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Combined Notes to the Financial Statements (Unaudited)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Unusual or Infrequent Items, or Both [Abstract]  
COMBINED NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
COMBINED NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company, and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is a combined report of UAL and United, including their respective consolidated financial statements. As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. United's operating revenues and operating expenses comprise nearly 100% of UAL's revenues and operating expenses. In addition, United comprises approximately the entire balance of UAL's assets, liabilities and operating cash flows. When appropriate, UAL and United are named specifically for their individual contractual obligations and related disclosures, and any significant differences between the operations and results of UAL and United are separately disclosed and explained. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.
The UAL and United unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements shown here have been prepared as required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Some information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements that comply with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") have been condensed or omitted as permitted by the SEC. The financial statements include all adjustments, including normal recurring adjustments and other adjustments, which are considered necessary for a fair presentation of the Company's financial position and results of operations for interim periods presented. The UAL and United financial statements should be read together with the information included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (the "2020 Form 10-K"). The Company's quarterly financial data is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Historically its second and third quarter financial results have reflected higher travel demand, and were better than its first and fourth quarter financial results; however, see Part I, Item 2 of this report for additional discussion regarding trends associated with the matters discussed in the "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic" section below.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, together with the measures implemented or recommended by governmental authorities and private organizations in response to the pandemic, has had an adverse impact that has been material to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity. The Company has seen increasing demand for travel both domestically and in countries where entry is permitted; however, as the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic remains fluid, the pandemic has continued to negatively impact travel demand. It remains difficult to reasonably assess or predict the full extent of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance, which will depend on a number of future developments, many of which are outside the Company's control, such as the ultimate duration of and factors impacting the recovery from the pandemic (including the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus in different markets, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus that may be resistant to currently approved vaccines and the continuation of existing or implementation of new government travel restrictions), the volatility of aircraft fuel prices, customer behavior changes and fluctuations in demand for air travel, among others. The Company's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has not followed a linear path, and due to the significant uncertainty that remains, its future operating performance, particularly in the short-term, may be subject to volatility. The Company is taking steps to be prepared for recovery as demand for travel continues to increase in line with recent customer booking trends, which include making certain investments in the recovery.
Capacity. The Company cut, relative to third quarter 2019 capacity, approximately 28% of its scheduled capacity for the third quarter of 2021 and expects its fourth quarter scheduled capacity to be down approximately 23% versus the fourth quarter of 2019. The Company will continue to monitor booking trends for future travel and adjust its capacity as needed.
Cost Reductions. The Company has identified various permanent structural cost reductions including improvements in labor efficiencies. During the first quarter of 2021, the Company offered voluntary leaves of absence to certain U.S.-based front-line employees. This program included (based on employee group, age and completed years of service) a partially-paid leave of absence with active health care coverage and travel privileges. Employees who separate from the Company after the end of such program receive certain separation benefits, such as post-employment health benefits and travel privileges. Approximately 4,500 employees elected to participate in this program, and it is expected that the majority of them will separate from employment at the end of their leave of absence. See Note 5 and Note 9 of this report for additional information on charges related to these programs.
Liquidity. The Company entered into a number of transactions to improve its liquidity and manage its capital. In the first nine months of 2021, the Company:
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 4.375% senior secured notes due 2026 (the "2026
Notes") and $2.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of 4.625% senior secured notes due 2029 (the "2029 Notes" and, together with the 2026 Notes, the "Notes");
entered into a new Term Loan Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "New Term Loan Facility") initially providing term loans (the "New Term Loans") up to an aggregate amount of $5.0 billion and a new Revolving Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "New Revolving Credit Facility" and, together with the New Term Loan Facility, the "New Loan Facilities") initially providing revolving loan commitments of up to $1.75 billion;
repaid in full the $1.4 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the term loan facility (the "2017 Term Loan Facility") included in the Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement, dated as of March 29, 2017 (the "Existing Credit Agreement");
repaid in full the $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount outstanding under the revolving credit facility (the "2017 Revolving Credit Facility") included in the Existing Credit Agreement;
repaid in full the $520 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Loan and Guarantee Agreement, dated as of September 28, 2020, among United, UAL, the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury") and the Bank of New York Mellon, as administrative agent, as amended (the "CARES Act Loan" and, together with the 2017 Term Loan Facility and the 2017 Revolving Credit Facility, the "Existing Loan Facilities"), which was entered into pursuant to the loan program established pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act");
entered into approximately $0.6 billion in new enhanced equipment trust certificates ("EETC"); and
raised approximately $0.5 billion in net cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock.
In addition to the foregoing transactions, United entered into the following agreements with Treasury:
PSP2. On January 15, 2021, United entered into a Payroll Support Program Extension Agreement (the "PSP2 Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $3.0 billion, pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under Subtitle A of Title IV of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees, including the payment of lost wages, salaries and benefits to returning employees who were previously impacted by involuntary furloughs. Approximately $2.1 billion was provided as a direct grant and $870 million as indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note (the "PSP2 Note"). See Note 2 of this report for additional information on the warrants issued in connection with the PSP2 Note and Note 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP2 Note.
PSP3. On April 29, 2021, in connection with the Payroll Support Program established under Section 7301 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, United entered into a Payroll Support Program 3 Agreement (the "PSP3 Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $2.8 billion. Approximately $2.0 billion was provided as a direct grant and $810 million as indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note (the "PSP3 Note"). These funds will be used by United exclusively for the continuation of payment of its employee wages, salaries and benefits. See Note 2 of this report for additional information on the warrants issued in connection with the PSP3 Note and Note 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP3 Note.