Purchase Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligations Disclosure [Table Text Block]

Accordingly, our actual payments under these agreements could differ materially from the minimum fixed obligations set forth in the table below.



Years Ending December 31, (in millions)	Amount⁽¹⁾
2012	$	2,340
2013	2,420
2014	2,430
2015	2,400
2016	2,100
Thereafter	5,700
Total	$	17,390


⁽¹⁾	These amounts exclude Contract Carrier lease payments accounted for as operating leases, which are described in Note 8. The contingencies described below under “Contingencies Related to Termination of Contract Carrier Agreements” are also excluded from this table.

The following table shows the timing of these commitments:



Years Ending December 31, (in millions)	Total
2012	$	215
2013	530
2014	745
2015	760
2016	760
Thereafter	3,810
Total	$	6,820

Domestic Employee Groups Represented by Unions [Table Text Block]



Employee Group	Approximate Number of Active Employees Represented	Union	Date on which Collective Bargaining Agreement Becomes Amendable
Delta Pilots	10,850	ALPA	December 31, 2012
Delta Flight Superintendents (Dispatchers)	340	PAFCA	December 31, 2013
Comair Pilots	790	ALPA	March 2, 2011
Comair Maintenance Employees	280	IAM	December 31, 2010
Comair Flight Attendants	550	IBT	December 31, 2010

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of unconditional purchase obligations that are not recognized as a liability on the balance sheet, including the nature and significant terms of an unconditional purchase obligation; the amount of the fixed and determinable portion of the obligation as of the date of the latest balance sheet presented in the aggregate and, if determinable, for each of the five succeeding fiscal years; the nature of any variable components of the obligation; the amount purchased under the obligation (for example, the take-or-pay or throughput contract) for the reporting period; and may include the amount of imputed interest necessary to reduce the obligation to present value.

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