NOTE 8 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments. As of September 30, 2014, United had firm commitments to purchase aircraft from The Boeing Company (“Boeing”), Embraer S.A. (“Embraer”) and Airbus S.A.S. (“Airbus”) presented in the table below:


Aircraft Type	Number of Firm Commitments (a)
Airbus A350-1000		35
Boeing 737-900ER		39
Boeing 737 MAX 9		100
Boeing 787-8/-9/-10		53
Embraer 175		22
(a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft.

The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery for the remainder of 2014 through 2025. In the remainder of 2014, United expects to take delivery of five Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, one Boeing 787-8 aircraft, one Boeing 787-9 aircraft and 11 Embraer 175 aircraft.

The table below summarizes United’s commitments as of September 30, 2014, which primarily relate to the acquisition of aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and include other commitments primarily to acquire information technology services and assets.


	(in billions)
Last three months of 2014	$	1.1
2015		3.0
2016		1.7
2017		1.2
2018		2.1
After 2018		13.5

	$	22.6

Any incremental firm aircraft orders, including through the exercise of purchase options and purchase rights, will increase the total future capital commitments of the Company.

As of September 2014, United has arranged for EETC and bank debt financing for all 2014 aircraft deliveries and 20 of our 2015 aircraft deliveries, including 11 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, four Boeing 787-9 aircraft and five Embraer 175 aircraft. In addition, United has secured backstop financing commitments from certain of its aircraft manufacturers for a limited number of its future aircraft deliveries, subject to certain customary conditions. Financing will be necessary to satisfy the Company’s capital commitments for its firm order aircraft and other related capital expenditures. The Company can provide no assurance that any financing not already in place for aircraft and spare engine deliveries will be available to the Company on acceptable terms when necessary or at all. See Note 9 of this report for additional information on aircraft financing.

Aircraft Operating Leases and Capacity Purchase Agreements

In September 2014, United entered into an amendment to a contract with Shuttle America Corporation (“Shuttle America”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings, for Shuttle America to operate 50 new Embraer 175 aircraft under the United Express brand and extend the term of 38 existing Embraer 170 aircraft operating under the United Express brand. Shuttle America will acquire fifty 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft with deliveries from 2015 through 2017, although United has the right to acquire the aircraft under certain circumstances and lease the aircraft to Shuttle America. These 50 aircraft are in addition to United’s other 70 Embraer 175 aircraft that are currently being operated or will in the future be operated by different United Express carriers under capacity purchase agreements (“CPAs”). In a separate but related amendment with Republic Airways Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary, Republic Airline Inc. (“Republic”), United and Republic agreed to remove 31 Q400 aircraft from United Express service in 2015 and 2016.

The table below summarizes the Company’s future payments through the end of the terms of our CPAs, excluding variable pass-through costs such as fuel and landing fees, among others. In addition, the table below summarizes the Company’s scheduled future minimum lease payments under aircraft operating leases having initial or remaining noncancelable lease terms of more than one year and includes aircraft rent or ownership costs under CPAs, including estimated commitments under the Shuttle America contract for the Embraer 175 aircraft which will be delivered starting in 2015.


(In millions)	Capacity Purchase Agreements		Aircraft Operating Leases
Last three months of 2014	$	460	$	296
2015		1,665		1,442
2016		1,531		1,265
2017		1,479		1,190
2018		1,416		960
After 2018		5,054		3,194

	$	11,605	$	8,347

Facility and Other Operating Leases

In September 2014, United entered into a 10-year lease extension through 2035 with the City and County of Denver to continue its use of the airport terminal space at Denver International Airport. This extension is expected to result in annual cost savings for the Company through the original lease term end date of 2025. The table below summarizes the Company’s scheduled future minimum lease payments under facility operating leases having initial or remaining noncancelable lease terms of more than one year.


(In millions)	Facility and Other Operating Leases
Last three months of 2014	$	284
2015		953
2016		828
2017		793
2018		671
After 2018		7,458

	$	10,987

Guarantees and Off-Balance Sheet Financing

Guarantees. 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 $1.6 billion of these obligations are accounted for as operating leases with the associated expense recorded on a straight-line basis resulting in ratable accrual of the lease obligation over the expected lease term. The leasing arrangements associated with $280 million of these obligations are accounted for as capital leases. All of these bonds are due between 2015 and 2038.

In the Company’s financing transactions that include loans, the Company 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 in which the interest rate is based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“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 September 30, 2014, the Company had $2.5 billion of floating rate debt and $168 million of fixed rate debt, with remaining terms of up to twelve 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 twelve years and an aggregate balance of $2.6 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.

Credit Facilities. As of September 30, 2014, United had its entire capacity of $1.35 billion available under the revolving credit facility of the Company’s Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”). See Note 9 of this report for additional information.

Labor Negotiations. As of September 30, 2014, United had approximately 85,000 active employees, of whom approximately 80% were represented by various labor organizations. We are currently in the process of negotiating amended collective bargaining agreements with our employee groups without joint collective bargaining agreements, including our technicians and flight attendants.