EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 100517
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 100517_10-K_2021_0000100517-21-000016.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Overview
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. United's operating revenues and operating expenses comprise nearly 100% of UAL's revenues and operating expenses. In addition, United comprises approximately the entire balance of UAL's assets, liabilities and operating cash flows. When appropriate, UAL and United are named specifically for their individual contractual obligations and related disclosures and any significant differences between the operations and results of UAL and United are separately disclosed and explained. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.
The Company's principal executive office is located at 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606 (telephone number (872) 825-4000). The Company's website is located at www.united.com and its investor relations website is located at ir.united.com. The information contained on or connected to the Company's websites is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this or any other report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The Company's filings with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports, as well as UAL's proxy statement for its annual meeting of stockholders, are accessible without charge on the Company's investor relations website, as soon as reasonably practicable, after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Such filings are also available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
Operations
The Company transports people and cargo throughout North America and to destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates across six continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport ("Newark"), Chicago O'Hare International Airport ("Chicago O'Hare"), Denver International Airport ("Denver"), George Bush Intercontinental Airport ("Houston Bush"), Los Angeles International Airport ("LAX"), A.B. Won Pat International Airport ("Guam"), San Francisco International Airport ("SFO") and Washington Dulles International Airport ("Washington Dulles").
All of the Company's domestic hubs are located in large business and population centers, contributing to a large amount of "origin and destination" traffic. The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world's largest alliance network.
The Company began experiencing a significant decline in passenger demand related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) during the first quarter of 2020. The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including those outside our control related to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty. In response to decreased demand, the Company cut, relative to 2019 capacity, approximately 57% of its scheduled capacity for 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company expects scheduled capacity to be down at least 51% versus the first quarter of 2019. The Company plans to continue to proactively evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 60-day basis until it sees signs of a recovery in demand and expects demand to remain suppressed, relative to 2019 levels, until vaccines for COVID-19 are widely distributed and are effective in curbing
the spread of the virus. In addition, the Company does not currently expect the recovery from COVID-19 to follow a linear path. As such, the Company's actual flown capacity may differ materially from its currently scheduled capacity.
Regional. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our hubs and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. Champlain Enterprises, LLC d/b/a CommutAir ("CommutAir"), Republic Airline Inc. ("Republic"), GoJet Airlines LLC ("GoJet"), Mesa Airlines, Inc. ("Mesa"), SkyWest Airlines, Inc. ("SkyWest"), and Air Wisconsin Airlines LLC ("Air Wisconsin") are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements ("CPAs"). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable rate adjustment based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual adjustments. The fees are based on specific rates multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), as well as fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is also responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In some cases, the Company owns some or all of the aircraft subject to the CPA and leases such aircraft to the regional carrier. In return, the regional carriers operate the capacity of the aircraft included within the scope of such CPA exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus loyalty program. The significant decline in demand for air travel services resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has also materially impacted demand for regional carrier services and, as a result, the Company's utilization of its regional network is significantly reduced and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. As a result, we may face claims that we failed to perform certain obligations under our agreements with our regional carriers and may incur damages. Additionally, in July 2020, the Company announced its plans to consolidate its Embraer 145 ("E145") operations into a single regional partner, CommutAir. As a result, the Company terminated its CPA with ExpressJet Airlines, LLC, a domestic regional airline ("ExpressJet"). ExpressJet flew its last commercial flight, on behalf of United, on September 30, 2020. Additionally, United transferred all of its E145 operations over to CommutAir as United's sole regional partner for this aircraft type. We expect the disruption to services resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to adversely affect our regional carriers, some of which may declare bankruptcy or otherwise cease to operate.
Alliances. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. Despite the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Star Alliance carriers continued to serve nearly 1,000 airports in 154 countries with close to 10,000 daily departures as of January 1, 2021. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways ("ANA"), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A. ("Avianca"), Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines ("Copa"), Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI Airways International and Turkish Airlines. In addition to its members, Star Alliance includes Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines and Thailand-based Thai Smile Airways, a subsidiary of THAI Airways International, as connecting partners.
United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier's selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S.A. ("Azul"), Boutique Air, Cape Air, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Hawaiian Airlines, Olympic Air, Silver Airways and Vistara.
United also participates in four passenger joint business arrangements ("JBAs"): one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes, one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand and one with Avianca and Copa, which, upon regulatory approval, will cover routes between the United States and Central and South America, excluding Brazil. These passenger JBAs enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering enhanced customer benefits, such as highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. Separate from the passenger JBAs, United also participates in cargo JBAs with ANA for transpacific cargo services and with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo JBAs offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers' respective combined networks.
Loyalty Program. United's MileagePlus loyalty program builds customer loyalty by offering awards, benefits and services to program participants. Members in this program earn miles for flights on United, United Express, Star Alliance members and certain other airlines that participate in the program. Members can also earn miles by purchasing goods and services from our
network of non-airline partners, such as domestic and international credit card issuers, retail merchants, hotels and car rental companies. Members can redeem miles for free (other than taxes and government-imposed fees), discounted or upgraded travel and non-travel awards.
United has an agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("Chase"), pursuant to which members of United's MileagePlus loyalty program who are residents of the United States can earn miles for making purchases using a MileagePlus credit card issued by Chase (the "Co-Brand Agreement"). The Co-Brand Agreement also provides for joint marketing and other support for the MileagePlus credit card and provides Chase with other benefits such as permission to market to the Company's customer database.
In 2020, approximately 1.9 million MileagePlus flight awards were used on United and United Express. These awards represented 6.2% of United's total revenue passenger miles. Total miles redeemed for flights on United and United Express, including class-of-service upgrades, represented approximately 80% of the total miles redeemed. In addition, excluding miles redeemed for flights on United and United Express, MileagePlus members redeemed miles for approximately 0.8 million other awards. These awards include United Club memberships, car and hotel awards, merchandise and flights on other air carriers. Redemptions in 2020 were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the impact of COVID-19, the Company made changes to its MileagePlus® Premier® program that will make it easier to earn status in 2021 for the 2022 program year. United will again have reduced Premier Qualifying Points ("PQP") and Premier Qualifying Flights ("PQF") thresholds in 2021 and will have innovative promotions that help members earn status more quickly. Early in 2021, United deposited 25% of the PQP-only requirements in Premier members' accounts based on their 2021 Premier status level. Premier members will earn double the PQP on each of the first three PQP-eligible trips completed January 1 through March 31, 2021 (up to 1,500 PQP per trip), helping their flights go further toward reaching status.
Aircraft Fuel. The table below summarizes the fuel consumption and expense of UAL's aircraft (including the operations of our regional partners operating under CPAs) during the last three years.
Year Gallons Consumed
(in millions) Fuel Expense
(in millions) Average Price Per Gallon Percentage of Total Operating Expense
2020 2,004 $ 3,153 $ 1.57 15 %
2019 4,292 $ 8,953 $ 2.09 23 %
2018 4,137 $ 9,307 $ 2.25 24 %
Our operational and financial results can be significantly impacted by changes in the price and availability of aircraft fuel. To provide adequate supplies of fuel, the Company routinely enters into purchase contracts that are customarily indexed to market prices for aircraft fuel, and the Company generally has some ability to cover short-term fuel supply and infrastructure disruptions at certain major demand locations. The price of aircraft fuel has fluctuated substantially in the past several years. The Company's current strategy is to not enter into transactions to hedge its fuel consumption, although the Company regularly reviews its strategy based on market conditions and other factors.
Third-Party Business. United generates third-party business revenue that includes maintenance services, catering, frequent flyer award non-travel redemptions and ground handling. Third-party business revenue is recorded in Other operating revenue. Expenses associated with third-party business, except non-travel redemptions, are recorded in Other operating expenses. Non-travel redemptions expenses are recorded to Other operating revenue.
Air Cargo. United provides freight and mail services (air cargo). The majority of cargo services are provided to commercial businesses, freight forwarder firms and the United States Postal Service. Through our global network, our cargo operations are able to connect the world's major freight gateways. We generate cargo revenues in domestic and international markets through the use of cargo space on regularly scheduled passenger aircraft, and starting in 2020, cargo-only flights.
Distribution Channels. The Company's airline seat inventory and fares are distributed through the Company's direct channels, traditional travel agencies and on-line travel agencies. The use of the Company's direct sales website, www.united.com, the Company's mobile applications and alternative distribution systems provides the Company with an opportunity to de-commoditize its services, better present its content, make more targeted offerings, better retain its customers, enhance its brand and lower its ticket distribution costs. Agency sales are primarily sold using global distribution systems ("GDS"). United has developed and expects to continue to develop capabilities to sell certain ancillary products through the GDS channel to provide an enhanced buying experience for customers who purchase in that channel.
Industry Conditions
COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic, together with the measures implemented or recommended by governmental authorities and private organizations in response to the pandemic, has had an adverse impact that has been material to the airline industry. Measures such as "shelter in place" or quarantine requirements, international and domestic travel restrictions or advisories, limitations on public gatherings, social distancing recommendations, remote work arrangements and closures of tourist destinations and attractions, as well as consumer perceptions of the safety, ease and predictability of air travel, have contributed to a precipitous decline in passenger demand and bookings for both business and leisure travel.
The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including those outside our control related to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty. Effective August 30, 2020, United permanently eliminated change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Also, in December 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on flights from the U.S. to all international destinations and fees on Basic Economy and all other international travel tickets issued by March 31, 2021. In addition, effective January 1, 2021, United began allowing passengers to standby for free on a flight departing the day of their travel regardless of the type of ticket or class of service, while MileagePlus Premier members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.
Domestic Competition. The domestic airline industry is highly competitive and dynamic. The Company's competitors consist primarily of other airlines and, to a certain extent, other forms of transportation. Currently, any U.S. carrier deemed fit by the U.S. Department of Transportation (the "DOT") is largely free to operate scheduled passenger service between any two points within the United States. Competition can be direct, in the form of another carrier flying the exact non-stop route, or indirect, where a carrier serves the same two cities non-stop from an alternative airport in that city or via an itinerary requiring a connection at another airport. Air carriers' cost structures are not uniform and are influenced by numerous factors. Carriers with lower costs may offer lower fares to passengers, which could have a potential negative impact on the Company's revenues. Domestic pricing decisions are impacted by intense competitive pressure exerted on the Company by other U.S. airlines. In order to remain competitive and maintain passenger traffic levels, we often find it necessary to match competitors' discounted fares. Since we compete in a dynamic marketplace, attempts to generate additional revenue through increased fares often fail.
International Competition. Internationally, the Company competes not only with U.S. airlines, but also with foreign carriers. International competition has increased and may continue to increase in the future as a result of airline mergers and acquisitions, JBAs, alliances, restructurings, liberalization of aviation bilateral agreements and new or increased service by competitors, including government-subsidized competitors from certain Middle East countries. Competition on international routes is subject to varying degrees of governmental regulation. The Company's ability to compete successfully with non-U.S. carriers on international routes depends in part on its ability to generate traffic to and from the entire United States via its integrated domestic route network and its ability to overcome business and operational challenges across its network worldwide. Foreign carriers currently are prohibited by U.S. law from carrying local passengers between two points in the United States and the Company generally experiences comparable restrictions in foreign countries. Separately, "fifth freedom rights" allow the Company to operate between points in two different foreign countries and foreign carriers may also have fifth freedom rights between the U.S. and another foreign country. In the absence of fifth freedom rights, or some other extra-bilateral right to conduct operations between two foreign countries, U.S. carriers are constrained from carrying passengers to points beyond designated international gateway cities. To compensate partially for these structural limitations, U.S. and foreign carriers have entered into alliances, immunized JBAs and marketing arrangements that enable these carriers to exchange traffic between each other's flights and route networks. Through these arrangements, the Company strives to provide consumers with a growing number of seamless, cost-effective and convenient travel options. See Alliances, above, for additional information.
Seasonality. The air travel business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Historically, demand for air travel is higher in the second and third quarters, driving higher revenues, than in the first and fourth quarters, which are periods of lower travel demand.
Industry Regulation
Airlines are subject to extensive domestic and international regulatory oversight. The following discussion summarizes the principal elements of the regulatory framework applicable to our business. Regulatory requirements, including but not limited to those discussed below, affect our operations and increase our operating costs, and future regulatory developments may continue to do the same in the future. In addition, should any of our governmental authorizations or certificates be modified, suspended or revoked, our business and competitive position could be materially adversely affected. See Part I, Item 1A. Risk
Factors-"The airline industry is subject to extensive government regulation, which imposes significant costs and may adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition" for additional information on the material effects of compliance with government regulations.
Domestic Regulation. All carriers engaged in air transportation in the United States are subject to regulation by the DOT. Absent an exemption, no air carrier may provide air transportation of passengers or property without first being issued a DOT certificate of public convenience and necessity. The DOT also grants international route authority, approves international codeshare arrangements and regulates methods of competition. The DOT regulates consumer protection and maintains jurisdiction over advertising, denied boarding compensation, tarmac delays, baggage liability and other areas and may add additional expensive regulatory burdens in the future. The DOT has launched investigations or claimed rulemaking authority to regulate commercial agreements among carriers or between carriers and third parties in a wide variety of contexts.
Airlines are also regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (the "FAA"), an agency within the DOT, primarily in the areas of flight safety, air carrier operations and aircraft maintenance and airworthiness. The FAA issues air carrier operating certificates and aircraft airworthiness certificates, prescribes maintenance procedures, oversees airport operations, and regulates pilot and other employee training. From time to time, the FAA issues directives that require air carriers to inspect, modify or ground aircraft and other equipment, potentially causing the Company to incur substantial, unplanned expenses. The airline industry is also subject to numerous other federal laws and regulations. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") has jurisdiction over virtually every aspect of civil aviation security. The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") has jurisdiction over certain airline competition matters. The U.S. Postal Service has authority over certain aspects of the transportation of mail by airlines. Labor relations in the airline industry are generally governed by the Railway Labor Act ("RLA"), a federal statute. The Company is also subject to investigation inquiries by the DOT, FAA, DOJ, DHS, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA"), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"), U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"), and other U.S. and international regulatory bodies.
Airport Access. Access to landing and take-off rights, or "slots," at several major U.S. airports served by the Company are subject to government regulation. Federally-mandated domestic slot restrictions that limit operations and regulate capacity currently apply at three airports: Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. ("Reagan National"), and John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport ("LaGuardia") in the New York City metropolitan region. Additional restrictions on takeoff and landing slots at these and other airports may be implemented in the future and could affect the Company's rights of ownership and transfer as well as its operations.
Legislation. The airline industry is subject to legislative actions (or inactions) that may have an impact on operations and costs. In 2018, the U.S. Congress approved a five-year reauthorization for the FAA, which encompasses significant aviation tax and policy-related issues. The law includes a range of policy changes related to airline customer service and aviation safety. Implementation of some items continues into the new Administration and, depending on how they are implemented, could impact our operations and costs. U.S. Congressional action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has provided funding for U.S. airlines, in both grants and loans. The U.S. Congress has imposed limited conditions on airlines accepting funding, including workforce retention and minimum service requirements. With the change in control of the U.S. Congress and a new presidential administration, any future funding or other pandemic relief could include additional requirements that could impact our operations and costs. Additionally, the U.S. Congress may consider legislation related to environmental issues or increases to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate, which could impact the Company and the airline industry.
Catering Operations. The Company owns and operates catering kitchens at airports in Denver, Cleveland, Newark, Houston, and Honolulu, which prepare ready-to-eat food for United flights. Some of the Company's kitchens also prepare ready-to-eat food for other domestic and international airlines. The Company's onboard food service operations are subject to FDA regulation through its interstate conveyance sanitation regulations, and the Company's catering operations are subject to regulation by the FDA and the USDA, as well as other federal, state, and local regulatory agencies. In particular, the FDA enforces the Federal Food Safety Modernization Act which requires all food manufacturers, including ready-to-eat catering operations, to implement stringent risk-based preventive controls. As a result, the Company's catering and food service operations are periodically subject to inspections and enforcement by regulatory agencies.
International Regulation. International air transportation is subject to extensive government regulation. In connection with the Company's international services, the Company is regulated by both the U.S. government and the governments of the foreign countries the Company serves. In addition, the availability of international routes to U.S. carriers is regulated by aviation agreements between the U.S. and foreign governments, and in some cases, fares and schedules require the approval of the DOT and/or the relevant foreign governments.
Legislation. Foreign countries are increasingly enacting passenger protection laws, rules and regulations that meet or exceed U.S. requirements. In cases where this activity exceeds U.S. requirements, additional burden and liability may be placed on the
Company. Certain countries have regulations requiring passenger compensation and/or enforcement penalties from the Company in addition to changes in operating procedures due to canceled and delayed flights.
Airport Access. Historically, access to foreign markets has been tightly controlled through bilateral agreements between the U.S. and each foreign country involved. These agreements regulate the markets served, the number of carriers allowed to serve each market and the frequency of carriers' flights. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. has pursued a policy of "Open Skies" (meaning all U.S.-flag carriers have access to the destination), under which the U.S. government has negotiated a number of bilateral agreements allowing unrestricted access between U.S. and foreign markets. Currently, there are more than 100 Open Skies agreements in effect. However, even with Open Skies, many of the airports that the Company serves in Europe, Asia and Latin America maintain slot controls. A large number of these slot controls exist due to congestion, environmental and noise protection and reduced capacity due to runway and air traffic control ("ATC") construction work, among other reasons. London Heathrow International Airport, Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport and Tokyo Haneda International Airport are among the most restrictive foreign airports due to slot and capacity limitations.
The Company's ability to serve some foreign markets and expand into certain others is limited by the absence of aviation agreements between the U.S. government and the relevant foreign governments. Shifts in U.S. or foreign government aviation policies may lead to the alteration or termination of air service agreements. Depending on the nature of any such change, the value of the Company's international route authorities and slot rights may be materially enhanced or diminished. Similarly, foreign governments control their airspace and can restrict our ability to overfly their territory, enhancing or diminishing the value of the Company's existing international route authorities and slot rights.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused most governments to restrict entry to foreign nationals (with some exceptions) and to impose multiple health management rules which can include COVID-19 testing, quarantine upon arrival, health declarations, and temperature screens, among others. Such requirements may result in reduced demand for travel and cause the Company to suspend service to some foreign markets. Certain foreign governments have granted waivers for limited periods that allow the Company to maintain existing slot rights and route authorizations while not operating at a particular foreign point. The airline industry is advocating for the continuation of such waivers until the operating and demand environment return to normal, but future waivers are not guaranteed.
Environmental Regulation. The airline industry is subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and international environmental requirements, including those regulating emissions to air, water discharges, safe drinking water and the use and management of hazardous substances and wastes.
Climate Change. There is an increasing global regulatory focus on greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions and their potential impacts relating to climate change. An initiative to regulate GHG emissions from aviation known as the European Union ("EU") Emission Trading System ("ETS") was adopted in 2009, but applicability to flights arriving at or departing from airports outside the EU has been postponed several times. In December 2017, the European Parliament voted to extend exemptions for extra-EU flights until December 2023 in order to align the extension date with the completion of the pilot phase of the International Civil Aviation Organization's ("ICAO") Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation ("CORSIA"). CORSIA, which was adopted in October 2016, is intended to create a single global market-based measure to achieve carbon-neutral growth for international aviation, which can be achieved through airline purchases of eligible carbon offset credits and the use of eligible sustainable fuels. The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted ICAO to include only 2019 emissions (as opposed to the originally planned average of 2019-20 emissions) as the baseline upon which offsetting obligations would be calculated for the pilot phase (2021-23) of the scheme; the applicable baseline for the subsequent phases of the scheme, however, is still uncertain. The European Parliament is expected to assess CORSIA implementation and re-assess the applicability of EU ETS to international aviation in 2024, at which point the EU could require all extra- and intra-EU flights to participate in EU ETS. Certain CORSIA program aspects could potentially be affected by the results of the pilot phase of the program, and thus the impact of CORSIA cannot be fully predicted. However, CORSIA is expected to increase operating costs for the Company, depending on a number of factors, including the number of its flights that are subject to CORSIA, the fuel efficiency of the Company's fleet, the Company's purchase and use of CORSIA-eligible sustainable fuels, aviation sector growth, the price of CORSIA-eligible offsets and the applicable baseline year(s) applied to future phases of the program. In 2017, ICAO also adopted a carbon dioxide ("CO2") emission standard for aircraft. In December 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") adopted its own aircraft and aircraft engine GHG emissions standards, which are aligned with the 2017 ICAO airplane CO2 emission standards. While United endeavors to comply with all applicable environmental regulations, United's Eco-Skies commitment to becoming a more environmentally sustainable company extends beyond seeking to comply with regulatory requirements.
We have made a series of tangible commitments and actions to help reduce our carbon emission footprint, including the following:
•In 2015, we invested $30 million in Fulcrum BioEnergy, a sustainable aviation fuel ("SAF") producer that converts trash to low-carbon jet fuel.
•In 2016, we became the first airline globally to use SAF in regular operations on a continuous basis and, as of December 31, 2020, based on publicly announced commitments, have purchased more SAF than any other U.S. commercial airline.
•In 2018, we became the first U.S. airline to establish a climate goal of reducing our emissions 50% by 2050 versus our 2005 baseline.
• In 2020:
◦We pledged to become 100% green by reducing our GHG emissions by 100% by 2050-without relying on voluntary carbon offsets.
◦We became the first airline to announce a commitment to invest in Direct Air Capture technology through 1PointFive, a joint venture between Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Rusheen Capital.
◦The Carbon Disclosure Project ("CDP") named United as the only airline globally to its climate 'A List' for the Company's actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy, marking the seventh consecutive year that United had the highest CDP score among U.S. airlines.
•In the first quarter of 2021, United entered into an agreement to work with, and to invest in, air mobility company Archer Aviation Inc. on the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that have the potential for future use as an 'air taxi' in urban markets.
Additional information regarding United's Eco-Skies program and our pledge to become 100% green by reducing GHG emissions by 100% by 2050, can be found on our website at united.com/100green. The information contained on or connected to the Company's website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this or any other report filed with the SEC.
Other Regulations. Our operations are subject to a variety of other environmental laws and regulations both in the United States and internationally. These include noise-related restrictions on aircraft types and operating times and state and local air quality initiatives which have resulted, or could in the future result in curtailments in services, increased operating costs, limits on expansion, or further emission reduction requirements. Certain airports and/or governments, both domestically and internationally, either have established or are seeking to establish environmental fees and other requirements applicable to carbon emissions, local air quality pollutants and/or noise. The implementation of these requirements is expected to result in restrictions on mobile sources of air pollutants such as cars, trucks and airport ground support equipment in corresponding locations. Various states have passed legislation restricting the use of Class B fire-fighting foam agents that contain intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which are expected to require the Company to incur costs to convert existing fixed foam fire suppression systems to accommodate PFAS-free firefighting foam agents. Finally, environmental cleanup laws could require the Company to undertake or subject the Company to liability for investigation and remediation costs at certain owned or leased locations or third-party disposal locations.
Until the applicability of new regulations to our specific operations is better defined and/or until pending regulations are finalized, future costs to comply with such regulations will remain uncertain but are likely to increase our operating costs over time. While we continue to monitor these developments, the precise nature of future requirements and their applicability to the Company are difficult to predict, but the financial impact to the Company and the aviation industry could be significant.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2020, UAL, including its subsidiaries, had approximately 74,400 employees, not including furloughed employees who were recalled in connection with the Payroll Support Program extension under Subtitle A of Title IV of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the "PSP Extension Law"). Approximately 84% of the Company's employees were represented by various U.S. labor organizations. The Company believes engaged and empowered employees are important for the success of its mission. The Company's focus areas for employee engagement and retention include, but are not limited to:
Workplace Safety. At United, safety is first in everything we do and is our first core4 service standard (Safe, Caring, Dependable and Efficient). We have implemented policies and training programs, as well as performed self-audits designed to ensure our employees are safe every day. United has onsite clinic locations in certain of its hubs that provide services to active employees including, but not limited to, occupational injury, Company-directed exams, acute care for personal illness, pre-
employment exams, travel immunizations and OSHA audiometric testing. For all other locations, United has partnered with third-party clinics to provide such services. United has a Drug Abatement organization that has implemented programs aimed at supporting United's goal of maintaining a drug- and alcohol-free workplace. Additionally, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has actively implemented additional safety measures in compliance with CDC guidelines and we actively follow their recommendations.
Talent and Pay. At United, we take great pride in the unique opportunity that we have to create and support the kind of careers that are increasingly hard to find in the 21st century American economy. There are thousands of jobs at United that do not require a four-year college degree and also provide significant schedule flexibility. For example our flight attendants and ramp agents have significant flexibility in their work schedules and, as they gain seniority, have the opportunity to earn up to six-figures in total annual compensation and benefits. There are thousands of additional specialized roles at United, like technicians and pilots, with even higher wage scales. Each of these jobs comes with a full suite of employment benefits including a retirement plan, life insurance, health insurance, free travel and more. These employees also enjoy valuable protections negotiated by U.S. labor organizations.
Culture. Having an engaged and proud work force is important to the success of our business. We undertake a confidential employee survey that provides us with point-in-time insights multiple times a year. We use the employee feedback to better understand the employee experience and assess progress made on achieving our goal of making United the best place to work.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. United is committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel included and empowered to make a measurable difference in our success. United offers policies, programs, benefits and recognition designed to reward and support the success of our diverse workforce. To help advance United's goals for diversity, equity and inclusion, the airline supports seven employee-run business resource groups with over 8,000 participants. Each group - LGBTQ+, Multi-cultural, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Black/African American and Next Generation - helps increase awareness and understanding of cultural issues and opportunities for employees, while nurturing United's diverse talent, enriching the airline's organizational culture and contributing to Company performance. In 2020 and for the fifth consecutive year, United was recognized as a top-scoring company and best place to work for disability inclusion with a perfect score of 100 on the 2020 Disability Equality Index (DEI). In February, 2021, United received a perfect score of 100%, for the tenth consecutive year, on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The scorecard is a benchmarking report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. The perfect score places United on the prestigious 2021 list of "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality."
Additionally, we announced in January that we have achieved near perfect gender and pay equity for our U.S.-based population and, to promote greater transparency, have shared our gender and racial/ethnic representation for our workforce with our employees. We remain committed to continuing to share this information as we continue our journey towards great diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our organization.
Health Benefits: COVID-19 Impacts. United offers a variety of medical plans and options, including vision, dental, long-term disability and life insurance. At United, physical, emotional and financial wellness are top priorities. In 2020, United implemented new benefits and enhanced preexisting benefits to assist employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included enhanced telemedicine offerings to all employees, contact tracing, modified absence management practices and additional mental health programs and resources.
Collective Bargaining Agreements. Collective bargaining agreements between the Company and its represented employee groups are negotiated under the RLA. Such agreements typically do not contain an expiration date and instead specify an amendable date, upon which the agreement is considered "open for amendment."
The following table reflects the Company's represented employee groups, the number of employees per represented group, union representation for each employee group, and the amendable date for each employee group's collective bargaining agreement as of December 31, 2020:
Employee
Group Number of Employees Union Agreement Open for Amendment
Flight Attendants 16,507 Association of Flight Attendants (the "AFA") August 2021
Pilots 11,840 ALPA January 2019
Fleet Service 11,383 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (the "IAM") December 2021
Passenger Service 9,272 IAM December 2021
Technicians 6,630 IBT December 2022
Passenger Service - United Ground Express, Inc. 3,427 IAM March 2025
Catering 1,941 UNITE HERE N/A
Storekeepers 653 IAM December 2021
Dispatchers 249 Professional Airline Flight Control Association December 2021
Fleet Tech Instructors 112 IAM December 2021
Load Planners 41 IAM December 2021
Security Officers 45 IAM December 2021
Maintenance Instructors 36 IAM December 2021
Information about Our Executive Officers
Kate Gebo. Age 52. Ms. Gebo has served as Executive Vice President Human Resources and Labor Relations of UAL and United since December 2017. From November 2016 to November 2017, Ms. Gebo served as Senior Vice President, Global Customer Service Delivery and Chief Customer Officer of United. From October 2015 to November 2016, Ms. Gebo served as Vice President of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. From November 2009 to October 2015, Ms. Gebo served as Vice President of Corporate Real Estate of United.
Brett J. Hart. Age 51. Mr. Hart has served as President of UAL and United since May 2020. From March 2019 to May 2020, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of UAL and United. From May 2017 to March 2019, he served as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of UAL and United. From February 2012 to May 2017, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of UAL and United. Mr. Hart served as acting Chief Executive Officer and principal executive officer of the Company, on an interim basis, from October 2015 to March 2016. From December 2010 to February 2012, he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of UAL, United and Continental Airlines, Inc. ("Continental"). From June 2009 to December 2010, Mr. Hart served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Sara Lee Corporation, a consumer food and beverage company. From March 2005 to May 2009, Mr. Hart served as Deputy General Counsel and Chief Global Compliance Officer of Sara Lee Corporation.
Linda P. Jojo. Age 55. Ms. Jojo has served as Executive Vice President Technology and Chief Digital Officer of UAL and United since May 2017. From November 2014 to May 2017, Ms. Jojo served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of UAL and United. From July 2011 to October 2014, Ms. Jojo served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Rogers Communications, Inc., a Canadian communications and media company. From October 2008 to June 2011, Ms. Jojo served as Chief Information Officer of Energy Future Holdings, a Dallas-based privately held energy company and electrical utility provider.
Chris Kenny. Age 56. Mr. Kenny has served as Vice President and Controller of UAL and United since October 2010. From September 2003 to September 2010, Mr. Kenny served as Vice President and Controller of Continental. Mr. Kenny joined Continental in 1997.
J. Scott Kirby. Age 53. Mr. Kirby has served as Chief Executive Officer of UAL and United since May 2020. Mr. Kirby served as President of UAL and United from August 2016 to May 2020. Prior to joining the Company, from December 2013 to August 2016, Mr. Kirby served as President of American Airlines Group and American Airlines, Inc. Mr. Kirby also previously served as President of US Airways from October 2006 to December 2013. Mr. Kirby held significant other leadership roles at US Airways and at America West prior to the 2005 merger of those carriers, including Executive Vice President-Sales and Marketing (2001 to 2006); Senior Vice President, e-business (2000 to 2001); Vice President, Revenue Management (1998 to
2000); Vice President, Planning (1997 to 1998); and Senior Director, Scheduling and Planning (1995 to 1998). Prior to joining America West, Mr. Kirby worked for American Airlines Decision Technologies and at the Pentagon.
Gerald Laderman. Age 63. Mr. Laderman has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since August 2018. Mr. Laderman served as Senior Vice President Finance, Procurement and Treasurer for UAL and United from 2013 to August 2015, and again from August 2016 to May 2018. Mr. Laderman additionally was acting Chief Financial Officer from August 2015 to August 2016 and from May 2018 to August 2018. Mr. Laderman served as Senior Vice President Finance and Treasurer for the Company from 2010 to 2013. From 2001 to 2010, Mr. Laderman served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for Continental. Mr. Laderman joined Continental in 1988 as senior director legal affairs, finance and aircraft programs.
Oscar Munoz. Age 62. Mr. Munoz has served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of UAL since May 2020. Mr. Munoz served as Chief Executive Officer of UAL and United from September 2015 to May 2020, and also as President of UAL and United from September 2015 until August 2016. From February 2015 to September 2015, Mr. Munoz served as President and Chief Operating Officer of CSX Corporation ("CSX"), a railroad and intermodal transportation services company, overseeing operations, sales and marketing, human resources, service design and information technology. Prior to his appointment as President and Chief Operating Officer of CSX, Mr. Munoz served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of CSX from January 2012 to February 2015 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CSX from 2003 to 2012. Mr. Munoz has been a member of the UAL Board of Directors since 2010.
Andrew Nocella. Age 51. Mr. Nocella has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of UAL and United since September 2017. From February 2017 to September 2017, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer of UAL and United. Prior to joining the Company, from August 2016 to February 2017, Mr. Nocella served as Senior Vice President, Alliances and Sales of American Airlines, Inc. From December 2013 to August 2016, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of American Airlines, Inc. From August 2007 to December 2013, he served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Planning of US Airways.
Jonathan Roitman. Age 55. Mr. Roitman has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of UAL and United since September 2020. Mr. Roitman served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of the Company from June 2020 to September 2020. Mr. Roitman served as Senior Vice President Airport and Network Operations of United from November 2019 to May 2020. From August 2018 to November 2019, Mr. Roitman served as Senior Vice President Airport and Catering Operations, and from January 2015 to August 2018, he served as Senior Vice President Airport Operations of United. From December 1997 through January 2015, Mr. Roitman held positions of increasing responsibility at United and at Continental prior to its merger with the Company, including as Senior Vice President Operations and Cargo, Vice President, Newark Hub, and Vice President, Cleveland Hub. Prior to joining Continental in December 1997, Mr. Roitman was the manager of business development for BWAB Incorporated, a real estate development and oil and gas production firm, and served in the U.S. Army.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
The following risk factors should be read carefully when evaluating the Company's business and the forward-looking statements contained in this report and other statements the Company or its representatives make from time to time. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and the actual outcome of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made in this report. Risks not currently known to the Company or that the Company currently deems to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and the actual outcome of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made in this report.
Risk Factor Summary
The following is a summary of the principal risks that could adversely affect, or have adversely affected, the Company's business, operating results and financial condition:
•The adverse impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, and possible outbreaks of another disease or similar public health threat in the future, on our business, operating results, financial condition, liquidity and near-term and long-term strategic operating plan, including possible additional adverse impacts resulting from the duration and spread of the pandemic;
•Unfavorable economic and political conditions in the United States and globally;
•The highly competitive nature of the global airline industry and susceptibility of the industry to price discounting and changes in capacity;
•High and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel;
•Our reliance on technology and automated systems to operate our business and the impact of any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, the technology or systems;
•Our reliance on third-party service providers and the impact of any failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in our relationships with these providers or their provision of services;
•Adverse publicity, harm to our brand, reduced travel demand and potential tort liability as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving us, our regional carriers, our codeshare partners, or another airline;
•Terrorist attacks, international hostilities or other security events, or the fear of terrorist attacks or hostilities, even if not made directly on the airline industry;
•Increasing privacy and data security obligations or a significant data breach;
•Disruptions to our regional network and United Express flights provided by third-party regional carriers;
•The failure of our significant investments in other airlines, including AVH and its affiliates, and the commercial relationships that we have with those carriers, to produce the returns or results we expect;
•Further changes to the airline industry with respect to alliances and JBAs or due to consolidations;
•Changes in our network strategy or other factors outside our control resulting in less economic aircraft orders, costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or entry into less favorable aircraft orders;
•Our reliance on single suppliers to source a majority of our aircraft and certain parts, and the impact of any failure to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers;
•The impacts of union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions on our operations;
•Extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate;
•The impacts of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU on our operations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere;
•The impacts of seasonality and other factors associated with the airline industry;
•Our failure to realize the full value of our intangible assets or our long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments;
•Any damage to our reputation or brand image;
•The limitation of our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
•The costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry;
•Costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental regulation and climate change;
•Continued restrictions on the use of our Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and our inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into our fleet as planned;
•The impacts of our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations, the possibility we may seek material amounts of additional financial liquidity in the short-term and insufficient liquidity on our financial condition and business;
•Failure to comply with the covenants in the MileagePlus Financing agreements, resulting in the possible acceleration of the MileagePlus indebtedness, foreclosure upon the collateral securing the MileagePlus indebtedness or the exercise of other remedies;
•Failure to comply with financial and other covenants governing our other debt;
•Changes in, or failure to retain, our senior management team or other key employees;
•Current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or arrangement relating to these actions; and
•Increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage.
For a more complete discussion of the material risks facing the Company's business, see below.
Risks Relating to COVID-19
The global pandemic resulting from a novel strain of coronavirus has had an adverse impact that has been material to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, and the duration and spread of the pandemic could result in additional adverse impacts. The outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat in the future could also have an adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, together with the measures implemented or recommended by governmental authorities and private organizations in response to the pandemic, has had an adverse impact that has been material to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity. Measures such as "shelter in place" or quarantine requirements, international and domestic travel restrictions or advisories, limitations on public gatherings, social distancing recommendations, remote work arrangements and closures of tourist destinations and attractions, as well as consumer perceptions of the safety, ease and predictability of air travel, have contributed to a precipitous decline in passenger demand and bookings for both business and leisure travel.
The Company began experiencing a significant decline in international and domestic demand related to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020. The decline in demand caused a material deterioration in our revenues in 2020, resulting in a net loss of $7.1 billion. The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including those outside our control related to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty. In response to decreased demand, the Company cut, relative to 2019 capacity, approximately 57% of its scheduled capacity for 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company expects scheduled capacity to be down at least 51% versus the first quarter of 2019. The Company plans to continue to proactively evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 60-day basis until it sees signs of a recovery in demand and expects demand to remain suppressed, relative to 2019 levels, until vaccines for COVID-19 are widely distributed and are effective in curbing the spread of the virus. In addition, the Company does not currently expect the recovery from COVID-19 to follow a linear path. As such, the Company's actual flown capacity may differ materially from its currently scheduled capacity.
The Company has taken a number of actions in response to the decreased demand for air travel. In addition to the schedule reductions discussed above, the Company reduced its planned capital expenditures and reduced operating expenditures for 2020, terminated its share repurchase program, issued or entered into approximately $13.4 billion in secured notes, secured facilities and new aircraft financings, raised approximately $2.1 billion in cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock, borrowed $1.0 billion under the $2.0 billion revolving credit facility, entered into an agreement to finance certain aircraft currently subject to purchase agreements through sale and leaseback transactions, deferred $199 million in payroll taxes incurred through December 31, 2020, as provided by the CARES Act, until December 2021, at which time 50% is due, with the remaining amount due December 2022, temporarily grounded certain of its mainline fleet, implemented strategic workforce reductions and took a number of other actions to reduce employee-related costs. In addition, in connection with the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act, United entered into Payroll Support Program agreements with the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury") that provided the Company with total funding of approximately $7.7 billion to pay the salaries and benefits of employees through March 31, 2021. The Company also entered into a term loan facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion (the "Term Loan Facility") pursuant to the loan program established under Section 4003(b) of the CARES Act (the "Loan Program"), and on September 28, 2020, United borrowed $520 million under the Term Loan Facility. The grants and loans under the CARES Act subject the Company and its business to certain restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the payment of dividends and the ability to repurchase UAL's equity securities, requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled service, requirements to recall certain furloughed employees and maintain U.S. employment levels through March 31, 2021 and certain limitations on executive compensation. These restrictions and requirements have materially affected and will continue to materially affect the Company's operations, and the Company may not be successful in managing these impacts for the duration of the restrictions. In particular, limitations on executive
compensation, which, depending on the form of aid, could extend up to six years, may impact the Company's ability to attract and retain senior management or attract other key employees during this critical time.
