At December 31, 2020, the estimated fair value of our short-term investments was $5.8 billion, which approximates cost. Of these investments, $4.9 billion are expected to mature in one year or less, with the remainder maturing during 2022. Investments with maturities beyond one year when purchased may be classified as short-term investments if they are expected to be available to support our short-term liquidity needs.

We have developed strategic relationships with a number of airlines and airline services companies through joint ventures and other forms of cooperation and support, including equity investments. Our equity investments reinforce our commitment to these relationships and generally enhance our ability to offer input to the investee on strategic issues and direction, in some cases through representation on the board of directors.

LATAM. In January 2020, we acquired 20% of the shares of LATAM for $1.9 billion, or $16 per share, through a tender offer as part of our plan to create a strategic alliance with LATAM. In addition, to support the establishment of the strategic alliance, we agreed to make transition payments to LATAM totaling $350 million, of which $75 million remains to be paid by the end of 2021. As part of our planned strategic alliance with LATAM, we also agreed to acquire four A350 aircraft from LATAM (which agreement has subsequently been terminated, as discussed below) and assumed 10 of LATAM's A350 purchase commitments with Airbus for deliveries through 2025.

The total consideration of $2.3 billion, including the tender offer and the transition payments, was allocated in the March 2020 quarter to the shares ($1.1 billion) and to the alliance-related indefinite-lived intangible asset ($1.2 billion) based on their relative fair values. We expect to record the 10 aircraft at cost upon delivery.

In May 2020, LATAM filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy code as the result of the impact of the pandemic on its business and, as part of LATAM's reorganization, we terminated the purchase agreement for the four A350 aircraft from LATAM for a fee of $62 million, which was recorded in restructuring charges in our income statement. While our ownership interest remains at 20%, we no longer have significant influence with LATAM during their bankruptcy proceedings and discontinued accounting for the investment under the equity method in the June 2020 quarter and began accounting for the investment at fair value.

During the June 2020 quarter, we eliminated the carrying value of our investment in LATAM and recorded expense of $1.1 billion in impairments and equity method losses within non-operating expense in our income statement. This charge reflected the recognition of both our 20% share of LATAM's March 2020 quarter losses (due to the timing of information available from LATAM) and the decline in our expected realizable value for LATAM's shares following its bankruptcy filing. The impairment charge for our investment in LATAM was calculated using Level 3 fair value inputs. During the September 2020 quarter, LATAM’s debtor-in-possession financing was approved by the bankruptcy court to provide LATAM with near-term liquidity and the ability to continue progressing toward a plan of reorganization. We expect that no more than an immaterial amount will be distributed to current equity holders following the settlement of unsecured claims upon LATAM's emergence from bankruptcy. The carrying value of our investment in LATAM remains zero at December 31, 2020.

In May 2020, we signed a trans-American joint venture agreement with LATAM that, subject to regulatory approvals, will combine our highly complementary route networks between North and South America, with the goal of providing customers with a seamless travel experience and industry-leading connectivity. In addition, the bankruptcy court has approved the assumption of our strategic partnership agreement, which contributes to supporting the value of our $1.2 billion alliance-related indefinite-lived intangible asset. We believe this alliance will generate growth opportunities, building upon Delta's and LATAM's global footprint and joint ventures. See Note 7, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets," for further discussion of our quantitative impairment assessment of indefinite-lived intangible assets.

Grupo Aeroméxico. In June 2020, Grupo Aeroméxico filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy code as the result of the impact of the pandemic on its business. We have a non-controlling 51% ownership interest in Grupo Aeroméxico, however Grupo Aeroméxico's corporate bylaws (as authorized by the Mexican Foreign Investment Commission) limit our voting interest to a maximum of 49%. Therefore, we accounted for our investment under the equity method prior to Grupo Aeroméxico's bankruptcy filing.

As a result of Grupo Aeroméxico's bankruptcy filing, while our ownership interest has not changed, we no longer have significant influence with Grupo Aeroméxico during their bankruptcy proceedings and discontinued accounting for the investment under the equity method in the June 2020 quarter and began accounting for the investment at fair value.

During the June 2020 quarter, we eliminated the carrying value of our investment in Grupo Aeroméxico and recorded expense of $770 million in impairments and equity method losses within non-operating expense in our income statement. This charge reflected the recognition of both our 51% share of Grupo Aeroméxico's June 2020 quarter losses and the decline in our expected realizable value for Grupo Aeroméxico's shares following its bankruptcy filing. The impairment charge for our investment in Grupo Aeroméxico was calculated using Level 3 fair value inputs.

During the December 2020 quarter, Grupo Aeroméxico's debtor-in-possession financing was approved by the bankruptcy court to provide Grupo Aeroméxico with near-term liquidity and the ability to continue progressing toward a plan of reorganization. We expect that no more than an immaterial amount will be distributed to current equity holders following the settlement of unsecured claims upon Grupo Aeroméxico's emergence from bankruptcy. The carrying value of our investment in Grupo Aeroméxico remains zero at December 31, 2020.

As a result of the significantly decreased demand for air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, LATAM and Grupo Aeroméxico are undergoing in-court restructurings. In order to support our relationships with these carriers, we have provided them with strategic and operational assistance through their restructurings. We recorded notes payable of $165 million, which are recorded in current maturities of debt and finance leases, and receivables from those partners within other noncurrent assets as of December 31, 2020.

