Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

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 ("balance sheets") that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows ("cash flows statement").

Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
	Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)	2020		2019		2018
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	8,307	$	2,882	$	1,565
Restricted cash included in prepaid expenses and other	192		212		47
Noncurrent assets:
Cash restricted for airport construction	1,556		636		1,136
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	10,055	$	3,730	$	2,748

Schedule of information related to derivative contracts

The following table summarizes the risk hedged and the classification of related gains and losses in our income statement, by each type of derivative contract:

Derivative Type	Hedged Risk	Classification of Gains and Losses
Fuel hedge contracts	Fluctuations in fuel prices	Aircraft fuel and related taxes
Interest rate contracts	Increases in interest rates	Interest expense, net
Foreign currency exchange contracts	Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates	Non-operating expense

The following table summarizes the accounting treatment of our derivative contracts:

Accounting Designation	Impact of Unrealized Gains and Losses
Not designated as hedges	Change in fair value(1) of hedge is recorded in earnings
Designated as cash flow hedges	Market adjustments are recorded in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income ("AOCI")
Designated as fair value hedges	Market adjustments are recorded in debt and finance leases

(1)Including settled gains and losses as well as mark-to-market adjustments ("MTM adjustments").

Summary of property and equipment by classification

The following table summarizes our property and equipment:

Property and equipment by classification
		December 31,
(in millions, except for estimated useful life)	Estimated Useful Life	2020		2019
Flight equipment	20-34 years	$	31,572	$	36,713
Ground property and equipment	3-40 years	6,387		5,721
Information technology-related assets	3-15 years	3,403		3,276
Flight and ground equipment under finance leases	Shorter of lease term or estimated useful life	1,795		1,608
Advance payments for equipment		883		1,019
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization(1)		(17,511)		(17,027)
Total property and equipment, net		$	26,529	$	31,310

(1)Includes accumulated amortization for flight and ground equipment under finance leases in the amount of $793 million and $546 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.