The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance and liquidity position will depend on future developments, including the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies discussed above in offsetting decreased demand, the duration and spread of COVID-19 and related travel advisories and restrictions, the impact of COVID-19 on overall long-term domestic and international demand for air travel, including the impact on overall demand for business travel as a result of increased usage of teleconferencing and other technologies, the impact of COVID-19 on the financial health and operations of the Company's business partners and future governmental actions, including whether applicable governmental authorities will continue to grant waivers of usage requirements for certain of the Company's slots, routes and gates or will require passenger testing for domestic U.S. travel. All of these future developments are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a material impact on the Company, and the continuation of reduced demand could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
In addition, an outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or fear of such an event, that affects travel demand, travel behavior or travel restrictions could have a material adverse impact on the Company's business, financial condition and operating results. Outbreaks of other diseases could also result in increased government restrictions and regulation, such as those actions described above or otherwise, which could adversely affect our operations.
COVID-19 has materially disrupted our strategic operating plans in the near-term, and there are risks to our business, operating results and financial condition associated with executing our strategic operating plans in the long-term.
COVID-19 has materially disrupted our strategic operating plans in the near-term, and there are risks to our business, operating results and financial condition associated with executing our strategic operating plans in the long-term. In recent years, we have announced several strategic operating plans, including several revenue-generating initiatives and plans to optimize our revenue, such as our plans to add capacity, including international expansion and new or increased service to mid-size airports, initiatives and plans to optimize and control our costs and opportunities to enhance our segmentation and improve the customer experience at all points in air travel. In developing our strategic operating plans, we make certain assumptions, including, but not limited to, those related to customer demand, competition, market consolidation, the availability of aircraft and the global economy. Actual economic, market and other conditions have been and may continue to be different from our assumptions. Most significantly in 2020, the precipitous decline in demand for air travel required us to cut, rather than grow, capacity and materially and adversely impacted our ability to execute our strategic operating plans. If we do not successfully execute or adjust our strategic operating plans in the long-term, or if actual results continue to vary significantly from our prior assumptions or vary significantly from our future assumptions, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted.
Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
Unfavorable economic and political conditions, in the United States and globally, may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
The Company's business and operating results are significantly impacted by U.S. and global economic and political conditions. The airline industry is highly cyclical, and the level of demand for air travel is correlated to the strength of the U.S. and global economies. Robust demand for the Company's air transportation services depends largely on favorable economic conditions, including the strength of the domestic and foreign economies, low unemployment levels, strong consumer confidence levels and the availability of consumer and business credit. Air transportation is often a discretionary purchase that leisure travelers may limit or eliminate during difficult economic times. Short-haul travelers, in particular, have the option to replace air travel with surface travel. In addition, during periods of unfavorable economic conditions, business travelers historically have reduced the volume of their travel, either due to cost-saving initiatives, the replacement of travel with alternatives such as videoconferencing, or as a result of decreased business activity requiring travel. During such periods, the Company's business and operating results may be adversely affected due to significant declines in industry passenger demand, particularly with respect to the Company's business and premium cabin travelers, and a reduction in fare levels.
As a global business with operations outside of the United States from which it derives significant operating revenues, volatile conditions in certain international regions may have a negative impact on the Company's operating results and its ability to achieve its business objectives. The Company's international operations are a vital part of its worldwide airline network. Political disruptions and instability in certain regions can negatively impact the demand and network availability for air travel. Additionally, any deterioration in global trade relations, such as increased tariffs or other trade barriers, could result in a decrease in the demand for international air travel.
Stagnant or weakening global economic conditions either in the United States or in other geographic regions may have a material adverse effect on the Company's revenues, operating results and liquidity.
The global airline industry is highly competitive and susceptible to price discounting and changes in capacity, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
The airline industry is highly competitive, marked by significant competition with respect to routes, fares, schedules (both timing and frequency), services, products, customer service and frequent flyer programs. Consolidation in the airline industry, the rise of well-funded government sponsored international carriers, changes in international alliances and the creation of immunized JBAs have altered and are expected to continue to alter the competitive landscape in the industry, resulting in the formation of airlines and alliances with increased financial resources, more extensive global networks and services and competitive cost structures.
Airlines also compete by increasing or decreasing their capacity, including route systems and the number of destinations served. Several of the Company's domestic and international competitors have increased their international capacity by including service to some destinations that the Company currently serves, causing overlap in destinations served, and therefore, increasing competition for those destinations. This increased competition in both domestic and international markets may have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results and financial condition.
The Company's U.S. operations are subject to competition from traditional network carriers, national point-to-point carriers, and discount carriers, including low-cost carriers and ultra-low-cost carriers. Such carriers may have lower costs and provide service at lower fares to destinations also served by the Company. The significant presence of low-cost carriers and ultra-low-cost carriers, which engage in substantial price discounting, may diminish our ability to achieve sustained profitability on domestic and international routes. This level of discounted pricing has also caused us to reduce fares for certain routes, resulting in lower yields on many domestic markets. Our ability to compete in the domestic market effectively depends, in part, on our ability to maintain a competitive cost structure. If we cannot maintain our costs at a competitive level, then our business, operating results and financial condition could continue to be materially and adversely affected. In addition, our competitors have established new routes and destinations, including some at our hub airports, in light of the expansion opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, which may compete with our existing routes and destinations and expansion plans.
Our international operations are subject to competition from both foreign and domestic carriers. Competition is significant from government subsidized competitors from certain Middle East countries. These carriers have large numbers of international widebody aircraft on order and are increasing service to the U.S. from their hubs in the Middle East. The government support provided to these carriers has allowed them to grow quickly, reinvest in their product, invest in other airlines and expand their global presence. We also face competition from foreign carriers operating under "fifth freedom" rights permitted under international treaties that allow certain carriers to provide service to and from stopover points between their home country and ultimate destination, including points in the United States, in competition with service provided by us.
Through alliance and other marketing and codesharing agreements with foreign carriers, U.S. carriers have increased their ability to sell international transportation, such as services to and beyond traditional global gateway cities. Similarly, foreign carriers have obtained increased access to interior U.S. passenger traffic beyond traditional U.S. gateway cities through these relationships. In addition, several JBAs among U.S. and foreign carriers have received grants of antitrust immunity allowing the participating carriers to coordinate schedules, pricing, sales and inventory. If we are not able to continue participating in these types of alliance and other marketing and codesharing agreements in the future, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Our MileagePlus frequent flyer program benefits from the attractiveness and competitiveness of United Airlines as a material purchaser of award miles, and the majority recipient for mileage redemption. If we are not able to maintain a competitive and attractive airline business, our ability to acquire, engage and retain customers in the loyalty program may be adversely affected, which could adversely affect the loyalty program's operating results and financial condition.
Further our MileagePlus frequent flyer program also faces significant and increasing direct competition from the frequent flyer programs offered by other airlines, as well as from similar loyalty programs offered by banks and other financial services companies. Competition among loyalty programs is intense regarding customer acquisition incentives, the value and utility of program currency, rewards range and value, fees, required usage, and other terms and conditions of these programs. If we are not able to maintain a competitive frequent flyer program, our ability to attract and retain customers to MileagePlus and United alike may be adversely affected, which could adversely affect our enterprise operating results and financial condition.
High and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel could have a material adverse impact on the Company's strategic plans, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
Aircraft fuel is critical to the Company's operations and is one of our largest operating expenses. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company's fuel expense was approximately $3.2 billion. The timely and adequate supply of fuel to meet operational demand depends on the continued availability of reliable fuel supply sources, as well as related service and delivery infrastructure. Although the Company has some ability to cover short-term fuel supply and infrastructure disruptions at some major demand locations, it depends significantly on the continued performance of its vendors and service providers to maintain supply integrity. Consequently, the Company can neither predict nor guarantee the continued timely availability of aircraft fuel throughout the Company's system.
Aircraft fuel has historically been the Company's most volatile operating expense due to the highly unpredictable nature of market prices for fuel. The Company generally sources fuel at prevailing market prices. Market prices for aircraft fuel have historically fluctuated substantially in short periods of time and continue to be highly volatile due to a dependence on a multitude of unpredictable factors beyond the Company's control. These factors include changes in global crude oil prices, the balance between aircraft fuel supply and demand, natural disasters, prevailing inventory levels and fuel production and transportation infrastructure. Prices of fuel are also impacted by indirect factors, such as geopolitical events, economic growth indicators, fiscal/monetary policies, fuel tax policies, changes in regulations, environmental concerns and financial investments in energy markets. Both actual changes in these factors, as well as changes in related market expectations, can potentially drive rapid changes in fuel prices in short periods of time.
Given the highly competitive nature of the airline industry, the Company may not be able to increase its fares and fees sufficiently to offset the full impact of increases in fuel prices, especially if these increases are significant, rapid and sustained. Further, any such fare or fee increase may not be sustainable, may reduce the general demand for air travel and may also eventually impact the Company's strategic growth and investment plans for the future. In addition, decreases in fuel prices for an extended period of time may result in increased industry capacity, increased competitive actions for market share and lower fares or surcharges. If fuel prices were to then subsequently rise quickly, there may be a lag between the rise in fuel prices and any improvement of the revenue environment.
To protect against increases in the market prices of fuel, the Company may hedge a portion of its future fuel requirements. The Company does not currently hedge its future fuel requirements. However, to the extent the Company decides to start a hedging program, such hedging program may not be successful in mitigating higher fuel costs, and any price protection provided may be limited due to the choice of hedging instruments and market conditions, including breakdown of correlation between hedging instrument and market price of aircraft fuel and failure of hedge counterparties. To the extent that the Company decides to hedge a portion of its future fuel requirements and uses hedge contracts that have the potential to create an obligation to pay upon settlement if fuel prices decline significantly, such hedge contracts may limit the Company's ability to benefit fully from lower fuel prices in the future. If fuel prices decline significantly from the levels existing at the time the Company enters into a hedge contract, the Company may be required to post collateral (margin) beyond certain thresholds. There can be no assurance that the Company's hedging arrangements, if any, will provide any particular level of protection against rises in fuel prices or that its counterparties will be able to perform under the Company's hedging arrangements. Additionally, deterioration in the Company's financial condition could negatively affect its ability to enter into new hedge contracts in the future.
The Company relies heavily on technology and automated systems to operate its business and any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, the technology or these systems could materially harm its business.
The Company depends on automated systems and technology to operate its business, including, but not limited to, computerized airline reservation systems, electronic tickets, electronic airport kiosks, demand prediction software, flight operations systems, in-flight wireless internet, cloud-based technologies, revenue management systems, accounting systems, technical and business operations systems, telecommunication systems and commercial websites and applications, including www.united.com and the United Airlines app. United's website and other automated systems must be able to accommodate a high volume of traffic, maintain secure information and deliver important flight and schedule information, as well as process critical financial transactions. These systems could suffer substantial or repeated disruptions due to various events, some of which are beyond the Company's control, including natural disasters, power failures, terrorist attacks, equipment or software failures or cyber security attacks. We have initiatives in place to prevent disruptions and disaster recovery plans, and we continue to invest in improvements to these initiatives and plans; however, these measures may not be adequate to prevent or mitigate disruptions. Substantial or repeated systems failures or disruptions, including failures or disruptions related to the Company's complex integration of systems, could reduce the attractiveness of the Company's services versus those of its competitors, materially impair its ability to market its services and operate its flights, result in the unauthorized release of
confidential or otherwise protected information, result in increased costs, lost revenue and the loss or compromise of important data, and may adversely affect the Company's business, operating results and financial condition.
The Company may also face challenges in integrating, implementing and modifying the automated systems and technology required to operate its business. As a result of the complexity of such automated systems and technology, the integration, implementation and modification process may require significant expenditures, human resources, the development of effective internal controls and the transformation of business and financial processes. If the Company is unable to timely or effectively integrate, implement or modify its systems and technology, the Company's operations could be adversely affected.
The Company's business relies extensively on third-party service providers, including certain technology providers. Failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in the Company's relationships with these providers or their provision of services to the Company, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results and financial condition.
The Company has engaged third-party service providers to perform a large number of functions that are integral to its business, including regional operations, operation of customer service call centers, distribution and sale of airline seat inventory, provision of information technology infrastructure and services, transmitting or uploading of data, provision of aircraft maintenance and repairs, provision of various utilities and performance of airport ground services, aircraft fueling operations and catering services, among other vital functions and services. The Company does not directly control these third-party service providers, although generally it does enter into agreements that define expected service performance and compliance requirements, such as compliance with legal requirements, including anti-corruption laws; however, there can be no assurance that our third-party service providers will adhere to these requirements.
Any of these third-party service providers, however, may materially fail to meet its service performance commitments to the Company or may suffer disruptions to its systems that could impact its services. For example, failures in certain third-party technology or communications systems may cause flight delays or cancellations. The failure of any of the Company's third-party service providers to perform its service obligations adequately, or other interruptions of services, may reduce the Company's revenues and increase its expenses, prevent the Company from operating its flights and providing other services to its customers or result in adverse publicity or harm to our brand. We may also be subject to consequences from any illegal conduct of our third-party service providers, including for their failure to comply with anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In addition, the Company's business and financial performance could be materially harmed if its customers believe that its services are unreliable or unsatisfactory.
The Company may also have disagreements with such providers or such contracts may be terminated or may not be extended or renewed. For example, the number of flight reservations booked through third-party GDSs or online travel agents ("OTAs") may be adversely affected by disruptions in the business relationships between the Company and these suppliers. Such disruptions, including a failure to agree upon acceptable contract terms when contracts expire or otherwise become subject to renegotiation, may cause the Company's flight information to be limited or unavailable for display by the affected GDS or OTA operator, significantly increase fees for both the Company and GDS/OTA users and impair the Company's relationships with its customers and travel agencies. Any such disruptions or contract terminations may adversely impact our operations and financial results.
If we are not able to negotiate or renew agreements with third-party service providers, or if we renew existing agreements on less favorable terms, our operations and financial results may be adversely affected.
The Company could experience adverse publicity, harm to its brand, reduced travel demand, potential tort liability and voluntary or mandatory operational restrictions as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving its aircraft or its operations, the aircraft or operations of its regional carriers, the aircraft or operations of its codeshare partners, or the aircraft or operations of another airline, which may result in a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results and financial condition.
An accident, catastrophe or incident involving an aircraft that the Company operates, or an aircraft that is operated by a codeshare partner, one of the Company's regional carriers or another airline, or an incident involving the Company's operations, or the operations of a codeshare partner, one of the Company's regional carriers or of another airline, could have a material adverse effect on the Company if such accident, catastrophe or incident created a public perception that the Company's operations, or the operations of its codeshare partners or regional carriers, are not safe or reliable, or are less safe or reliable than other airlines. Additionally, any accident, catastrophe or incident involving an aircraft type that is operated by the Company, its codeshare partners or regional carriers could have a material adverse effect on the Company if such accident, catastrophe or incident creates a public perception that such aircraft type was not safe or reliable. Further, any such accident, catastrophe or incident involving the Company, its regional carriers or its codeshare partners could expose the Company to
significant tort liability. Although the Company currently maintains liability insurance in amounts and of the type the Company believes to be consistent with industry practice to cover damages arising from any such accident, catastrophe or incident, and the Company's codeshare partners and regional carriers carry similar insurance and generally indemnify the Company for their operations, if the Company's liability exceeds the applicable policy limits or the ability of another carrier to indemnify it, the Company could incur substantial losses from an accident, catastrophe or incident which may result in a material adverse effect on the Company's operating results and financial condition. In addition, any such accident, catastrophe or incident involving the Company, its regional carriers or its codeshare partners could result in operational restrictions on the Company, including voluntary or mandatory groundings of aircraft. For example, the Company decided to voluntarily ground its Boeing 777 aircraft following certain mechanical failures, and the resulting public perceptions of the safety of our operations and the reliability of Boeing 777 aircraft could adversely affect our business. A prolonged period of time operating a reduced fleet in these circumstances could result in a material adverse effect on the Company's operating results and financial condition.
In addition, the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely impacted customer perceptions of the health and safety of travel and these negative perceptions could continue even after the pandemic subsides. Actual or perceived risk of infection on our flights, at airports and during other travel-related activities has had, and may continue to have, a material adverse effect on the public's perception of us, which has harmed, and may continue to harm, our reputation and business. We have incurred, and expect that we will continue to incur, COVID-19- related costs as we sanitize aircraft, implement additional hygiene-related protocols and take other actions to limit the threat of infection among our employees and passengers and combat negative customer perceptions of the health and safety of travel on our aircraft and at our terminals. Negative public perceptions could, in turn, result in adverse publicity for the Company, cause harm to the Company's brand and reduce travel demand on the Company's flights, or the flights of its codeshare partners or regional carriers.
Terrorist attacks, international hostilities or other security events, or the fear of terrorist attacks or hostilities, even if not made directly on the airline industry, could negatively affect the Company and the airline industry.
Terrorist attacks or international hostilities, even if not made on or targeted directly at the airline industry, or the fear of or the precautions taken in anticipation of such attacks (including elevated national threat warnings, travel restrictions, selective cancellation or redirection of flights and new security regulations) could materially and adversely affect the Company and the airline industry. Security events pose a significant risk to our passenger and cargo operations. These events could include acts of violence in public areas that we cannot control. The Company's financial resources may not be sufficient to absorb the adverse effects of any future terrorist attacks, international hostilities or other security events. Any such events could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial condition, liquidity and operating results. In addition, due to threats against the aviation industry, the Company has incurred, and may continue to incur, significant expenditures to comply with security-related requirements to mitigate the threats and ensure the safety of our employees and customers. With the need to implement proper security measures, and the need to ensure the efficacy and efficiency of security inspection throughput to support the pace of our operations, it is unlikely that we will be able to capture all security-related costs through increased fares, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Increasing privacy and data security obligations or a significant data breach may adversely affect the Company's business.
In our regular business operations, we collect, process, store and transmit to commercial partners sensitive data, including personal information of our customers and employees such as payment processing information and information of our business partners. The Company depends on the ability to use information we collect to provide our services and operate our business.
The Company must manage increasing legislative, regulatory and consumer focus on privacy issues and data security in a variety of jurisdictions across the globe. For example, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation imposes significant privacy and data security requirements, as well as potential for substantial penalties for non-compliance that have resulted in substantial adverse financial consequences to non-compliant companies. Also, some of the Company's commercial partners, such as credit card companies, have imposed data security standards that the Company must meet. These standards continue to evolve. The Company will continue its efforts to meet its privacy and data security obligations; however, it is possible that certain new obligations or customer expectations may be difficult to meet and could require changes in the Company's operating processes and increase the Company's costs.
Additionally, the Company must manage evolving cybersecurity risks. Our network, systems and storage applications, and those systems and applications maintained by our third-party commercial partners (such as credit card companies and international airline partners), may be subject to attempts to gain unauthorized access, breach, malfeasance or other system disruptions. In some cases, it is difficult to anticipate or to detect immediately such incidents and the damage caused thereby. In addition, as attacks by cybercriminals become more sophisticated, frequent and intense, the costs of proactive defense measures may increase. Furthermore, the Company's remote work arrangements make it more vulnerable to targeted activity from
cybercriminals and significantly increase the risk of cyber-attacks or other security breaches. While we continually work to safeguard our internal network, systems and applications, including through risk assessments, system monitoring, cybersecurity and data protection security policies, processes and technologies and employee awareness and training, and require third-party security standards, there is no assurance that such actions will be sufficient to prevent cyber-attacks or data breaches.
The loss, disclosure, misappropriation of or access to sensitive Company information, customers', employees' or business partners' information or the Company's failure to meet its obligations could result in legal claims or proceedings, penalties and remediation costs. A significant data breach or the Company's failure to meet its obligations may adversely affect the Company's operations, reputation, relationships with our business partners, business, operating results and financial condition.
Disruptions to our regional network and United Express flights provided by third-party regional carriers could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. These regional operations are an extension of the Company's mainline network and complement the Company's operations by carrying traffic that connects to mainline service and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. The Company's business and operations are dependent on its regional flight network, with regional capacity accounting for approximately 14.6% of the Company's total capacity for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Although the Company has agreements with its regional carriers that include contractually agreed performance metrics, each regional carrier is a separately certificated commercial air carrier, and the Company does not control the operations of these carriers. A number of factors may impact the Company's regional network, including weather-related effects and seasonality. The significant decline in demand for air travel services resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has also materially impacted demand for regional carrier services and, as a result, the Company's utilization of its regional network is significantly reduced and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. As a result, we may face claims that we failed to perform certain obligations under our agreements with our regional carriers and may incur damages. We expect the disruption to services resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to adversely affect our regional carriers, some of which may declare bankruptcy or otherwise cease to operate.
In addition, the decrease in qualified pilots driven by changes to federal regulations has adversely impacted and could continue to affect the Company's regional flying. For example, the FAA's expansion of minimum pilot qualification standards, including a requirement that a pilot have at least 1,500 total flight hours, as well as the FAA's revised pilot flight and duty time requirements under Part 117 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, have contributed to a smaller supply of pilots available to regional carriers. The decrease in qualified pilots resulting from the regulations as well as factors including a decreased student pilot population and a shrinking U.S. military from which to hire qualified pilots, could adversely impact the Company's operations and financial condition, and could also require the Company to reduce regional carrier flying.
If, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pilot shortage or another significant disruption to our regional network, one or more of the regional carriers with which the Company has relationships is unable to perform its obligations over an extended period of time, there could be a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, although our need for regional carrier services is materially lower than in prior years, we may be obligated to make minimum payments under one or more of our contracts with our regional providers that are in excess of the cost of the services we currently require from them.
Our significant investments in other airlines, including in other parts of the world, and the commercial relationships that we have with those carriers may not produce the returns or results we expect.
An important part of our strategy to expand our global network has included making significant investments in airlines both domestically and in other parts of the world and expanding our commercial relationships with these carriers. For example, in January 2019, we completed the acquisition of a 49.9% interest in ManaAir LLC ("ManaAir"), which, as of immediately following the closing of that investment, owns 100% of the equity interests in ExpressJet. We also have minority equity interests in CommutAir and Republic Airways Holdings Inc. See Note 9 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information regarding our investments in regional airlines. We also have significant investments in Latin American airlines, including significant investments in Avianca Holdings, S.A. ("AVH") and BRW Aviation LLC ("BRW"), an affiliate of Synergy Aerospace Corporation and the majority shareholder of AVH, and an equity investment in Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S.A. ("Azul"). In the future, our regional and global business strategy could include entering into JBAs, commercial agreements and strategic alliances with other carriers, and possibly making loan transactions with, and non-controlling investments in, such carriers.
These transactions and relationships involve significant challenges and risks, and we face competition in forming and maintaining these relationships, since there are a limited number of potential arrangements and other airlines are looking to enter into similar relationships. We are dependent on these other carriers for significant aspects of our network in the regions in which they operate. While we work closely with these carriers, each is a separately certificated commercial air carrier, and we do not have control over their operations, strategy, management or business methods. And not only are these airlines subject to a number of the same risks as our business, which are described elsewhere in this Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive pressures on pricing, demand and capacity, changes in aircraft fuel pricing, and the impact of global and local political and economic conditions on operations and customer travel patterns, among others, they are also subject to their own distinct financial and operational risks.
As a result of these and other factors, we may not realize satisfactory returns on our investments, and we may not receive repayment of any invested or loaned funds. Further, these investments may not generate the revenue or operational synergies we expect, and they may distract management focus from our operations or other strategic options. Finally, our reliance on these other carriers in the regions in which they operate may negatively impact our regional and global operations and results if those carriers continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other general business risks discussed above or perform below our expectations or needs and are not able to effectively mitigate these impacts or restore performance levels. Any one or more of these events could have a material adverse effect on our operating results or financial condition.
We exercised our right to withdraw all aircraft from our capacity purchase agreement with ExpressJet, and, as of October 1, 2020 ExpressJet no longer provides regional capacity services to United. See Notes 9 and 11 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information regarding our investments in AVH and Azul and our capacity purchase arrangements with ExpressJet, respectively. See also the additional risks with respect to our investment in AVH, which are described elsewhere in this Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors.
We may also be subject to consequences from any illegal conduct of JBA partners, including for failure to comply with anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Furthermore, our relationships with these carriers may be subject to the laws and regulations of non-U.S. jurisdictions in which these carriers are located or conduct business. In addition, any political or regulatory change in these jurisdictions that negatively impacts or prohibits our arrangements with these carriers could have an adverse effect on our operating results or financial condition. To the extent that the operations of any of these carriers are disrupted over an extended period of time (including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) or their actions subject us to the consequences of failure to comply with laws and regulations, our operating results may be adversely affected.
Our significant investments in AVH and its affiliates, and the commercial relationships that we have with Avianca may not produce the returns or results we expect.
In November 2018, as part of our global network strategy, United entered into a revenue-sharing JBA with Avianca, a subsidiary of AVH, Copa and several of their respective affiliates, subject to regulatory approval. Concurrently with this transaction, United, as lender, entered into a Term Loan Agreement (the "BRW Term Loan Agreement") with, among others, BRW Aviation Holding LLC ("BRW Holding") and BRW, as guarantor and borrower, respectively. Pursuant to the BRW Term Loan Agreement, United provided to BRW a $456 million term loan (the "BRW Term Loan"), secured by a pledge of BRW's equity, as well as BRW's 516 million common shares of AVH, which can be converted and exchanged into 64.5 million American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") of AVH (such shares and equity, collectively, the "BRW Loan Collateral"). In connection with funding the BRW Term Loan Agreement, the Company entered into an agreement with Kingsland Holdings Limited, AVH's largest minority shareholder ("Kingsland"), pursuant to which United granted to Kingsland a right to put its AVH common shares to United at market price on the fifth anniversary of the BRW Term Loan Agreement or upon certain sales of AVH common shares owned by BRW, including upon a foreclosure of United's security interest or any completed liquidation or dissolution of AVH, and also guaranteed BRW's obligation to pay Kingsland the excess, if any, of $12 per ADR on the NYSE and such market price of AVH common shares on the fifth anniversary, or upon any such sale, as applicable (the "Cooperation Payment"), for an aggregate maximum possible combined put payment and guarantee amount of $217 million. See Notes 8 and 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information regarding our obligations to Kingsland and their interrelationship with the BRW Term Loan Agreement.
BRW is currently in default under the BRW Term Loan Agreement, and since May 2019 United has been exercising certain remedies under the terms of the BRW Term Loan Agreement and related documents. In September 2019, a New York state court granted summary judgment authorizing the foreclosure on the BRW Loan Collateral, and enjoined BRW Holding from interfering with the ability of Kingsland (as United's agent) to exercise voting and other rights in certain equity interests in BRW. These rulings are intermediate steps in the judicial foreclosure process in New York and are being appealed. The timing and outcome of the judicial foreclosure process is subject to significant uncertainty given the filing by AVH and certain of its affiliates of voluntary reorganization proceedings under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Bankruptcy Court") on May 10, 2020 (as described in more detail below, the "AVH Reorganization Proceedings"). In light of the AVH Reorganization Proceedings, the New York state court judge presiding over the foreclosure proceedings agreed to stay those proceedings until March 2021. Based on United's assessment of AVH's financial uncertainty and the fact that Avianca had ceased operations as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, during the first quarter of 2020, the Company recorded a $697 million expected credit loss allowance for the BRW Term Loan and the Cooperation Payment.
In 2019, United entered into a senior secured convertible term loan agreement (the "AVH Convertible Loan Agreement") with, among others, AVH, as borrower, and pursuant thereto provided a convertible term loan to AVH in the aggregate amount of $150 million (the "AVH Convertible Loan").
See Notes 8 and 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information regarding our investments in AVH and its affiliates and our guarantee of the Cooperation Payment, respectively.
In October 2020, AVH consummated a $2 billion debtor-in-possession financing (the "AVH DIP Financing"). The AVH Convertible Loan was refinanced, or "rolled up," into the AVH DIP Financing without any investment of new funds by United, and as a result United is a Tranche B DIP lender in the AVH DIP Financing to the extent of the principal and interest owed on the AVH Convertible Loan (or less, under certain circumstances). United's Tranche B loan accrues interest at a rate of 14.5% per annum and can be converted, at AVH's option in certain circumstances, into equity upon AVH's exit from bankruptcy. As part of the AVH DIP Financing, the Bankruptcy Court also approved certain amendments to the alliance agreement and certain related agreements among United, Avianca and some of Avianca's subsidiaries and additional arrangements among those parties applicable to whether AVH accepts or rejects the JBA at or prior to the end of the bankruptcy case. There is no guarantee that United's participation in the AVH DIP Financing will produce the results expected or result in the ultimate repayment to United of the amounts initially loaned under the AVH Convertible Loan. While United's position as an AVH DIP Financing lender provides it with priority secured claims and liens that have been approved by the Bankruptcy Court, the duration of the AVH Reorganization Proceedings is difficult to predict, and United's recovery on its claims, including possibly repayment or conversion of its Tranche B DIP Loans, may be adversely affected by, among other things, delays while a plan of reorganization is being negotiated and approved by creditors entitled to vote on it and whether such plan or reorganization is confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court and subsequently becomes effective.
These transactions and relationships involve significant challenges and risks, particularly given the AVH Reorganization Proceedings, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the judicial foreclosure process to which the repayment of the BRW Term Loan is subject. Furthermore, while we have worked closely with Avianca in connection with the JBA, and have supported AVH by providing capital in the form of the AVH Convertible Loan and then the AVH DIP Financing, Avianca is a separately certificated commercial air carrier, and we do not have control over its or AVH's operations, strategy, management or business methods. Avianca is also subject to a number of the same risks as our business, which are described elsewhere in this Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, as updated by this report, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive pressures on pricing, demand and capacity, changes in aircraft fuel pricing, and the impact of global and local political and economic conditions on operations and customer travel patterns, among others, as well as to its own distinct financial and operational risks.
As a result of these and other factors, including the AVH Reorganization Proceedings and delays in foreclosure proceedings, we may not receive full (or any) repayment of our BRW Term Loan (including any payment we make in respect of the Cooperation Payment), our AVH Convertible Loan or our participation in the AVH DIP Financing, and we may be unable to realize the full (or any) value of the BRW Loan Collateral or the collateral securing the AVH Convertible Loan or the AVH DIP Financing, as applicable. As a consequence, we may not realize a satisfactory (or any) return on our invested or loaned funds with respect to BRW, AVH and its affiliates.
Further, these investments may not generate the revenue or operational synergies we expect, and they may distract management focus from our operations or other strategic options. Finally, our reliance on Avianca in the region in which it operates may negatively impact our global operations and results if AVH does not successfully emerge from the AVH Reorganization Proceedings or the COVID-19 pandemic, if the JBA is rejected in connection with the AVH Reorganization Proceedings or if AVH is otherwise impacted by general business risks or performs below our expectations or needs. Any one or more of these events could have a material adverse effect on our operating results or financial condition.
The airline industry may undergo further change with respect to alliances and JBAs or due to consolidations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company.
The Company faces, and may continue to face, strong competition from other carriers due to the modification of alliances and formation of new JBAs. Carriers may improve their competitive positions through airline alliances, slot swaps and/or JBAs. Certain types of airline JBAs further competition by allowing multiple airlines to coordinate routes, pool revenues
and costs, and enjoy other mutual benefits, achieving many of the benefits of consolidation. Open Skies agreements, including the longstanding agreements between the United States and each of the EU, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Colombia and Panama, as well as the more recent agreements between the United States and each of Mexico and Brazil, may also give rise to better integration opportunities among international carriers. Movement of airlines between current global airline alliances could reduce joint network coverage for members of such alliances while also creating opportunities for JBAs and bilateral alliances that did not exist before such realignment. Further airline and airline alliance consolidations or reorganizations could occur in the future. The Company routinely engages in analyses and discussions regarding its own strategic position, including current and potential alliances, asset acquisitions and divestitures and may have future discussions with other airlines regarding strategic activities. If other airlines participate in such activities, those airlines may significantly improve their cost structures or revenue generation capabilities, thereby potentially making them stronger competitors of the Company and potentially impairing the Company's ability to realize expected benefits from its own strategic relationships.
Orders for new aircraft typically must be placed years in advance of scheduled deliveries, and changes in the Company's network strategy over time or other factors outside of the Company's control may make aircraft on order less economic for the Company, result in costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or cause the Company to enter into orders for new aircraft on less favorable terms.
The Company's orders for new aircraft are typically made years in advance of actual delivery of such aircraft, and the financial commitment required for purchases of new aircraft is substantial. As of February 2021, the Company had firm commitments to purchase 298 new aircraft from The Boeing Company ("Boeing"), Airbus S.A.S ("Airbus") and Embraer S.A. ("Embraer"), as well as related agreements with engine manufacturers, maintenance providers and others. As of February 2021, the Company's commitments relating to the acquisition of aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and other related obligations aggregated to a total of approximately $24.3 billion.
Subsequent to the Company placing an order for new aircraft, the Company's network strategy may change. As a result, the Company's preference for a particular aircraft that it has ordered, often years in advance, may be decreased or eliminated. If the Company were to modify or terminate any of its existing aircraft order commitments, it may be responsible for material liabilities to its counterparties arising from any such modification. Additionally, the Company may have a need for additional aircraft that are not available under its existing orders. In such cases, the Company may seek to acquire aircraft from other sources, such as through lease arrangements, which may result in higher costs or less favorable terms, or through the purchase or lease of used aircraft. The Company may not be able to acquire such aircraft when needed on favorable terms or at all.
The imposition of new tariffs, or any increase in existing tariffs, on the importation of commercial aircraft that the Company orders may result in higher costs. For example, in October 2019, the United States imposed tariffs on certain imports from the EU, including a customs duty at an ad valorem rate of 10% on new commercial aircraft, which rate, in February 2020, was increased to 15%. These tariffs apply to certain new Airbus aircraft that we have on order. Additionally, in December 2020, the United States imposed tariffs on certain aircraft components from France and Germany. While the scope and rate of these tariffs are subject to change, if and to the extent these tariffs are imposed on us, they could increase the effective cost of, among other things, new Airbus aircraft and aircraft components.
A majority of the Company's aircraft and certain parts are sourced from single suppliers; therefore, the Company would be materially and adversely affected if it were unable to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers.
The Company currently sources the majority of its aircraft and many related aircraft parts from Boeing. In addition, our aircraft suppliers are dependent on other suppliers for certain other aircraft parts. Therefore, if the Company is unable to acquire additional aircraft from Boeing, or if Boeing fails to make timely deliveries of aircraft or to provide adequate support for its products, the Company's operations could be materially and adversely affected. The Company is also dependent on a limited number of suppliers for aircraft engines and certain other aircraft parts and could, therefore, also be materially and adversely affected in the event of the unavailability of these engines and other parts.
Union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions could adversely affect the Company's operations and could result in increased costs that impair its financial performance.
United is a highly unionized company. As of December 31, 2020, the Company and its subsidiaries had approximately 74,400 employees, of whom approximately 84% were represented by various U.S. labor organizations. See Part I, Item 1. Business-Human Capital, of this report for additional information on our represented employee groups and collective bargaining agreements.
There is a risk that unions or individual employees might pursue judicial or arbitral claims arising out of changes implemented as a result of the Company entering into collective bargaining agreements with its represented employee groups. There is also a possibility that employees or unions could engage in job actions such as slowdowns, work-to-rule campaigns, sick-outs or other actions designed to disrupt the Company's normal operations, in an attempt to pressure the Company in collective bargaining negotiations. Although the RLA makes such actions unlawful until the parties have been lawfully released to self-help, and the Company can seek injunctive relief against premature self-help, such actions can cause significant harm even if ultimately enjoined. Similarly, if the operations of our third-party regional carriers, ground handlers or other vendors are impacted by labor-related disruptions, our operations could be adversely affected. In addition, collective bargaining agreements with the Company's represented employee groups increase the Company's labor costs, which increase could be material.
Extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate could have a material adverse impact on our operations.
The airline industry is heavily dependent on business models that concentrate operations in major airports in the United States and throughout the world. An extended interruption or disruption at an airport where we have significant operations could have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
We operate principally through our domestic hubs in Newark, Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Houston Bush, LAX, Guam, SFO and Washington Dulles. Substantially all of our flights either originate in or fly into one of these locations. A significant interruption or disruption in service at one of our hubs or other airports where we have a significant presence resulting from ATC delays, weather conditions, natural disasters, growth constraints, relations with third-party service providers, failure of computer systems, disruptions to government agencies or personnel (including as a result of government shutdowns), disruptions at airport facilities or other key facilities used by us to manage our operations, labor relations, power supplies, fuel supplies, terrorist activities, international hostilities or otherwise could result in the cancellation or delay of a significant portion of our flights and, as a result, could have a material impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. We have minimal control over the operation, quality or maintenance of these services or whether vendors will improve or continue to provide services that are essential to our business.
The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU may adversely impact our operations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom ("UK") withdrew from the EU, and started a transition period that ran through December 31, 2020. During that time, the EU and UK negotiated a comprehensive trade agreement that provisionally went into effect on January 1, 2021. The agreement includes an aviation chapter that preserves EU-UK air connectivity.
In connection with the UK's exit from the EU, we could face new challenges in our operations, such as instability in global financial and foreign exchange markets. This instability could result in market volatility, including in the value of the British pound and European euro, additional travel restrictions on passengers traveling between the UK and EU countries, changes to the legal status of EU-resident employees, legal uncertainty and divergent national laws and regulations. At this time, we cannot predict the precise impact that the UK's exit from the EU will have on our business generally and our UK and European operations more specifically, and no assurance can be given that our operating results, financial condition and prospects would not be adversely impacted by the result.
The Company's operating results fluctuate due to seasonality and other factors associated with the airline industry, many of which are beyond the Company's control.
Due to greater demand for air travel during the spring and summer months, revenues in the airline industry in the second and third quarters of the year are generally stronger than revenues in the first and fourth quarters of the year, which are periods of lower travel demand. The Company's operating results generally reflect this seasonality, but have also been impacted by numerous other factors that are not necessarily seasonal, including, among others, extreme or severe weather, outbreaks of disease or pandemics, ATC congestion, geological events, political instability, terrorism, natural disasters, changes in the competitive environment due to industry consolidation, tax obligations, general economic conditions and other factors. As a result, the Company's quarterly operating results are not necessarily indicative of operating results for an entire year and historical operating results in a quarterly or annual period are not necessarily indicative of future operating results.
The Company may never realize the full value of its intangible assets or its long-lived assets causing it to record impairments that may negatively affect its financial condition and operating results.