GOL. In 2019, we sold our ownership stake of GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, the parent company of GOL Linhas Aéreas (operating as GOL), and have ended our commercial agreements. During 2015, in conjunction with our investment in GOL we agreed to guarantee GOL’s $300 million five-year term loan facility with third parties that matured in August 2020. During the September 2020 quarter, we loaned GOL $250 million, to be used exclusively to repay the 2015 term loan. The $250 million loan to GOL reduced our financial exposure and provides us with additional collateral while providing GOL more time to address its obligations during the pandemic. Our loan to GOL is secured by GOL’s ownership interest in Smiles, GOL’s publicly traded loyalty program, as well as other collateral. As of December 31, 2020, the outstanding principal balance of the loan, which was prepaid in part during 2020 and is now scheduled to be repaid in monthly installments through June 2021, was $93 million.


Fair value investments ownership interest and carrying value
	Ownership Interest				Carrying Value
(in millions)	December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Hanjin-KAL	13	%	10	%	$	512	$	205
Air France-KLM	9	%	9	%	235		418
China Eastern	3	%	3	%	201		258


Other investments					469		218
Total fair value investments					$	1,417	$	1,099

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded net losses on these equity investments of $105 million compared to net gains of $119 million, including a gain from the sale of our ownership stake in GOL, during the year ended December 31, 2019 and $38 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. These results were recorded in gain/(loss) on investments in our income statement within non-operating expense and were driven by changes in stock prices, foreign currency fluctuations and other valuation techniques for investments in companies without publicly-traded shares.

Wheels Up. In January 2020, we combined Delta Private Jets, our wholly owned subsidiary which provided private jet operations, with Wheels Up. This transaction resulted in a gain of $240 million which was recorded within miscellaneous, net in our income statement in the March 2020 quarter. Upon closing, we received interests, which represented a 24% equity stake in Wheels Up as of December 31, 2020, included in other investments above. We elected to record our investment using the fair value option as this is expected to better reflect the economics of our ownership interest. In February 2021, Wheels Up entered into a definitive agreement to become publicly-traded via a merger with Aspirational Consumer Lifestyle Corp. The transaction is expected to close in the June 2021 quarter.


Equity method investments ownership interest and carrying value
	Ownership Interest				Carrying Value
(in millions)	December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019		December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019

Virgin Atlantic (1)	49	%	49	%	$	—	$	375
Unifi Aviation	49	%	49	%	154		142

Our equity method investments are recorded in equity investments on our balance sheet. If an equity method investment experiences a loss in fair value that is determined to be other than temporary, we will reduce our carrying value of the investment to fair value and record the loss in impairments and equity method losses in our income statement.

Virgin Atlantic. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions and quarantines, Virgin Atlantic has incurred significant losses during 2020. In recording our 49% share in Virgin Atlantic's results and based on our review of Virgin Atlantic's financial projections, in the June 2020 quarter we reduced the carrying value of our investment to zero.

During the September 2020 quarter, Virgin Atlantic undertook a voluntary recapitalization process in the U.K., which was subsequently approved by its creditors, and instituted ancillary proceedings in support of that process in the U.S. Under related agreements, we recognized a note payable of $115 million, which is recorded in current maturities of debt and finance leases, and a corresponding receivable within other noncurrent assets.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded $510 million in impairments and equity method losses within non-operating expense in our income statement. Under the equity method of accounting, we will track our share of Virgin Atlantic's future losses, but we will not reflect our share of their results in our financial statements until such time that our share of their earnings eliminates the losses beyond our carrying value of the investment. We continue to monitor and support Virgin Atlantic's ongoing restructuring efforts.

Effective January 2020, we combined our separate transatlantic joint venture agreements with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic into a single three-party transatlantic joint venture. Under the new agreement, certain measurement thresholds were reset from the previous joint venture with Virgin Atlantic, reducing the value we would have received over the original term. In consideration for this reduced value, we entered into a transition agreement with Virgin Atlantic, which would have resulted in payments to us in future periods. However, as of December 31, 2020, based on our assessment of collectability, we do not have any assets or liabilities recorded on our balance sheet related to this transition agreement.

Unifi Aviation. We have a 49% ownership interest in AirCo Aviation Services, LLC, which together with its subsidiaries is operating as Unifi Aviation. Our share of Unifi Aviation's financial results is recorded in contracted services in our income statement as this entity is integral to the operations of our business and the services provided by Unifi Aviation are also recorded in contracted services in our income statement. Based on discussions with Unifi Aviation's management and review of their liquidity and financial projections, we do not believe our investment is other than temporarily impaired as we have the intent and ability to retain this investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for anticipated recovery in value. However, we will continue to monitor the continuing effects of the pandemic and self-help measures Unifi Aviation executes.

Based on our assessment of collectability, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded approximately $100 million of reserves against outstanding receivables from LATAM, Grupo Aeroméxico, GOL, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and others. These reserves reflect our expected recoveries given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our investees and other airlines, and their restructuring efforts or recent bankruptcy filings. In determining the appropriate amount to reserve, we also considered the valuation of and our ability to realize the value of any collateral associated with each receivable. The reserves are recorded within accounts receivable, net or prepaid expenses and other on our balance sheet and within restructuring charges in our income statement.