NOTE 20 - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Intercompany transactions - United and Continental

United and Continental perform services for one another including various aircraft maintenance services, aircraft ground handling and aircraft fuel provisions at certain airports. For the year ended December 31, 2012, United provided $558 million of services to Continental, and Continental provided $219 million of services to United. Many of these transactions are routinely settled through the clearing house, which is customarily used in the monthly settlement of such items. Transactions not settled through the clearing house are typically settled in cash on a quarterly basis. As of December 31, 2012, Continental had a net current payable of $2.5 billion to United primarily related to the transfer of the current portion of the frequent flyer liability and the cash transfer from United in conjunction with the conversion to the new passenger service system, as described below. In addition, Continental had a $270 million noncurrent payable as of December 31, 2012 to United associated with the transfer of advanced purchase of miles to United as a result of the transition to the single loyalty program described further below.

In November 2011, the Company received a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Company plans to merge United Air Lines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. into one legal entity in 2013. Once this legal merger occurs, the financial statements of United and Continental will be combined at their historical cost for all periods presented beginning on October 1, 2010, the date on which Continental became a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAL, and there will no longer be a requirement to separately report the historical financial statements of Continental. Intercompany receivables and payables between United and Continental will be settled when United Air Lines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. merge into one legal entity.

Frequent flyer program transition

In the first quarter of 2012, the Company moved to a single loyalty program. Continental’s loyalty program formally ended in the first quarter of 2012, at which point United automatically enrolled Continental OnePass program members in the MileagePlus program and deposited into those MileagePlus accounts award miles equal to these members’ OnePass award miles balance. In March 2012, the related frequent flyer deferred revenue and advance purchase of miles liabilities for the OnePass program was transferred to United with a corresponding liability recorded by Continental payable to United for assuming the frequent flyer obligations. No gain or loss was incurred from the transaction as the liabilities were transferred at their respective net book value. The obligation associated with this transfer will be settled by Continental through future redemptions by MileagePlus members on Continental operated flights.

Passenger service system and ticket stock integration

In March 2012, Continental and United converted to a single passenger service system, allowing the Company to operate using a single reservations system, carrier code, flight schedule, website and departure control system. In conjunction with the conversion to a single passenger service system, all tickets are now sold by United. As a result, the air traffic liability of Continental is diminishing as tickets previously sold by Continental are used or refunded and United’s advanced ticket sales liability and associated cash receipts from the ticket sales will increase accordingly. Subsequent to the system conversion, United transferred cash to Continental each month, such transfers being netted against amounts owed to Continental for segments flown by Continental on United ticket stock. Revenue will continue to be recorded by the carrier that is operating the flight.

Revenue and expense allocation

Until United Air Lines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. are merged into one legal entity, revenue and expenses will continue to be recorded by each entity based on either specific identification of the related transaction, where applicable, or appropriate allocations based on metrics that are systematic and rational. Certain revenues and expenses that were previously recorded based on a specific identification were allocated in March 2012 in connection with the conversion to a single passenger service system. We believe the allocated amounts will generally be comparable to historical amounts. Each airline will continue to record actual expenses for aircraft that are owned or leased and passenger revenue will be determined on an actual basis for the carrier operating the flight. The table below illustrates a summary of the primary allocation metrics to be used:


Account		Allocation metric between subsidiaries
Operating revenue:
Passenger		Actual ticket revenue based on specifically identified flights operated by each carrier. Frequent flyer component of passenger revenue is allocated to Continental based on historic revenue passenger miles (“RPMs”) split between carriers and rate at which outstanding frequent flyer liability was transferred from Continental to United at single passenger service system conversion for calculating frequent flyer impact. Regional revenue, based on the carrier that contracted with the regional carrier
Cargo		Actual by operating carrier
Other operating		Passenger related based on passenger revenue and other based on passengers enplaned or other similar criteria
Operating expense:
Aircraft fuel		Actual by operating carrier
Salaries and related costs		Actual for operational workgroups and allocation based on historical RPMs for administrative personnel. Profit sharing expense is allocated based on the proportional profit of each operating entity
Regional capacity purchase		Actual based on specific identification of the carrier that contracted with regional carrier for flying
Landing fees and other rent		Allocation based on passengers enplaned
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs		Actual based on the specific identification of each carrier’s aircraft
Depreciation and amortization		Specific identification of carriers’ operational assets (i.e. flight equipment) and intangible assets and allocation based on historical RPMs for other assets
Distribution expenses		Allocation based on passenger revenue
Aircraft rent		Actual based on specific identification of each carrier’s aircraft
Special charges		Specific identification. Labor agreement costs are allocated based on salaries of respective work groups
Other operating expenses		Specific identification where applicable and allocation based on historical RPMs for other

Total net revenue allocated from United to Continental amounted to $1.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Total net expenses allocated from United to Continental amounted to $363 million for the year ended December 31, 2012.