In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company is required to test its indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently where there is an indication of impairment. In addition, the Company is required to test certain of its other assets for impairment where there is any indication that an asset may be impaired.
The Company may be required to recognize losses in the future due to, among other factors, extreme fuel price volatility, tight credit markets, government regulatory changes, decline in the fair values of certain tangible or intangible assets, such as aircraft, route authorities, airport slots and frequent flyer database, unfavorable trends in historical or forecasted results of operations and cash flows and an uncertain economic environment, as well as other uncertainties. For example, in 2020, the Company recorded impairment charges of $130 million for its China routes, primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Company's subsequent suspension of flights to China, $38 million for its right-of-use asset associated with an embedded aircraft lease under a CPA, primarily as a result of reduced cash flows from the COVID-19 pandemic, and $94 million related to certain of the Company's fleet of Boeing 757 aircraft, and $56 million with respect to various cancelled facility, aircraft induction and information technology capital projects as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on our operations. In addition, in 2019, the Company recorded impairment charges of $90 million associated with its Hong Kong routes, resulting in the full impairment of these assets. The Company can provide no assurance that a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets will not occur in a future period. The value of the Company's aircraft could be impacted in future periods by changes in supply and demand for these aircraft. Such changes in supply and demand for certain aircraft types could result from the grounding of aircraft. An impairment loss could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and operating results.
Any damage to our reputation or brand image could adversely affect our business or financial results.
We operate in a public-facing industry and maintaining a good reputation is critical to our business. The Company's reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by any failure to maintain satisfactory practices for all of our operations and activities, any failure to achieve and/or make progress toward our environmental and sustainability, and diversity, equity and inclusion, goals, public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, customer perceptions of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements or marketing programs, customer perceptions of our use of social media, or customer perceptions of statements made by us, our employees and executives, agents or other third parties. Damage to our reputation or brand image or loss of customer confidence in our services could adversely affect our business and financial results, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.
The Company's ability to use its net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be significantly limited due to various circumstances, including certain possible future transactions involving the sale or issuance of UAL common stock, or if taxable income does not reach sufficient levels.
As of December 31, 2020, UAL reported consolidated U.S. federal net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards of approximately $11.0 billion.
The Company's ability to use its NOL carryforwards and certain other tax attributes will depend on the amount of taxable income it generates in future periods. As a result, certain of the Company's NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes may expire before it can generate sufficient taxable income to use them in full.
In addition, the Company's ability to use its NOL carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income may be limited if it experiences an "ownership change" as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Section 382"). An ownership change generally occurs if certain stockholders increase their aggregate percentage ownership of a corporation's stock by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest percentage ownership at any time during the testing period, which is generally the three-year period preceding any potential ownership change.
In general, a corporation that experiences an ownership change will be subject to an annual limitation on its pre-ownership change NOLs and certain other tax attribute carryforwards equal to the value of the corporation's stock immediately before the ownership change, multiplied by the applicable long-term, tax-exempt rate posted by the IRS. Any unused annual limitation may, subject to certain limits, be carried over to later years, and the limitation may, under certain circumstances, be increased by built-in gains in the assets held by such corporation at the time of the ownership change. This limitation could cause the Company's U.S. federal income taxes to be greater, or to be paid earlier, than they otherwise would be, and could cause a portion of the Company's NOLs and certain other tax attributes to expire unused. Similar rules and limitations may apply for state income tax purposes.
For purposes of determining whether there has been an "ownership change," the change in ownership as a result of purchases by "5-percent shareholders" will be aggregated with certain changes in ownership that occurred over the three-year period ending on the date of such purchases. Potential future transactions involving the sale or issuance of UAL common stock may increase the possibility that the Company will experience a future ownership change under Section 382. Such transactions may include the exercise of warrants issued in connection with the CARES Act programs, the issuance of UAL common stock upon the conversion of any convertible debt that UAL may issue in the future, the repurchase of any debt with UAL common stock, any issuance of UAL common stock for cash, and the acquisition or disposition of any stock by a stockholder owning 5%
or more of the outstanding shares of UAL common stock, or a combination of the foregoing. If we were to experience an "ownership change," it is possible that the Company's NOLs and certain other tax attribute carryforwards could expire before we would be able to use them to offset future income tax obligations.
On December 4, 2020, the board of directors of the Company adopted a tax benefits preservation plan (the "Plan") in order to preserve the Company's ability to use its NOLs and certain other tax attributes to reduce potential future income tax obligations. The Plan is designed to reduce the likelihood that the Company experiences an "ownership change" by deterring certain acquisitions of Company securities. There is no assurance, however, that the deterrent mechanism will be effective, and such acquisitions may still occur. In addition, the Plan may adversely affect the marketability of UAL common stock by discouraging existing or potential investors from acquiring UAL common stock or additional shares of UAL common stock because any non-exempt third party that acquires 4.9% or more of the then-outstanding shares of UAL common stock would suffer substantial dilution of its ownership interest in the Company.
Risks Relating to Legal and Regulatory Compliance
The airline industry is subject to extensive government regulation, which imposes significant costs and may adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
Airlines are subject to extensive regulatory and legal oversight. Compliance with U.S. and international regulations imposes significant costs and may have adverse effects on the Company. Laws, regulations, taxes and airport rates and charges, both domestically and internationally, have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce airline revenue. The airline industry is heavily taxed and additional taxation could negatively impact our business.
United provides air transportation under certificates of public convenience and necessity issued by the DOT. If the DOT altered, amended, modified, suspended or revoked these certificates, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business. The DOT also regulates consumer protection and, through its investigations or rulemaking authority, could impose restrictions that materially impact the Company's business. The FAA regulates the safety of United's operations. United operates pursuant to an air carrier operating certificate issued by the FAA. The FAA's regulations include stringent pilot flight and duty time requirements under Part 117 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, as well as minimum qualifications for air carrier first officers. From time to time, the FAA also issues orders, airworthiness directives and other regulations relating to the maintenance and operation of aircraft that require material expenditures or operational restrictions by the Company. These FAA orders and directives have resulted in the temporary grounding of an entire aircraft type if the FAA identifies design, manufacturing, maintenance or other issues requiring immediate corrective action (including the FAA Order grounding Boeing 737 MAX aircraft). These FAA directives or requirements could have a material adverse effect on the Company.
In 2018, the U.S. Congress approved a five-year reauthorization for the FAA, which encompasses significant aviation tax and policy-related issues. The law includes a range of policy changes related to airline customer service and aviation safety. Implementation of some items continues into the new Administration and, depending on how they are implemented, could impact our operations and costs. U.S. Congressional action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has provided funding for U.S. airlines, in both grants and loans. The U.S. Congress has imposed limited conditions on airlines accepting funding, including workforce retention and minimum service requirements. With the change in control of the U.S. Congress and a new presidential administration, any future funding or other pandemic relief could include additional requirements that could impact our operations and costs. Additionally, the U.S. Congress may consider legislation related to environmental issues or increases to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate, which could impact the Company and the airline industry.
The Company's operations may also be adversely impacted due to the existing antiquated ATC system utilized by the U.S. government and regulated by the FAA. During peak travel periods in certain markets, the current ATC system's inability to handle demand has led to short-term capacity constraints imposed by government agencies and resulted in delays and disruptions of air traffic. In addition, the current system will not be able to effectively handle projected future air traffic growth. The outdated technologies also cause the ATC to be less resilient in the event of a failure, causing flight cancellations and delays. Imposition of these ATC constraints on a long-term basis may have a material adverse effect on the Company's operations. Failure to update the ATC system in a timely manner and the substantial funding requirements of a modernized ATC system that may be imposed on air carriers may have an adverse impact on the Company's financial condition or operating results.
Access to landing and take-off rights, or "slots," at several major U.S. airports and many foreign airports served by the Company are, or recently have been, subject to government regulation. Certain of the Company's major hubs are among the most congested airports in the United States and have been or could be the subject of regulatory action that might limit the number of flights and/or increase costs of operations at certain times or throughout the day. The DOT (including FAA) may limit the Company's airport access by limiting the number of departure and arrival slots at high density traffic airports, which
could affect the Company's ownership and transfer rights, and local airport authorities may have the ability to control access to certain facilities or the cost of access to their facilities, which could have an adverse effect on the Company's business. The DOT historically has taken actions with respect to airlines' slot holdings that airlines have challenged; if the DOT were to take actions that adversely affect the Company's slot holdings, the Company could incur substantial costs to preserve its slots or may lose slots. If slots are eliminated at an airport, or if the number of hours of operation governed by slots is reduced at an airport, the lack of controls on take-offs and landings could result in greater congestion both at the affected airport or in the regional airspace (e.g., the New York City metropolitan region airspace) and could significantly impact the Company's operations. In addition, as airports around the world become more congested, space, facility, and infrastructure constraints may prevent the Company from maintaining existing service and/or implementing new service in a commercially viable manner. Further, the Company's operating costs at airports, including the Company's major hubs, may increase significantly because of capital improvements at such airports that the Company may be required to fund, directly or indirectly. Such costs could be imposed by the relevant airport authority without the Company's approval and may have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition. Because of airport infrastructure updates and other factors, the Company has experienced increased space rental rates at various airports in its network. Further, the Company cannot control decisions by other airlines to reduce their capacity. When this occurs, certain fixed airport costs are allocated among fewer total flights, which can result in increased landing fees and other costs for the Company. In light of constraints on existing facilities, there is presently a significant amount of capital spending underway at major airports in the United States, including large projects underway at a number of airports where we have significant operations, such as Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). This spending is expected to result in increased costs to airlines and the traveling public that use those facilities as the airports seek to recover their investments through increased rental, landing and other facility costs. In some circumstances, such costs could be imposed by the relevant airport authority without our approval. Accordingly, our operating costs are expected to increase significantly at many airports at which we operate, including a number of our hubs and gateways, as a result of capital spending projects currently underway and additional projects that we expect to commence over the next several years.
The ability of carriers to operate flights on international routes between the United States and other countries is highly regulated. Applicable arrangements between the United States and foreign governments may be amended from time to time, government policies with respect to airport operations may be revised, and the availability of appropriate slots or facilities may change. The Company currently operates a number of flights on international routes under government arrangements, regulations or policies that designate the number of carriers permitted to operate on such routes, the capacity of the carriers providing services on such routes, the airports at which carriers may operate international flights, or the number of carriers allowed access to particular airports. In addition, the pandemic has resulted in, and created the potential for, increased regulatory burdens in the U.S. and around the globe. These include but are not limited to closure of international borders to flights and/or passengers from specific countries, passenger and crew quarantine requirements, and other regulations promulgated to protect public health but that have a negative impact on travel and airline operations. Any limitations, additions or modifications to such arrangements, regulations or policies could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and operating results. Additionally, a change in law, regulation or policy for any of the Company's international routes, such as Open Skies, could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial condition and operating results and could result in the impairment of material amounts of related tangible and intangible assets. In addition, competition from revenue-sharing JBAs and other alliance arrangements by and among other airlines could impair the value of the Company's business and assets on the Open Skies routes. The Company's plans to enter into or expand U.S. antitrust immunized alliances and JBAs on various international routes are subject to receipt of approvals from applicable U.S. federal authorities and obtaining other applicable foreign government clearances or satisfying the necessary applicable regulatory requirements. There can be no assurance that such approvals and clearances will be granted or will continue in effect upon further regulatory review or that changes in regulatory requirements or standards can be satisfied.
See Part I, Item 1. Business-Industry Regulation, of this report for additional information on government regulation impacting the Company.
We are subject to many forms of environmental regulation and liability and risks associated with climate change, and may incur substantial costs as a result.
Many aspects of the Company's operations are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and international laws protecting the environment, including those relating to emissions to the air, water discharges, safe drinking water, the use and management of hazardous materials and wastes, and noise emissions. Compliance with existing and future environmental laws and regulations can require significant expenditures and violations can lead to significant fines and penalties. In addition, from time to time we are identified as a responsible party for environmental investigation and remediation costs under applicable environmental laws due to the disposal of hazardous substances generated by our operations. We could also be subject to environmental liability claims from various parties, including airport authorities, related to our operations at our owned or leased premises or the off-site disposal of waste generated at our facilities.
We may incur substantial costs as a result of changes in weather patterns due to climate change. Increases in the frequency, severity or duration of severe weather events such as thunderstorms, hurricanes, flooding, typhoons, tornados and other severe weather events could result in increases in delays and cancellations, turbulence-related injuries and fuel consumption to avoid such weather, any of which could result in significant loss of revenue and higher costs. In addition, we could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and supply chain and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the effects of climate change. We are not able to predict accurately the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the effects of climate change.
To mitigate climate change risks, CORSIA has been developed by ICAO, a UN specialized agency. CORSIA is intended to create a single global market-based measure to achieve carbon-neutral growth for international aviation after 2020 through airline purchases of carbon offset credits. The voluntary pilot and first phases of the program are expected to run from 2021 through 2023, and 2024 through 2026, respectively, with airlines having until January 2025 to cancel eligible emissions units to comply with their total offsetting requirements for the pilot phase. Certain CORSIA program aspects could potentially be affected by the results of the pilot phase of the program, and thus the impact of CORSIA cannot be fully predicted. However, CORSIA is expected to result in increased operating costs for airlines that operate internationally, including the Company.
In addition to CORSIA, in December 2020 the EPA adopted its own aircraft and aircraft engine GHG emissions standards, which are aligned with the 2017 ICAO airplane carbon dioxide emission standards. Other jurisdictions in which United operates have adopted or are considering GHG emissions reduction initiatives, which could impact various aspects of the Company's business. While the Company has voluntarily pledged to reduce 100% of our GHG emissions by 2050, the precise nature of future requirements and their applicability to the Company are difficult to predict, and the financial impact to the Company and the aviation industry would likely be adverse and could be significant if they vary significantly from the Company's own plans and strategy with respect to reducing GHG emissions.
See Part I, Item 1. Business-Industry Regulation-Environmental Regulation, of this report for additional information on environmental regulation impacting the Company.
Continued restrictions on the use of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, and the inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into our fleet as planned, may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
On March 13, 2019, the FAA issued an emergency order prohibiting the operation of Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft by U.S. certificated operators (the "FAA Order"). As a result, the Company grounded all 14 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet, and Boeing also suspended deliveries of new Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft. On November 18, 2020, the FAA announced that it had rescinded the FAA Order and cleared the 737 MAX aircraft to fly again after a 20-month review and certification process. While several countries, following the FAA's lead, have lifted the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, other countries have delayed their expected approval of the aircraft until later in 2021. There are also many countries, such as China, that have no current plans to lift the aircraft's grounding and may not do so in the foreseeable future.
In 2019, the grounding affected the delivery of 16 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that were scheduled for delivery in 2019 and were not delivered, and it also affected the timing of future Boeing 737 MAX aircraft deliveries, including the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft of which the Company planned to take delivery in 2020. The extent of the delay of future deliveries is expected to be impacted by Boeing's production rate and the pace at which Boeing can deliver aircraft, among other factors, and these factors have been and could continue to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If, for any reason, we are unable to accept deliveries of new aircraft or integrate such new aircraft into our fleet as planned, we may face higher financing and operating costs than planned, or be required to seek extensions of the terms for certain leased aircraft or otherwise delay the exit of other aircraft from our fleet. Such unanticipated extensions or delays may require us to operate existing aircraft beyond the point at which it is economically optimal to retire them, resulting in increased maintenance costs, or reductions to our schedule, thereby reducing revenues.
In response to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, the Company made adjustments to its flight schedule and operations, including substituting replacement aircraft on routes originally intended to be flown by Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. In 2019 and early 2020, the grounding impacted the Company's ability to implement its strategic growth strategy, reducing the Company's scheduled capacity from its planned capacity, and resulted in increased costs as well as lower operating revenue. Continued restrictions on the use of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in other countries could impact the aircraft's optimal use in our network. Furthermore, in 2021, like 2020, demand has been, and is expected to continue to be, significantly impacted by COVID-19, which, in addition to the previous grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, has materially disrupted the timely execution of our plans to add capacity in 2021. The Company had discussions with Boeing regarding compensation from Boeing for the Company's financial damages related to the grounding of the airline's Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, and in March 2020, the Company entered into a confidential settlement with Boeing with respect to compensation for financial damages incurred in 2019. The settlement agreement was amended and restated in June 2020 to provide for the settlement of additional
items related to aircraft delivery and to update the scheduled delivery for substantially all undelivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness
The Company has a significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations and may seek material amounts of additional financial liquidity in the short-term, and insufficient liquidity may have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and business.
The Company has a significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations, including aircraft lease and debt financings, leases of airport property, secured loan facilities and other facilities, and other material cash obligations. In addition, the Company has substantial noncancelable commitments for capital expenditures, including for the acquisition of new and used aircraft and related spare engines.
In addition, in response to the travel restrictions and advisories, decreased demand and other effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had and is expected to have on the Company's business, the Company may continue to seek material amounts of additional financial liquidity in the short-term, which may include additional drawings of loans under the Loan Program of the CARES Act, the issuance of additional unsecured or secured debt securities, equity securities and equity-linked securities, the sale of assets as well as additional bilateral and syndicated secured and/or unsecured credit facilities, among other items.
There can be no assurance as to the timing of any such incurrence or issuance, which may be in the near term, or that any such additional financing will be completed on favorable terms, or at all. As of December 31, 2020, we had total long-term debt of $26.7 billion, approximately $7.0 billion available for borrowing under the Loan Program under the CARES Act and $1.0 billion available for borrowing under our revolving credit facility.
The Company's substantial level of indebtedness, the Company's non-investment grade credit ratings and the availability of Company assets as collateral for loans or other indebtedness, which available collateral has been reduced as a result of CARES Act Loan Program borrowings, may make it difficult for the Company to raise additional capital if needed to meet its liquidity needs on acceptable terms, or at all.
Although the Company's cash flows from operations and its available capital, including the proceeds from financing transactions, have been sufficient to meet its obligations and commitments to date, the Company's liquidity has been, and may in the future be, negatively affected by the risk factors discussed elsewhere in this Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, including risks related to future results arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. If the Company's liquidity is materially diminished, the Company's cash flow available for general corporate purposes may be materially and adversely affected. In particular, with respect to the $6.8 billion of senior secured notes and a secured term loan facility (the "MileagePlus Financing") secured by substantially all of the assets of Mileage Plus Holdings, LLC, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of United ("MPH"), and Mileage Plus Intellectual Property Assets, Ltd., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MPH ("MIPA"), the cash flows generated by the MileagePlus business are required to first satisfy interest and principal due thereunder. Therefore, the cash generated by the MileagePlus program is not fully available for our operations or to satisfy our other indebtedness obligations for the seven-year term of the MileagePlus Financing debt. This limitation on our cash flows could have a material adverse effect on our operations and flexibility.
A material reduction in the Company's liquidity could also result in the Company not being able to timely pay its leases and debts or comply with material provisions of its contractual obligations, including covenants under its financing and credit card processing agreements. Moreover, as a result of the Company's financing activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of financings with respect to which such covenants and provisions apply has increased, thereby subjecting the Company to more substantial risk of default, cross-default and cross-acceleration in the event of breach, and additional covenants and provisions could become binding on the Company as it continues to seek additional liquidity. In addition, several of the Company's debt agreements contain covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness. The Company has agreements with financial institutions that process customer credit card transactions for the sale of air travel and other services. Under certain of the Company's credit card processing agreements, the financial institutions in certain circumstances have the right to require that the Company maintain a reserve equal to a portion (or potentially all) of advance ticket sales that have been processed by that financial institution, but for which the Company has not yet provided the air transportation. Such financial institutions may require cash or other collateral reserves to be established or withholding of payments related to receivables to be collected, including if the Company does not maintain certain minimum levels of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. In light of the effect COVID-19 is having on demand and, in turn, capacity, the Company has seen an increase in demand from consumers for refunds on their tickets, and we anticipate some level of increased demand for refunds on tickets will continue to be the case for the near future. Refunds lower our liquidity and put us at risk of triggering liquidity covenants in these processing agreements and, in doing so, could force us to post cash collateral with the credit card companies for advance ticket sales. The Company
also maintains certain insurance- and surety-related agreements under which counterparties have required, and may require, additional collateral.
In addition to the foregoing, the degree to which we are leveraged could have important consequences to holders of our securities, including the following:
•we must dedicate a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on applicable indebtedness, which, in turn, reduces funds available for operations and capital expenditures;
•our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the markets in which we compete may be limited;
•we may be at a competitive disadvantage relative to our competitors with less indebtedness;
•we are rendered more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
•we are exposed to increased interest rate risk given that a portion of our indebtedness obligations are at variable interest rates; and
•our credit ratings may be reduced and our debt and equity securities may significantly decrease in value.
Finally, as of December 31, 2020, the Company had $9.5 billion in variable rate indebtedness, all or a portion of which uses London interbank offered rates ("LIBOR") as a benchmark for establishing applicable rates. As most recently announced in November 30, 2020, LIBOR is expected to be phased out starting on January 1, 2022 for the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings and starting on July 1, 2023 for the remaining USD LIBOR settings. Although many of our LIBOR-based obligations provide for alternative methods of calculating the interest rate payable if LIBOR is not reported, the extent and manner of any future changes with respect to methods of calculating LIBOR or replacing LIBOR with another benchmark are unknown and impossible to predict at this time and, as such, may result in interest rates that are materially higher than current interest rates. If interest rates applicable to the Company's variable interest indebtedness increase, the Company's interest expense will also increase, which could make it difficult for the Company to make interest payments and fund other fixed costs and, in turn, adversely impact our cash flow available for general corporate purposes.
See Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of this report for additional information regarding the Company's liquidity as of December 31, 2020.
If we are not able to comply with the covenants in the MileagePlus Financing agreements, our lenders could accelerate the MileagePlus indebtedness, foreclose upon the collateral securing the MileagePlus indebtedness or exercise other remedies, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The covenants in the agreements governing the MileagePlus Financing contain a number of provisions that limit our ability to modify aspects of the MileagePlus program if such modifications would be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the MileagePlus program or on our ability to pay the obligations under the MileagePlus Financing agreements. Moreover, the terms of such agreements also place certain restrictions on our establishing or owning another mileage or loyalty program and our ability to make material modifications to our agreements with certain MileagePlus partners. Furthermore, the MileagePlus Financing may also negatively affect certain material business relationships, and if any such relationship were to be materially impaired and/or terminated, we could experience a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The agreements governing the MileagePlus Financing restrict our ability to terminate or modify the intercompany agreements governing the relationship between United and the MileagePlus program, including the agreement governing the rate that United must pay MPH for the purchase of miles and United's obligation to make certain seat inventory available to MPH for redemption. Such restrictions are in addition to restrictions on the ability of the obligors under the MileagePlus indebtedness to make restricted payments, incur additional indebtedness, dispose of, create or incur certain liens on, or transfer or convey, the collateral securing the MileagePlus indebtedness, enter into certain transactions with affiliates, merge, consolidate, or sell assets, or designate certain subsidiaries as unrestricted. Complying with these covenants may restrict our ability to make material changes to the operation of the MPH business and may limit our ability to take advantage of business opportunities that may be in our long-term interest. We may also take actions, or omit to take actions, to comply with such covenants that could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Our failure to comply with any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default under the agreements governing the MileagePlus Financing, which could lead to an acceleration of the debt under such instruments and, in some cases, the acceleration of debt under other instruments that contain cross-default or cross-acceleration provisions, each of which could have a material adverse effect on us. In the case of an event of default under the agreements governing the MileagePlus Financing agreements, or a cross-default or cross-acceleration under our other indebtedness, we may not have sufficient funds available to make the required payments. If we are unable to repay amounts owed under the agreements governing the
MileagePlus Financing, the lenders or noteholders thereunder may choose to exercise their remedies in respect of the collateral securing such indebtedness, including foreclosing upon the MileagePlus collateral, in which case we would lose the right to operate the MileagePlus program thereafter. The exercise of such remedies, especially the loss of the MileagePlus program, would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In connection with the MileagePlus Financing, we were required to contribute certain assets, including certain MileagePlus intellectual property, including brands and member data, to Mileage Plus Intellectual Property Assets, Ltd., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MPH structured to be bankruptcy remote that serves as a co-issuer of the MileagePlus Financing indebtedness, the assets of which subsidiary are collateral for such indebtedness. United and MPH will have the right to use the contributed intellectual property pursuant to a license agreement with MIPA. Such license agreement will be terminated, and our right to use such intellectual property will cease, upon specified termination events, including, but not limited to, our failure to assume the license agreement and various related intercompany agreements in a restructuring process. The termination of the license agreement would be an event of default under the agreements governing the MileagePlus Financing and in certain circumstances would trigger a liquidated damages payment in an amount that is several multiples of the principal amount of the MileagePlus Financing debt. Thus, the terms of the MileagePlus Financing limit our flexibility to manage our capital structure going forward, and as a result, in the future we may take actions to ensure that the MileagePlus Financing debt is satisfied or that the lenders' remedies under such debt are not exercised, potentially to the detriment of our other creditors.
Agreements governing our other debt include financial and other covenants. Failure to comply with these covenants could result in events of default.
In addition to the covenants in the MileagePlus Financing agreements discussed above, our other financing agreements include various financial and other covenants. Certain of these covenants require UAL or United, as applicable, to maintain minimum liquidity and/or minimum collateral coverage ratios. UAL's or United's ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond its control, including the overall industry revenue environment, the level of fuel costs and the appraised value of the collateral. In addition, our financing agreements contain other negative covenants customary for such financings. These covenants are subject to important exceptions and qualifications. If we fail to comply with these covenants and are unable to remedy or obtain a waiver or amendment, an event of default would result.
If an event of default were to occur, the lenders could, among other things, declare outstanding amounts immediately due and payable. In addition, an event of default or declaration of acceleration under one financing agreement could also result in an event of default under other of our financing agreements due to cross-default and cross-acceleration provisions. The acceleration of significant amounts of debt could require us to renegotiate, repay or refinance the obligations under our financing arrangements.
General Risk Factors
If we experience changes in, or are unable to retain, our senior management team or other key employees, our operating results could be adversely affected.
Much of our future success depends on the continued availability of skilled personnel with industry experience and knowledge, including our senior management team and other key employees. If we are unable to attract and retain talented, highly qualified senior management and other key employees, or if we are unable to effectively provide for the succession of senior management, our business may be adversely affected.
Current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or arrangement relating to these actions, could have a material adverse impact on the Company.
From time to time, we are subject to litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings relating to our business or investigations or other actions by governmental agencies, including as described in Part I, Item 3, Legal Proceedings, of this report. No assurances can be given that the results of these or new matters will be favorable to us. An adverse resolution of lawsuits, arbitrations, investigations or other proceedings or actions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results, including as a result of non-monetary remedies, and could also result in adverse publicity. Defending ourselves in these matters may be time-consuming, expensive and disruptive to normal business operations and may result in significant expense and a diversion of management's time and attention from the operation of our business, which could impede our ability to achieve our business objectives. Additionally, any amount that we may be required to pay to satisfy a judgment, settlement, fine or penalty may not be covered by insurance. If we fail to comply with the terms contained in any settlement, order or agreement with a governmental authority relating to these matters, we could be subject to criminal or civil penalties, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company. Under our charter and certain indemnification agreements that we have entered into (and may in the future enter into) with our officers, directors and certain third parties, we
could be required to indemnify and advance expenses to them in connection with their involvement in certain actions, suits, investigations and other proceedings. There can be no assurance that any of these payments will not be material.
Increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage may materially and adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
The Company could be exposed to significant liability or loss if its property or operations were to be affected by a natural catastrophe or other event, including aircraft accidents. The Company maintains insurance policies, including, but not limited to, terrorism, aviation hull and liability, workers' compensation and property and business interruption insurance, but we are not fully insured against all potential hazards and risks incident to our business. If the Company is unable to obtain sufficient insurance with acceptable terms, the costs of such insurance increase materially, or if the coverage obtained is unable to pay or is insufficient relative to actual liability or losses that the Company experiences, whether due to insurance market conditions, policy limitations and exclusions or otherwise, our operations, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
Fleet. As of December 31, 2020, United's mainline and regional fleets consisted of the following:
Aircraft Type Total Owned Leased Seats in Standard Configuration Average Age
(In Years)
Mainline:
777-300ER 22 22 - 350 3.0
777-200ER 55 52 3 267-276 20.8
777-200 19 19 - 364 23.5
787-10 13 13 - 318 1.6
787-9 35 28 7 252 3.6
787-8 12 12 - 219 7.5
767-400ER 16 14 2 240 19.3
767-300ER 38 30 8 167-214 24.9
757-300 21 9 12 234 18.3
757-200 40 35 5 142-176 23.9
737 MAX 9 22 14 8 179 1.5
737-900ER 136 136 - 179 8.0
737-900 12 8 4 179 19.3
737-800 141 97 44 166 16.8
737-700 49 37 12 126 20.7
A320-200 96 78 18 150 22.3
A319-100 85 56 29 126-128 18.9
Total mainline 812 660 152 16.0
In addition to the aircraft presented in the table above, United owned or leased, as of December 31, 2020, eleven Boeing 757-200s, three Airbus A319s, three Airbus A320s and one Boeing 767-200 that are not used in its operations.
Aircraft Type Total Owned Owned or Leased by Regional Carrier Regional Carrier Operator and Number of Aircraft Seats in Standard Configuration
Regional:
Embraer E175/E175LL 190 91 99 SkyWest:
Mesa:
Republic: 90
28 70 (a)
Embraer 170 38 - 38 Republic: 38 70
CRJ700 27 - 27 Mesa:
SkyWest: 8
19 70
CRJ550 38 - 38 GoJet: 38 50
CRJ200 133 - 133 SkyWest:
Air Wisconsin: 70
63 50
Embraer ERJ 145 (XR/LR) 49 49 - CommutAir: 49 50
Total regional 475 140 335
(a) In 2020, the Company temporarily modified all 76-seat aircraft to have a 70-seat configuration as agreed upon in the Pandemic Recovery Agreement between the Company and its pilots.
In addition to the aircraft presented in the table above, United owned or leased the following regional aircraft as of December 31, 2020:
•Four Embraer E175LLs, which were delivered but not yet in service;
•119 Embraer ERJ 145s currently in storage with several aircraft scheduled to be inducted into CommutAir's fleet throughout 2021 and 2022; and
•12 CRJ700s that are being transitioned between CPAs and for which United continues to make monthly payments.
Firm Order and Option Aircraft. As of December 31, 2020 (adjusted to include the effects of the February 26, 2021 agreement with Boeing discussed below), United had firm commitments and options to purchase new aircraft from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer as presented in the table below:
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Aircraft Type Number of Firm
Commitments (a) 2021 2022 After 2022
Airbus A321XLR 50 - - 50
Airbus A350 45 - - 45
Boeing 737 MAX 188 21 40 127
Boeing 787 11 11 - -
Embraer E175 4 4 - -
(a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft.
On February 26, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with The Boeing Company ("Boeing") for a firm order of 25 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for delivery in 2023, and to reschedule the delivery of 40 previously ordered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to 2022 and 5 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into 2023.
The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery through 2030. To the extent the Company and the aircraft manufacturers with which the Company has existing orders for new aircraft agree to modify the contracts governing those orders, the amount and timing of the Company's future capital commitments could change. United also has an agreement to purchase 11 used Boeing 737-700 aircraft with expected delivery dates in 2021. In addition, United has an agreement to purchase 17 used Airbus A319 aircraft, which it intends to sell, with expected delivery dates in 2021 and 2022.
See Notes 10 and 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
Facilities. United leases gates, hangar sites, terminal buildings and other airport facilities in the municipalities it serves. United has major terminal facility leases at SFO, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare, LAX, Denver, Newark, Houston Bush and Guam with expiration dates ranging from 2021 through 2053. Substantially all of these facilities are leased on a net-rental basis, resulting in the Company's responsibility for maintenance, insurance and other facility-related expenses and services.
United also maintains administrative, catering, cargo, training, maintenance and other facilities to support its operations in the cities it serves. In addition, United has multiple leases, which expire from 2030 through 2033, for its principal executive office and operations center in downtown Chicago and administrative offices in downtown Houston.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
On June 30, 2015, UAL received a Civil Investigative Demand ("CID") from the Antitrust Division of the DOJ seeking documents and information from the Company in connection with a DOJ investigation related to statements and decisions about airline capacity. The Company has completed its response to the CID. The Company is not able to predict what action, if any, might be taken in the future by the DOJ or other governmental authorities as a result of the investigation. Beginning on July 1, 2015, subsequent to the announcement of the CID, UAL and United were named as defendants in multiple class action lawsuits that asserted claims under the Sherman Antitrust Act, which have been consolidated in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaints generally allege collusion among U.S. airlines on capacity impacting airfares and seek treble damages. The Company intends to vigorously defend against the class action lawsuits.
On October 13, 2015, United received a CID from the Civil Division of the DOJ. The CID requested documents and oral testimony from United in connection with an industry-wide DOJ investigation related to delivery scan and other data purportedly required for payment for the carriage of mail under United's International Commercial Air Contracts with the U.S. Postal Service. The Company has been responding to the DOJ's request and cooperating in the investigation since that time. On November 8, 2016, the DOJ Criminal Division met with representatives from the Company and advised they are conducting an industry-wide investigation into the same matter. In February 2021, United entered into a settlement with the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the DOJ, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay $49.5 million. In conjunction with these settlements, United entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division of the DOJ.
Other Legal Proceedings. The Company is involved in various other claims and legal actions involving passengers, customers, suppliers, employees and government agencies arising in the ordinary course of business. Additionally, from time to time, the Company becomes aware of potential non-compliance with applicable environmental regulations, which have either been identified by the Company (through internal compliance programs such as its environmental compliance audits) or through notice from a governmental entity. In some instances, these matters could potentially become the subject of an administrative or judicial proceeding and could potentially involve monetary sanctions. After considering a number of factors, including (but not limited to) the views of legal counsel, the nature of contingencies to which the Company is subject and prior experience, management believes that the ultimate disposition of these other claims and legal actions will not materially affect its consolidated financial position or results of operations. However, the ultimate resolutions of these matters are inherently unpredictable. As such, the Company's financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected in any particular period by the unfavorable resolution of one or more of these matters.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
UAL's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market ("Nasdaq") under the symbol "UAL." As of February 24, 2021, there were 5,989 holders of record of UAL common stock.
The following graph shows the cumulative total stockholder return for UAL's common stock during the period from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2020. The graph also shows the cumulative returns of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index ("SPX") and the NYSE Arca Airline Index ("XAL") of 15 investor-owned airlines over the same five-year period. The comparison assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2015 in each of UAL common stock, the SPX and the XAL.
Note: The stock price performance shown in the graph above should not be considered indicative of potential future stock price performance. The foregoing performance graph is being furnished as part of this report solely in accordance with the requirement under Rule 14a-3(b)(9) to furnish our stockholders with such information, and therefore, shall not be deemed to be filed or incorporated by reference into any filings by the Company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
The following table presents repurchases of UAL common stock made in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020:
Period Total number of
shares purchased Average price paid
per share Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs (a) Maximum number of shares (or approximate dollar value) of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs
October 2020 - $ - - $ -
November 2020 - - - -
December 2020 - - - -
Total - -
(a) On April 24, 2020, UAL's Board of Directors terminated its share repurchase program. Under the Payroll Support Program agreements and Loan Program, the Company and its business are subject to certain restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the ability to repurchase UAL's equity securities through September 26, 2026 (or such earlier date that is one year after repayment in full of the Term Loan Facility).

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
UAL's consolidated financial statements and statistical data are provided in the tables below:
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Income Statement Data (in millions, except per share amounts):
Operating revenue $ 15,355 $ 43,259 $ 41,303 $ 37,784 $ 36,558
Operating expense 21,714 38,958 38,074 34,166 32,214
Operating income (loss) (6,359) 4,301 3,229 3,618 4,344
Net income (loss) (7,069) 3,009 2,122 2,143 2,234
Basic earnings (loss) per share (25.30) 11.63 7.70 7.08 6.77
Diluted earnings (loss) per share (25.30) 11.58 7.67 7.06 6.76
Balance Sheet Data at December 31 (in millions):
Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments $ 11,683 $ 4,944 $ 3,950 $ 3,798 $ 4,428
Total assets 59,548 52,611 49,024 47,469 40,208
Debt and finance lease obligations 27,153 14,818 13,792 13,576 11,705
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Select operating statistics (a)
Passengers (thousands) (b)
57,761 162,443 158,330 148,067 143,177
Revenue passenger miles ("RPMs") (millions) (c)
73,883 239,360 230,155 216,261 210,309
Available seat miles ("ASMs") (millions) (d)
122,804 284,999 275,262 262,386 253,590
Cargo revenue ton miles (millions) (e)
2,711 3,329 3,425 3,316 2,805
Passenger load factor (f)
60.2% 84.0% 83.6% 82.4% 82.9%
Passenger revenue per available seat mile ("PRASM") (cents) 9.61 13.90 13.70 13.13 13.18
Total revenue per available seat mile ("TRASM") (cents) 12.50 15.18 15.00 14.40 14.42
Average yield per revenue passenger mile ("Yield") (cents) (g)
15.98 16.55 16.38 15.93 15.90
Cost per available seat mile ("CASM") (cents) 17.68 13.67 13.83 13.02 12.70
Average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes $ 1.57 $ 2.09 $ 2.25 $ 1.74 $ 1.49
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) 2,004 4,292 4,137 3,978 3,904
Average stage length (miles) (h)
1,307 1,460 1,446 1,460 1,473
Employee headcount, as of December 31 (thousands) 74.4 95.9 91.7 89.8 87.8
(a) Includes data from our regional carriers operating under CPAs unless otherwise noted.
(b) The number of revenue passengers measured by each flight segment flown.
(c) The number of scheduled miles flown by revenue passengers.
(d) The number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of scheduled miles those seats are flown.
(e) The number of cargo revenue tons transported multiplied by the number of miles flown.
(f) RPM divided by ASM.
(g) The average passenger revenue received for each revenue passenger mile flown.
(h) Average stage length equals the average distance a flight travels weighted for size of aircraft.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
Overview
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. United's operating revenues and operating expenses comprise nearly 100% of UAL's revenues and operating expenses. In addition, United comprises approximately the entire balance of UAL's assets, liabilities and operating cash flows. When appropriate, UAL and United are named specifically for their individual contractual obligations and related disclosures and any significant differences between the operations and results of UAL and United are separately disclosed and explained. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.
Impact of COVID-19 and Outlook
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, together with the measures implemented or recommended by governmental authorities and private organizations in response to the pandemic, has had an adverse impact that has been material to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity. The Company began experiencing a significant decline in international and domestic demand related to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020. The decline in demand caused a material deterioration in our revenues in 2020, resulting in a net loss of $7.1 billion. The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including those outside our control related to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty.
