unless completely necessary because it has dire consequences, AH should always guarantee that the action will exists and AH should do nothing to stunt or promote scenarios where actions are limited or stop people from being able to fight.
Much like real life, Fuel porking stops the fight, it stops the action and kills the game play. It's affects are counter productive to allowing the actions of the fight to affect the outcome of the war. A base should be taken when two forces fought over it and one succeeded as the victor, not because one side stopped the other side from showing up.The enemy is stopped by superior action not by taking away one sides ability to rise to action.
AH is suppose to be simulating air combat during WW2. I'm sorry to inform you, but the allies bombed the hell outta German factories and cities which lead to them being defeated
Yeah and you are talking about ending the simulation, and everyone shuts down their computers and goes home. Not the point of the game. Fighting is the point of simulating air combat during WW2. If you pork the fuel the fighting stops and the simulation ends.

Sorry for being so long winded and thanks for following along lolh:D