Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Operating Revenue by Principal Geographic Region

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):

	2019		2018		2017
Domestic (U.S. and Canada)	$	26,960	$	25,552	$	23,114
Atlantic	7,387		7,103		6,340
Pacific	5,132		5,188		4,914
Latin America	3,780		3,460		3,416
Total	$	43,259	$	41,303	$	37,784

Roll Forward of Frequent Flyer Deferred Revenue

The table below presents a roll forward of Frequent flyer deferred revenue (in millions):

	Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2019			2018
Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - beginning balance	$	5,005		$	4,783
Total miles awarded	2,621			2,451
Travel miles redeemed (Passenger revenue)	(2,213		)	(2,068		)
Non-travel miles redeemed (Other operating revenue)	(137		)	(161		)
Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - ending balance	$	5,276		$	5,005

Reconciliation of Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

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,
	2019		2018		2017		2019		2018		2017
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	2,762	$	1,694	$	1,482	$	2,756	$	1,688	$	1,476
Restricted cash included in Prepaid expenses and other	—		—		18		—		—		18
Other assets:
Restricted cash	106		105		91		106		105		91
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of consolidated cash flows	$	2,868	$	1,799	$	1,591	$	2,862	$	1,793	$	1,585

Reconciliation of Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

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,
	2019		2018		2017		2019		2018		2017
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	2,762	$	1,694	$	1,482	$	2,756	$	1,688	$	1,476
Restricted cash included in Prepaid expenses and other	—		—		18		—		—		18
Other assets:
Restricted cash	106		105		91		106		105		91
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of consolidated cash flows	$	2,868	$	1,799	$	1,591	$	2,862	$	1,793	$	1,585

Estimated Useful Lives of Property and Equipment

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

Information about Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The following table presents information about the Company's goodwill and other intangible assets at December 31 (in millions):

	2019				2018
	Gross  Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Gross  Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization
Goodwill	$	4,523			$	4,523
Indefinite-lived intangible assets
Route authorities	$	1,150			$	1,240
Airport slots	546				546
Tradenames and logos	593				593
Alliances	404				404
Total	$	2,693			$	2,783
Finite-lived intangible assets
Frequent flyer database	$	1,177	$	931	$	1,177	$	884
Hubs	145		104		145		97
Contracts	120		111		120		106
Other	314		294		314		293
Total	$	1,756	$	1,440	$	1,756	$	1,380

Impact of the Adoption of the New Lease Standard

The adoption of the New Lease Standard had the same impact on the financial statements of United as it had on the financial statements of UAL. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select accounts and captions of UAL's statement of consolidated operations for the year ended December 31 (in millions, except per share amounts):

	As Reported						New Lease Standard Adjustments						As Adjusted
	2018			2017			2018			2017			2018			2017
Regional capacity purchase	$	2,601		$	2,232		$	48		$	36		$	2,649		$	2,268
Landing fees and other rent	2,359			2,240			90			70			2,449			2,310
Depreciation and amortization	2,240			2,149			(75		)	(53		)	2,165			2,096
Interest expense	(729		)	(671		)	59			45			(670		)	(626		)
Interest capitalized	70			84			(5		)	(10		)	65			74
Income tax expense	529			896			(3		)	(16		)	526			880
Net income	2,129			2,144			(7		)	(1		)	2,122			2,143
Earnings per share, basic	7.73			7.08			(0.03		)	—			7.70			7.08
Earnings per share, diluted	7.70			7.06			(0.03		)	—			7.67			7.06

The expense for leases under the New Lease Standard will continue to be classified in their historical income statement captions (primarily in Aircraft rent, Landing fees and other rent and Regional capacity purchase in our statements of consolidated operations). The adoption of the New Lease Standard resulted in the recharacterization of certain leases from capital leases under Topic 840 to operating leases under the New Lease Standard. This change resulted in less depreciation and amortization and interest expense associated with capital leases offset by higher lease expense associated with operating leases. The recharacterization is associated with leases of certain airport facilities that were derecognized as part of the build-to-suit transition guidance under the New Lease Standard. The reduction in capitalized interest is also associated with the same airport facilities leases.

The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on UAL's balance sheet accounts and captions (in millions):

	December 31, 2018
	As Reported			New Lease Standard Adjustments			As Adjusted
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts	$	1,346		$	80		$	1,426
Prepaid expenses and other	913			(180		)	733
Flight equipment, owned and finance leases (a)	32,636			(37		)	32,599
Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases (a)	7,930			(1,041		)	6,889
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases (a)	(13,414		)	148			(13,266		)
Operating lease right-of-use assets	—			5,262			5,262
Current maturities of finance leases (a)	149			(26		)	123
Current maturities of operating leases	—			719			719
Other current liabilities	619			(66		)	553
Long-term obligations under finance leases (a)	1,134			(910		)	224
Long-term obligations under operating leases	—			5,276			5,276
Deferred income taxes	814			14			828
Other long-term liabilities	1,832			(822		)	1,010
Retained earnings	6,668			47			6,715

(a) Finance leases, under the New Lease Standard, are the equivalent of capital leases under Topic 840.

The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select line items of UAL's statement of consolidated cash flows for the year ended December 31 (in millions):

	As Reported						New Lease Standard Adjustments						As Adjusted
	2018			2017			2018			2017			2018			2017
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	6,181		$	3,413		$	(17	)	$	61		$	6,164		$	3,474
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures	(4,177		)	(3,998		)	107			128			(4,070		)	(3,870		)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	1,740			2,765			(146		)	(228		)	1,594			2,537
Principal payments under finance leases	(134		)	(124		)	55			40			(79		)	(84		)