In response to decreased demand, the Company cut, relative to 2019 capacity, approximately 57% of its scheduled capacity for 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company expects scheduled capacity to be down at least 51% versus the first quarter of 2019. The Company plans to continue to proactively evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 60-day basis until it sees signs of a recovery in demand and expects demand to remain suppressed, relative to 2019 levels, until vaccines for COVID-19 are widely distributed and are effective in curbing the spread of the virus. In addition, the Company does not currently expect the recovery from COVID-19 to follow a linear path. As such, the Company's actual flown capacity may differ materially from its currently scheduled capacity.
The Company has taken a number of actions in response to the decreased demand for air travel. In addition to the schedule reductions discussed above, the Company has:
•reduced its planned capital expenditures and reduced operating expenditures in 2020 (including by postponing projects deemed non-critical to the Company's operations);
•terminated its share repurchase program;
•issued or entered into approximately $13.4 billion in new secured notes, secured term loan facilities and new aircraft financings in 2020, including short term borrowings that were paid in 2020;
•borrowed $1.0 billion under the $2.0 billion revolving credit facility established under the Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Credit Agreement");
•availed itself of financial assistance and/or financing made available by the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury"), as further described below;
•raised approximately $2.1 billion in cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock in 2020;
•entered into agreements to finance certain aircraft currently subject to purchase agreements through sale and leaseback transactions;
•elected to defer the payment of $199 million in payroll taxes incurred through December 31, 2020, as provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"), until December 2021, at which time 50% is due, with the remaining amount due December 2022; and
•taken a number of actions to reduce employee-related costs, including, among other items, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and President waived 100% of their respective base salaries through the end of 2020, other officers temporarily waived a portion of their base salaries, the Company's non-employee directors waived 100% of their cash
compensation for the second and third quarters of 2020, the Company suspended merit salary increases for 2020 and implemented a temporary four-day work week for management and administrative employees and the Company offered voluntary unpaid leaves of absence. The Company also entered into an agreement with its pilots to distribute fewer flight hours to a larger number of pilots, while also reaching agreements to provide a path to early retirement and reduce expense through voluntary leave of absence programs.
In addition, and as announced in July 2020, the Company started the involuntary furlough process by issuing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification ("WARN") Act notices to 36,000 of its employees. Since then, the Company worked to reduce the total number of furloughs to approximately 13,000 employees by working closely with its union partners, introducing new voluntary options selected by approximately 9,000 employees and proposing creative solutions that would save jobs. As a result of the Company's entry into the PSP2 Agreement, as described below, the Company issued recall notices to these furloughed employees and others impacted by furlough mitigation programs. See the discussion below for more detail about the PSP2 Agreement and the recall process.
The Company continues to focus on reducing expenses and managing its liquidity. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.
On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed the CARES Act into law. The CARES Act is intended to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses. The CARES Act also provides supplemental appropriations for federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 20, 2020, United entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement (the "PSP Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $5.1 billion pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under the CARES Act. These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees. Approximately $3.6 billion of the $5.1 billion was provided as a direct grant, and approximately $1.5 billion consists of indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note issued by UAL to Treasury (the "PSP Note"). See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information related to warrants issued in connection with the PSP Note and Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP Note.
During 2020, UAL and United entered into a loan and guarantee agreement with Treasury. The agreement provides for a term loan facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion (the "CARES Act Term Loan Facility") pursuant to the loan program established under Section 4003(b)(1) of the CARES Act (the "Loan Program"). The loans (the "CARES Act Term Loans") may be disbursed in up to three disbursements on or before May 28, 2021. On September 28, 2020, United borrowed, and recorded as Long-term debt on the Company's consolidated balance sheet, $520 million under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility, the proceeds of which were used to pay certain transaction fees and expenses and for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company. See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion on warrants issued in connection with the CARES Act Term Loans and Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the CARES Act Term Loans.
Under the PSP Agreement and the Loan Program, the Company and its business are subject to certain restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the payment of dividends and the ability to repurchase UAL's equity securities, requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled service and certain limitations on executive compensation.
On January 15, 2021, United entered into a Payroll Support Agreement (the "PSP2 Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $2.6 billion, pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under Subtitle A of Title IV of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the "PSP Extension Law"). These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees, including the payment of lost wages, salaries and benefits to returning employees. Approximately $1.9 billion was provided as a direct grant and approximately $753 million consists of indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note issued by UAL to Treasury (the "PSP2 Note"). As of February 25, 2021, we have received a total of $1.3 billion. See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information on warrants issued in connection with the PSP2 Note and Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP2 Note.
Pursuant to the PSP2 Agreement, the Company is required to comply with certain provisions of the PSP Extension Law, including, among others, the requirement that all funds provided under the Payroll Support Program will be used by United exclusively for the continuation of payment of its U.S. employee wages, salaries and benefits, including the payment of lost wages, salaries and benefits to returning U.S. employees; requirements to maintain U.S. employment levels from the date of the PSP2 Agreement through March 31, 2021; requirements to recall (as such term is defined in the PSP2 Agreement), any U.S. employees subject to involuntary termination or furlough between October 1, 2020 and the date of the PSP2 Agreement,
compensate such returning employees for certain lost salary, wages and benefits between December 1, 2020 and the date of the PSP2 Agreement and restore certain rights and protections for such returning employees; provisions prohibiting certain reductions in U.S. employee wages, salaries and benefits; provisions prohibiting the payment of dividends and the repurchase of certain equity until March 31, 2022; and provisions restricting the payment of certain executive compensation until October 1, 2022.
As a result of the PSP2 Agreement, the Company offered employment, through March 2021, to employees who were impacted by involuntary furloughs. Because the Company cannot predict with certainty whether it will receive further payroll support from the federal government or when demand for air travel will increase in the short term, the Company is preparing for the possibility that these recalled employees might again be furloughed as soon as the end of the first quarter of 2021. The Company may record additional costs associated with these actions in the first quarter of 2021. Also, in order to reduce the number of such furloughs, during the first quarter of 2021, the Company offered voluntary leave and other programs to certain of its frontline employees, the cost of which cannot be estimated at this time.
Results of Operations
The following discussion provides an analysis of our results of operations and reasons for material changes therein for 2020 as compared to 2019. See "Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2020 (the "2019 Annual Report"), for analysis of the 2019 results as compared to 2018.
Operating Revenue. The table below illustrates the year-over-year percentage change in the Company's operating revenues for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes):
2020 2019 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Passenger revenue $ 11,805 $ 39,625 $ (27,820) (70.2)
Cargo 1,648 1,179 469 39.8
Other operating revenue 1,902 2,455 (553) (22.5)
Total operating revenue $ 15,355 $ 43,259 $ (27,904) (64.5)
The table below presents passenger revenue and select operating data of the Company, broken out by geographic region, expressed as year-over-year changes:
Increase (decrease) from 2019:
Domestic Atlantic Pacific Latin
Total
Passenger revenue (in millions) $ (16,717) $ (5,326) $ (3,546) $ (2,231) $ (27,820)
Passenger revenue (67.4) % (77.9) % (79.4) % (63.4) % (70.2) %
Average fare per passenger (11.7) % 0.1 % 3.6 % (7.8) % (16.2) %
Yield (7.0) % (9.0) % 11.5 % (1.9) % (3.4) %
PRASM (31.0) % (44.8) % (27.0) % (24.1) % (30.9) %
Passengers (63.1) % (77.9) % (80.1) % (60.3) % (64.4) %
RPMs (traffic) (64.9) % (75.7) % (81.5) % (62.7) % (69.1) %
ASMs (capacity) (52.8) % (59.9) % (71.8) % (51.8) % (56.9) %
Passenger load factor (points) (22.0) (32.5) (27.9) (19.2) (23.8)
Note: See Part II, Item 6. Selected Financial Data, of this report for the definition of these statistics.
Passenger revenue decreased $27.8 billion, or 70.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the decrease in demand for air travel as a result of the worldwide spread of COVID-19 and the associated shelter-in-place directives and travel restrictions. Earlier in 2020, the Company suspended change fees and effective August 30, 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Also, in December 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on flights from the U.S. to all international destinations and fees on Basic Economy and all other international travel tickets issued by March 31, 2021. The elimination of change fees and waivers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in change fee revenue declining $542 million in 2020 as compared to 2019.
Cargo revenue increased $469 million, or 39.8%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to an increase in cargo-only charter flights with higher yields as a result of increased demand for critical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other operating revenue decreased $553 million, or 22.5%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a decline in mileage revenue from non-airline partners, including the co-branded credit card partner, Chase, and lower revenue from airport lounges due to United Club closures and fewer overall customers utilizing these lounges.
Operating Expense. The table below includes data related to the Company's operating expense for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes):
2020 2019 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Salaries and related costs $ 9,522 $ 12,071 $ (2,549) (21.1)
Aircraft fuel 3,153 8,953 (5,800) (64.8)
Depreciation and amortization 2,488 2,288 200 8.7
Landing fees and other rent 2,127 2,543 (416) (16.4)
Regional capacity purchase 2,039 2,849 (810) (28.4)
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs 858 1,794 (936) (52.2)
Distribution expenses 459 1,651 (1,192) (72.2)
Aircraft rent 198 288 (90) (31.3)
Special charges (credit) (2,616) 246 (2,862) NM
Other operating expenses 3,486 6,275 (2,789) (44.4)
Total operating expenses $ 21,714 $ 38,958 $ (17,244) (44.3)
Salaries and related costs decreased $2.5 billion, or 21.1%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a 22.4% reduction in employees resulting from voluntary separation programs and furloughs caused by COVID-19, $623 million lower profit sharing and other employee incentives due to the impact of COVID-19 on 2020 results and $180 million in tax credits provided by the Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act in 2020.
Aircraft fuel expense decreased $5.8 billion, or 64.8%, in 2020 as compared to 2019. The table below presents the significant changes in aircraft fuel cost per gallon for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes and per gallon data):
2020 2019 %
Change
Fuel expense $ 3,153 $ 8,953 (64.8)
Total fuel consumption (gallons) 2,004 4,292 (53.3)
Average price per gallon $ 1.57 $ 2.09 (24.9)
Depreciation and amortization increased $200 million, or 8.7%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to additions of aircraft, upgrades to aircraft interiors and completion of technology projects.
Landing fees and other rent decreased $416 million, or 16.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to reduced flying. A portion of other rents, especially at airport facilities, is fixed in nature and is not impacted by the reduction in flights.
Regional capacity purchase costs decreased $810 million, or 28.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to reduced regional flying as a result of COVID-19 and reduced rates under certain capacity purchase agreements.
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs decreased $936 million, or 52.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a reduction in airframe checks, engine overhauls, expenses associated with power-by-the-hour engine maintenance contracts and line maintenance due to reduced flying.
Distribution expenses decreased $1.2 billion, or 72.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, as a result of the overall decrease in passenger revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aircraft rent decreased $90 million, or 31.3%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the purchase of leased aircraft.
The table below presents special charges (credit) recorded by the Company during the years ended December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019
CARES Act grant $ (3,536) $ -
Severance and benefit costs 575 16
Impairment of assets 318 171
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges 27 59
Total special charges $ (2,616) $ 246
See Note 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
Other operating expenses decreased $2.8 billion, or 44.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the impacts of COVID-19 on our catering, airport ground handling, navigation fees, technology projects, advertising and crew-related expenses.
Nonoperating Income (Expense). The following table illustrates the year-over-year dollar and percentage changes in the Company's nonoperating income (expense) for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes):
2020 2019 Increase (Decrease) % Change
Interest expense $ (1,063) $ (731) $ 332 45.4
Interest capitalized 71 85 (14) (16.5)
Interest income 50 133 (83) (62.4)
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net (194) 153 (347) NM
Miscellaneous, net (1,327) (27) 1,300 NM
Total nonoperating expense, net $ (2,463) $ (387) $ 2,076 NM
Interest expense increased $332 million, or 45.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the issuance of new debt in 2020 to provide additional liquidity to the Company during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interest income decreased $83 million, or 62.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a decrease in interest rates.
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net decreased $347 million in 2020 as compared to 2019, due to $194 million in losses in 2020 as compared to $153 million in gains in the year-ago period, primarily as a result of a decrease in the market value of the Company's equity investment in Azul and a decrease in the fair value of the Avianca Holdings S.A. ("AVH") share call options, AVH share appreciation rights and AVH share-based upside sharing agreement. See Notes 9 and 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
Miscellaneous, net increased $1.3 billion in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to credit loss allowances associated with the Company's Term Loan Agreement, with, among others, BRW Aviation Holding LLC and BRW Aviation LLC, and related guarantee and settlement losses and special termination benefits related to furloughs and voluntary separation programs under the Company's non-pilot U.S. defined benefit pension plan and postretirement medical programs. See Notes 7, 8, 13 and 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
Income Taxes. See Note 6 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for information related to income taxes.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $11.7 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, an increase of approximately $6.7 billion from December 31, 2019. The Company also had approximately $7.0 billion available for borrowing by United under the Loan Program at any time until May 28, 2021 and $1.0 billion available for borrowing by United under the revolving credit facility of the Credit Agreement at any time until April 1, 2022.
The Company has taken a number of actions in response to the significant decline in international and domestic demand for air travel related to COVID-19, as discussed under "Impact of COVID-19 and Outlook" above.
The Company continues to focus on reducing expenses and managing its liquidity. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.
On April 20, 2020, United entered into the PSP Agreement with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $5.1 billion pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under the CARES Act. These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees.
During 2020, UAL and United entered into a loan and guarantee agreement with Treasury. The agreement provides for a CARES Act Term Loan Facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion pursuant to the Loan Program. The CARES Act Term Loans may be disbursed in up to three disbursements on or before May 28, 2021. On September 28, 2020, United borrowed $520 million under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility, the proceeds of which were used to pay certain transaction fees and expenses and for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company.
On January 15, 2021, United entered into the PSP2 Agreement with Treasury, providing the Company with total funding of approximately $2.6 billion, approximately $1.9 billion as a direct grant and approximately $753 million from the PSP2 Note. See Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP2 Note.
Several of the Company's debt agreements contain covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness and pay dividends on or repurchase stock. As of December 31, 2020, UAL and United were in compliance with their respective debt covenants. In addition, in connection with the PSP Agreement, the PSP2 Agreement and the Loan Program, the Company and its business will be subject to certain restrictions.
We have a significant amount of fixed obligations, including debt and leases of aircraft, airport and other facilities, and pension funding obligations. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $33.9 billion of debt, finance lease, operating lease and sale-leaseback obligations, including $2.7 billion that will become due in the next 12 months. In addition, we have substantial noncancelable commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of certain new aircraft and related spare engines. For 2021, including the impact of the recent Boeing agreement, the Company expects approximately $4.4 billion of gross capital expenditures. See Note 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information on commitments.
Our 2021 liquidity needs will be met through our existing liquidity levels plus additional debt or equity issuances. We must return to profitability and/or access the capital markets to meet our significant long-term debt and finance lease obligations and future commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of aircraft and related spare engines. Financing may be necessary to satisfy the Company's capital commitments for its firm order aircraft and other related capital expenditures. The Company has backstop financing commitments available from certain of its aircraft manufacturers for a limited number of its future aircraft deliveries, subject to certain customary conditions.
See Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information on aircraft financing and other debt instruments.
As of December 31, 2020, a substantial portion of the Company's assets, principally aircraft and certain related assets, its loyalty program, certain route authorities and airport slots, was pledged under various loan and other agreements. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had unencumbered assets, including aircraft, engines and other physical assets, routes, slots and gates, among other items, available to be pledged as collateral for future financings, if needed.
The following is a discussion of the Company's sources and uses of cash for 2020 as compared to 2019. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the 2019 Annual Report for a discussion of the Company's sources and uses of cash in 2019 as compared to 2018.
Operating Activities. Cash flows used by operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $4.1 billion compared to $6.9 billion provided by operations in the same period in 2019. The change is primarily attributable to a $10.7 billion decrease in operating income for 2020 as compared to 2019 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At December 31, 2020, $4.8 billion of current liabilities related to tickets sold to passengers for travel which includes $3.1 billion of credits issued to customers on electronic travel certificates ("ETCs") and future flight credits ("FFCs"), primarily for ticket cancellations, which can be applied towards a purchase of a new ticket. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company extended the expiration dates of ETCs from 12 months from the date of issuance to 24 months from the date of issuance and extended the expiration of FFCs, for tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 to 24 months from the original issue date. On February 24, 2021, the Company extended the expiration dates for all tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. While we expect many of those passengers to utilize these ETCs and FFCs during 2021, a delay in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a further extension of their expiration dates.
Investing Activities. The Company's capital expenditures, net of flight equipment purchase deposit returns, were $1.7 billion and $4.5 billion in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company's capital expenditures for both years were primarily attributable to the purchase of aircraft, aircraft improvements, facility and fleet-related costs and the purchase of information technology assets.
Maturities and sales of short-term investments provided $2.3 billion of liquidity in 2020.
In December 2019, United issued the AVH Convertible Loan. For additional information regarding the AVH Convertible Loan, see Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report.
Financing Activities. Significant financing events in 2020 were as follows:
Debt Issuances. During 2020, United received and recorded $16.8 billion from various credit agreements, including the MileagePlus financing, the PSP Note, the CARES Act Term Loan Facility and enhanced equipment trust certificate ("EETC") pass-through trusts established in September 2019 and October 2020. As of December 31, 2020, United had recorded approximately $159 million of debt to finance the construction of an aircraft maintenance and ground service equipment complex at Los Angeles International Airport.
Debt and Finance Lease Principal Payments. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company made debt and finance lease principal payments of $4.4 billion.
Share Issuance. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company raised approximately $2.1 billion in cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock, par value $0.01 per share, including through "at the market offerings" under an equity distribution agreement (the "Distribution Agreement"), dated June 15, 2020, among the Company, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. (the "ATM Offering"). During the quarter ended December 31, 2020, approximately 20.8 million shares were sold in the ATM Offering at an average price of $46.85 per share, with net proceeds to the Company totaling approximately $968 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, approximately 21.4 million shares were sold in the ATM Offering at an average price of $46.70 per share, with net proceeds to the Company totaling approximately $989 million.
As of February 23, 2021, the Company had sold all of the 28 million shares authorized under the ATM Offering, at an average price of $45.82 per share, with net proceeds to the Company of approximately $1.3 billion. The Board of Directors has authorized the Company to establish a new program providing for the issuance and sale from time to time of up to 37 million additional shares of UAL common stock in "at the market offerings". See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for more information about these issuances.
Share Repurchases. In 2020, UAL's Board of Directors terminated the share repurchase program. In 2020, prior to the termination of the program, UAL repurchased approximately 4 million shares of UAL common stock in open market transactions for $0.3 billion. See Part II, Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities of this report for additional information.
Significant financing events in 2019 were as follows:
Debt Issuances. During 2019, United received and recorded $1.8 billion of proceeds as debt related to EETC offerings created in 2019 to finance the purchase of aircraft. Also, United received and recorded $350 million of proceeds from the 4.875% Senior Notes due January 15, 2025 and borrowed approximately $105 million aggregate principal amount from various financial institutions to finance the purchase of several aircraft delivered in 2019. As of December 31, 2019, United had recorded approximately $39 million of debt to finance the construction of an aircraft maintenance and ground service equipment complex at Los Angeles International Airport.
Debt and Finance Lease Principal Payments. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company made debt and finance lease principal payments of $1.4 billion.
Share Repurchases. The Company used $1.6 billion of cash to purchase approximately 19.2 million shares of its common stock during 2019.
For additional information regarding these Liquidity and Capital Resource matters, see Notes 2, 10, 11 and 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report. For information regarding non-cash investing and financing activities, see the Company's statements of consolidated cash flows.
Credit Ratings. As of the filing date of this report, UAL and United had the following corporate credit ratings:
S&P Moody's Fitch
UAL B+ Ba2 BB-
United B+ * BB-
*The credit agency does not issue corporate credit ratings for subsidiary entities.
These credit ratings are below investment grade levels; however, the Company has been able to secure financing with investment grade credit ratings for certain EETCs, term loans and secured bond financings. Downgrades from these rating levels, among other things, could restrict the availability, or increase the cost, of future financing for the Company.
Other Liquidity Matters
Below is a summary of additional liquidity matters. See the indicated notes to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional details related to these and other matters affecting our liquidity and commitments.
Pension and other postretirement plans Note 7
Long-term debt and debt covenants Note 10
Leases and capacity purchase agreements Note 11
Commitments and contingencies Note 13
Contractual Obligations. The Company's business is capital intensive, requiring significant amounts of capital to fund the acquisition of assets, particularly aircraft. In the past, the Company has funded the acquisition of aircraft with cash, by using EETC financing, by entering into finance or operating leases, or through other financings. The Company also often enters into long-term lease commitments with airports to ensure access to terminal, cargo, maintenance and other required facilities.
The table below provides a summary of the Company's material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020 (in billions):
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 After 2025 Total
Long-term debt (a) $ 1.9 $ 3.9 $ 2.7 $ 5.1 $ 3.7 $ 10.0 $ 27.3
Finance lease obligations-principal portion 0.2 0.1 - - - 0.1 0.4
Total debt and finance lease obligations 2.1 4.0 2.7 5.1 3.7 10.1 27.7
Interest on debt and finance lease obligations (b) 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.5 1.0 5.2
Operating lease obligations 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 4.0 7.5
Sale-leasebacks financial obligations 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.5 2.0
Regional CPAs (c) 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.2 3.1 11.1
Postretirement obligations (d) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.8
Pension obligations (e) - - 0.2 0.2 0.3 1.5 2.2
Purchase obligations (f) 4.9 2.9 2.8 1.6 2.0 10.1 24.3
Total contractual obligations $ 10.9 $ 10.6 $ 9.2 $ 10.0 $ 8.5 $ 31.6 $ 80.8
(a)Long-term debt presented in the Company's financial statements is net of $554 million of debt discount, premiums and debt issuance costs which are being amortized over the debt terms. Contractual payments do not include the debt discount, premiums and debt issuance costs.
(b)Includes interest portion of finance lease obligations of $16 million in 2021, $10 million in 2022, $8 million in 2023, $6 million in 2024, $3 million in 2025 and $5 million thereafter. Interest payments on variable interest rate debt were calculated using London interbank offered rates ("LIBOR") applicable at December 31, 2020.
(c)Represents our estimates of future minimum noncancelable commitments under our CPAs and does not include the portion of the underlying obligations for aircraft and facility rent that is disclosed as part of operating lease obligations. Amounts also exclude a portion of United's finance lease obligation recorded for certain of its CPAs. See Note 11 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for the significant assumptions used to estimate the payments.
(d)Amounts represent postretirement benefit payments through 2030. Benefit payments approximate plan contributions as plans are substantially unfunded.
(e)Represents an estimate of the minimum funding requirements as determined by government regulations for United's U.S. pension plans. Amounts are subject to change based on numerous assumptions, including the performance of assets in the plans and bond rates.
(f)Represents contractual commitments for firm order aircraft (including the order entered into on February 26, 2021 with Boeing), spare engines and other capital purchase commitments. See Note 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of our purchase commitments.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. An off-balance sheet arrangement is any transaction, agreement or other contractual arrangement involving an unconsolidated entity under which a company has (1) made guarantees, (2) a retained or a contingent interest in transferred assets, (3) an obligation under derivative instruments classified as equity, or (4) any obligation arising out of a material variable interest in an unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit risk support, or that engages in leasing, hedging or research and development arrangements. The Company's primary off-balance sheet arrangements include guarantees that are discussed below and variable-rate operating leases. See Note 11 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for more information related to variable-rate operating leases.
Letters of Credit and Surety Bonds. As of December 31, 2020, United had approximately $658 million of letters of credit and surety bonds securing various obligations with expiration dates through 2030. Certain of these amounts are cash collateralized and reported within Restricted cash on our statement of financial position. See Note 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for more information related to these letters of credit and surety bonds.
Guarantee of Debt of Others. As of December 31, 2020, United is the guarantor of $119 million of aircraft mortgage debt issued by one of United's regional carriers. The aircraft mortgage debt is subject to increased cost provisions and the Company would potentially be responsible for those costs under the guarantees. The increased cost provisions in the $119 million of aircraft mortgage debt are similar to those in certain of the Company's debt agreements. See discussion under Increased Cost Provisions, below, for additional information on increased cost provisions related to the Company's debt.
EETCs. As of December 31, 2020, United had $12.1 billion principal amount of equipment notes outstanding issued under EETC financings. Generally, the structure of these EETC financings consists of pass-through trusts created by United to issue pass-through certificates, which represent fractional undivided interests in the respective pass-through trusts and are not obligations of United. The proceeds of the issuance of the pass-through certificates are used to purchase equipment notes which are issued by United and secured by aircraft and, in certain structures, spare engines and spare parts. United is responsible for the payment obligations under the equipment notes. In certain EETC structures, proceeds received from the sale of pass-through certificates are initially held by a depositary in escrow for the benefit of the certificate holders until United issues equipment notes to the trust, which purchases such notes with a portion of the escrowed funds. These escrowed funds are not guaranteed by United and are not reported as debt on United's consolidated balance sheet because the proceeds held by the depositary are not United's assets. There were no EETC funds held in escrow as of December 31, 2020. See Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
Fuel Consortia. United participates in numerous fuel consortia with other air carriers at major airports to reduce the costs of fuel distribution and storage. Interline agreements govern the rights and responsibilities of the consortia members and provide for the allocation of the overall costs to operate the consortia based on usage. The consortia (and in limited cases, the participating carriers) have entered into long-term agreements to lease certain airport fuel storage and distribution facilities that are typically financed through tax-exempt bonds, either special facilities lease revenue bonds or general airport revenue bonds, issued by various local municipalities. In general, each consortium lease agreement requires the consortium to make lease payments in amounts sufficient to pay the maturing principal and interest payments on the bonds. As of December 31, 2020, approximately $2.3 billion principal amount of such bonds were secured by significant fuel facility leases in which United participates, as to which United and each of the signatory airlines has provided indirect guarantees of the debt. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's contingent exposure was approximately $293 million principal amount of such bonds based on its recent consortia participation. The Company's contingent exposure could increase if the participation of other air carriers decreases. The guarantees will expire when the tax-exempt bonds are paid in full, which ranges from 2022 to 2051. The Company did not record a liability at the time these indirect guarantees were made.
Increased Cost Provisions. In United's financing transactions that include loans in which United is the borrower, United typically agrees to reimburse lenders for any reduced returns with respect to the loans due to any change in capital requirements and, in the case of loans with respect to which the interest rate is based on LIBOR, for certain other increased costs that the lenders incur in carrying these loans as a result of any change in law, subject, in most cases, to obligations of the lenders to take certain limited steps to mitigate the requirement for, or the amount of, such increased costs. At December 31, 2020, the Company had $9.8 billion of floating rate debt with remaining terms of up to 12 years that are subject to these increased cost provisions. In several financing transactions involving loans or leases from non-U.S. entities, with remaining terms of up to 12 years and an aggregate balance of $8.3 billion, the Company bears the risk of any change in tax laws that would subject loan or lease payments thereunder to non-U.S. entities to withholding taxes, subject to customary exclusions.
Critical Accounting Policies
Critical accounting policies are defined as those that are affected by significant judgments and uncertainties which potentially could result in materially different accounting under different assumptions and conditions. The Company has prepared the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions. The Company has identified the following critical accounting policies that impact the preparation of the financial statements.
Revenue Recognition. Passenger revenue is recognized when transportation is provided. Passenger tickets and related ancillary services sold by the Company for flights are purchased primarily via credit card transactions, with payments collected by the Company in advance of the performance of related services. The Company initially records ticket sales in its Advance ticket sales liability, deferring revenue recognition until the travel occurs. For travel that has more than one flight segment, the Company deems each segment as a separate performance obligation and recognizes revenue for each segment as travel occurs. Tickets sold by other airlines where the Company provides the transportation are recognized as passenger revenue at the estimated value to be billed to the other airline when travel is provided. Differences between amounts billed and the actual amounts may be rejected and rebilled or written off if the amount recorded was different from the original estimate. When necessary, the Company records a reserve against its billings and payables with other airlines based on historical experience.
The Company sells certain tickets with connecting flights with one or more segments operated by its other airline partners. For segments operated by its other airline partners, the Company has determined that it is acting as an agent on behalf of the other airlines as they are responsible for their portion of the contract (i.e. transportation of the passenger). The Company, as the agent, recognizes revenue within Other operating revenue at the time of the travel for the net amount representing commission to be retained by the Company for any segments flown by other airlines.
Advance ticket sales represent the Company's liability to provide air transportation in the future. All tickets sold at any given point of time have travel dates extending up to 12 months. The Company defers amounts related to future travel in its Advance ticket sales liability account. The Company's Advance ticket sales liability also includes credits issued to customers on ETCs and FFCs, primarily for ticket cancellations, which can be applied towards a purchase of a new ticket. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company extended the expiration dates of ETCs from 12 months from the date of issuance to 24 months from the date of issuance and extended the expiration of FFCs for tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 to 24 months from the original issue date. On February 24, 2021, the Company extended the expiration dates for all tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's Advance ticket sales liability included $3.1 billion related to these credits.
The Company records breakage revenue on the travel date for its estimate of tickets that will expire unused. To determine breakage, the Company uses its historical experience with refundable and nonrefundable expired tickets and other facts, such as recent aging trends, program changes and modifications that could affect the ultimate expiration patterns of tickets. The Company continues to use its historical experience and most recent trends and program changes to estimate its breakage. The Company will update its breakage estimates as future information is received. Given the uncertainty of travel demand caused by COVID-19, a significant portion of the $3.1 billion related to the ETCs and FFCs may expire unused in future periods and get recognized as breakage. Also, the Company is unable to estimate the amount of the ETCs and FFCs that will be used within the next 12 months and has classified the entire amount of the Advanced ticket liability in current liabilities even though some of the ETCs and FFCs could be used after the next 12 months.
Frequent Flyer Accounting. United's MileagePlus loyalty program builds customer loyalty by offering awards, benefits and services to program participants. Members in this program earn miles for travel on United, United Express, Star Alliance members and certain other airlines that participate in the program. Members can also earn miles by purchasing goods and services from our network of non-airline partners. We have contracts to sell miles to these partners with the terms extending from one to nine years. These partners include domestic and international credit card issuers, retail merchants, hotels, car rental companies and our participating airline partners. Miles can be redeemed for free (other than taxes and government-imposed fees), discounted or upgraded air travel and non-travel awards.
Co-Brand Agreement. During 2020, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Co-Branded Card Marketing Services Agreement (as amended from time to time, the "Co-Brand Agreement") with its co-branded credit card partner Chase. The Co-Brand Agreement extended the term of the agreement into 2029 and modified certain other terms, resulting in a different allocation among the separately identifiable performance obligations. Chase awards miles to MileagePlus members based on their credit card activity. United identified the following significant separately identifiable performance obligations in the Co-Brand Agreement:
•MileagePlus miles awarded - United has a performance obligation to provide MileagePlus cardholders with miles to be used for air travel and non-travel award redemptions. The Company records Passenger revenue related to the travel awards when the transportation is provided and records Other revenue related to the non-travel awards when the goods or services are delivered. The Company records the cost associated with non-travel awards in Other operating revenue, as an agent.
•Marketing - United has a performance obligation to provide Chase access to United's customer list and the use of United's brand. Marketing revenue is recorded to Other operating revenue as miles are delivered to Chase.
•Advertising - United has a performance obligation to provide advertising in support of the MileagePlus card in various customer contact points such as United's website, email promotions, direct mail campaigns, airport advertising and in-flight advertising. Advertising revenue is recorded to Other operating revenue as miles are delivered to Chase.
•Other travel-related benefits - United's performance obligations are comprised of various items such as waived bag fees, seat upgrades and lounge passes. Lounge passes are recorded to Other operating revenue as customers use the lounge passes. Bag fees and seat upgrades are recorded to Passenger revenue at the time of the associated travel.
We account for all the payments received (including monthly and one-time payments) under the Co-Brand Agreement by allocating them to the separately identifiable performance obligations. The fair value of the separately identifiable performance obligations is determined using management's estimated selling price of each component. The objective of using the estimated selling price based methodology is to determine the price at which we would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. Accordingly, we determine our best estimate of selling price by considering multiple inputs and methods including, but not limited to, discounted cash flows, brand value, volume discounts, published selling prices, number of miles awarded and number of miles redeemed. The Company estimated the selling prices and volumes over the term of the Co-Brand Agreement in order to determine the allocation of proceeds to each of the components to be delivered. We also evaluate volumes on an annual basis, which may result in a change in the allocation of the estimated consideration from the Co-Brand Agreement on a prospective basis.
Indefinite-lived intangible assets. The Company has indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1, or on an interim basis whenever a triggering event occurs. An impairment occurs when the fair value of an intangible asset is less than its carrying value. The Company determines the fair value using a variation of the income approach known as the excess earnings method, which discounts an asset's projected future net cash flows to determine the current fair value. Assumptions used in the discounted cash flow methodology include a discount rate, which is based upon the Company's current weighted average cost of capital plus an asset-specific risk factor, and a projection of sales, expenses, gross margin, tax rates and contributory asset charges for several future years and a terminal growth rate. The assumptions used for future projections are determined based upon the Company's asset-specific forecasts along with the Company's strategic plan. These assumptions are inherently uncertain as they relate to future events and circumstances. Actual results will be influenced by the competitive environment, fuel costs and other expenses, and potentially other unforeseen events or circumstances that could have a material impact on future results. In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the U.S. and global economies, the significant, sustained impact on the demand for travel and government policies that restrict air travel, the exact timing of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the speed at which such recovery could occur, continues to remain uncertain and could result in additional impairment charges in the future. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.
As a result of the impairment assessments, the Company recorded impairment charges of $130 million during 2020 for its China routes which was primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company's subsequent suspension of flights to China and a further delay in the expected return of full capacity to the China markets. Based on our assessment at year-end, a 10% decline in the fair value of our China routes would not have resulted in an incremental impairment.
See Note 1 and 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
Tax valuation allowance. A tax valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company's management assesses available positive and negative evidence regarding the Company's ability to realize its deferred tax assets and records a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets will not be realized. In order to form a conclusion, management considers positive evidence in the form of taxable income in prior carryback years, reversing temporary differences, tax planning strategies and projections of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible, as well as negative evidence such as historical losses. Although the Company was in a cumulative loss position at the end of 2020, management determined that the 2020 results were not indicative of future results due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. The Company concluded that the positive evidence outweighs the negative evidence, primarily driven by the approval and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as well as increased confidence with the timing of the recovery. The Company has $6.6
billion of deferred tax assets, of which $2.3 billion are attributable to federal net operating losses ("NOLs") at December 31, 2020. The majority of the NOLs do not expire and the Company expects to recognize the NOLs through the reversal of existing deferred tax liabilities of $6.5 billion and projected future taxable income. Therefore, we have not recorded a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets other than the capital loss carryforwards and state attributes that have short expiration periods. While the Company expects to generate sufficient future profits to fully utilize these NOLs, the Company may have to record a valuation allowance against its NOLs if it is unable to generate sufficient taxable income in future periods. Recording a valuation allowance against our NOLs would not impact our ability to use them. However, our ability to use NOLs may be significantly limited due to various circumstances, as discussed in more detail in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors-"The Company's ability to use its net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be significantly limited due to various circumstances, including certain possible future transactions involving the sale or issuance of UAL common stock, or if taxable income does not reach sufficient levels." Assumptions about our future taxable income are consistent with the plans and estimates used to manage our business.
Management will continue to evaluate future financial performance to determine whether such performance is both sustained and significant enough to provide sufficient evidence to support not recording a valuation allowance on these NOLs. Any reduction in estimated future taxable income may require additional valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets, which could be material.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company has recorded $185 million of valuation allowance against its capital loss deferred tax assets. Capital losses have a limited carryforward period of five years, and they can be utilized only to the extent of capital gains. The Company does not anticipate generating sufficient capital gains to utilize the losses before they expire, therefore, a valuation allowance is necessary as of December 31, 2020. Additionally, the Company recorded a valuation allowance of $62 million on the state NOL and state tax credit deferred tax assets primarily due to utilization limitations resulting from a prior ownership change.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements throughout Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and elsewhere in this report are forward-looking and thus reflect the Company's current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals", "targets" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: the duration and spread of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of any other disease or similar public health threat and the impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition; the lenders' ability to accelerate the MileagePlus indebtedness, foreclose upon the collateral securing the MileagePlus indebtedness or exercise other remedies if we are not able to comply with the covenants in the MileagePlus financing agreements; the effects of borrowing pursuant to the Loan Program under the CARES Act and the effects of the grant and promissory note through the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act; the costs and availability of financing; our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations and ability to seek additional liquidity and maintain adequate liquidity; our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; our ability to utilize our net operating losses to offset future taxable income; the material disruption of our strategic operating plan as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and our ability to execute our strategic operating plans in the long term; general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); risks of doing business globally, including instability and political developments that may impact our operations in certain countries; demand for travel and the impact that global economic and political conditions have on customer travel patterns; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; changes in aircraft fuel prices; disruptions in our supply of aircraft fuel; our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aircraft fuel, if we decide to do so; the effects of any technology failures or cybersecurity or significant data breaches; disruptions to services provided by third-party service providers; potential reputational or other impact from adverse events involving our aircraft or operations, the aircraft or operations of our regional carriers or our code share partners or the
aircraft or operations of another airline; our ability to attract and retain customers; the effects of any terrorist attacks, international hostilities or other security events, or the fear of such events; the mandatory grounding of aircraft in our fleet; disruptions to our regional network as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; the success of our investments in other airlines, including in other parts of the world, which involve significant challenges and risks, particularly given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; costs associated with any modification or termination of our aircraft orders; disruptions in the availability of aircraft, parts or support from our suppliers; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of any collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; labor costs; the impact of any management changes; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including Open Skies agreements, environmental regulations and the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union); the seasonality of the airline industry; weather conditions; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; our ability to realize the full value of our intangible assets and long-lived assets; any impact to our reputation or brand image and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of this report, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Interest Rates. Our net income is affected by fluctuations in interest rates (e.g. interest expense on variable rate debt and interest income earned on short-term investments). The Company's policy is to manage interest rate risk through a combination of fixed and variable rate debt. The following table summarizes information related to the Company's interest rate market risk at December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019
Variable rate debt
Carrying value of variable rate debt at December 31 $ 9,533 $ 3,408
Impact of 100 basis point increase on projected interest expense for the following year 81 33
Fixed rate debt
Carrying value of fixed rate debt at December 31 17,214 11,144
Fair value of fixed rate debt at December 31 19,273 11,736
Impact of 100 basis point increase in market rates on fair value (709) (458)
As most recently announced on November 30, 2020, LIBOR is expected to be phased out starting on January 1, 2022 for the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings and starting on July 1, 2023 for the remaining USD LIBOR settings. Uncertainty as to the nature of alternative reference rates and as to potential changes or other reforms to LIBOR may adversely impact our interest rates and related interest expense. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $9.5 billion in variable rate indebtedness. See Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Other Liquidity Matters, of this report for more information on interest expense.
