XML 41 R17.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.2
Debt
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
DEBT DEBT
On April 21, 2021, United paid all amounts outstanding under the 2017 Revolving Credit Facility and the 2017 Term Loan Facility, terminated the 2017 Revolving Credit Facility and the 2017 Term Loan Facility and entered into the New Loan Facilities described below. As of September 30, 2021, United had $1.75 billion available for borrowing under the New Revolving Credit Facility at any time until April 21, 2025. No borrowings were outstanding under the New Revolving Credit Facility at September 30, 2021.
EETCs. In February 2021, United created EETC pass-through trusts which issued pass-through certificates. The proceeds from the issuance of the pass-through certificates are used to purchase equipment notes issued by United and secured by its aircraft financed with the proceeds of such notes. The Company records the debt obligation upon issuance of the equipment notes rather than upon the initial issuance of the pass-through certificates. The pass-through certificates represent fractional undivided interests in the respective pass-through trusts and are not obligations of United. The payment obligations under the equipment notes are those of United. Proceeds received from the sale of pass-through certificates are initially held by a depositary in escrow for the benefit of the certificate holders until United issues equipment notes to the trust, which purchases such notes with a portion of the escrowed funds. These escrowed funds are not guaranteed by United and are not reported as debt on our consolidated balance sheet because the proceeds held by the depositary are not United's assets. Certain details of the pass-through trusts with proceeds received from issuance of debt in 2021 are as follows (in millions, except stated interest rate):
EETC Issuance DateClassFace AmountStated interest rateTotal proceeds received from issuance of debt and recorded as debt as of September 30, 2021
February 2021B$600 4.88%$600 
PSP2 Note. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, UAL issued an $870 million PSP2 Note to Treasury evidencing senior unsecured indebtedness of UAL. The PSP2 Note is guaranteed by United and will mature ten years after issuance on January 15, 2031 (the "PSP2 Note Maturity Date"). If any subsidiary of UAL (other than United) guarantees other unsecured indebtedness of UAL with a principal balance in excess of a specified amount, then such subsidiary shall be required to guarantee the obligations of UAL under the PSP2 Note. UAL may, at its option, prepay the PSP2 Note, at any time, and from time to time, at par. UAL is required to prepay the PSP2 Note upon the occurrence of certain change of control triggering events. The PSP2 Note does not require any amortization and is to be repaid in full on the PSP2 Note Maturity Date. Interest on the PSP2 Note is payable semi-annually in arrears on the last business day of March and September of each year, beginning on March 31, 2021, at a rate of 1.00% in years 1 through 5, and at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 2.00% in years 6 through 10.
PSP3 Note. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, UAL issued an $810 million PSP3 Note to Treasury evidencing senior unsecured indebtedness of UAL. The PSP3 Note is guaranteed by United and will mature ten years after issuance on April 29, 2031 (the "PSP3 Note Maturity Date"). If any subsidiary of UAL (other than United) guarantees other unsecured indebtedness of UAL with a principal balance in excess of a specified amount, then such subsidiary shall be required to guarantee the obligations of UAL under the PSP3 Note. UAL may, at its option, prepay the PSP3 Note, at any time, and from time to time, at par. UAL is required to prepay the PSP3 Note upon the occurrence of certain change of control triggering events. The PSP3 Note does not require any amortization and is to be repaid in full on the PSP3 Note Maturity Date. Interest on the PSP3 Note is payable semi-annually in arrears on the last business day of March and September of each year, beginning on September 30, 2021, at a rate of 1.00% in years 1 through 5, and at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 2.00% in years 6 through 10.
Notes. On April 21, 2021, United issued, through a private offering to eligible purchasers, $4.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of two series of Notes, consisting of $2.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of the 2026 Notes and $2.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of the 2029 Notes. The 2026 Notes, issued at a price of 100% of their principal amount, bear interest at a rate of 4.375% per annum and will mature on April 15, 2026. The 2029 Notes, issued at a price of 100% of their principal amount, bear interest at a rate of 4.625% per annum and will mature on April 15, 2029. The Notes are guaranteed on an unsecured basis by UAL.
New Loan Facilities. Concurrently with the closing of the offering of the Notes, United also entered into the New Loan Facilities, consisting of the New Term Loan Facility initially providing New Term Loans up to an aggregate amount of $5.0 billion and the New Revolving Credit Facility initially providing revolving loan commitments of up to $1.75 billion. United borrowed the full amount of the New Term Loans on April 21, 2021, which bear interest at a variable rate equal to LIBOR (but not less than 0.75% per annum) plus a margin of 3.75% per annum. The principal amount of the New Term Loan Facility must be repaid in consecutive quarterly installments of 0.25% of the original principal amount thereof with the balance due at maturity. Borrowings under the New Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at a variable rate equal to LIBOR plus a margin of 3.00% to 3.50% per annum. United pays a commitment fee equal to 0.75% per annum on the undrawn amount available under the New Revolving Credit Facility.
United used the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes and borrowings under the New Term Loan Facility (i) to repay in full all of the Existing Loan Facilities, including the $1.4 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the 2017 Term Loan Facility, the $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the 2017 Revolving Credit Facility and the $520 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under the CARES Act Loan, (ii) to pay fees and expenses relating to the offering of the Notes and (iii) for United's general corporate purposes. As a result of such repayments, the Existing Loan Facilities were terminated on April 21, 2021, and no further borrowings may be made thereunder.
The Notes and the New Loan Facilities are secured on a senior basis by security interests granted by United to the collateral trustee for the benefit of the holders of the Notes and the lenders under the New Loan Facilities, among other parties, on the following: (i) all of United's route authorities granted by the U.S. Department of Transportation to operate scheduled service between any international airport located in the United States and any international airport located in any country other than the United States (except Cuba), (ii) United's rights to substantially all of its landing and take-off slots at foreign and domestic airports, including at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (subject to certain exclusions), and (iii) United's rights to use or occupy space at airport terminals, each to the extent necessary at the relevant time for servicing scheduled air carrier service authorized by an applicable route authority.
Our debt agreements contain customary terms and conditions as well as various affirmative, negative and financial covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness and pay dividends or repurchase stock. As of September 30, 2021, UAL and United were in compliance with their respective debt covenants.
The table below presents the Company's contractual principal payments (not including $558 million of unamortized debt discount, premiums and debt issuance costs) at September 30, 2021 under then-outstanding long-term debt agreements (in millions):
Last three months of 2021$519 
20222,967 
20232,852 
20243,908 
20253,378 
After 202520,723 
$34,347