A change in market interest rates would also impact interest income earned on our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Assuming our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments remain at their average 2020 levels, a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in a corresponding increase in the Company's interest income of approximately $95 million during 2021.
Commodity Price Risk (Aircraft Fuel). The price of aircraft fuel can significantly affect the Company's operations, results of operations, financial position and liquidity.
Our operational and financial results can be significantly impacted by changes in the price and availability of aircraft fuel. To provide adequate supplies of fuel, the Company routinely enters into purchase contracts that are customarily indexed to market prices for aircraft fuel, and the Company generally has some ability to cover short-term fuel supply and infrastructure disruptions at some major demand locations. The Company's current strategy is to not enter into transactions to hedge fuel price volatility, although the Company regularly reviews its policy based on market conditions and other factors. The Company's 2021 forecasted fuel consumption is presently approximately 2.1 billion gallons, and based on this forecast, a one-dollar change in the price of a barrel of crude oil would change the Company's annual fuel expense by approximately $49 million.
Foreign Currency. The Company generates revenues and incurs expenses in numerous foreign currencies. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates impact the Company's results of operations through changes in the dollar value of foreign currency-denominated operating revenues and expenses. Some of the Company's more significant foreign currency exposures include the Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi, European euro, British pound and Japanese yen. The Company's current strategy is to not enter into transactions to hedge its foreign currency sales, although the Company regularly reviews its policy based on market conditions and other factors.
The result of a uniform 1% strengthening in the value of the U.S. dollar from December 31, 2020 levels relative to each of the currencies in which the Company has foreign currency exposure would result in a decrease in pre-tax income of approximately $10 million for the year ending December 31, 2021. This sensitivity analysis was prepared based upon projected 2021 foreign currency-denominated revenues and expenses as of December 31, 2020.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), cash flows, and stockholders' equity for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the "consolidated financial statements"). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB"), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated March 1, 2021, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Asset (China Route Authorities) Impairment Analysis
Description of the matter
At December 31, 2020, the Company's China route authorities indefinite-lived intangible asset had a carrying value of approximately $1.0 billion. As discussed in Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements, indefinite-lived assets are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1, or on an interim basis whenever a triggering event occurs. As discussed in Note 14 of the consolidated financial statements, the Company recorded a $130 million interim impairment charge related to this intangible asset.
Auditing management's annual China route authorities indefinite-lived intangibles impairment test was complex and judgmental due to the significant estimation required in determining the fair value. The fair value estimate was sensitive to significant assumptions such as revenue growth rate, operating margin and the discount rate, each of which is affected by expectations about future market or economic conditions. As a result of the subjectivity of the assumptions, adverse changes to management's estimates could reduce the underlying cash flows used to estimate fair value and trigger impairment charges.
How we addressed the matter in our audit
We tested the Company's design and operating effectiveness of internal controls that address the risk of material misstatement relating to the estimate of fair value of route authorities used in the annual and interim impairment tests. This included testing controls over management's review of the significant assumptions used in the discounted cash flow methodology, including revenue growth rate, operating margin and the discount rate.
To test the estimated fair value of the Company's China route authorities indefinite-lived intangible, we performed audit procedures that included, among others, assessing the fair value methodology used by management and evaluating the significant assumptions used in the valuation models. We compared significant assumptions to current industry, market and economic trends, and to the Company's historical results. We assessed the historical accuracy of management's estimates and performed sensitivity analyses of significant assumptions to evaluate the changes in the fair value of the intangible asset that would result from changes in assumptions. We also involved a valuation specialist to assist in our evaluation of the Company's valuation methodology and discount rates.
Deferred Tax Assets-Valuation Allowance
Description of the matter
As more fully described in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements, at December 31, 2020, the Company had deferred tax assets of $6.6 billion. In addition, the Company had deferred tax liabilities of $6.5 billion. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if, based on the weight of all available evidence, in management’s judgment it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Auditing management's assessment of the realizability of its deferred tax assets involved complex auditor judgment because management's estimate is highly judgmental and based on significant assumptions that may be affected by future market or economic conditions.
How we addressed the matter in our audit
We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of controls that address the risks of material misstatement relating to the realizability of deferred tax assets. This included controls over management's scheduling of the future reversal of existing taxable temporary differences (deferred tax liabilities) and projections of future taxable income.
Among other audit procedures performed, we tested the Company's scheduling of the reversal of existing temporary taxable differences and tested the underlying data used to schedule the reversals. We evaluated the assumptions used by the Company to develop projections of future taxable income and tested the completeness and accuracy of the underlying data used in its projections. For example, we compared the projections of future taxable income with the actual results of prior periods, as well as management's consideration of current industry and economic trends.
Frequent Flyer Accounting - Co-Brand Agreement
Description of the matter
At December 31, 2020, the Company's frequent flyer deferred revenue liability was $6.0 billion. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized revenue of $568 million classified as travel miles redeemed within passenger revenue, revenue of $69 million classified as non-travel miles redeemed within other operating revenue and revenue of $1.7 billion associated with various partner agreements including, but not limited to, the JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("Chase") co-brand agreement, classified as other operating revenue in the consolidated statement of operations. As disclosed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, effective January 1, 2020, the Company amended its co-brand agreement with Chase. The Company allocates the consideration received from Chase based on its best estimate of the relative selling price of the products and services delivered, including the use of the Company's brand.
Auditing the Company's accounting for its co-brand agreement with Chase was complex and highly judgmental due to the significant estimation required in determining the selling price of the Company's brand deliverable primarily resulting from the absence of observable standalone selling prices. A change in the estimated selling price of the brand deliverable could have a material impact on the deferred revenue balance and the timing of revenue recognition.
How we addressed the matter in our audit
We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company's accounting for its co-brand agreement with Chase, including controls specific to the estimated selling price of the Company's brand deliverable and the completeness and accuracy of the data underlying the brand deliverable estimate.
To test the estimated selling price of the brand deliverable, our audit procedures included, among others, involving a valuation specialist to assist in testing the method used to develop the selling price of the Company's brand deliverable, and assessing the reasonableness of the inputs used to develop the estimate, which included corroborating those inputs to publicly available data. Additionally, we performed sensitivity analyses to evaluate the changes to the Company's deferred revenue that would result from changes in the estimated standalone selling price of the Company's brand deliverable.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2009.
Chicago, Illinois
March 1, 2021
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholder and the Board of Directors of United Airlines, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of United Airlines, Inc. (the "Company") as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), cash flows, and stockholder's equity, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the "consolidated financial statements"). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Asset (China Route Authorities) Impairment Analysis
Description of the matter At December 31, 2020, the Company’s China route authorities indefinite-lived intangible asset had a carrying value of approximately $1.0 billion. As discussed in Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements, indefinite-lived assets are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1, or on an interim basis whenever a triggering event occurs. As discussed in Note 14 of the consolidated financial statements, the Company recorded a $130 million interim impairment charge related to this intangible asset.
Auditing management's annual China route authorities indefinite-lived intangible impairment test was complex and judgmental due to the significant estimation required in determining the fair value. The fair value estimate was sensitive to significant assumptions such as revenue growth rate, operating margin and the discount rate, each of which is affected by expectations about future market or economic conditions. As a result of the subjectivity of the assumptions, adverse changes to management's estimates could reduce the underlying cash flows used to estimate fair value and trigger impairment charges.
How we addressed the matter in our audit We tested the Company's design and operating effectiveness of internal controls that address the risk of material misstatement relating to the estimate of fair value of route authorities used in the annual and interim impairment tests. This included testing controls over management's review of the significant assumptions used in the discounted cash flow methodology, including revenue growth rate, operating margin and the discount rate.
To test the estimated fair value of the Company's China route authorities indefinite-lived intangible, we performed audit procedures that included, among others, assessing the fair value methodology used by management and evaluating the significant assumptions used in the valuation model. We compared significant assumptions to current industry, market and economic trends, and to the Company's historical results. We assessed the historical accuracy of management's estimates and performed sensitivity analyses of significant assumptions to evaluate the changes in the fair value of the intangible asset that would result from changes in assumptions. We also involved a valuation specialist to assist in our evaluation of the Company's valuation methodology and discount rates.
Deferred Tax Assets - Valuation Allowance
Description of the matter As more fully described in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements, at December 31, 2020, the Company had deferred tax assets of $6.6 billion. In addition, the Company had deferred tax liabilities of $6.5 billion. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if, based on the weight of all available evidence, in management’s judgment it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Auditing management's assessment of the realizability of its deferred tax assets involved complex auditor judgment because management's estimate is highly judgmental and based on significant assumptions that may be affected by future market or economic conditions.
How we addressed the matter in our audit We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of controls that address the risks of material misstatement relating to the realizability of deferred tax assets. This included controls over management's scheduling of the future reversal of existing taxable temporary differences (deferred tax liabilities) and projections of future taxable income.
Among other audit procedures performed, we tested the Company's scheduling of the reversal of existing temporary taxable differences and tested the underlying data used to schedule the reversals. We evaluated the assumptions used by the Company to develop projections of future taxable income and tested the completeness and accuracy of the underlying data used in its projections. For example, we compared the projections of future taxable income with the actual results of prior periods, as well as management's consideration of current industry and economic trends.
Frequent Flyer Accounting - Co-Brand Agreement
Description of the matter At December 31, 2020, the Company's frequent flyer deferred revenue liability was $6.0 billion. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized revenue of 568 million classified as travel miles redeemed within passenger revenue, revenue of $69 million classified as non-travel miles redeemed within other operating revenue and revenue of $1.7 billion associated with various partner agreements including, but not limited to, the JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("Chase") co-brand agreement, classified as other operating revenue in the consolidated statement of operations. As disclosed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, effective January 1, 2020, the Company amended its co-brand agreement with Chase. The Company allocates the consideration received from Chase based on its best estimate of the relative selling price of the products and services delivered, including the use of the Company's brand.
Auditing the Company's accounting for its co-brand agreement with Chase was complex and highly judgmental due to the significant estimation required in determining the selling price of the Company's brand deliverable primarily resulting from the absence of observable standalone selling prices. A change in the estimated selling price of the brand deliverable could have a material impact on the deferred revenue balance and the timing of revenue recognition.
How we addressed the matter in our audit We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company's accounting for its co-brand agreement with Chase, including controls specific to the estimated selling price of the Company's brand deliverable and the completeness and accuracy of the data underlying the brand deliverable estimate.
To test the estimated selling price of the brand deliverable, our audit procedures included, among others, involving a valuation specialist to assist in testing the method used to develop the selling price of the Company's brand deliverable, and assessing the reasonableness of the inputs used to develop the estimate, which included corroborating those inputs to publicly available data. Additionally, we performed sensitivity analyses to evaluate the changes to the Company's deferred revenue that would result from changes in the estimated standalone selling price of the Company's brand deliverable.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2009.
Chicago, Illinois
March 1, 2021
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018
Operating revenue:
Passenger revenue $ 11,805 $ 39,625 $ 37,706
Cargo 1,648 1,179 1,237
Other operating revenue 1,902 2,455 2,360
Total operating revenue 15,355 43,259 41,303
Operating expense:
Salaries and related costs 9,522 12,071 11,458
Aircraft fuel 3,153 8,953 9,307
Depreciation and amortization 2,488 2,288 2,165
Landing fees and other rent 2,127 2,543 2,449
Regional capacity purchase 2,039 2,849 2,649
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs 858 1,794 1,767
Distribution expenses 459 1,651 1,558
Aircraft rent 198 288 433
Special charges (credit) (2,616) 246 487
Other operating expenses 3,486 6,275 5,801
Total operating expense 21,714 38,958 38,074
Operating income (loss) (6,359) 4,301 3,229
Nonoperating income (expense):
Interest expense (1,063) (731) (670)
Interest capitalized 71 85 65
Interest income 50 133 101
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net (194) 153 (5)
Miscellaneous, net (1,327) (27) (72)
Total nonoperating expense, net (2,463) (387) (581)
Income (loss) before income taxes (8,822) 3,914 2,648
Income tax expense (benefit) (1,753) 905 526
Net income (loss) $ (7,069) $ 3,009 $ 2,122
Earnings (loss) per share, basic $ (25.30) $ 11.63 $ 7.70
Earnings (loss) per share, diluted $ (25.30) $ 11.58 $ 7.67
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In millions)
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018
Net income (loss) $ (7,069) $ 3,009 $ 2,122
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Employee benefit plans (421) 80 342
Investments and other - 5 (4)
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax (421) 85 338
Total comprehensive income (loss), net $ (7,490) $ 3,094 $ 2,460
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions, except shares)
At December 31,
ASSETS 2020 2019
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 11,269 $ 2,762
Short-term investments 414 2,182
Restricted cash 255 -
Receivables, less allowance for credit losses (2020-$78; 2019-$9)
1,295 1,364
Aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies, less obsolescence allowance (2020-$478; 2019-$425)
932 1,072
Prepaid expenses and other 635 814
Total current assets 14,800 8,194
Operating property and equipment:
Flight equipment 38,218 35,421
Other property and equipment 8,511 7,926
Purchase deposits for flight equipment 1,166 1,360
Total operating property and equipment 47,895 44,707
Less-Accumulated depreciation and amortization (16,429) (14,537)
Total operating property and equipment, net 31,466 30,170
Operating lease right-of-use assets 4,537 4,758
Other assets:
Goodwill 4,527 4,523
Intangibles, less accumulated amortization (2020-$1,495; 2019-$1,440)
2,838 3,009
Restricted cash 218 106
Deferred income taxes 131 -
Notes receivable, less allowance for credit losses (2020-$522)
31 671
Investments in affiliates and other, net 1,000 1,180
Total other assets 8,745 9,489
Total assets $ 59,548 $ 52,611
(continued on next page)
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions, except shares)
At December 31,
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 2020 2019
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,595 $ 2,703
Accrued salaries and benefits 1,960 2,271
Advance ticket sales 4,833 4,819
Frequent flyer deferred revenue 908 2,440
Current maturities of long-term debt 1,911 1,407
Current maturities of operating leases 612 686
Current maturities of finance leases 182 46
Other 724 566
Total current liabilities 12,725 14,938
Long-term debt 24,836 13,145
Long-term obligations under operating leases 4,986 4,946
Long-term obligations under finance leases 224 220
Other liabilities and deferred credits:
Frequent flyer deferred revenue 5,067 2,836
Pension liability 2,460 1,446
Postretirement benefit liability 994 789
Deferred income taxes - 1,736
Other financial liabilities from sale-leasebacks 1,140 -
Other 1,156 1,024
Total other liabilities and deferred credits 10,817 7,831
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock - -
Common stock at par, $0.01 par value; authorized 1,000,000,000 shares; outstanding 311,845,232 and 251,216,381 shares at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively
4 3
Additional capital invested 8,366 6,129
Stock held in treasury, at cost (3,897) (3,599)
Retained earnings 2,626 9,716
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (1,139) (718)
Total stockholders' equity 5,960 11,531
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 59,548 $ 52,611
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOWS
(In millions)
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018
Operating Activities:
Net income (loss) $ (7,069) $ 3,009 $ 2,122
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities -
Deferred income tax (benefit) (1,741) 882 512
Depreciation and amortization 2,488 2,288 2,165
Operating and non-operating special charges, non-cash portion 1,448 175 416
Unrealized (gains) losses on investments 194 (153) 5
Other operating activities 320 185 161
Changes in operating assets and liabilities -
Decrease in receivables 135 44 17
(Increase) decrease in other assets 484 (252) 265
Increase in advance ticket sales 14 438 441
Increase in frequent flyer deferred revenue 699 271 222
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable (1,079) 324 130
Decrease in other liabilities (26) (302) (292)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (4,133) 6,909 6,164
Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures, net of flight equipment purchase deposit returns (1,727) (4,528) (4,070)
Purchases of short-term and other investments (552) (2,897) (2,552)
Proceeds from sale of short-term and other investments 2,319 2,996 2,616
Loans made to others - (174) (466)
Investment in affiliates - (36) (139)
Other, net 10 79 156
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 50 (4,560) (4,455)
Financing Activities:
Repurchases of common stock (353) (1,645) (1,235)
Proceeds from issuance of debt 16,044 1,847 1,594
Proceeds from equity issuance 2,103 - -
Payments of long-term debt (4,383) (1,240) (1,727)
Principal payments under finance leases (66) (151) (79)
Capitalized financing costs (368) (61) (37)
Other, net (20) (30) (17)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 12,957 (1,280) (1,501)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 8,874 1,069 208
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year 2,868 1,799 1,591
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of year $ 11,742 $ 2,868 $ 1,799
Investing and Financing Activities Not Affecting Cash:
Property and equipment acquired through the issuance of debt, finance leases and other $ 1,968 $ 515 $ 160
Lease modifications and lease conversions 527 (2) 52
Right-of-use assets acquired through operating leases 198 498 663
Capacity purchase agreement liability converted to debt 33 - -
Debt associated with termination of a maintenance service agreement - - 163
Cash Paid (Refunded) During the Period for:
Interest $ 874 $ 648 $ 651
Income taxes (29) 29 19
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
(In millions)
Common
Stock Additional
Capital Invested Treasury Stock Retained Earnings Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Total
Shares Amount
Balance at December 31, 2017 287.0 $ 3 $ 6,098 $ (769) $ 4,603 $ (1,147) $ 8,788
Net income - - - - 2,122 - 2,122
Other comprehensive income - - - - - 338 338
Stock-settled share-based compensation - - 60 - - - 60
Repurchases of common stock (17.5) - - (1,250) - - (1,250)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards 0.4 - (38) 26 (4) - (16)
Adoption of accounting standard related to equity investments - - - - (6) 6 -
Balance at December 31, 2018 269.9 3 6,120 (1,993) 6,715 (803) 10,042
Net income - - - - 3,009 - 3,009
Other comprehensive income - - - - - 85 85
Stock-settled share-based compensation - - 66 - - - 66
Repurchases of common stock (19.2) - - (1,641) - - (1,641)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards 0.5 - (57) 35 (8) - (30)
Balance at December 31, 2019 251.2 3 6,129 (3,599) 9,716 (718) 11,531
Net loss - - - - (7,069) - (7,069)
Other comprehensive loss - - - - - (421) (421)
Stock-settled share-based compensation - - 97 - - - 97
Sale of common stock 64.6 1 2,102 - - - 2,103
Repurchases of common stock (4.4) - - (342) - - (342)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards 0.4 - (59) 44 (4) - (19)
Warrants issued - - 97 - - - 97
Adoption of new accounting standard (a) - - - - (17) - (17)
Balance at December 31, 2020 311.8 $ 4 $ 8,366 $ (3,897) $ 2,626 $ (1,139) $ 5,960
(a) Transition adjustment due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses. See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this report.
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS
(In millions)
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018
Operating revenue:
Passenger revenue $ 11,805 $ 39,625 $ 37,706
Cargo 1,648 1,179 1,237
Other operating revenue 1,902 2,455 2,360
Total operating revenue 15,355 43,259 41,303
Operating expense:
Salaries and related costs 9,522 12,071 11,458
Aircraft fuel 3,153 8,953 9,307
Depreciation and amortization 2,488 2,288 2,165
Landing fees and other rent 2,127 2,543 2,449
Regional capacity purchase 2,039 2,849 2,649
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs 858 1,794 1,767
Distribution expenses 459 1,651 1,558
Aircraft rent 198 288 433
Special charges (credit) (2,616) 246 487
Other operating expenses 3,484 6,273 5,799
Total operating expense 21,712 38,956 38,072
Operating income (loss) (6,357) 4,303 3,231
Nonoperating income (expense):
Interest expense (1,063) (731) (670)
Interest capitalized 71 85 65
Interest income 50 133 101
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net (194) 153 (5)
Miscellaneous, net (1,327) (27) (72)
Total nonoperating expense, net (2,463) (387) (581)
Income (loss) before income taxes (8,820) 3,916 2,650
Income tax expense (benefit) (1,753) 905 527
Net income (loss) $ (7,067) $ 3,011 $ 2,123
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In millions)
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018
Net income (loss) $ (7,067) $ 3,011 $ 2,123
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Employee benefit plans (421) 80 342
Investments and other - 5 (4)
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax (421) 85 338
Total comprehensive income (loss), net $ (7,488) $ 3,096 $ 2,461
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions, except shares)
At December 31,
ASSETS 2020 2019
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 11,269 $ 2,756
Short-term investments 414 2,182
Restricted cash 255 -
Receivables, less allowance for credit losses (2020-$78; 2019-$9)
1,295 1,364
Aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies, less obsolescence allowance (2020-$478; 2019-$425)
932 1,072
Prepaid expenses and other 635 814
Total current assets 14,800 8,188
Operating property and equipment:
Flight equipment 38,218 35,421
Other property and equipment 8,511 7,926
Purchase deposits for flight equipment 1,166 1,360
Total operating property and equipment 47,895 44,707
Less-Accumulated depreciation and amortization (16,429) (14,537)
Total operating property and equipment, net 31,466 30,170
Operating lease right-of-use assets 4,537 4,758
Other assets:
Goodwill 4,527 4,523
Intangibles, less accumulated amortization (2020-$1,495; 2019-$1,440)
2,838 3,009
Restricted cash 218 106
Deferred income taxes 103 -
Notes receivable, less allowance for credit losses (2020-$522)
31 671
Investments in affiliates and other, net 1,000 1,180
Total other assets 8,717 9,489
Total assets $ 59,520 $ 52,605
(continued on next page)
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions, except shares)
At December 31,
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY 2020 2019
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,595 $ 2,703
Accrued salaries and benefits 1,960 2,271
Advance ticket sales 4,833 4,819
Frequent flyer deferred revenue 908 2,440
Current maturities of long-term debt 1,911 1,407
Current maturities of operating leases 612 686
Current maturities of finance leases 182 46
Other 728 571
Total current liabilities 12,729 14,943
Long-term debt 24,836 13,145
Long-term obligations under operating leases 4,986 4,946
Long-term obligations under finance leases 224 220
Other liabilities and deferred credits:
Frequent flyer deferred revenue 5,067 2,836
Pension liability 2,460 1,446
Postretirement benefit liability 994 789
Deferred income taxes - 1,763
Other financial liabilities from sale-leasebacks 1,140 -
Other 1,156 1,025
Total other liabilities and deferred credits 10,817 7,859
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholder's equity:
Common stock at par, $0.01 par value; authorized 1,000 shares; issued and outstanding 1,000 shares at December 31, 2020 and 2019
- -
Additional capital invested 85 -
Retained earnings 4,939 12,353
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (1,139) (718)
Payable to (receivable from) parent 2,043 (143)
Total stockholder's equity 5,928 11,492
Total liabilities and stockholder's equity $ 59,520 $ 52,605
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOWS
(In millions)
Year Ended December 31,
2020 2019 2018
Operating Activities:
Net income (loss) $ (7,067) $ 3,011 $ 2,123
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities -
Deferred income tax (benefit) (1,741) 882 513
Depreciation and amortization 2,488 2,288 2,165
Operating and non-operating special charges, non-cash portion 1,448 175 416
Unrealized (gains) losses on investments 194 (153) 5
Other operating activities 320 186 162
Changes in operating assets and liabilities -
Decrease in receivables 135 44 17
Increase in intercompany receivables (14) (33) (20)
(Increase) decrease in other assets 484 (252) 265
Increase in advance ticket sales 14 438 441
Increase in frequent flyer deferred revenue 699 271 222
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable (1,079) 324 130
Decrease in other liabilities (26) (302) (293)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (4,145) 6,879 6,146
Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures, net of flight equipment purchase deposit returns (1,727) (4,528) (4,070)
Purchases of short-term and other investments (552) (2,897) (2,552)
Proceeds from sale of short-term and other investments 2,319 2,996 2,616
Loans made to others - (174) (466)
Investment in affiliates - (36) (139)
Other, net 10 79 156
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 50 (4,560) (4,455)
Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of debt 16,044 1,847 1,594
Payments of long-term debt (4,383) (1,240) (1,727)
Proceeds from issuance of parent company stock 2,103 - -
Dividend to UAL (353) (1,645) (1,235)
Principal payments under finance leases (66) (151) (79)
Capitalized financing costs (368) (61) (37)
Other, net (2) - 1
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 12,975 (1,250) (1,483)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 8,880 1,069 208
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year 2,862 1,793 1,585
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of year $ 11,742 $ 2,862 $ 1,793
Investing and Financing Activities Not Affecting Cash:
Property and equipment acquired through the issuance of debt, finance leases and other $ 1,968 $ 515 $ 160
Lease modifications and lease conversions 527 (2) 52
Right-of-use assets acquired through operating leases 198 498 663
Capacity purchase agreement liability converted to debt 33 - -
Debt associated with termination of a maintenance service agreement - - 163
Cash Paid (Refunded) During the Period for:
Interest $ 874 $ 648 $ 651
Income taxes (29) 29 19
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY
(In millions)
Additional
Capital
Invested Retained Earnings Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss) (Receivable from) Payable to Related Parties, Net Total
Balance at December 31, 2017 $ 1,787 $ 8,201 $ (1,147) $ (90) $ 8,751
Net income - 2,123 - - 2,123
Other comprehensive income - - 338 - 338
Dividend to UAL (1,249) - - - (1,249)
Stock-settled share-based compensation 60 - - - 60
Other - (5) 6 (20) (19)
Balance at December 31, 2018 598 10,319 (803) (110) 10,004
Net income - 3,011 - - 3,011
Other comprehensive income - - 85 - 85
Dividend to UAL (664) (977) - - (1,641)
Stock-settled share-based compensation 66 - - - 66
Other - - - (33) (33)
Balance at December 31, 2019 - 12,353 (718) (143) 11,492
Net loss - (7,067) - - (7,067)
Other comprehensive loss - - (421) - (421)
Dividend to UAL (12) (330) - - (342)
Stock-settled share-based compensation 97 - - - 97
Adoption of new accounting standard (a) - (17) - - (17)
Other (b) - - - 2,186 2,186
Balance at December 31, 2020 $ 85 $ 4,939 $ (1,139) $ 2,043 $ 5,928
(a) Transition adjustment due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses. See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.
(b) Primarily relates to equity issuances of UAL common stock.
The accompanying Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.
UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.
COMBINED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Overview
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. United's operating revenues and operating expenses comprise nearly 100% of UAL's revenues and operating expenses. In addition, United comprises approximately the entire balance of UAL's assets, liabilities and operating cash flows. When appropriate, UAL and United are named specifically for their individual contractual obligations and related disclosures and any significant differences between the operations and results of UAL and United are separately disclosed and explained. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.
Recent Developments
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, together with the measures implemented or recommended by governmental authorities and private organizations in response to the pandemic, has had an adverse impact that has been material to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
The Company began experiencing a significant decline in international and domestic demand related to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020. The decline in demand caused a material deterioration in our revenues in 2020, resulting in a net loss of $7.1 billion. The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including those outside our control related to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty
In response to decreased demand, the Company cut, relative to 2019 capacity, approximately 57% of its scheduled capacity for 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company expects scheduled capacity to be down at least 51% versus the first quarter of 2019. The Company plans to continue to proactively evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 60-day basis until it sees signs of a recovery in demand and expects demand to remain suppressed, relative to 2019 levels, until vaccines for COVID-19 are widely distributed and are effective in curbing the spread of the virus. In addition, the Company does not currently expect the recovery from COVID-19 to follow a linear path. As such, the Company's actual flown capacity may differ materially from its currently scheduled capacity.
The Company has taken a number of actions in response to the decreased demand for air travel. In addition to the schedule reductions discussed above, the Company has:
•reduced its planned capital expenditures and reduced operating expenditures in 2020 (including by postponing projects deemed non-critical to the Company's operations);
•terminated its share repurchase program;
•issued or entered into approximately $13.4 billion in new secured notes, secured term loan facilities and new aircraft financings in 2020, including short term borrowings that were paid in 2020;
•borrowed $1.0 billion under the $2.0 billion revolving credit facility established under the Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Credit Agreement");
•availed itself of financial assistance and/or financing made available by the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury"), as further described below;
•raised approximately $2.1 billion in cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock in 2020;
•entered into agreements to finance certain aircraft currently subject to purchase agreements through sale and leaseback transactions;
•elected to defer the payment of $199 million in payroll taxes incurred through December 31, 2020, as provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"), until December 2021, at which time 50% is due, with the remaining amount due December 2022; and
•taken a number of actions to reduce employee-related costs, including, among other items, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and President waived 100% of their respective base salaries through the end of 2020, other officers temporarily waived a portion of their base salaries, the Company's non-employee directors waived 100% of their cash compensation for the second and third quarters of 2020, the Company suspended merit salary increases for 2020 and implemented a temporary four-day work week for management and administrative employees and the Company offered voluntary unpaid leaves of absence. The Company also entered into an agreement with its pilots to distribute fewer flight hours to a larger number of pilots, while also reaching agreements to provide a path to early retirement and reduce expense through voluntary leave of absence programs.
In addition, and as announced in July 2020, the Company started the involuntary furlough process by issuing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification ("WARN") Act notices to 36,000 of its employees. Since then, the Company worked to reduce the total number of furloughs to approximately 13,000 employees by working closely with its union partners, introducing new voluntary options selected by approximately 9,000 employees and proposing creative solutions that would save jobs. As a result of the Company's entry into the PSP2 Agreement, as described below, the Company issued recall notices to these furloughed employees and others impacted by furlough mitigation programs. See the discussion below for more detail about the PSP2 Agreement and the recall process.
The Company continues to focus on reducing expenses and managing its liquidity. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.
On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed the CARES Act into law. The CARES Act is intended to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses. The CARES Act also provides supplemental appropriations for federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 20, 2020, United entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement (the "PSP Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $5.1 billion pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under the CARES Act. These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees. Approximately $3.6 billion of the $5.1 billion was provided as a direct grant, and approximately $1.5 billion consists of indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note (the "PSP Note"). See Note 2 of this report for additional information related to warrants issued in connection with the PSP Note and Note 10 of this report for a discussion of the PSP Note.
During 2020, UAL and United entered into a loan and guarantee agreement with Treasury. The agreement provides for a term loan facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion (the "CARES Act Term Loan Facility") pursuant to the loan program established under Section 4003(b)(1) of the CARES Act (the "Loan Program"). The loans (the "CARES Act Term Loans") may be disbursed in up to three disbursements on or before May 28, 2021. On September 28, 2020, United borrowed, and recorded as Long-term debt on the Company's consolidated balance sheet, $520 million under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility, the proceeds of which were used to pay certain transaction fees and expenses and for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company. See Note 2 of this report for additional information related to warrants issued in connection with the CARES Act Term Loans and Note 10 of this report for a discussion of the CARES Act Term Loans.
Under the PSP Agreement and the Loan Program, the Company and its business are subject to certain restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the payment of dividends and the ability to repurchase UAL's equity securities, requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled service and certain limitations on executive compensation.
On January 15, 2021, United entered into a Payroll Support Agreement (the "PSP2 Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $2.6 billion, pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under Subtitle A of Title IV of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the "PSP Extension Law"). These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees, including the payment of lost wages, salaries and benefits to returning employees. Approximately $1.9 billion was provided as a direct grant and approximately $753 million consists of indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note (the "PSP2 Note"). As of February 25, 2021, we have received a total of $1.3 billion. See Note 2 of this report for additional information on warrants issued in connection with the PSP2 Note and Note 10 of this report for a discussion of the PSP2 Note.
Pursuant to the PSP2 Agreement, the Company is required to comply with certain provisions of the PSP Extension Law, including, among others, the requirement that all funds provided under the Payroll Support Program will be used by United exclusively for the continuation of payment of its U.S. employee wages, salaries and benefits, including the payment of lost wages, salaries and benefits to returning U.S. employees; requirements to maintain U.S. employment levels from the date of the PSP2 Agreement through March 31, 2021; requirements to recall (as such term is defined in the PSP2 Agreement), any U.S. employees subject to involuntary termination or furlough between October 1, 2020 and the date of the PSP2 Agreement, compensate such returning employees for certain lost salary, wages and benefits between December 1, 2020 and the date of the
PSP2 Agreement and restore certain rights and protections for such returning employees; provisions prohibiting certain reductions in U.S. employee wages, salaries and benefits; provisions prohibiting the payment of dividends and the repurchase of certain equity until March 31, 2022; and provisions restricting the payment of certain executive compensation until October 1, 2022.
As a result of the PSP2 Agreement, the Company offered employment, through March 2021, to employees who were impacted by involuntary furloughs. Because the Company cannot predict with certainty whether it will receive further payroll support from the federal government or when demand for air travel will increase in the short term, the Company is preparing for the possibility that these recalled employees might again be furloughed as soon as the end of the first quarter of 2021. The Company may record additional costs associated with these actions in the first quarter of 2021. Also, in order to reduce the number of such furloughs, during the first quarter of 2021, the Company offered voluntary leave and other programs to certain of its frontline employees, the cost of which cannot be estimated at this time.
NOTE 1 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
(a)Use of Estimates-The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in these financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
(b)Revenue Recognition-The Company presents Passenger revenue, Cargo revenue and Other operating revenue on its income statement. Passenger revenue is recognized when transportation is provided and Cargo revenue is recognized when shipments arrive at their destination. Other operating revenue is recognized as the related performance obligations are satisfied.
Passenger tickets and related ancillary services sold by the Company for flights are purchased primarily via credit card transactions, with payments collected by the Company in advance of the performance of related services. The Company initially records ticket sales in its Advance ticket sales liability, deferring revenue recognition until the travel occurs. For travel that has more than one flight segment, the Company deems each segment as a separate performance obligation and recognizes revenue for each segment as travel occurs. Tickets sold by other airlines where the Company provides the transportation are recognized as passenger revenue at the estimated value to be billed to the other airline when travel is provided. Differences between amounts billed and the actual amounts may be rejected and rebilled or written off if the amount recorded was different from the original estimate. When necessary, the Company records a reserve against its billings and payables with other airlines based on historical experience.
The Company sells certain tickets with connecting flights with one or more segments operated by its other airline partners. For segments operated by its other airline partners, the Company has determined that it is acting as an agent on behalf of the other airlines as they are responsible for their portion of the contract (i.e. transportation of the passenger). The Company, as the agent, recognizes revenue within Other operating revenue at the time of the travel for the net amount representing commission to be retained by the Company for any segments flown by other airlines.
Refundable tickets expire after one year from the date of issuance. Non-refundable tickets generally expire on the date of the intended travel, unless the date is extended by notification from the customer on or before the intended travel date. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company extended the expiration dates on all passenger tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 to 24 months from the original issue date. On February 24, 2021, the Company extended the expiration dates for all tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
Fees charged in association with changes or extensions to non-refundable tickets are considered part of the Company's passenger travel obligation. As such, those fees are deferred at the time of collection and recognized at the time the travel is provided. Effective August 30, 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Also, in December 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on flights from the U.S. to all international destinations and fees on Basic Economy and all other international travel tickets issued by March 31, 2021.
United initially capitalizes the costs of selling airline travel tickets and then recognizes those costs as Distribution expense at the time of travel. Passenger ticket costs include credit card fees, travel agency and other commissions paid, as well as global distribution systems booking fees.
Advance Ticket Sales. Advance ticket sales represent the Company's liability to provide air transportation in the future. All tickets sold at any given point of time have travel dates extending up to 12 months. The Company defers amounts related to future travel in its Advance ticket sales liability account. The Company's Advance ticket sales liability
also includes credits issued to customers on electronic travel certificates ("ETCs") and future flight credits ("FFCs"), primarily for ticket cancellations, which can be applied towards a purchase of a new ticket. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company extended the expiration dates of ETCs from 12 months from the date of issuance to 24 months from the date of issuance and extended the expiration of FFCs, for tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 to 24 months from the original issue date. On February 24, 2021, the Company extended the expiration dates for all tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's Advance ticket sales liability included $3.1 billion related to these credits and approximately 74% of these credits have expiration dates extending beyond 12 months.
The Company records breakage revenue on the travel date for its estimate of tickets that will expire unused. To determine breakage, the Company uses its historical experience with refundable and nonrefundable expired tickets and other facts, such as recent aging trends, program changes and modifications that could affect the ultimate expiration patterns of tickets. The Company continues to use its historical experience and most recent trends and program changes to estimate its breakage. The Company will update its breakage estimates as future information is received. Given the uncertainty of travel demand caused by COVID-19, a significant portion of the $3.1 billion related to the ETCs and FFCs may expire unused in future periods and get recognized as breakage. Also, the Company is unable to estimate the amount of the ETCs and FFCs that will be used within the next 12 months and has classified the entire amount of the Advanced ticket liability in current liabilities even though some of the ETCs and FFCs could be used after the next 12 months.
In the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized approximately $3.0 billion, $3.4 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively, of passenger revenue for tickets that were included in Advance ticket sales at the beginning of those periods.
Revenue by Geography. The Company further disaggregates revenue by geographic regions.
Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise with separate financial information, which are evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker and are used in resource allocation and performance assessments. The Company deploys its aircraft across its route network through a single route scheduling system to maximize its value. When making resource allocation decisions, the Company's chief operating decision maker evaluates flight profitability data, which considers aircraft type and route economics. The Company's chief operating decision maker makes resource allocation decisions to maximize the Company's consolidated financial results. Managing the Company as one segment allows management the opportunity to maximize the value of its route network.
The Company's operating revenue by principal geographic region (as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation) for the years ended December 31 is presented in the table below (in millions):
2020 2019 2018
Domestic (U.S. and Canada) $ 9,911 $ 26,960 $ 25,552
Atlantic 2,226 7,387 7,103
Pacific 1,706 5,132 5,188
Latin America 1,512 3,780 3,460
Total $ 15,355 $ 43,259 $ 41,303
The Company attributes revenue among the geographic areas based upon the origin and destination of each flight segment. The Company's operations involve an insignificant level of revenue-producing assets in geographic regions as the overwhelming majority of the Company's revenue-producing assets (primarily U.S. registered aircraft) can be deployed in any of its geographic regions.
Ancillary Fees. The Company charges fees, separately from ticket sales, for certain ancillary services that are directly related to passengers' travel, such as ticket change fees, baggage fees, inflight amenities fees, and other ticket-related fees. These ancillary fees are part of the travel performance obligation and, as such, are recognized as passenger revenue when the travel occurs. The Company recorded $918 million, $2.4 billion and $2.2 billion of ancillary fees within passenger revenue in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
(c)Ticket Taxes-Certain governmental taxes are imposed on the Company's ticket sales through a fee included in ticket prices. The Company collects these fees and remits them to the appropriate government agency. These fees are recorded on a net basis and, as a result, are excluded from revenue. The CARES Act provided an excise tax holiday that suspended certain U.S. aviation excise taxes. The excise tax holiday began on March 28, 2020 and ended on December 31, 2020. During the excise tax holiday, no excise tax was imposed on amounts paid for the transportation of persons and property by air. At December 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $150 million of excise taxes refunded to customers that are to be reimbursed by the U.S. government in 2021.
(d)Frequent Flyer Accounting-United's MileagePlus loyalty program builds customer loyalty by offering awards, benefits and services to program participants. Members in this program earn miles for travel on United, United Express, Star Alliance members and certain other airlines that participate in the program. Members can also earn miles by purchasing goods and services from our network of non-airline partners. We have contracts to sell miles to these partners with the terms extending from one to nine years. These partners include domestic and international credit card issuers, retail merchants, hotels, car rental companies and our participating airline partners. Miles can be redeemed for free (other than taxes and government-imposed fees), discounted or upgraded air travel and non-travel awards.
Miles Earned in Conjunction with Travel. When frequent flyers earn miles for flights, the Company recognizes a portion of the ticket sales as revenue when the travel occurs and defers a portion of the ticket sale representing the value of the related miles as a separate performance obligation. The Company determines the estimated selling price of travel and miles as if each element is sold on a separate basis. The total consideration from each ticket sale is then allocated to each of these elements, individually, on a pro-rata basis. At the time of travel, the Company records the portion allocated to the miles to Frequent flyer deferred revenue on the Company's consolidated balance sheet and subsequently recognizes it into revenue when miles are redeemed for air travel and non-air travel awards.
Estimated Selling Price of Miles. The Company's estimated selling price of miles is based on an equivalent ticket value, which incorporates the expected redemption of miles, as the best estimate of selling price for these miles. The equivalent ticket value is based on the prior 12 months' weighted average equivalent ticket value of similar fares as those used to settle award redemptions while taking into consideration such factors as redemption pattern, cabin class, loyalty status and geographic region. The estimated selling price of miles is adjusted by breakage that considers a number of factors, including redemption patterns of various customer groups.
Estimate of Miles Not Expected to be Redeemed ("Breakage"). The Company's breakage model is based on the assumption that the likelihood that an account will redeem its miles can be estimated based on a consideration of the account's historical behavior. The Company uses a logit regression model to estimate the probability that an account will redeem its current miles balance. The Company reviews its breakage estimates annually based upon the latest available information. The Company's estimate of the expected breakage of miles requires significant management judgment. Current and future changes to breakage assumptions, or to program rules and program redemption opportunities, may result in material changes to the deferred revenue balance as well as recognized revenues from the program. For the portion of the outstanding miles that we estimate will not be redeemed, we recognize the associated value proportionally as the remaining miles are redeemed.
Co-Brand Agreement. During 2020, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Co-Branded Card Marketing Services Agreement (as amended from time to time, the "Co-Brand Agreement") with its co-branded credit card partner JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("Chase"). The Co-Brand Agreement extended the term of the agreement into 2029 and modified certain other terms, resulting in a different allocation among the separately identifiable performance obligations. Chase awards miles to MileagePlus members based on their credit card activity. United identified the following significant separately identifiable performance obligations in the Co-Brand Agreement:
•MileagePlus miles awarded - United has a performance obligation to provide MileagePlus cardholders with miles to be used for air travel and non-travel award redemptions. The Company records Passenger revenue related to the travel awards when the transportation is provided and records Other revenue related to the non-travel awards when the goods or services are delivered. The Company records the cost associated with non-travel awards in Other operating revenue, as an agent.
•Marketing - United has a performance obligation to provide Chase access to United's customer list and the use of United's brand. Marketing revenue is recorded to Other operating revenue as miles are delivered to Chase.
•Advertising - United has a performance obligation to provide advertising in support of the MileagePlus card in various customer contact points such as United's website, email promotions, direct mail campaigns, airport advertising and in-flight advertising. Advertising revenue is recorded to Other operating revenue as miles are delivered to Chase.
•Other travel-related benefits - United's performance obligations are comprised of various items such as waived bag fees, seat upgrades and lounge passes. Lounge passes are recorded to Other operating revenue as customers use the lounge passes. Bag fees and seat upgrades are recorded to Passenger revenue at the time of the associated travel.
We account for all the payments received (including monthly and one-time payments) under the Co-Brand Agreement by allocating them to the separately identifiable performance obligations. The fair value of the separately identifiable performance obligations is determined using management's estimated selling price of each component. The objective of using the estimated selling price based methodology is to determine the price at which we would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. Accordingly, we determine our best estimate of selling price by considering multiple inputs and methods including, but not limited to, discounted cash flows, brand value, volume discounts, published selling prices, number of miles awarded and number of miles redeemed. The Company estimated the selling prices and volumes over the term of the Co-Brand Agreement in order to determine the allocation of proceeds to each of the components to be delivered. We also evaluate volumes on an annual basis, which may result in a change in the allocation of the estimated consideration from the Co-Brand Agreement on a prospective basis.
Frequent Flyer Deferred Revenue. Miles in MileagePlus members' accounts are combined into one homogeneous pool and are thus not separately identifiable, for award redemption purposes, between miles earned in the current period and those in their beginning balance. Of the miles expected to be redeemed, the majority of these miles have historically been redeemed within two years. The table below presents a roll forward of Frequent flyer deferred revenue (in millions):
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 2019
Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - beginning balance $ 5,276 $ 5,005
Total miles awarded 1,336 2,621
Travel miles redeemed (Passenger revenue) (568) (2,213)
Non-travel miles redeemed (Other operating revenue) (69) (137)
Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - ending balance $ 5,975 $ 5,276
In the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized, in Other operating revenue, $1.7 billion, $2.0 billion and $2.0 billion (including a one-time $50 million payment), respectively, related to the marketing, advertising, non-travel miles redeemed (net of related costs) and other travel-related benefits of the mileage revenue associated with our various partner agreements including, but not limited to, our Chase co-brand agreement. The portion related to the MileagePlus miles awarded of the total amounts received is deferred and presented in the table above as an increase to the frequent flyer liability. We determine the current portion of our frequent flyer liability based on expected redemptions in the next 12 months. Given the uncertainty in travel demand caused by COVID-19, we currently estimate a greater percentage of award redemptions will occur beyond 12 months, however this estimate may change as travel demand and award redemptions change in future periods.
(e)Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash-Highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less on their acquisition date are classified as cash and cash equivalents.
Restricted cash-current-primarily includes $217 million cash collateral for a standby letter of credit associated with guarantees under the BRW Term Loan. See Note 8 of this report for additional information on the BRW Term Loan and Note 13 for additional information on the guarantee. The balance also includes amounts to be used for the payment of fees, principal and interest on the $6.8 billion of senior secured notes and a secured term loan facility (the "MileagePlus Financing") secured by substantially all of the assets of Mileage Plus Holdings, LLC ("MPH"), a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of United.
Restricted cash-non-current-primarily includes collateral associated with the MileagePlus Financing, collateral for letters of credit and collateral associated with facility leases and other insurance-related obligations.
Restricted cash is classified as short-term or long-term in the consolidated balance sheets based on the expected timing of return of the assets to the Company or payment to an outside party.
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the consolidated balance sheets that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the statements of consolidated cash flows (in millions):
UAL United
At December 31, At December 31,
2020 2019 2018 2020 2019 2018
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 11,269 $ 2,762 $ 1,694 $ 11,269 $ 2,756 $ 1,688
Restricted cash 255 - - 255 - -
Other assets:
Restricted cash 218 106 105 218 106 105
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of consolidated cash flows $ 11,742 $ 2,868 $ 1,799 $ 11,742 $ 2,862 $ 1,793
(f)Investments-Debt investments are classified as available-for-sale and are stated at fair value. Realized gains and losses on sales of these investments are reflected in Miscellaneous, net in the consolidated statements of operations. Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are reflected as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Equity investments with readily determinable fair values are measured at fair value. Equity investments without readily determinable fair values are measured using the equity method, or measured at cost with adjustments for observable changes in price or impairments (referred to as the measurement alternative). Changes in fair value are recorded in Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net in the consolidated statements of operations. See Note 9 of this report for additional information related to investments.
(g)Accounts Receivable-Accounts receivable primarily consist of amounts due from credit card companies, non-airline partners, and cargo customers. We provide an allowance for uncollectible accounts equal to the estimated losses expected to be incurred based on historical write-offs and other specific analyses. Bad debt expense and write-offs related to trade receivables were not material for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
(h)Aircraft Fuel, Spare Parts and Supplies-The Company accounts for aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies at average cost and provides an obsolescence allowance for aircraft spare parts with an assumed residual value of 10% of original cost.
(i)Property and Equipment-The Company records additions to owned operating property and equipment at cost when acquired. Property under finance leases and the related obligation for future lease payments are recorded at an amount equal to the initial present value of those lease payments. Modifications that enhance the operating performance or extend the useful lives of airframes or engines are capitalized as property and equipment. We periodically receive credits in connection with the acquisition of aircraft and engines including those related to contractual damages related to delays in delivery. These credits are deferred until the aircraft and engines are delivered, and then applied as a reduction to the cost of the related equipment.
Depreciation and amortization of owned depreciable assets is based on the straight-line method over the assets' estimated useful lives. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the remaining term of the lease, including estimated facility renewal options when renewal is reasonably certain at key airports, or the estimated useful life of the related asset, whichever is less. Properties under finance leases are amortized on the straight-line method over the life of the lease or, in the case of certain aircraft, over their estimated useful lives, whichever is shorter. Amortization of finance lease assets is included in depreciation and amortization expense. The estimated useful lives of property and equipment are as follows:
Estimated Useful Life (in years)
Aircraft, spare engines and related rotable parts 25 to 30
Aircraft seats 10 to 15
Buildings 25 to 45
Other property and equipment 3 to 15
Computer software 5 to 15
Building improvements 1 to 40
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had a carrying value of computer software of $548 million and $422 million, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company's depreciation expense related to computer software was $172 million, $135 million and $122 million, respectively. Aircraft and aircraft spare
parts were assumed to have residual values of approximately 10% of original cost, and other categories of property and equipment were assumed to have no residual value.
(j)Long-Lived Asset Impairments-The Company evaluates the carrying value of long-lived assets subject to amortization whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that an impairment may exist. For purposes of this testing, the Company has generally identified the aircraft fleet type as the lowest level of identifiable cash flows for its mainline fleet and the contract level for its regional fleet under capacity purchase agreements ("CPAs"). An impairment charge is recognized when the asset's carrying value exceeds its net undiscounted future cash flows. The amount of the charge is the difference between the asset's carrying value and fair market value.
In December 2020, the Company decided to permanently ground 11 Boeing 757-200 aircraft and recorded $94 million in impairment changes. See Note 14 of this report for additional information related to impairments.
(k)Intangibles-The Company has finite-lived and indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill. Finite-lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that the asset may be impaired.
We value goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets primarily using market and income approach valuation techniques. These measurements include the following key assumptions: (1) forecasted revenues, expenses and cash flows, (2) terminal period revenue growth and cash flows, (3) an estimated weighted average cost of capital, (4) assumed discount rates depending on the asset and (5) a tax rate. These assumptions are consistent with those that hypothetical market participants would use. Because we are required to make estimates and assumptions when evaluating goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment, actual transaction amounts may differ materially from these estimates.
In each quarter of 2020, the Company evaluated its goodwill and intangible assets for possible impairments due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UAL's market capitalization and cash flow projections. For goodwill and certain of its intangible assets, including the Company's China routes, London-Heathrow slots, alliances and the United trade name and logo, the Company performed a quantitative assessment which involved determining the fair value of the asset and comparing that amount to the asset's carrying value and, in the case of goodwill, comparing the Company's fair value to its carrying value. For all other intangible assets, the Company performed a qualitative assessment of whether it was more likely than not that an impairment had occurred. To determine fair value, the Company used discounted cash flow methods appropriate for each asset. Key inputs into the models included forecasted capacity, revenues, fuel costs, other operating costs and an overall discount rate. The assumptions used for future projections include that demand will likely remain suppressed through 2021. These assumptions are inherently uncertain as they relate to future events and circumstances. See Note 14 of this report for additional information related to impairments.
The following table presents information about the Company's goodwill and other intangible assets at December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019
Gross
Carrying
Amount Accumulated
Amortization Gross
Carrying
Amount Accumulated
Amortization
Goodwill $ 4,527 $ 4,523
Indefinite-lived intangible assets
Route authorities $ 1,020 $ 1,150
Airport slots 560 546
Tradenames and logos 593 593
Alliances 404 404
Total $ 2,577 $ 2,693
Finite-lived intangible assets
Frequent flyer database $ 1,177 $ 971 $ 1,177 $ 931
Hubs 145 111 145 104
Contracts 120 116 120 111
Other 314 297 314 294
Total $ 1,756 $ 1,495 $ 1,756 $ 1,440
Amortization expense in 2020, 2019 and 2018 was $55 million, $60 million and $67 million, respectively. Projected amortization expense in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 is $50 million, $40 million, $37 million, $32 million and $28 million, respectively.
(l)Labor Costs-The Company records expenses associated with new or amendable labor agreements when the amounts are probable and estimable. These include costs associated with lump sum cash payments that would be made in conjunction with the ratification of labor agreements. To the extent these upfront costs are in lieu of future pay increases, they would be capitalized and amortized over the term of the labor agreements. If not, these amounts would be expensed.
(m)Share-Based Compensation-The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. The resulting cost is recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award, usually the vesting period. Obligations for cash-settled restricted stock units ("RSUs") are remeasured at fair value throughout the requisite service period at the close of the reporting period based upon UAL's stock price. In addition to the service requirement, certain RSUs have performance metrics that must be achieved prior to vesting. These awards are accrued based on the expected level of achievement at each reporting period. An adjustment is recorded each reporting period to adjust compensation expense based on the then current level of expected performance achievement for the performance-based awards. See Note 4 of this report for additional information on UAL's share-based compensation plans.
(n)Maintenance and Repairs-The cost of maintenance and repairs, including the cost of minor replacements, is charged to expense as incurred, except for costs incurred under our power-by-the-hour ("PBTH") engine maintenance agreements. PBTH contracts transfer certain risk to third-party service providers and fix the amount we pay per flight hour or per cycle to the service provider in exchange for maintenance and repairs under a predefined maintenance program. Under PBTH agreements, the Company recognizes expense at a level rate per engine hour, unless the level of service effort and the related payments during the period are substantially consistent, in which case the Company recognizes expense based on the amounts paid.
(o)Advertising-Advertising costs, which are included in Other operating expenses, are expensed as incurred. Advertising expenses were $87 million, $212 million and $211 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
(p)Third-Party Business-The Company has third-party business revenue that includes catering, ground handling, maintenance services and frequent flyer award non-travel redemptions. Third-party business revenue is recorded in Other operating revenue. The Company also incurs third-party business expenses, such as maintenance, ground handling and catering services for third parties and non-travel mileage redemptions. The third-party business expenses are recorded in Other operating expenses, except for non-travel mileage redemption. Non-travel mileage redemption expenses are recorded to Other operating revenue.
(q)Uncertain Income Tax Positions-The Company has recorded reserves for income taxes and associated interest that may become payable in future years. Although management believes that its positions taken on income tax matters are reasonable, the Company nevertheless established tax and interest reserves in recognition that various taxing authorities may challenge certain of the positions taken by the Company, potentially resulting in additional liabilities for taxes and interest. The Company's uncertain tax position reserves are reviewed periodically and are adjusted as events occur that affect its estimates, such as the availability of new information, the lapsing of applicable statutes of limitation, the conclusion of tax audits, the measurement of additional estimated liability, the identification of new tax matters, the release of administrative tax guidance affecting its estimates of tax liabilities, or the rendering of relevant court decisions. The Company records penalties and interest relating to uncertain tax positions as part of income tax expense in its consolidated statements of operations. See Note 6 of this report for additional information on UAL's uncertain tax positions.
(r)Recently Issued Accounting Standards-The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses ("ASU 2016-13") effective January 1, 2020. ASU 2016-13 replaces the incurred loss methodology with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to calculate credit loss estimates. For trade receivables, loans and held-to-maturity debt securities, entities are required to estimate lifetime expected credit losses. For available-for-sale debt securities, entities are required to recognize an allowance for credit losses rather than a reduction to the carrying value of the asset. The Company recorded a $17 million cumulative-effect adjustment, net of related income taxes, to its retained earnings balance on January 1, 2020 as a result of this adoption. See Notes 8, 13 and 14 of this report for additional disclosures about the impact of ASU 2016-13 on 2020 results.
NOTE 2 - COMMON STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY AND PREFERRED SECURITIES
On February 24, 2020, the Company suspended share repurchases under its share repurchase program authorized by UAL's Board of Directors in July 2019. UAL's Board of Directors subsequently terminated this share repurchase program on April 24, 2020. In 2020, UAL repurchased approximately 4 million shares of UAL common stock in open market transactions for $0.3 billion. See Part II, Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities, of this report for additional information.
On April 20, 2020, UAL entered into a warrant agreement with Treasury, pursuant to which UAL agreed to issue to Treasury warrants to purchase up to approximately 4.6 million shares of common stock, pro rata in conjunction with increases to the principal amount outstanding under the PSP Note (the "PSP Warrants"), with an initial issuance of warrants to purchase up to approximately 2.3 million shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2020, UAL has issued PSP Warrants to purchase up to approximately 4.8 million shares of common stock, with such warrants accounted for as equity instruments. The PSP Warrants have a strike price of $31.50 per share (which was the closing price of UAL's common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market on April 9, 2020). The PSP Warrants will expire five years after issuance, and are exercisable either through net share settlement, in cash or in shares of UAL common stock, at UAL's option. The relative fair value of the PSP Warrants was calculated using a Black-Scholes options pricing model and approximately $66 million was recorded within stockholders' equity with an offset to the CARES Act grant credit. The PSP Warrants contain customary anti-dilution provisions and registration rights and are freely transferable. Pursuant to the terms of the PSP Warrants, PSP Warrant holders do not have any voting rights.
In connection with the entry into the Term Loan Facility, UAL entered into a warrant agreement with Treasury on September 28, 2020, pursuant to which UAL will issue to Treasury warrants (the "Credit Agreement Warrants") to purchase up to approximately 16.4 million shares of UAL common stock, assuming United borrows the initial commitments under the Term Loan Facility in full. The Credit Agreement Warrants will be issued on the date of disbursement of each Term Loan in an amount corresponding to 10% of the principal amount of each such disbursement. In connection with United's borrowing of the initial $520 million loan, on September 28, 2020, UAL issued Credit Agreement Warrants to purchase up to approximately 1.7 million shares of UAL common stock. The Credit Agreement Warrants will have a strike price of $31.50 per share. The Credit Agreement Warrants will expire five years after issuance, and are exercisable either through net share settlement in cash or in shares of UAL common stock, at UAL's option. The relative fair value of the Credit Agreement Warrants was calculated using a Black-Scholes options pricing model and approximately $30 million was recorded within stockholders' equity and as a debt discount against the outstanding loan. If Treasury increases its loan commitments, then the maximum amount of common stock for which warrants could be issued would increase proportionally with such increase to the commitments.
During the first quarter of 2021, UAL entered into a warrant agreement with Treasury pursuant to which UAL will issue to Treasury warrants to purchase up to approximately 1.7 million shares of UAL common stock, pro rata in conjunction with increases to the principal amount outstanding under the PSP2 Note (the "PSP2 Warrants"). The PSP2 Warrants will have a
strike price of $43.26 per share. The PSP2 Warrants will expire five years after issuance, and are exercisable either through net share settlement in cash or in shares of UAL common stock, at UAL's option. The PSP2 Warrants contain customary anti-dilution provisions, registration rights and are freely transferable. Pursuant to the terms of the PSP2 Warrants, PSP2 Warrant holders do not have any voting rights.
In 2020, UAL entered into an underwriting agreement (the "Underwriting Agreement") with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Barclays Capital Inc. (collectively, the "Underwriters"), relating to the issuance and sale by UAL of approximately 43 million shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, at a price to the public of $26.50 per share, resulting in total proceeds of approximately $1.1 billion.
On June 15, 2020, UAL entered into an equity distribution agreement (the "Distribution Agreement") with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (collectively, the "Managers"), relating to the issuance and sale from time to time by UAL (the "ATM Offering"), through the Managers, of up to 28 million shares of UAL's common stock, par value $0.01 per share. Sales of the shares, if any, under the Distribution Agreement may be made in any transactions that are deemed to be "at the market offerings" as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Under the terms of the Distribution Agreement, UAL may also sell shares to any Manager, as principal for its own account, at a price agreed upon at the time of sale. If UAL sells shares to a Manager as principal, UAL will enter into a separate agreement with such Manager. As of December 31, 2020, approximately 21.4 million shares were sold in the ATM Offering at an average price of $46.70 per share, with net proceeds to the Company totaling approximately $989 million.
At December 31, 2020, approximately 6 million shares of UAL's common stock were reserved for future issuance related to the issuance of equity-based awards under the Company's incentive compensation plans.
As of December 31, 2020, UAL had two shares of junior preferred stock (par value $0.01 per share) outstanding. In addition, UAL is authorized to issue 250 million shares of preferred stock (without par value) under UAL's amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
NOTE 3 - EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE
The computations of UAL's basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share are set forth below for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except per share amounts):
2020 2019 2018
Earnings (loss) available to common stockholders $ (7,069) $ 3,009 $ 2,122
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding 279.4 258.8 275.5
Effect of share-based awards - 1.1 1.2
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding 279.4 259.9 276.7
Earnings (loss) per share, basic $ (25.30) $ 11.63 $ 7.70
Earnings (loss) per share, diluted $ (25.30) $ 11.58 $ 7.67
The number of antidilutive securities excluded from the computation of diluted per share amounts was not material.
NOTE 4 - SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS
UAL maintains share-based compensation plans for our management employees and our non-employee directors. These plans provide for grants of non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), stock appreciation rights, restricted shares, RSUs, performance compensation awards, performance units, cash incentive awards, other equity-based and equity-related awards, and dividends and dividend equivalents.
All awards are recorded as either equity or a liability in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The share-based compensation expense is recorded in salaries and related costs.
During 2020, UAL granted share-based compensation awards pursuant to the United Continental Holdings, Inc. 2017 Incentive Compensation Plan. These share-based compensation awards included approximately 2.5 million RSUs consisting of 2.2 million time-vested RSUs and 0.3 million performance-based RSUs. The time-vested RSUs vest pro-rata, typically on February 28th of each year, over a three-year period from the date of grant. The amount of performance-based RSUs vest upon the achievement of established goals based on the Company's absolute pre-tax margin performance as well as a customer metric based on the Company's relative quarterly average of net promoter scores as compared to a group of industry peers, both of which are measured for the three-year performance period ending December 31, 2022. RSUs are generally equity awards settled in stock for domestic employees and liability awards settled in cash for international employees. The cash payments are based on the 20-day average closing price of UAL common stock immediately prior to the vesting date.
The following table provides information related to UAL's share-based compensation plan cost for the years ended December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019 2018
Compensation cost:
RSUs $ 106 $ 98 $ 98
Restricted stock - 1 2
Stock options 2 1 1
Total $ 108 $ 100 $ 101
The table below summarizes UAL's unearned compensation and weighted-average remaining period to recognize costs for all outstanding share-based awards that are probable of being achieved as of December 31, 2020 (in millions, except as noted):
Unearned Compensation Weighted-Average
Remaining Period
(in years)
RSUs $ 80 1.5
Stock options 8 4.6
Total $ 88
RSUs. As of December 31, 2020, UAL had recorded a liability of approximately $29 million related to its cash-settled RSUs. UAL paid approximately $26 million, $41 million and $28 million related to its cash-settled RSUs during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
The table below summarizes UAL's RSUs and restricted stock activity for the years ended December 31 (shares in millions):
Liability Awards Equity Awards
RSUs
RSUs Weighted-
Average
Grant Price Restricted
Stock Weighted-
Average
Grant Price
Outstanding at December 31, 2017 1.8 1.4 $ 63.99 0.3 $ 52.30
Granted 0.7 1.1 67.74 - -
Vested (0.5) (0.5) 63.02 (0.2) 53.24
Forfeited (0.1) (0.2) 67.34 - -
Outstanding at December 31, 2018 1.9 1.8 66.29 0.1 51.17
Granted 0.1 1.1 86.72 - -
Vested (0.5) (0.8) 64.85 (0.1) 51.17
Forfeited (0.9) (0.1) 76.48 - -
Outstanding at December 31, 2019 0.6 2.0 78.03 - -
Granted 0.1 2.4 40.80 - -
Vested (0.3) (0.8) 74.54 - -
Forfeited - (0.4) 54.21 - -
Outstanding at December 31, 2020 0.4 3.2 53.41 - -
The fair value of RSUs and restricted stock that vested in 2020, 2019 and 2018 was $87 million, $99 million and $70 million, respectively. The fair value of the restricted stock and the stock-settled RSUs was based upon the UAL common stock price on the date of grant. The fair value of the cash-settled RSUs was based on the UAL common stock price as of the last day preceding the settlement date.
Stock Options. UAL did not grant any stock option awards during either 2020 or 2018. In 2019, UAL granted an award of approximately 307,000 premium-priced stock options with an exercise price that was 25% higher than the closing price of UAL's common stock on the date of grant, representing an exercise price of $110.21. Expense related to each portion of an option grant is recognized on a straight-line basis over the specific vesting period for those options.
As of December 31, 2020, there were approximately 0.7 million outstanding stock option awards, 0.3 million of which were exercisable, with weighted-average exercise prices of $82.12 and $58.25, respectively, weighted-average remaining contractual lives (in years) of 6.3 and 3.5, respectively, and intrinsic values of zero as all of the exercise prices exceeded the closing stock price on that date.
NOTE 5 - ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) ("AOCI")
The tables below present the components of the Company's AOCI, net of tax (in millions):
Pension and
Other
Postretirement
Liabilities Investments and Other Deferred Taxes
Total
Balance at December 31, 2017 $ (1,102) $ (6) $ (39) $ (1,147)
Change in value 377 (5) (83) 289
Amounts reclassified to earnings 62 (a) - (13) 49
Amounts reclassified to retained earnings ("RE") - 7 (b) (1) (b) 6
Balance at December 31, 2018 (663) (4) (136) (803)
Change in value 105 7 (24) 88
Amounts reclassified to earnings (2) (a) (1) - (3)
Balance at December 31, 2019 (560) 2 (160) (718)
Change in value (993) - 221 (772)
Amounts reclassified to earnings 451 (a) - (100) 351
Balance at December 31, 2020 $ (1,102) $ 2 $ (39) $ (1,139)
(a) This AOCI component is included in the computation of net periodic pension and other postretirement costs. See Note 7 of this report for additional information on pensions and other postretirement liabilities.
(b) These amounts represent the reclassification from AOCI to RE of the unrealized loss, and related tax, on the Company's investment in Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S.A. ("Azul") which was classified as an available-for-sale security prior to the Company adopting Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10) effective January 1, 2018.
NOTE 6 - INCOME TAXES
The income tax provision (benefit) differed from amounts computed at the statutory federal income tax rate and consisted of the following significant components (in millions):
UAL 2020 2019 2018
Income tax provision (benefit) at statutory rate $ (1,852) $ 822 $ 556
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit (110) 50 29
Foreign tax rate differential - (90) (84)
Global intangible low-taxed income - 90 4
Foreign income taxes 1 1 2
Nondeductible employee meals 5 12 12
State rate change (2) - 3
Valuation allowance 197 (4) (3)
Other, net 8 24 7
$ (1,753) $ 905 $ 526
Current $ (12) $ 23 $ 14
Deferred (1,741) 882 512
$ (1,753) $ 905 $ 526
United 2020 2019 2018
Income tax provision (benefit) at statutory rate $ (1,852) $ 822 $ 557
State income taxes, net of federal income tax (110) 50 29
Foreign tax rate differential - (90) (84)
Global intangible low-taxed income - 90 4
Foreign income taxes 1 1 2
Nondeductible employee meals 5 12 12
State rate change (2) - 3
Valuation allowance 197 (4) (3)
Other, net 8 24 7
$ (1,753) $ 905 $ 527
Current $ (12) $ 23 $ 14
Deferred (1,741) 882 513
$ (1,753) $ 905 $ 527
The Company's effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2020 differed from the federal statutory rate of 21% due to a blend of federal, state and foreign taxes as well as the impact of certain nondeductible items and a valuation allowance of $197 million related to capital losses and state attributes.
Temporary differences and carryforwards that give rise to deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows (in millions):
UAL United
2020 2019 2020 2019
Deferred income tax asset (liability):
Federal and state net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards $ 2,476 $ 695 $ 2,448 $ 668
Deferred revenue 1,409 1,287 1,409 1,287
Employee benefits, including pension, postretirement and medical 1,103 715 1,103 715
Operating lease liabilities 1,247 1,256 1,247 1,256
Sale leaseback liabilities 260 - 260 -
Other 362 165 362 165
Less: Valuation allowance (247) (58) (247) (58)
Total deferred tax assets $ 6,610 $ 4,060 $ 6,582 $ 4,033
Depreciation $ (4,789) $ (4,011) $ (4,789) $ (4,011)
Operating lease right-of-use asset (1,028) (1,061) (1,028) (1,061)
Intangibles (662) (724) (662) (724)
Total deferred tax liabilities $ (6,479) $ (5,796) $ (6,479) $ (5,796)
Net deferred tax asset (liability) $ 131 $ (1,736) $ 103 $ (1,763)
United and its domestic consolidated subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return with UAL. Under an intercompany tax allocation policy, United and its subsidiaries compute, record and pay UAL for their own tax liability as if they were separate companies filing separate returns. In determining their own tax liabilities, United and each of its subsidiaries take into account all tax credits or benefits generated and utilized as separate companies and they are each compensated for the aforementioned tax benefits only if they would be able to use those benefits on a separate company basis.
The Company's federal and state NOL and tax credit carryforwards relate to current and prior years' NOLs and credits, which may be used to reduce tax liabilities in future years. These tax benefits are mostly attributable to federal pre-tax NOL carryforwards of $11.0 billion ($2.3 billion tax effected) for UAL. If not utilized these federal pre-tax NOLs will expire as follows (in billions): $0.1 in 2026, $0.5 in 2028, and $0.4 in 2029, $0.2 in 2032 and $0.4 in 2033. The remaining $9.4 billion of NOLs has no expiration date. State pre-tax NOLs of $3.7 billion ($0.2 billion tax effected) expire over a five to twenty year period. Federal tax credits of $42 million will expire over a one-to-eighteen-year period and state tax credits of $33 million will expire over a one-to-eleven-year period.
A tax valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company's management assesses available positive and negative evidence regarding the Company's ability to realize its deferred tax assets and records a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets will not be realized. In order to form a conclusion, management considers positive evidence in the form of taxable income in prior carryback years, reversing temporary differences, tax planning strategies and projections of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible, as well as negative evidence such as historical losses. Although the Company was in a cumulative loss position at the end of 2020, management determined that the 2020 results were not indicative of future results due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. The Company concluded that the positive evidence outweighs the negative evidence, primarily driven by approval and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as well as increased confidence with the timing of the recovery. The Company's largest deferred tax assets are mostly attributable to federal pre-tax NOLs which were $11.0 billion ($2.3 billion tax effected) at December 31, 2020. The majority of the NOLs do not expire and the Company expects to recognize the NOLs through the reversal of existing deferred tax liabilities and projected future taxable income. Therefore, we have not recorded a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets other than the capital loss carryforwards and state attributes that have short expiration periods. While the Company expects to generate sufficient future profits to fully utilize these NOLs, the Company may have to record a valuation allowance against our NOLs if it is unable to generate sufficient taxable income in future periods. Recording a valuation allowance against our NOLs would not impact our ability to use them. Assumptions about future taxable income are consistent with the plans and estimates used to manage our business. Management will continue to evaluate future financial performance to determine whether such performance is both sustained and significant enough to provide sufficient evidence to support not recording valuation allowance on these NOLs. Any reduction in estimated future taxable income may require additional valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets, which could be material. As of December 31, 2020, the Company has recorded $185 million of valuation allowance against its capital loss deferred tax assets. Capital losses have a limited carryforward period of five years and they can be utilized only to the extent of capital gains. The Company does not anticipate generating sufficient capital gains to utilize the losses before they expire, therefore, a valuation allowance is necessary as of December 31, 2020. Additionally, the
Company recorded a valuation allowance of $62 million on the state NOL and state tax credit deferred tax assets primarily due to utilization limitations resulting from a prior ownership change.
The Company's unrecognized tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions were $57 million, $53 million and $39 million at December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Included in the ending balance at December 31, 2020 is $57 million that would affect the Company's effective tax rate if recognized. The changes in unrecognized tax benefits relating to settlements with taxing authorities, unrecognized tax benefits as a result of tax positions taken during a prior period and unrecognized tax benefits relating from a lapse of the statute of limitations were immaterial during 2020, 2019 and 2018. The Company does not expect significant increases or decreases in their unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months. There are no material amounts included in the balance at December 31, 2020 for tax positions for which the ultimate deductibility is highly certain but for which there is uncertainty about the timing of such deductibility.
The Company's federal income tax returns for tax years after 2002 remain subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") and state taxing jurisdictions. We are currently under audit by the IRS for the 2016 and 2017 tax years.
NOTE 7 - PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT PLANS
The following summarizes the significant pension and other postretirement plans of United:
Pension Plans. United maintains two primary defined benefit pension plans, one covering certain pilot employees and another covering certain U.S. non-pilot employees. Each of these plans provide benefits based on a combination of years of benefit accruals service and an employee's final average compensation. Additional benefit accruals are frozen under the plan covering certain pilot employees and for management and administrative employees covered under the non-pilot plan. Benefit accruals for certain non-pilot employees continue. United maintains additional defined benefit pension plans, which cover certain international employees.
Other Postretirement Plans. United maintains postretirement medical programs which provide medical benefits to certain retirees and eligible dependents, as well as life insurance benefits to certain retirees participating in the plan. Benefits provided are subject to applicable contributions, co-payments, deductibles and other limits as described in the specific plan documentation.
During 2020, the Company offered voluntary separation programs ("VSPs") to its U.S.-based front-line employees and management and administrative employees. The Company offered certain of its eligible front-line employees, based on employee group, age and completed years of service, special termination benefits in the form of additional years of pension service and additional subsidies for retiree medical costs. These benefits resulted in a $54 million special termination benefit charges for the pension plans and $201 million for the retiree medical plan. The VSPs and other separation programs caused the lump sum settlements to increase in 2020. In 2020, the primary defined benefit pension plans paid $1.4 billion in lump sum distributions resulting in the recognition of $430 million of settlement losses. Settlement losses trigger the recognition of losses previously reported as unrealized in accumulated other comprehensive loss in an amount that is proportionate to the lump sum distributions as a percentage of the obligations of the plan.
Actuarial assumption changes are reflected as a component of the net actuarial (gain) loss during 2020 and 2019. The 2020 actuarial losses were mainly related to a decrease in the discount rate applied at December 31, 2020 compared to December 31, 2019. Actuarial (gains) losses will be amortized over the average remaining service life of the covered active employees or the average life expectancy of inactive participants.
The following tables set forth the reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation and plan assets, the funded status and the amounts recognized in these financial statements for the defined benefit and other postretirement plans (in millions):
Pension Benefits
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Year Ended December 31, 2019
Accumulated benefit obligation: $ 5,387 $ 5,333
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 6,398 $ 5,396
Service cost 216 184
Interest cost 209 226
Actuarial loss 1,181 784
Special termination benefit 54 -
Benefits paid (1,445) (200)
Curtailment (105) -
Other 17 8
Projected benefit obligation at end of year $ 6,525 $ 6,398
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year $ 4,964 $ 3,827
Actual return on plan assets 521 684
Employer contributions 16 649
Benefits paid (1,445) (200)
Other 13 4
Fair value of plan assets at end of year $ 4,069 $ 4,964
Funded status-Net amount recognized $ (2,456) $ (1,434)
Pension Benefits
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Noncurrent asset $ 8 $ 14
Current liability (4) (2)
Noncurrent liability (2,460) (1,446)
Total liability $ (2,456) $ (1,434)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:
Net actuarial loss $ (1,924) $ (1,652)
Prior service cost (3) (4)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss $ (1,927) $ (1,656)
Other Postretirement Benefits
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Year Ended December 31, 2019
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year $ 842 $ 1,391
Service cost 10 10
Interest cost 28 47
Plan participants' contributions 58 67
Benefits paid (164) (180)
Actuarial loss 107 99
Plan amendments - (597)
Special termination benefit 201 -
Other - 5
Benefit obligation at end of year $ 1,082 $ 842
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year $ 52 $ 53
Actual return on plan assets 1 1
Employer contributions 104 111
Plan participants' contributions 58 67
Benefits paid (164) (180)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year 51 52
Funded status-Net amount recognized $ (1,031) $ (790)
Other Postretirement Benefits
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Current liability $ (37) $ (1)
Noncurrent liability (994) (789)
Total liability $ (1,031) $ (790)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income consist of:
Net actuarial gain $ 255 $ 403
Prior service credit 570 693
Total accumulated other comprehensive income $ 825 $ 1,096
The following information relates to all pension plans with an accumulated benefit obligation and a projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets at December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019
Projected benefit obligation $ 6,250 $ 6,161
Accumulated benefit obligation 5,163 5,137
Fair value of plan assets 3,786 4,714
Net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31 included the following components (in millions):
2020 2019 2018
Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits
Service cost $ 216 $ 10 $ 184 $ 10 $ 228 $ 12
Interest cost 209 28 226 47 217 61
Expected return on plan assets (328) (1) (291) (1) (292) (2)
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial (gain) loss 162 (40) 118 (52) 130 (32)
Amortization of prior service credits - (124) - (73) - (37)
Settlement loss - VSPs 430 - - - - -
Special termination benefit - VSPs 54 201 - - - -
Curtailment 1 - - - - -
Other 22 - 5 - 1 -
Net periodic benefit cost (credit) $ 766 $ 74 $ 242 $ (69) $ 284 $ 2
Service cost is recorded in Salaries and related costs on the statement of consolidated operations. All other components of net periodic benefit costs are recorded in Miscellaneous, net on the statement of consolidated operations.
The assumptions used for the benefit plans were as follows:
Pension Benefits
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations 2020 2019
Discount rate 2.72 % 3.52 %
Rate of compensation increase 3.88 % 3.89 %
Assumptions used to determine net expense
Discount rate 3.51 % 4.21 %
Expected return on plan assets 7.31 % 7.40 %
Rate of compensation increase 3.88 % 3.89 %
A 50 basis points decrease in the weighted average discount rate would have increased the Company's December 31, 2020 pension benefit liability by approximately $0.8 billion and increased the estimated 2020 pension benefit expense by approximately $78 million.
Other Postretirement Benefits
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations 2020 2019
Discount rate 2.43 % 3.35 %
Assumptions used to determine net expense
Discount rate 3.35 % 4.30 %
Expected return on plan assets 3.00 % 3.00 %
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year 5.80 % 6.00 %
Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (ultimate trend rate in 2033) 4.50 % 5.00 %
A 50 basis points decrease in the weighted average discount rate would have increased the Company's December 31, 2020 postretirement benefit liability by approximately $48 million and increased the estimated 2020 benefits expense by approximately $2 million.
The Company used the Society of Actuaries' PRI-2012 Private Retirement Plans Mortality Tables projected generationally using the Society of Actuaries' MP-2020 projection scale.
The Company selected the 2020 discount rate for substantially all of its plans by using a hypothetical portfolio of high-quality bonds at December 31, 2020, that would provide the necessary cash flows to match projected benefit payments.
We develop our expected long-term rate of return assumption for our defined benefit plans based on historical experience and by evaluating input from the trustee managing the plans' assets. Our expected long-term rate of return on plan assets for these
plans is based on a target allocation of assets, which is based on our goal of earning the highest rate of return while maintaining risk at acceptable levels. The plans strive to have assets sufficiently diversified so that adverse or unexpected results from one security class will not have an unduly detrimental impact on the entire portfolio. Plan fiduciaries regularly review our actual asset allocation and the pension plans' investments are periodically rebalanced to our targeted allocation when considered appropriate. United's plan assets are allocated within the following guidelines:
Percent of Total Expected Long-Term
Rate of Return
Equity securities 30-45
% 10 %
Fixed-income securities 35-50
Alternatives 15-25
A 50 basis points decrease in the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets would have increased estimated 2020 pension expense by approximately $25 million.
Fair Value Information. Accounting standards require us to use valuation techniques to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized as follows:
Level 1 Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for assets or liabilities identical to those to be reported at fair value
Level 2 Other inputs that are observable directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities or market-corroborated inputs
Level 3 Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data and which require us to develop our own assumptions about how market participants would price the assets or liabilities
Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are based on the valuation techniques identified in the tables below. The valuation techniques are as follows:
(a) Market approach. Prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets and liabilities; and
(b) Income approach. Techniques to convert future amounts to a single current value based on market expectations (including present value techniques, option-pricing and excess earnings models).
The following tables present information about United's pension and other postretirement plan assets at December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019
Pension Plan Assets: Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Assets Measured at NAV(a) Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Assets Measured at NAV(a)
Equity securities funds $ 1,606 $ 55 $ 125 $ 96 $ 1,330 $ 1,957 $ 47 $ 117 $ 71 $ 1,722
Fixed-income securities 1,644 - 548 49 1,047 1,732 - 687 69 976
Alternatives 669 - - 195 474 776 - - 205 571
Other investments 150 132 8 10 - 499 466 21 12 -
Total $ 4,069 $ 187 $ 681 $ 350 $ 2,851 $ 4,964 $ 513 $ 825 $ 357 $ 3,269
Other Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets:
Deposit administration fund $ 51 $ - $ - $ 51 $ - $ 52 $ - $ - $ 52 $ -
(a) In accordance with the relevant accounting standards, certain investments that are measured at fair value using the net asset value ("NAV") per share (or its equivalent) have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. These investments are commingled funds that invest in fixed-income instruments including bonds, debt securities, and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities. Redemption periods for these investments range from daily to semiannually.
Equity and Fixed-Income. Equities include investments in both developed market and emerging market equity securities. Fixed-income includes primarily U.S. and non-U.S. government fixed-income securities and U.S. and non-U.S. corporate fixed-income securities.
Deposit Administration Fund. This investment is a stable value investment product structured to provide investment income.
Alternatives. Alternative investments consist primarily of investments in hedge funds, real estate and private equity interests.
Other investments. Other investments consist of primarily cash, as well as insurance contracts.
The reconciliation of United's benefit plan assets measured at fair value using unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows (in millions):
2020 2019
Balance at beginning of year $ 409 $ 350
Actual return (loss) on plan assets:
Sold during the year 4 12
Held at year end 13 (1)
Purchases, sales, issuances and settlements (net) (25) 48
Balance at end of year $ 401 $ 409
Funding requirements for tax-qualified defined benefit pension plans are determined by government regulations. The Company did not have any minimum required contributions for 2020 and does not expect any for 2021. The Company expects to make approximately $82 million in contributions to United's postretirement plans in 2021.
The estimated future benefit payments, net of expected participant contributions, in United's pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans as of December 31, 2020 are as follows (in millions):
Pension Other Postretirement
2021 $ 325 $ 88
2022 339 118
2023 353 100
2024 351 87
2025 376 83
Years 2026 - 2030 2,113 359
Defined Contribution Plans. United offers several defined contribution plans to its employees. Depending upon the employee group, employer contributions consist of matching contributions and/or non-elective employer contributions. United's employer contribution percentages to its primary 401(k) defined contribution plans vary from 1% to 16% of eligible earnings depending on the terms of each plan. United recorded expenses for its primary 401(k) defined contribution plans of $687 million, $735 million and $693 million in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Multi-Employer Plans. United's participation in the IAM National Pension Plan ("IAM Plan") for the annual period ended December 31, 2020 is outlined in the table below. In addition to the additional required contributions described in table below, contributions in 2020 were affected by COVID-19 impacts on United's operations and consequently employee hours paid. The risks of participating in these multi-employer plans are different from single-employer plans, as United may be subject to additional risks that others do not meet their obligations, which in certain circumstances could revert to United. The IAM Plan reported $510 million in employers' contributions for the year ended December 31, 2019. For 2019, the Company's contributions to the IAM Plan represented more than 10% of total contributions to the IAM Plan. The 2020 information is not available as Form 5500 is not final for the plan year.
Pension Fund IAM National Pension Fund ("Fund")
EIN/ Pension Plan Number 51-6031295 - 002
Pension Protection Act Zone Status (2020 and 2019) Critical (2020) and Endangered (2019). A plan generally is in "endangered" status if its funded percentage is less than 80 percent. A plan is in "critical" status if the funded percentage is less than 65 percent. On April 17, 2019, the IAM National Pension Fund Board of Trustees voluntarily elected for the Fund to be in critical status effective for the plan year beginning January 1, 2019 to strengthen the Fund's financial health.
FIP/RP Status Pending/Implemented A 10-year Rehabilitation Plan effective, January 1, 2022, was adopted on April 17, 2019 that requires the Company to make an additional contribution of 2.5% of the hourly contribution rate, compounded annually for the length of the Rehabilitation Plan, effective June 1, 2019.
United's Contributions $53 million, $59 million and $52 million in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively
Surcharge Imposed No
Expiration Date of Collective Bargaining Agreement N/A
Profit Sharing. Substantially all employees participate in profit sharing based on a percentage of pre-tax earnings, excluding special charges, profit sharing expense and share-based compensation. Profit sharing percentages range from 5% to 20% depending on the work group, and in some cases profit sharing percentages vary above and below certain pre-tax margin thresholds. Eligible U.S. co-workers in each participating work group receive a profit sharing payout using a formula based on the ratio of each qualified co-worker's annual eligible earnings to the eligible earnings of all qualified co-workers in all domestic work groups. Eligible non-U.S. co-workers receive profit sharing based on the calculation under the U.S. profit sharing plan for management and administrative employees. As a result of the pre-tax losses in 2020, no profit sharing was recorded. However, the Company recorded profit sharing and related payroll tax expense of $491 million and $334 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Profit sharing expense is recorded as a component of Salaries and related costs in the Company's statements of consolidated operations.
NOTE 8 - NOTES RECEIVABLE
BRW Term Loan. In November 2018, United, as lender, entered into a Term Loan Agreement (the "BRW Term Loan Agreement") with, among others, BRW Aviation Holding LLC and BRW Aviation LLC ("BRW"), as guarantor and borrower, respectively. BRW Aviation Holding LLC and BRW are affiliates of Synergy Aerospace Corporation ("Synergy"), and BRW is the majority shareholder of Avianca Holdings S.A. ("AVH"). Pursuant to the BRW Term Loan Agreement, United provided to BRW a $456 million term loan (the "BRW Term Loan"), secured by a pledge of BRW's equity, as well as BRW's 516 million common shares of AVH (which are eligible to be converted into the same number of preferred shares, which may be deposited with the depositary for AVH's American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), the class of AVH securities that trades on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE"), in exchange for 64.5 million ADRs) (such shares and equity, collectively, the "BRW Loan Collateral").
In the first quarter of 2020, United recorded a full credit loss allowance against the $515 million carrying value of the BRW Term Loan and related receivables. United recorded the allowance based on United's assessment of AVH's financial uncertainty due to its high level of leverage and the fact that the airline had ceased operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The credit loss allowance was recorded as part of Nonoperating income (expense): Miscellaneous, net on the Company's statements of consolidated operations. AVH and certain of its affiliates filed voluntary reorganization proceedings under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on May 10, 2020 (the "AVH Reorganization Proceedings"). Accordingly, United maintains a full loss reserve against the BRW Term Loan and related receivables.
In connection with funding the BRW Term Loan Agreement, the Company entered into certain other agreements with Kingsland. See Note 13 of this report for additional information regarding our obligations to Kingsland and their interrelationship with the BRW Term Loan Agreement.
Avianca Loan. In November 2019, United entered into a senior secured convertible term loan agreement (the "AVH Convertible Loan Agreement") with, among others, AVH, as borrower, for the provision by the lenders thereunder (including United) to AVH of convertible term loans for general corporate purposes. In December 2019, United provided such a
convertible term loan to AVH under the AVH Convertible Loan Agreement in the aggregate amount of $150 million (the "AVH Convertible Loan"). The AVH Convertible Loan (1) was payable in a single installment in December 2023, (2) bore paid-in-kind interest at a rate of 3 percent per annum ("PIK Interest") and (3) was secured by a pledge of capital stock in AVH's major subsidiaries and, until released, certain Colombian Peso-denominated credit card receivables owing to Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A. ("Avianca"), a subsidiary of AVH and guarantor under the AVH Convertible Loan Agreement. In October, 2020, under the AVH Reorganization Proceedings, the balance of the convertible loan became a debtor-in-possession ("DIP") term loan ("DIP Loan") under the terms of the DIP credit agreement. The DIP Loan is not convertible. It bears paid-in-kind interest at a rate of 14.5% per annum and has a scheduled maturity date in November 2021. The DIP Loan becomes immediately payable upon AVH's emergence from bankruptcy, in either cash or shares of AVH stock, at AVH's election. As of December 31, 2020, the DIP loan had a balance of $159 million and was recorded in Receivables on the Company's balance sheet.
Other. The Company has $31 million of notes receivable, the majority of which is from certain of its regional carriers.
NOTE 9 - INVESTMENTS AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
Fair Value Information. Accounting standards require us to use valuation techniques to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are described in Note 7 of this report. The table below presents disclosures about the fair value of financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis in the Company's financial statements as of December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019
Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents $ 11,269 $ 11,269 $ - $ - $ 2,762 $ 2,762 $ - $ -
Restricted cash - current (Note 1) 255 255 - - - - - -
Restricted cash - non-current (Note 1) 218 218 - - 106 106 - -
Short-term investments:
Corporate debt 330 - 330 - 1,045 - 1,045 -
Asset-backed securities 51 - 51 - 690 - 690 -
U.S. government and agency notes 33 - 33 - 124 - 124 -
Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service - - - - 35 - 35 -
Other fixed-income securities - - - - 95 - 95 -
Other investments measured at NAV - - - - 193 - - -
Long-term investments:
Equity securities 205 205 - - 385 385 - -
AVH Derivative Assets - - - - 24 - - 24
Other assets 36 - - 36 - - - -
Short-term investments - The short-term investments shown in the table above are classified as available-for-sale, with the exception of investments measured at NAV. As of December 31, 2020, corporate debt securities have remaining maturities of approximately two years or less, asset-backed securities have remaining maturities of less than one year to approximately 14 years, and U.S. government and agency notes have maturities of less than one year.
Equity securities - Equity securities represent United's investment in Azul, consisting of approximately 8% of Azul's outstanding preferred shares (representing approximately 2% of the total capital stock of Azul). The Company recorded $180 million in losses and $136 million in gains, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 for changes to the fair market value of its equity investment in Azul in Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net in the Company's statements of consolidated operations. The carrying value of our investment in Azul was $205 million at December 31, 2020.
AVH Derivative Assets - As part of the BRW Term Loan Agreement and related agreements with Kingsland, United obtained AVH share call options and AVH share appreciation rights and entered into an AVH share-based upside sharing agreement (collectively, the "AVH Derivative Assets"). The AVH Derivative Assets are recorded at fair value as Other assets on the Company's balance sheet and are included in the table above. The Company recorded $24 million in losses and $13 million in
gains, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 for changes in the fair value of the AVH Derivative Assets in Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net in the Company's statements of consolidated operations.
Other assets - The other assets represent warrants provided to United for the purchase of membership units (Class B Units) in Alclear Holdings, LLC ("CLEAR"). The Company records these warrants at fair value.
Investments presented in the table above have the same fair value as their carrying value.
Other fair value information - The table below presents the carrying values and estimated fair values of financial instruments not presented in the tables above as of December 31 (in millions). Carrying amounts include any related discounts, premiums and issuance costs:
2020 2019
Carrying Amount Fair Value Carrying Amount Fair Value
Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Long-term debt $ 26,747 $ 27,441 $ - $ 21,985 $ 5,456 $ 14,552 $ 15,203 $ - $ 11,398 $ 3,805
Fair value of the financial instruments included in the tables above was determined as follows:
Description Fair Value Methodology
Cash and cash equivalents The carrying amounts approximate fair value because of the short-term maturity of these assets.
Short-term investments, other than Other investments measured at NAV,
Equity securities and
Restricted cash (current and non-current) Fair value is based on (a) the trading prices of the investment or similar instruments, (b) an income approach, which uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts into a single present amount based on current market expectations about those future amounts when observable trading prices are not available, or (c) broker quotes obtained by third-party valuation services.
Other investments measured at NAV In accordance with the relevant accounting standards, certain investments that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in the table above are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the statement of financial position. The investments measured using NAV are shares of mutual funds that invest in fixed-income instruments including bonds, debt securities, and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities. The Company can redeem its shares at any time at NAV subject to a three-day settlement period.
AVH Derivative Assets Fair values are calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. Unobservable inputs include expected volatility, expected dividend yield and control and acquisition premiums.
Other assets Fair value is determined utilizing the Black-Scholes options pricing model.
Long-term debt Fair values were based on either market prices or the discounted amount of future cash flows using our current incremental rate of borrowing for similar liabilities or assets.
Investments in Regional Carriers. United holds investments in several regional carriers that fly for the Company as United Express under its CPAs. The combined carrying value of the investments was approximately $139 million as of December 31, 2020. United accounts for each investment using the equity method. Each investment and United's ownership stake are listed below.
•Republic Airways Holdings Inc. ("Republic"). United holds a 19% minority interest in Republic. Republic is the parent company of Republic Airways Inc. Republic currently operates 66 regional aircraft under a CPA that has terms through 2029.
•ManaAir, LLC ("ManaAir"). United holds a 49.9% minority ownership stake in ManaAir. ManaAir is the parent company of ExpressJet Airlines LLC ("ExpressJet"). The Company terminated its CPA with ExpressJet. ExpressJet flew its last commercial flight, on behalf of United, on September 30, 2020.
•Champlain Enterprises, LLC ("Champlain"). United owns a 40% minority ownership stake in Champlain. Champlain does business as CommutAir ("CommutAir"). As of December 31, 2020, CommutAir operated 49 regional aircraft and is expected to operate additional ERJ 145 regional jets that were formerly part of the ExpressJet fleet.
Other Investments. United holds other investments that are recorded at cost less impairment, adjusted for observable price changes in orderly transactions for an identical or similar investment of the same issuer. As of December 31, 2020, United held these major investments:
•Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc. ("Fulcrum"). United owns approximately 7% of the preferred shares (representing approximately 6% of the total capital stock) of Fulcrum, a company that is developing a process for transforming municipal solid waste into transportation fuels, including jet fuel and diesel. As of December 31, 2020, the carrying value of United's investment was $51 million.
•CLEAR. United owns less than 1% of the Class B Units of CLEAR, a technology-enabled experience company that owns and operates a secure identity platform. Using biometrics, CLEAR enables touchless identification at airport checkpoints and other venues. As of December 31, 2020, the carrying value of United's investment was approximately $9 million.
NOTE 10 - DEBT
(In millions) Maturity Dates Interest Rate(s) at December 31, 2020 At December 31,
2020 2019
Secured
Aircraft notes (a) 2021 - 2032 0.73 % - 9.80 % $ 14,538 $ 11,585
MileagePlus Senior Secured Notes
2027 6.50 % 3,800 -
MileagePlus Term Loan Facility (a)
2027 5.49 % 3,000 -
Revolving Credit Facility (a)
2022 1.49 % 1,000 -
CARES Act Term Loan Facility (a) 2025 3.24 % 520 -
Term Loan Facility (a) 2024 2.49 % 1,444 1,459
Unsecured
Notes 2022 - 2025 4.25 % - 5.00 % 1,050 1,350
PSP Note 2030 1.00 % 1,501 -
Other unsecured debt 2023 - 2029 4.00 % - 5.75 % 448 339
27,301 14,733
Less: unamortized debt discount, premiums and debt issuance costs (554) (181)
Less: current portion of long-term debt (1,911) (1,407)
Long-term debt, net $ 24,836 $ 13,145
(a) Financing includes variable rate debt based on LIBOR (or another index rate), generally subject to a floor, plus a specified margin ranging from 0.49% to 5.25%.
The table below presents the Company's contractual principal payments (not including debt discount or debt issuance costs) at December 31, 2020 under then-outstanding long-term debt agreements in each of the next five calendar years (in millions):
2021 $ 1,911
2022 3,852
2023 2,699
2024 5,132
2025 3,739
After 2025 9,968
$ 27,301
PSP Note. During 2020, pursuant to the PSP Agreement and in connection with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $5.1 billion under the Payroll Support Program of the CARES Act, UAL issued a promissory note to Treasury evidencing senior unsecured indebtedness of UAL of approximately $1.5 billion.
The PSP Note is guaranteed by United and will mature on April 20, 2030, ten years after the initial issuance. If any subsidiary of UAL (other than United) guarantees other unsecured indebtedness of UAL with a principal balance in excess of a specified
amount, or if certain subsidiaries are formed or acquired, then such subsidiary shall be required to guarantee the obligations of UAL under the PSP Note. UAL may, at its option, prepay the PSP Note, at any time, and from time to time, at par. UAL is required to prepay the PSP Note upon the occurrence of certain change of control triggering events. The PSP Note does not require any amortization and is to be repaid in full on the maturity date.
Interest on the PSP Note is payable semi-annually in arrears on the last business day of March and September of each year beginning on September 30, 2020 at a rate of 1.00% in years one through five, and at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 2.00% in years six through ten.
MileagePlus Financing. On July 2, 2020, MPH and Mileage Plus Intellectual Property Assets, Ltd., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MPH ("MIPA" and, together with MPH, the "Issuers") issued $3.8 billion aggregate principal amount of their 6.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2027 (the "Notes"). The Notes have a fixed annual interest rate of 6.50%, which will be paid in cash, quarterly in arrears on March 20, June 20, September 20 and December 20 of each year, beginning on September 21, 2020 (each a "Payment Date"). Concurrently with the issuance of the Notes, the Issuers entered into a credit agreement that provides for a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $3.0 billion (the "MP Term Loan Facility"). On July 2, 2020, the Issuers borrowed $3.0 billion in aggregate principal amount under the MP Term Loan Facility. Loans outstanding under the MP Term Loan Facility will bear interest at a variable rate equal to LIBOR (but not less than 1.00% per annum), plus a margin of 5.25% per annum, payable on each Payment Date. The principal on the Notes and the MP Term Loan Facility will be repaid in quarterly installments on each Payment Date, beginning on September 20, 2022. The scheduled maturity date of the Notes and of the MP Term Loan Facility is June 20, 2027. The Issuers lent the proceeds of the Notes and of the MP Term Loan Facility to United, after depositing a portion of such proceeds in reserve accounts to cover future interest payments. The Notes and the loans under the MP Term Loan Facility are guaranteed by UAL, United and certain other subsidiaries of UAL. The Notes and the loans under the MP Term Loan Facility are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all of the assets of the Issuers, other than excluded property and subject to certain permitted liens, including specified cash accounts that include the accounts into which MileagePlus revenues are or will be paid by United's marketing partners and by United.
CARES Act Credit Agreement. On September 28, 2020, the Company entered into a Loan and Guarantee Agreement (the "CARES Act Credit Agreement"), among United, as borrower, UAL, as parent and guarantor, the subsidiaries of UAL other than United party thereto from time to time, as guarantors, Treasury, as lender, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as administrative and collateral agent. The CARES Act Credit Agreement provides for a CARES Act Term Loan Facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion pursuant to the Loan Program established under Section 4003(b)(1) of the CARES Act. The loans under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility may be disbursed in up to three disbursements on or before May 28, 2021. On September 28, 2020, United borrowed an amount equal to $520 million under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility. The principal amount must be repaid in a single installment on the maturity date on September 26, 2025. United may prepay all or a portion of the CARES Act Term Loan Facility from time to time, at par plus accrued and unpaid interest on the amount prepaid. Borrowings under the CARES Act Credit Agreement bear interest at a variable rate equal to LIBOR (but not less than 0%), plus a margin of 3.00% per annum. The obligations of United under the CARES Act Credit Agreement are secured by liens (i) on certain route authorities of United and certain related slots and gate leaseholds and other related assets, (ii) certain aircraft and (iii) certain flight simulators and related assets.
Revolving Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2020, United had $1.0 billion available under the revolving credit facility of the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement provides for a term loan facility (the "Term Loan Facility") and a revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility"). To maximize United's flexibility under a debt incurrence covenant contained in two of United's financings, on July 2, 2020, United took the proactive step of borrowing $1.0 billion under the Revolving Credit Facility, which leaves $1.0 billion available for borrowing under such agreement by United at any time until April 1, 2022. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at a variable rate equal to LIBOR (but not less than 0% per annum), plus a margin of 2.25% per annum, or (at United's election) another rate based on certain market interest rates, plus a margin of 1.25% per annum. United pays a commitment fee equal to 0.75% per annum on the undrawn amount available under the Revolving Credit Facility.
Used Aircraft Bridge Loan. On March 9, 2020, the Company entered into a Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Used Aircraft Credit Agreement"), among United, as borrower, UAL, as parent and guarantor, the subsidiaries of UAL other than United party thereto from time to time, as guarantors, the lenders party thereto from time to time and JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A., as administrative agent. United borrowed the full amount of $2 billion under the Used Aircraft Credit Agreement (the "Used Aircraft Facility"). The obligations of United under the Used Aircraft Bridge Loan were secured by liens on certain aircraft of United. The principal amount of the Used Aircraft Facility plus accrued interest was paid in full on October 28, 2020.
Spare Parts Bridge Loan. On March 20, 2020, the Company entered into a Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Spare Parts Credit Agreement"), among United, as borrower, UAL, as parent and guarantor, the subsidiaries of UAL other than
United party thereto from time to time, as guarantors, the lenders party thereto from time to time and Goldman Sachs Bank USA, as administrative agent. United borrowed the full amount of $500 million under the Spare Parts Credit Agreement (the "Spare Parts Bridge Loan"). The obligations of United under the Spare Parts Bridge Loan were secured by liens on certain aircraft spare parts of United. The principal amount of the Spare Parts Bridge Loan plus accrued interest was paid in full on October 28, 2020.
Spare Engines Bridge Loan. On April 7, 2020, the Company entered into a Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Spare Engines Credit Agreement"), among United, as borrower, UAL, as parent and guarantor, the subsidiaries of UAL other than United party thereto from time to time, as guarantors, the lenders party thereto from time to time and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent. United borrowed the full amount of $250 million under the Spare Engines Credit Agreement (the "Spare Engines Bridge Loan"). The obligations of United under the Spare Engines Bridge Loan were secured by liens on certain aircraft spare engines of United. The principal amount of the Spare Engines Bridge Loan plus accrued interest was paid in full on October 28, 2020.
SRG Bridge Loan. On June 30, 2020, the Company entered into a $200 million Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "SRG Bridge Loan"), among United, as borrower, UAL, as parent and guarantor, and Barclays Bank PLC, as administrative agent. The obligations of United under the SRG Bridge Loan were secured by liens on certain routes of United between cities in the U.S. and Europe, Israel, South America, and Mexico. United borrowed the full amount of the SRG Bridge Loan on July 1, 2020 and repaid it in full on September 29, 2020.
Aircraft Notes. As of December 31, 2020, United had $12.1 billion principal amount of equipment notes outstanding issued under enhanced equipment trust certificates ("EETC") financings included in notes payable in the table of outstanding debt above. Generally, the structure of these EETC financings consists of pass-through trusts created by United to issue pass-through certificates, which represent fractional undivided interests in the respective pass-through trusts and are not obligations of United. The proceeds of the issuance of the pass-through certificates are used to purchase equipment notes which are issued by United and secured by aircraft and, in certain structures, spare engines and spare parts. United is responsible for the payment obligations under the equipment notes. In certain EETC structures, proceeds received from the sale of pass-through certificates are initially held by a depositary in escrow for the benefit of the certificate holders until United issues equipment notes to the trust, which purchases such notes with a portion of the escrowed funds. These escrowed funds are not guaranteed by United and are not reported as debt on United's consolidated balance sheet because the proceeds held by the depositary are not United's assets.
In September 2019, October 2020 and February 2021, United created new EETC pass-through trusts, each of which issued pass-through certificates. The proceeds from the issuance of the pass-through certificates were used to purchase equipment notes issued by United and secured by aircraft and, in the case of the EETC entered into in October 2020, also by spare engines and spare parts. The Company records the debt obligation upon issuance of the equipment notes rather than upon the initial issuance of the pass-through certificates. Certain details of the pass-through trusts with proceeds received from issuance of debt in 2020 are as follows (in millions, except stated interest rate):
EETC
Issuance Date Class Principal Final expected distribution date Stated interest rate Total proceeds received from issuance of debt during 2020 Total debt recorded
as of December 31, 2020
September 2019 AA $ 702 May 2032 2.70% $ 189 $ 702
September 2019 A 287 May 2028 2.90% 77 287
September 2019 B 232 May 2028 3.50% 62 232
October 2020 A 3,000 October 2027 5.88% 3,000 3,000
February 2021 B 600 January 2026 4.88% - -
$ 4,821 $ 3,328 $ 4,221
In 2020, United borrowed approximately $691 million aggregate principal amount from various financial institutions to finance the purchase of several aircraft delivered in 2020. The notes evidencing these borrowings, which are secured by the related aircraft, mature in 2032 and have interest rates comprised of LIBOR plus a specified margin.
In November 2019, at the request of United, the California Municipal Finance Authority issued its approximately $295 million special facility revenue bonds and loaned the proceeds of such bonds to United pursuant to a loan agreement to finance the costs of construction of an aircraft maintenance and ground service equipment complex at Los Angeles International Airport. The bonds bear interest at 4% per annum, payable semiannually, commencing July 15, 2020 through the July 15, 2029 maturity
date. As security for United's obligations under the loan agreement, United also entered into a leasehold mortgage which grants to the trustee of the bonds (acting on behalf of the bondholders) a lien on United's interest in the leased premises and any improvements thereon owned by or leased to United. As of December 31, 2020, United had recorded approximately $159 million related to this debt.
PSP2 Note. During the first quarter of 2021, UAL issued the PSP2 Note to Treasury evidencing senior unsecured indebtedness of UAL. The principal amount of the PSP2 Note will increase to 30% of any disbursement made by Treasury to United under the PSP2 Agreement after the initial issuance date to approximately $753 million aggregate principal amount after all disbursements. The PSP2 Note is guaranteed by United, and will mature ten years after issuance on January 15, 2031 (the "Maturity Date"). If any subsidiary of UAL (other than United) guarantees other unsecured indebtedness of UAL with a principal balance in excess of a specified amount, then such subsidiary shall be required to guarantee the obligations of UAL under the PSP2 Note. UAL may, at its option, prepay the PSP2 Note, at any time, and from time to time, at par. UAL is required to prepay the PSP2 Note upon the occurrence of certain change of control triggering events. The PSP2 Note does not require any amortization, and is to be repaid in full on the Maturity Date. Interest on the PSP2 Note is payable semi-annually in arrears on the last business day of March and September of each year, beginning on March 31, 2021, at a rate of 1.00% in years 1 through 5, and at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 2.00% in years 6 through 10.
As of December 31, 2020, UAL and United were in compliance with their respective debt covenants. The collateral, covenants and cross default provisions of the Company's principal debt instruments that contain such provisions are summarized in the table below:
Debt Instrument Collateral, Covenants and Cross Default Provisions
Various equipment notes and other notes payable Secured by certain aircraft, spare engines and spare parts. The indentures contain events of default that are customary for aircraft financings, including in certain cases cross default to other related aircraft.
Credit Agreement
Secured by certain of United's international route authorities, specified take-off and landing slots at certain airports and certain other assets.
The Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain at least $2.0 billion of unrestricted liquidity at all times, which includes unrestricted cash, short-term investments and any undrawn amounts under any revolving credit facility, and to maintain a minimum ratio of appraised value of collateral to the outstanding obligations under the Credit Agreement of 1.6 to 1.0 at all times. The Credit Agreement contains covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of UAL and its restricted subsidiaries (as defined in the Credit Agreement) to make investments and to pay dividends on or repurchase stock.
The Credit Agreement contains events of default customary for this type of financing, including a cross payment default and cross acceleration provision to certain other material indebtedness of the Company.
CARES Act Credit Agreement Secured by liens on (i) certain route authorities of United and certain related slots and gate leaseholds and other related assets, (ii) certain aircraft and (iii) certain flight simulators and related assets.
The CARES Act Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain at least $2.0 billion of unrestricted liquidity at all times, which includes, among other things, unrestricted cash, certain short-term investments and any undrawn amounts under any revolving credit facility or under the CARES Act Credit Agreement, and to maintain a minimum ratio of appraised value of collateral to the outstanding obligations under the CARES Act Credit Agreement of 1.6 to 1.0. The CARES Act Credit Agreement contains covenants that, among other things, (i) restrict the ability of UAL and its subsidiaries to make investments and to pay dividends on or repurchase stock, (ii) require United to maintain certain levels of scheduled service and (iii) create certain limitations on executive compensation.
The CARES Act Credit Agreement contains events of default customary for this type of financing, including a cross payment default and cross acceleration provision to certain other material indebtedness of the Company.
MileagePlus Notes and Term Loan Facility Secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all of the assets of the Issuers, other than excluded property and subject to certain permitted liens, including security interests in specified cash accounts that include the accounts into which MileagePlus revenues are or will be paid by United's marketing partners and by United.
PSP and PSP2 Notes The PSP Note and the PSP2 Note represent senior unsecured indebtedness of UAL. The PSP Note and the PSP2 Note are guaranteed by United. If any subsidiary of UAL (other than United) guarantees other unsecured indebtedness of UAL with a principal balance in excess of a specified amount, then such subsidiary shall be required to guarantee the obligations of UAL under the PSP Note and the PSP2 Note.
Unsecured notes The indentures for these notes contain covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and its restricted subsidiaries (as defined in the indentures) to incur additional indebtedness and pay dividends on or repurchase stock, although the Company currently has ample ability under these restrictions to repurchase stock under the Company's share repurchase programs.
NOTE 11 - LEASES AND CAPACITY PURCHASE AGREEMENTS
United leases aircraft, airport passenger terminal space, aircraft hangars and related maintenance facilities, cargo terminals, other airport facilities, other commercial real estate, office and computer equipment and vehicles, among other items. Certain of these leases include provisions for variable lease payments which are based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relative leased square footage, available seat miles, enplaned passengers, passenger facility charges, terminal equipment usage
fees, departures, and airports' annual operating budgets. Due to the variable nature of the rates, these leases are not recorded on our balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and lease liability.
For leases with terms greater than 12 months, we record the related right-of-use asset and lease liability at the present value of fixed lease payments over the lease term. To the extent a lease agreement includes an extension option that is reasonably certain to be exercised, we have recognized those amounts as part of our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less with purchase options or extension options that are not reasonably certain to be exercised are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. We combine lease and non-lease components, such as common area maintenance costs, in calculating the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for all asset groups except for our CPAs, which contain embedded leases for regional aircraft. In addition to the lease component cost for regional aircraft, our CPAs also include non-lease components primarily related to the regional carriers' operating costs incurred in providing regional aircraft services. We allocate consideration for the lease components and non-lease components of each CPA based on their relative standalone values.
Lease Cost. The Company's lease cost for the years ended December 31 included the following components (in millions):
2020 2019 2018
Operating lease cost $ 933 $ 1,038 $ 1,213
Variable and short-term lease cost 1,968 2,548 2,569
Amortization of finance lease assets 88 68 75
Interest on finance lease liabilities 16 85 44
Sublease income (23) (32) (38)
Total lease cost $ 2,982 $ 3,707 $ 3,863
Lease terms and commitments. United's leases include aircraft leases for aircraft that are directly leased by United and aircraft that are operated by regional carriers on United's behalf under CPAs (but excluding aircraft owned by United) and non-aircraft leases. Aircraft operating leases relate to leases of 104 mainline and 290 regional aircraft while finance leases relate to leases of 37 mainline and 45 regional aircraft. United's aircraft leases have remaining lease terms of 1 month to 12 years with expiration dates ranging from 2021 through 2032. Under the terms of most aircraft leases, United has the right to purchase the aircraft at the end of the lease term, in some cases at fair market value, and in others, at a percentage of cost.
Non-aircraft leases have remaining lease terms of 1 month to 32 years, with expiration dates ranging from 2021 through 2053.
The table below summarizes the Company's scheduled future minimum lease payments under operating and finance leases, recorded on the balance sheet, as of December 31, 2020 (in millions):
Operating Leases Finance Leases
2021 $ 847 $ 198
2022 693 59
2023 723 51
2024 704 47
2025 585 35
After 2025 3,979 64
Minimum lease payments 7,531 454
Imputed interest (1,933) (48)
Present value of minimum lease payments 5,598 406
Less: current maturities of lease obligations (612) (182)
Long-term lease obligations $ 4,986 $ 224
As of December 31, 2020, we have additional leases of approximately $740 million for several mainline aircraft, regional jets under a CPA and airport facilities and office space leases that have not yet commenced. These leases will commence in 2021 with lease terms of up to 12 years.
In 2020, United entered into agreements with third parties to finance through sale and leaseback transactions new Boeing model 787-9 aircraft and Boeing model 737 MAX aircraft subject to purchase agreements between United and Boeing. In connection with the delivery of each aircraft from Boeing, United assigned its right to purchase such aircraft to the buyer, and simultaneous
with the buyer's purchase from Boeing, United entered into a long-term lease for such aircraft with the buyer as lessor. Fifteen Boeing model aircraft were delivered in 2020 under these transactions (and each is presently subject to a long-term lease to United). Remaining aircraft in the agreements are scheduled to be delivered in 2021. Upon delivery of aircraft in these sale and leaseback transactions in 2020, the Company accounted for 11 of these aircraft, which have a repurchase option at a price other than fair value, as part of Flight equipment on the Company's balance sheet and the related obligation recorded in Other current liabilities and Other financial liabilities from sale-leasebacks (noncurrent) since they do not qualify for sale recognition. The remaining four aircraft that qualified for sale recognition were recorded as Operating lease right-of-use assets and Current/Long-term obligations under operating leases on the Company's balance sheet after recognition of related gains on such sale. See Note 14 of this report for additional information.
Our lease agreements do not provide a readily determinable implicit rate nor is it available to us from our lessors. Instead, we estimate United's incremental borrowing rate based on information available at lease commencement in order to discount lease payments to present value. The table below presents additional information related to our leases as of December 31:
2020 2019
Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases 11 years 11 years
Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases 4 years 6 years
Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases 5.1 % 5.2 %
Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases 4.4 % 5.7 %
The table below presents supplemental cash flow information related to leases during the year ended December 31 (in millions):
2020 2019 2018
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows for operating leases $ 788 $ 902 $ 1,078
Operating cash flows for finance leases 20 70 53
Financing cash flows for finance leases 66 151 79
Regional CPAs. United has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable rate adjustment based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual adjustments. The fees are based on specific rates multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), as well as fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is also responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In some cases, the Company owns some or all of the aircraft subject to the CPA and leases such aircraft to the regional carrier. United's CPAs are for 475 regional aircraft as of December 31, 2020, and the CPAs have terms expiring through 2033. Aircraft operated under CPAs include aircraft leased directly from the regional carriers and those owned by United and operated by the regional carriers. See Part I, Item 2. Properties, of this report for additional information.
In July 2020, the Company announced its plans to consolidate its Embraer ERJ 145 ("ERJ 145") operations into a single regional partner. As a result, the Company terminated its CPA with ExpressJet. ExpressJet flew its last commercial flight, on behalf of United, on September 30, 2020. Additionally, United transferred all of its ERJ 145 operations over to CommutAir as United's sole regional partner of this aircraft type.
United recorded approximately $0.6 billion, $1.0 billion and $1.0 billion in expenses related to its CPAs with its regional carriers in which United is a minority shareholder, for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. There were approximately $68 million and $69 million in accounts payable due to these companies as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. There were no material accounts receivables due from these companies as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. The CPAs with these related parties were executed in the ordinary course of business.
Our future commitments under our CPAs are dependent on numerous variables, and are, therefore, difficult to predict. The most important of these variables is the number of scheduled block hours. Although we are not required to purchase a minimum number of block hours under certain of our CPAs, we have set forth below estimates of our future payments under the CPAs based on our assumptions. United's estimates of its future payments under all of the CPAs do not include the portion of the underlying obligation for any aircraft leased to a regional carrier or deemed to be leased from other regional carriers and facility rent that are disclosed as part of operating leases above. For purposes of calculating these estimates, we have assumed (1) the number of block hours flown is based on our anticipated level of flight activity or at any contractual minimum utilization levels if applicable, whichever is higher, (2) that we will reduce the fleet as rapidly as contractually allowed under each CPA, (3) that
aircraft utilization, stage length and load factors will remain constant, (4) that each carrier's operational performance will remain at recent historic levels and (5) an annual projected inflation rate. These amounts exclude variable pass-through costs such as fuel and landing fees, among others. Based on these assumptions as of December 31, 2020, our future payments through the end of the terms of our CPAs are presented in the table below (in billions):
2021 $ 1.8
2022 1.8
2023 1.7
2024 1.5
2025 1.2
After 2025 3.1
$ 11.1
The actual amounts we pay to our regional operators under CPAs could differ materially from these estimates. For example, a 10% increase or decrease in scheduled block hours for all of United's regional operators (whether as a result of changes in average daily utilization or otherwise) in 2021 would result in a corresponding change in annual cash obligations under the CPAs of approximately $85 million.
NOTE 12 - VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES ("VIE")
Variable interests are contractual, ownership or other monetary interests in an entity that change with fluctuations in the fair value of the entity's net assets exclusive of variable interests. A VIE can arise from items such as lease agreements, loan arrangements, guarantees or service contracts. An entity is a VIE if (a) the entity lacks sufficient equity or (b) the entity's equity holders lack power or the obligation and right as equity holders to absorb the entity's expected losses or to receive its expected residual returns.
If an entity is determined to be a VIE, the entity must be consolidated by the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is the holder of the variable interests that has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that (i) most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and (ii) has the obligation to absorb losses of or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. Therefore, the Company must identify which activities most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and determine whether it, or another party, has the power to direct those activities.
Airport Leases. United is the lessee of real property under long-term operating leases at a number of airports where we are also the guarantor of approximately $1.9 billion of tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds and interest thereon as of December 31, 2020. These leases are typically with municipalities or other governmental entities, which are excluded from the consolidation requirements concerning a VIE. To the extent United's leases and related guarantees are with a separate legal entity other than a governmental entity, United is not the primary beneficiary because the lease terms are consistent with market terms at the inception of the lease and the lease does not include a residual value guarantee, fixed-price purchase option, or similar feature. See Note 13 of this report for more information regarding United's guarantee of the tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds.
EETCs. United evaluated whether the pass-through trusts formed for its EETC financings, treated as either debt or aircraft operating leases, are VIEs required to be consolidated by United under applicable accounting guidance, and determined that the pass-through trusts are VIEs. Based on United's analysis as described below, United determined that it does not have a variable interest in the pass-through trusts.
The primary risk of the pass-through trusts is credit risk (i.e. the risk that United, the issuer of the equipment notes, may be unable to make its principal and interest payments). The primary purpose of the pass-through trust structure is to enhance the credit worthiness of United's debt obligation through certain bankruptcy protection provisions, a liquidity facility (in certain of the EETC structures) and improved loan-to-value ratios for more senior debt classes. These credit enhancements lower United's total borrowing cost. Pass-through trusts are established to receive principal and interest payments on the equipment notes purchased by the pass-through trusts from United and remit these proceeds to the pass-through trusts' certificate holders.
United does not invest in or obtain a financial interest in the pass-through trusts. Rather, United has an obligation to make interest and principal payments on its equipment notes held by the pass-through trusts. United does not intend to have any voting or non-voting equity interest in the pass-through trusts or to absorb variability from the pass-through trusts. Based on this analysis, the Company determined that it is not required to consolidate the pass-through trusts.
BRW. Synergy's wholly-owned affiliate, BRW, is a special purpose entity created to be the borrower of the BRW Term Loan. BRW is also the owner of the collateral that secures the BRW Term Loan. BRW is a VIE and United holds variable interests in BRW including the BRW Term Loan. However, United is not the primary beneficiary of BRW because it does not hold BRW equity and does not have management rights at BRW and therefore does not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact BRW's economic performance. In connection with the delivery by United of a notice of default to BRW, Kingsland was granted, in accordance with the agreements related to the BRW Term Loan Agreement, authority to manage BRW.
AVH. United concluded that AVH is a VIE and that United holds a variable interest through the AVH DIP Loan and a call option on BRW's AVH shares. However, United is not the primary beneficiary because it does not hold a material number of shares of AVH and does not have the power through the AVH DIP Loan Agreement or any other agreement to direct the activities that most significantly impact AVH's economic performance. Further, AVH is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and as such the bankruptcy court is viewed as having power to direct the activities that most significantly impact AVH's economic performance. See Note 9 of this report for more information about the AVH call options.
ManaAir. United concluded that ManaAir is a VIE as of December 31, 2020. United holds a variable interest in ManaAir in the form of equity interest, but United is not the primary beneficiary because it does not have power to direct the activities that most significantly impact ManaAir's economic performance.
Champlain. United concluded that Champlain is a VIE as of December 31, 2020. United holds variable interests in Champlain in the form of equity interest and a loan to Champlain, but United is not the primary beneficiary because it does not have power to direct the activities that most significantly impact Champlain's economic performance.
NOTE 13 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Commitments. As of December 31, 2020 (adjusted to include the effects of the February 26, 2021 agreement with The Boeing Company ("Boeing") discussed below), United had firm commitments and options to purchase aircraft from Boeing, Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") and Embraer S.A. ("Embraer") presented in the table below:
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Aircraft Type Number of Firm
Commitments (a) 2021 2022 After 2022
Airbus A321XLR 50 - - 50
Airbus A350 45 - - 45
Boeing 737 MAX 188 21 40 127
Boeing 787 11 11 - -
Embraer E175 4 4 - -
(a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft.
On February 26, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with The Boeing Company ("Boeing") for a firm order of 25 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for delivery in 2023, and to reschedule the delivery of 40 previously ordered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to 2022 and 5 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into 2023.
The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery through 2030. To the extent the Company and the aircraft manufacturers with which the Company has existing orders for new aircraft agree to modify the contracts governing those orders, the amount and timing of the Company's future capital commitments could change.
In March 2020, the Company entered into a confidential settlement with Boeing with respect to compensation for financial damages incurred in 2019 due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. In June 2020, the Company entered into an amended and restated confidential agreement with Boeing which provides for the settlement of additional items related to aircraft delivery and updates the scheduled delivery for substantially all undelivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The compensation to the Company under the amended and restated settlement agreement is in the form of credit memos to be issued upon the satisfaction of certain conditions related to aircraft deliveries. The Company is accounting for this settlement as a reduction to the cost basis of future firm order Boeing 737 MAX aircraft deliveries and previously-delivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which will reduce future depreciation expense associated with these aircraft.
United also has an agreement to purchase 11 used Boeing 737-700 aircraft with expected delivery dates in 2021. In addition, United has an agreement to purchase 17 used Airbus A319 aircraft, which it intends to sell, with expected delivery dates in 2021 and 2022.
The table below summarizes United's commitments as of December 31, 2020 (adjusted to include the effects of the February 26, 2021 agreement with Boeing), which include aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and all non-aircraft capital commitments (in billions):
2021 $ 4.9
2022 2.9
2023 2.8
2024 1.6
2025 2.0
After 2025 10.1
$ 24.3
Legal and Environmental. The Company has certain contingencies resulting from litigation and claims incident to the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2020, management believes, after considering a number of factors, including (but not limited to) the information currently available, the views of legal counsel, the nature of contingencies to which the Company is subject and prior experience, that the ultimate disposition of the litigation and claims will not materially affect the Company's consolidated financial position or results of operations. The Company records liabilities for legal and environmental claims when a loss is probable and reasonably estimable. These amounts are recorded based on the Company's assessments of the likelihood of their eventual disposition.
Guarantees and Indemnifications. In the normal course of business, the Company enters into numerous real estate leasing and aircraft financing arrangements that have various guarantees included in the contracts. These guarantees are primarily in the form of indemnities under which the Company typically indemnifies the lessors and any tax/financing parties against liabilities that arise out of or relate to the use, operation or maintenance of the leased premises or financed aircraft. Currently, the Company believes that any future payments required under these guarantees or indemnities would be immaterial, as most liabilities and related indemnities are covered by insurance (subject to deductibles). Additionally, certain real estate leases include indemnities for any environmental liability that may arise out of or relate to the use of the leased premises.
As of December 31, 2020, United is the guarantor of approximately $1.9 billion in aggregate principal amount of tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds and interest thereon. These bonds, issued by various airport municipalities, are payable solely from rentals paid under long-term agreements with the respective governing bodies. The leasing arrangements associated with these obligations are accounted for as operating leases recognized on the Company's balance sheet with the associated expense recorded on a straight-line basis over the expected lease term. The obligations associated with these tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds are included in our lease commitments disclosed in Note 11 of this report. All of these bonds are due between 2023 and 2038.
In connection with funding the BRW Term Loan Agreement, the Company entered into an agreement with Kingsland, pursuant to which, in return for Kingsland's pledge of its 144.8 million common shares of AVH (which are eligible to be converted into the same number of preferred shares, which may be deposited with the depositary for AVH's ADRs, the class of AVH securities that trades on the NYSE, in exchange for 18.1 million ADRs) and its consent to BRW's pledge of its AVH common shares to United under the BRW Term Loan Agreement and related agreements, United (1) granted to Kingsland the right to put its AVH common shares to United at market price on the fifth anniversary of the BRW Term Loan Agreement or upon certain sales of AVH common shares owned by BRW, including upon a foreclosure of United's security interest or any completed liquidation or dissolution of AVH, and (2) guaranteed BRW's obligation to pay Kingsland the difference (which amount, if paid by United, any such sale, as applicable, is less than $12 per ADR on the NYSE, for an aggregate maximum possible combined put payment and guarantee amount on the fifth anniversary of $217 million. Due to AVH's financial uncertainty due to its high level of leverage and the fact that the airline had ceased operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company recorded the full amount under this guarantee as a liability. In November 2020, the Company posted $217 million as cash collateral for a standby letter of credit in favor of Citibank, N.A. that serves as security for a loan from Citibank to Kingsland. Any drawings under the letter of credit would offset the Company's maximum possible put and guarantee payment to Kingsland by an equal amount. The posting of this collateral, and any potential credit against the Company's put and guarantee payment, are entirely related to the original transactions entered in 2018 and do not represent any new or incremental investment.
As of December 31, 2020, United is the guarantor of $119 million of aircraft mortgage debt issued by one of United's regional carriers. The aircraft mortgage debt is subject to similar increased cost provisions as described below for the Company's debt, and the Company would potentially be responsible for those costs under the guarantees.
As of December 31, 2020, United had $380 million of surety bonds securing various insurance related obligations with expiration dates through 2024.
Increased Cost Provisions. In United's financing transactions that include loans in which United is the borrower, United typically agrees to reimburse lenders for any reduced returns with respect to the loans due to any change in capital requirements and, in the case of loans with respect to which the interest rate is based on LIBOR, for certain other increased costs that the lenders incur in carrying these loans as a result of any change in law, subject, in most cases, to obligations of the lenders to take certain limited steps to mitigate the requirement for, or the amount of, such increased costs. At December 31, 2020, the Company had $9.8 billion of floating rate debt with remaining terms of up to 12 years that are subject to these increased cost provisions. In several financing transactions involving loans or leases from non-U.S. entities, with remaining terms of up to 12 years and an aggregate balance of $8.3 billion, the Company bears the risk of any change in tax laws that would subject loan or lease payments thereunder to non-U.S. entities to withholding taxes, subject to customary exclusions.
Fuel Consortia. United participates in numerous fuel consortia with other air carriers at major airports to reduce the costs of fuel distribution and storage. Interline agreements govern the rights and responsibilities of the consortia members and provide for the allocation of the overall costs to operate the consortia based on usage. The consortia (and in limited cases, the participating carriers) have entered into long-term agreements to lease certain airport fuel storage and distribution facilities that are typically financed through tax-exempt bonds, either special facilities lease revenue bonds or general airport revenue bonds, issued by various local municipalities. In general, each consortium lease agreement requires the consortium to make lease payments in amounts sufficient to pay the maturing principal and interest payments on the bonds. As of December 31, 2020, approximately $2.3 billion principal amount of such bonds were secured by significant fuel facility leases in which United participates, as to which United and each of the signatory airlines has provided indirect guarantees of the debt. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's contingent exposure was approximately $293 million principal amount of such bonds based on its recent consortia participation. The Company's contingent exposure could increase if the participation of other air carriers decreases. The guarantees will expire when the tax-exempt bonds are paid in full, which ranges from 2022 to 2051. The Company did not record a liability at the time these indirect guarantees were made.
Regional Capacity Purchase. As of December 31, 2020, United had 303 call options to purchase regional jet aircraft being operated by certain of its regional carriers with contract dates extending until 2029. These call options are exercisable upon wrongful termination or breach of contract, among other conditions.
Credit Card Processing Agreements. The Company has agreements with financial institutions that process customer credit card transactions for the sale of air travel and other services. Under certain of the Company's credit card processing agreements, the financial institutions in certain circumstances have the right to require that the Company maintain a reserve equal to a portion of advance ticket sales that has been processed by that financial institution, but for which the Company has not yet provided the air transportation. Such financial institutions may require additional cash or other collateral reserves to be established or additional withholding of payments related to receivables collected if the Company does not maintain certain minimum levels of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments (collectively, "Unrestricted Liquidity"). The Company's current level of Unrestricted Liquidity is substantially in excess of these minimum levels.
Labor Negotiations. As of December 31, 2020, United, including its subsidiaries, had approximately 74,400 employees. Approximately 84% of United's employees were represented by various U.S. labor organizations. On February 1, 2019, the collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association ("ALPA"), the labor union representing United's pilots, became amendable. The Company and ALPA are in negotiations for an amended agreement. On September 28, 2020, United's pilots approved an agreement to avoid furloughs, at least until June 2021. The agreement offered, among other things, an early separation option for certain eligible pilots.
The Company and UNITE HERE, the labor union representing United's Catering Operations employees, started negotiations for a first collective bargaining agreement in March 2019.
In December 2020, the Company reviewed the provision of the collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("IBT") for alignment with contract terms with other airlines' workgroups. This review provided a base pay rate increase for employees covered under this agreement.
NOTE 14 - SPECIAL CHARGES AND UNREALIZED (GAINS) LOSSES ON INVESTMENTS
Special charges and unrealized gains and losses on investments in the statements of consolidated operations consisted of the following for the years ended December 31 (in millions):
Operating: 2020 2019 2018
CARES Act grant $ (3,536) $ - $ -
Severance and benefit costs 575 16 41
Impairment of assets 318 171 377
Termination of an engine maintenance service agreement - - 64
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges 27 59 5
Total operating special charges (credit) (2,616) 246 487
Nonoperating credit loss on BRW Term Loan and related guarantee 697 - -
Nonoperating special termination benefits and settlement losses 687 - -
Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments 194 (153) 5
Total nonoperating special charges and unrealized (gains) losses on investments 1,578 (153) 5
Total operating and nonoperating special charges (credit) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments (1,038) 93 492
Income tax expense (benefit), net of valuation allowance 404 (21) (110)
Income tax adjustments (Note 6) - - (5)
Total operating and nonoperating special charges (credit) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net of income taxes $ (634) $ 72 $ 377
CARES Act grant. During 2020, the Company received approximately $5.1 billion in funding pursuant to the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act, which consisted of a $3.6 billion grant and a $1.5 billion unsecured loan. The Company recorded $66 million for warrants issued to Treasury, within stockholders' equity, as an offset to the grant income. For 2020, we recognized the $3.5 billion grant as a credit to Special charges (credit).
Severance and benefit costs. In July 2020, the Company started the involuntary furlough process by issuing WARN Act notices to approximately 36,000 of its employees. Since then, the Company worked to reduce the total number of furloughs to approximately 13,000 employees by working closely with its union partners, introducing new voluntary options selected by approximately 9,000 employees and proposing creative solutions that would save jobs. This workforce reduction is part of the Company's strategic realignment of its business and new organizational structure as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations and cost structure. The Company recorded $575 million during 2020 related to the workforce reduction, employee severance, pay continuance from voluntary retirements, and benefits-related costs (and additional costs associated with special termination benefits and settlement losses discussed below under "Nonoperating special termination benefits and settlement losses"). See also Note 7 of this report for further information.
Impairment of assets. United assesses its goodwill and intangible assets for potential impairment on an annual basis as of October 1, and on an interim basis if there are indicators that an impairment of goodwill or the intangible assets may have occurred. For goodwill and certain of its intangible assets, including the Company's China routes, London-Heathrow slots, alliances and the United trade name and logo, the Company performed a quantitative assessment which involved determining the fair value of the asset and comparing that amount to the asset's carrying value and, in the case of goodwill, comparing the Company's fair value to its carrying value. For all other intangible assets, the Company performed a qualitative assessment of whether it was more likely than not that an impairment had occurred. To determine fair value, the Company used discounted cash flow methods appropriate for each asset. Key inputs into the models included forecasted capacity, revenues, fuel costs, other operating costs and an overall discount rate. The assumptions used for future projections include that demand will likely remain suppressed through 2021. These assumptions are inherently uncertain as they relate to future events and circumstances. The Company performed intangible asset impairment reviews throughout the year.
In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the U.S. and global economies, the significant, sustained impact on the demand for travel and government policies that restrict air travel, the exact timing of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the speed at which such recovery could occur, continues to remain uncertain and could result in
additional impairment charges in the future. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.
As a result of the impairment assessments, the Company recorded impairment charges of $130 million during 2020 for its China routes which was primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company's subsequent suspension of flights to China and a further delay in the expected return of full capacity to the China markets. The Company's China routes are subject to China slot usage rules and U.S. Department of Transportation frequency use requirements. For the summer and winter 2020 seasons, both governments issued relief from these rules. The Company, therefore, has been able to reduce its mainland China service without violating the governments' rules. The Company is advocating for a continuation of this relief through the summer 2021 season.
United assesses its long-lived assets whenever there are indicators that an impairment of the assets may have occurred. During 2020, in response to decreased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company temporarily grounded certain of its mainline fleet, some of which continue to be temporarily grounded. United performed forecasted cash flow analyses and determined that the carrying value of the tested fleets is recoverable from future cash flows expected to be generated by those fleets. To determine whether impairments exist for active and temporarily parked mainline aircraft, we group assets at the fleet-type level. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company permanently grounded 11 of its Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The Company's decision was influenced by the FAA's rescission of the order that grounded the Boeing 737MAX aircraft in March of 2019. As a result of the cash flow analysis for the 11 permanently-grounded aircraft, we recorded $94 million of impairments related to those aircraft and the related engines and spare parts.
During 2020, the Company recorded an impairment of $38 million of the right-of-use asset associated with the embedded aircraft lease in one of our CPAs. We measure cash flows at the contract level with our CPA partners. This impairment was primarily due to the impact to cash flows from the pandemic and the relatively short remaining term under the CPA.
During 2020, the Company also recorded $56 million of impairments related to various cancelled facility, aircraft induction and information technology capital projects. The decisions driving these impairments were the result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on our operations.
To the extent we make future decisions to permanently ground any of our fleet, or our estimates of future cash flows generated by our fleet change, we may be required to record impairment charges in future periods.
The aircraft and intangible asset impairments described above required Level 3 fair value inputs including the maintenance condition of the aircraft (for impaired aircraft) and future assumptions about profit margin and our weighted average cost of capital (for the China route intangible).
Nonoperating special termination benefits and settlement losses. During 2020, the Company recorded $687 million of settlement losses related to the Company's primary defined benefit pension plan covering certain U.S. non-pilot employees, and special termination benefits offered, under furlough and voluntary separation programs. See Note 7 of this report for additional information.
Nonoperating unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net. During 2020, the Company recorded losses of $170 million primarily for changes in the fair value of its investment in Azul. Also during 2020, the Company recorded losses of $24 million for the decrease in fair value of the AVH Derivative Assets.
Nonoperating credit loss on BRW Term Loan and related guarantee. During 2020, the Company recorded a $697 million expected credit loss allowance for the BRW Term Loan and related guarantee. AVH is currently in bankruptcy. See Notes 8 and 13 of this report for additional information.
During 2019, the Company recorded a special non-cash impairment charge of $90 million associated with its Hong Kong routes. The Company determined the fair value of the Hong Kong routes using a variation of the income approach known as the excess earnings method, which discounts an asset's projected future net cash flows to determine the current fair value.
During 2019, the Company recorded a $43 million impairment primarily for surplus Boeing 767 aircraft engines removed from operations, an $18 million charge primarily for the write-off of unexercised aircraft purchase options, and $20 million in other aircraft impairments.
During 2019, the Company recorded $14 million of management severance and $2 million of severance and benefit costs related to a voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees represented by the IBT. In the first quarter of 2017, approximately 1,000 technicians and related employees elected to voluntarily separate from the Company and received a
severance payment, with a maximum value of $100,000 per participant, based on years of service, with retirement dates through early 2019.
During 2019, the Company recorded charges of $25 million related to contract terminations, $18 million for the settlement of certain legal matters, $14 million for costs related to the transition of fleet types within a regional carrier contract and $2 million of other charges.
During 2019, the Company recorded gains of $140 million for the change in market value of certain of its equity investments, primarily Azul, and $13 million for the change in fair value of the AVH Derivative Assets.
During 2018, the Company recorded a special non-cash impairment charge of $206 million associated with its Hong Kong routes as a result of its annual intangible assets impairment review. The Company determined the fair value of the Hong Kong routes using a variation of the income approach as described above for the 2019 Hong Kong impairment.
In May 2018, the Brazil-United States open skies agreement was ratified, which provides air carriers with unrestricted access between the United States and Brazil. The Company determined that the approval of the open skies agreement impaired the entire value of its Brazil route authorities because the agreement removes all limitations or reciprocity requirements for flights between the United States and Brazil. Accordingly, the Company recorded a $105 million special charge to write off the entire value of the intangible asset associated with its Brazil routes. Also during 2018, the Company recorded $66 million of fair value adjustments related to aircraft purchased off lease, write-offs of unexercised aircraft purchase options and other impairments related to certain fleet types and international slots no longer in use.
During 2018, the Company recorded $22 million of severance and benefit costs related to the voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees represented by the IBT as described above. Also during 2018, the Company recorded other management severance of $19 million.
During 2018, the Company recorded a one-time termination charge of $64 million related to one of its engine maintenance service agreements.
During 2018, the Company recorded gains of $28 million for the change in market value of certain of its equity investments, primarily Azul. Also, the Company recorded losses of $33 million for the change in fair value of the AVH Derivative Assets.
NOTE 15 - SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED)
Quarter Ended
(In millions, except per share amounts) March 31 June 30 September 30 December 31
Operating revenue $ 7,979 $ 1,475 $ 2,489 $ 3,412
Loss from operations (972) (1,637) (1,615) (2,135)
Net loss (1,704) (1,627) (1,841) (1,897)
Basic and diluted loss per share (6.86) (5.79) (6.33) (6.39)
Operating revenue $ 9,589 $ 11,402 $ 11,380 $ 10,888
Income from operations 495 1,472 1,473 861
Net income 292 1,052 1,024 641
Basic earnings per share 1.09 4.03 4.01 2.54
Diluted earnings per share 1.09 4.02 3.99 2.53
UAL's quarterly financial data is subject to seasonal fluctuations and historically its second and third quarter financial results, which reflect higher travel demand, are better than its first and fourth quarter financial results. UAL's quarterly results were impacted by the following significant items (in millions):
Quarter Ended
March 31 June 30 September 30 December 31
CARES Act grant $ - $ (1,589) $ (1,494) $ (453)
Impairment of assets 50 80 51 137
Severance and benefit costs - 63 350 162
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges 13 (3) 12 5
Total operating special charges (credit) 63 (1,449) (1,081) (149)
Nonoperating special termination benefits and settlement losses - 231 415 41
Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments 319 (9) (15) (101)
Nonoperating credit loss on BRW Term Loan and related guarantee 697 - - -
Total nonoperating special charges and unrealized (gains) losses on investments 1,016 222 400 (60)
Total operating and nonoperating special charges (credit) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments 1,079 (1,227) (681) (209)
Income tax expense (benefit), net of valuation allowance (14) 241 148 29
Total operating and nonoperating special charges (credit) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net of income taxes $ 1,065 $ (986) $ (533) $ (180)
Impairment of assets $ 8 $ 61 $ - $ 102
Severance and benefit costs 6 6 2 2
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges 4 4 25 26
Total operating special charges 18 71 27 130
Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments (17) (34) (21) (81)
Total special charges and unrealized (gains) losses on investments 1 37 6 49
Income tax benefit related to special charges and unrealized (gains) losses on investments - (8) (2) (11)
Total special charges and unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net of income tax $ 1 $ 29 $ 4 $ 38
See Note 14 of this report for additional information related to these items.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Control and Procedures
UAL and United each maintain controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports filed or submitted by UAL and United to the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified by the SEC's rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The management of UAL and United, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, performed an evaluation to conclude with reasonable assurance that UAL's and United's disclosure controls and procedures were designed and operating effectively to report the information each company is required to disclose in the reports they file with the SEC on a timely basis. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of UAL and United have concluded that as of December 31, 2020, disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting during the Quarter Ended December 31, 2020
During the three months ended December 31, 2020, there was no change in UAL's or United's internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, their internal control over financial reporting.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited United Airlines Holdings, Inc.'s (the "Company") internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the "COSO criteria"). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB"), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020 of the Company and our report dated March 1, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
The Company's management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting in Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Chicago, Illinois
March 1, 2021
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Management Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
March 1, 2021
To the Stockholders of United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
The management of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. ("UAL") is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the design and operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. In making this assessment, management used the framework set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of the Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
Our independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, who audited UAL's consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K, has issued a report on UAL's internal control over financial reporting, which is included herein.
United Airlines, Inc. Management Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
March 1, 2021
To the Stockholder of United Airlines, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
The management of United Airlines, Inc. ("United") is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f). United's internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, United's internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including United's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, United conducted an evaluation of the design and operating effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. In making this assessment, management used the framework set forth in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of the Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, United's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
This annual report does not include an attestation report of United's registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management's report was not subject to attestation by United's registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit United to provide only management's report in this annual report.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
2021 Executive Compensation Program
On February 25, 2021, the Compensation Committee (the "Committee") of the Board of Directors of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") approved the Company's 2021 executive compensation program ("2021 Program"). The 2021 Program is designed to be aligned with the Company's recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the related impacts on the global economy and the travel industry in particular. As described further below, the recovery design of the 2021 Program includes short-term and long-term incentive awards. The 2021 Program maintains salary and compensation levels linked to short-term performance goals but significantly reduces the intended levels of long-term equity incentives granted to our executives in order to comply with the compensation limits of the CARES Act (as described below). As a result of this reduction in long-term equity incentives, the compensation component levels under the 2021 Program differ as compared to our traditional and intended compensation levels.
As previously disclosed, in April 2020, the Company entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement (the "First PSP Agreement") with the United States Department of the Treasury (the "U.S. Treasury Department") under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"); in September 2020, the Company entered into a loan agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department (the "Term Loan Facility") pursuant to the loan program established under the CARES Act; and, in January 2021, the Company and the U.S. Treasury Department entered into the Payroll Support Program Extension Agreement (together with the First PSP Agreement, the "PSP Agreement"). As a condition of the PSP Agreement and the Term Loan Facility, the Company is subject to restrictions on the amount of total compensation that it can provide to certain employees, including each of the Company's named executive officers. These compensation restrictions continue until the later of (i) October 1, 2022 and (ii) one year after full repayment of all loans under the Term Loan Facility, which has a maturity date of September 26, 2025 (such period is referred to herein as the "CARES Act restricted period").
The annual total target compensation levels for our executives are set with reference to market practices of a peer group of companies and the benchmarking results are balanced with additional factors, such as each executive's experience, knowledge, skills, roles, and contributions to the Company. The Committee also considers internal pay parity among our executives. As a result of the CARES Act limitations on executive compensation, the Company is prohibited from providing our executives the full value of the intended compensation levels during the CARES Act restricted period. The 2021 Program is designed to motivate and retain our executives while complying with the compensation limits under the CARES Act.
The compensation packages of our executives also were significantly reduced during 2020. As previously disclosed, Scott Kirby, our CEO, and Brett Hart, our President, each waived 100% of his 2020 base salary for portions of 2020 in recognition of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, and to lead by example. In addition, no payments were made under our 2020 Annual Incentive Program ("AIP"). The total salary amounts waived during 2020 were as follows (including reference to the percent of total annual salary that was waived for 2020): Mr. Kirby-$784,470 (82%) Mr. Hart-$545,737 (70%); and Mr. Gerald Laderman (our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer)-$151,057 (21%). The target level of the 2020 AIP awards, for which no payments were made, were as follows: Mr. Kirby-$2,500,000; Mr. Hart-$1,356,250; and Mr. Laderman-$758,500.
Short-term Incentives. On February 25, 2021, the Committee authorized short-term performance-based restricted stock unit ("RSU") awards ("Recovery Performance RSUs") under the Company's 2017 Incentive Compensation Plan (the "2017 Plan") in lieu of the cash-based payment structure of the 2020 AIP. Under the Recovery Performance RSUs, the Committee established short-term performance goals based on financial and customer satisfaction metrics that are deemed critical to the Company's success as it emerges from the worst crisis in the history of the aviation industry. The equity design of the Recovery Performance RSUs places emphasis on Company stock price performance and is designed to further support alignment of interests between our executives and stockholders.
The Recovery Performance RSUs may be granted to officers and employees of United Airlines, Inc. ("United") or any subsidiary of United. Generally, a recipient of a Recovery Performance RSU award must remain continuously employed from the date of grant through the last day of the performance period in order to be eligible for vesting of the award. However, if the recipient's employment is terminated by reason of death or disability, then the award will vest on a pro-rated basis (based on the number of days worked during the performance period and assuming achievement of the target level).
Long-term Equity Incentives. The Committee sets the intended long-term equity compensation levels as an element of the annual total target compensation package based on the peer benchmarking results and other factors referenced above. However, in designing the 2021 Program, the Committee determined that it was appropriate to implement the required CARES Act compensation limits through reductions to the target grant level of the long-term equity awards. The 2021 reductions to the long-term equity awards to comply with the CARES Act limits are detailed in the table below.
Name Intended LTI Equity Award Level Actual LTI Equity Award Level (1) Reduction For CARES Act Limit
J. Scott Kirby $10,000,000 $6,230,000 $3,770,000
Brett J. Hart $5,812,500 $1,256,000 $4,556,500
Gerald Laderman $2,718,750 $1,665,000 $1,053,750
The entire 2021 LTI equity award for Mr. Hart and a portion of the 2021 LTI equity award ($1,574,000) for Mr. Kirby will not be granted until a later date in accordance with the requirements of the CARES Act, which counts and restricts total compensation on a rolling 12-month basis.
As noted above, in order to support continued alignment with the Company's stockholders, the short-term incentive component is being delivered entirely in equity. In addition, while the short-term component of the 2021 Program emphasizes performance goals deemed critical to the Company's emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 long-term incentive retains the time-vested equity component included in the Company's long-term incentive design in prior years. The time-vested equity component enhances stability of the long-term incentive by reducing volatility (as compared to performance-based awards), which is expected to enhance retention value, while assuring that a significant portion of compensation is directly linked to the Company's stock price performance.
Vesting of the time-vested RSUs is subject to the employee's continued employment with the Company or its subsidiaries from the date of grant through each vesting date (except as otherwise provided by the Committee or as provided in the 2017 Plan). The time-vested awards under the 2021 Program generally vest in six-month increments over a two-year period (on August 31st and February 28th). The Committee established this vesting schedule in consideration of the significant reduction in the long-term equity incentives under the 2021 Program as compared to the intended levels under the Company's traditional total compensation design. In addition, this vesting schedule is balanced by the extended vesting period of the long-term contingent cash awards (described below), which include a vesting condition that may extend for more than five years.
Consistent with our prior long-term incentive design, if the employee remains continuously employed by the Company or an affiliate from the date of grant until the date upon which a qualifying event (which is generally a termination of employment within two years following a change of control of the Company under circumstances entitling the employee to a cash severance payment) occurs, then on the date of such qualifying event the employee's rights with respect to all RSUs that are not then vested will become vested and all restrictions on such RSUs will lapse. Further, if the employee's employment is terminated by reason of death or disability, then all RSUs that are not then vested will fully vest.
Long-term Contingent Cash Awards. On February 25, 2021, the Committee also approved long-term contingent cash awards (the "Long-Term Cash Awards") in recognition of the Company's need to reward and retain its management team as it continues to navigate the Company's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee approved Long-Term Cash Awards to Messrs. Kirby, Hart, and Laderman with a contingent payment opportunity equal to three times the executive's base salary level at the time of grant. Under the terms of the Long-Term Cash Awards, payment of the award is contingent upon the recipient's continued employment with the Company through the later of (i) three years from the date of award or (ii) the expiration of the CARES Act restricted period. If the recipient's employment is terminated by reason of death or disability, then the Long-Term Cash Award is payable in full to the recipient or his or her estate.
In making the determination to grant the Long-Term Cash Awards, the Committee considered concerns related to the need to retain and reward our management team throughout the current crisis, considerations related to compensation benchmarking and internal and external pay parity, and management's voluntary waivers of significant salary amounts in 2020. The Long-Term Cash Awards are intended to enhance our ability to retain our management team during this time of unprecedented challenges for the Company and the airline industry as a whole, particularly as our management team has marketable skills that are highly valued and transferable to other companies, including companies in industries that have not been as adversely impacted by COVID-19.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Certain information required by this item with respect to UAL is incorporated by reference from UAL's definitive proxy statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions "Election of Directors" and "Corporate Governance." Information regarding the executive officers of UAL is presented in Part I, Item 1 of this report. There are no family relationships among the executive officers or the directors of UAL. The executive officers are elected by UAL's Board of Directors each year and hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders, until their successors are elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, resignation or removal.
Information required by this item with respect to United is omitted pursuant to General Instruction I(2)(c) of Form 10-K.
Code of Ethics. The Company has a code of ethics, the "Code of Ethics and Business Conduct," for its directors, officers and employees. The code serves as a "Code of Ethics" as defined by SEC regulations, and as a "Code of Conduct" under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5610. The code is available on the Company's investor relations website at ir.united.com. Waivers granted to certain officers from compliance with or future amendments to the code will be disclosed on the Company's investor relations website in accordance with Item 5.05 of Form 8-K.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
Information required by this item with respect to UAL is incorporated by reference from UAL's definitive proxy statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions "Executive Compensation," "2020 Director Compensation" and "Corporate Governance-Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation."
Information required by this item with respect to United is omitted pursuant to General Instruction I(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
Information required by this item with respect to UAL is incorporated by reference from UAL's definitive proxy statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the caption "Beneficial Ownership of Securities."
Information required by this item with respect to United is omitted pursuant to General Instruction I(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
Information required by this item with respect to UAL is incorporated by reference from UAL's definitive proxy statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions "Corporate Governance-Certain Relationships and Related Transactions," "Corporate Governance-Committees of the Board" and "Corporate Governance-Director Independence."
Information required by this item with respect to United is omitted pursuant to General Instruction I(2)(c) of Form 10-K.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.
The Audit Committee of the UAL Board of Directors has adopted a policy on pre-approval of services of the Company's independent registered public accounting firm. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAL, United's audit services are determined by UAL. The policy provides that the Audit Committee shall pre-approve all audit and non-audit services to be provided to UAL and its subsidiaries and affiliates by its independent auditors. The process by which this is carried out is as follows:
For recurring services, the Audit Committee reviews and pre-approves the independent registered public accounting firm's annual audit services in conjunction with the annual appointment of the outside auditors. The reviewed materials include a description of the services along with related fees. The Audit Committee also reviews and pre-approves other classes of recurring services along with fee thresholds for pre-approved services. In the event that the additional services are required prior to the next scheduled Audit Committee meeting, pre-approvals of additional services follow the process described below.
Any requests for audit, audit related, tax and other services not contemplated with the recurring services approval described above must be submitted to the Audit Committee for specific pre-approval and cannot commence until such approval has been granted. Normally, pre-approval is provided at regularly scheduled meetings. However, the authority to grant specific preapproval between meetings, as necessary, has been delegated to the Chair of the Audit Committee. The Chair must update the Audit Committee at the next regularly scheduled meeting of any services that were granted specific pre-approval.
On a periodic basis, the Audit Committee reviews the status of services and fees incurred year-to-date and a list of newly pre-approved services since its last regularly scheduled meeting. The Audit Committee has considered whether the 2020 and 2019 non-audit services provided by Ernst & Young LLP, the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, are compatible with maintaining auditor independence.
All of the services in 2020 and 2019 under the Audit Fees, Audit Related Fees, Tax Fees and All Other Fees categories below have been approved by the Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Exchange Act.
The aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by the Company's independent auditors in 2020 and 2019 are as follows (in thousands):
Service 2020 2019
Audit Fees $ 6,000 $ 4,323
Audit Related Fees 302 403
Tax fees 170 174
Total Fees $ 6,472 $ 4,900
Note: UAL and United amounts are the same.
Audit Fees. For 2020 and 2019, audit fees consist primarily of the audit and quarterly reviews of the consolidated financial statements and the audit of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Audit fees also include the audit of the consolidated financial statements of United, attestation services required by statute or regulation, comfort letters, consents, assistance with and review of documents filed with the SEC, and accounting and financial reporting consultations and research work necessary to comply with generally accepted auditing standards.
Audit Related Fees. For 2020, fees for audit-related services primarily consisted of audits and/or agreed upon audit procedures related to prior years' audits of subsidiaries of the Company.
For 2019, fees for audit-related services primarily consisted of accounting consultations for proposed or future transactions and identifying and testing changes in the internal control environment prior to the implementation of the new revenue accounting system, which went into effect during the third quarter of 2019.
Tax Fees. Tax fees for 2020 and 2019 relate to professional services provided for research and consultations regarding tax accounting and tax compliance matters and review of U.S. and international tax impacts of certain transactions, exclusive of tax services rendered in connection with the audit.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a) List of documents filed as part of this report:
(1) Financial Statements. The financial statements required by this item are listed in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data herein.
(2) Financial Statement Schedules. The financial statement schedule required by this item is listed below and included in this report after the signature page hereto.
Schedule II-Valuation and Qualifying Accounts for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.
All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable, not required or the required information is shown in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.
(b) Exhibits. The exhibits required by this item are provided in the Exhibit Index.