Special Charges (Credits)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

For the years ended December 31, operating and nonoperating special charges (credits) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments in the statements of consolidated operations consisted of the following (in millions):


Operating:	2023		2022		2021
Labor contract ratification bonuses	$	814	$	—	$	—
CARES Act grant	—		—		(4,021)
Severance and benefit costs	—		—		438
Impairment of assets	—		—		97
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges	135		140		119
Total operating special charges (credits)	949		140		(3,367)
Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net	(27)		(20)		34
Nonoperating debt extinguishment and modification fees	11		7		50
Nonoperating special termination benefits and settlement losses	—		—		31
Total nonoperating special charges and unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net	(16)		(13)		115
Total operating and nonoperating special charges (credits) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net	933		127		(3,252)
Income tax expense (benefit), net of valuation allowance	(214)		(33)		728
Total operating and nonoperating special charges (credits) and unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net of income taxes	$	719	$	94	$	(2,524)

2023

Labor contract ratification bonuses. During 2023, the Company recorded $814 million of expense associated with the agreements with ALPA, IAM and other work groups. See Note 12 for additional information.

(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges. During 2023, the Company recorded $135 million of net charges primarily comprised of accelerated depreciation related to certain of the Company's assets that will be retired early, reserves for various legal matters, a write-down of flight training equipment that is being sold and other gains and losses on the sale of assets.

Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net. During 2023, the Company recorded gains of $27 million, primarily for the change in the market value of its investments in equity securities.

Nonoperating debt extinguishment and modification fees. During 2023, the Company recorded $11 million of charges primarily related to the prepayment of $1.0 billion of the outstanding principal amount under a 2021 term loan facility.

2022

(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges. During 2022, the Company recorded $140 million of net charges primarily comprised of $94 million for various legal matters and $23 million related to certain contract disputes.

Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net. During 2022, the Company recorded gains of $20 million primarily related to the change in the market value of its investments in equity securities.

Nonoperating debt extinguishment and modification fees. During 2022, the Company recorded $7 million of charges primarily related to the early redemption of $400 million of the outstanding principal amount of its 4.25% senior notes due 2022.

2021

CARES Act grant. During 2021, the Company received approximately $5.8 billion in funding pursuant to the Payroll Support Program agreements under the CARES Act (the "PSP2 and PSP3 Agreements"), which included approximately $1.7 billion aggregate principal amount of unsecured promissory notes. The Company recorded $4.0 billion as grant income in Special charges (credits). The Company also recorded $99 million for the PSP2 Warrants and PSP3 Warrants issued to Treasury as part of the PSP2 and PSP3 Agreements, within stockholders' equity, as an offset to the grant income.

Severance and benefit costs. During 2021, the Company recorded $438 million of charges related to pay continuation and benefits-related costs provided to employees who chose to voluntarily separate from the Company. The Company offered, based on employee group, age and completed years of service, pay continuation, health care coverage, and travel privileges. Approximately 4,500 employees elected to voluntarily separate from the Company.

Impairment of assets. During 2021, the Company recorded the following impairment charges:

•$61 million, primarily comprised of impairment charges for 13 Airbus A319 aircraft and 13 Boeing 737-700 airframes as a result of the then-current market conditions for used aircraft, along with charges for cancelled induction projects related to these aircraft.

•$36 million of impairments related to 64 Embraer EMB 145LR aircraft and related spare engines that United retired from its regional fleet. The decision to retire these aircraft was triggered by the United Next aircraft order.

(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges. During 2021, the Company recorded net charges of $119 million primarily related to a one-time bonus paid to employees for their continued efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, incentives for its employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and the termination of the lease associated with three floors of its headquarters at the Willis Tower in Chicago, partially offset by gains primarily related to the sale of its former headquarters in suburban Chicago, aircraft sale-leaseback transactions and aircraft component manufacturer credits.

Nonoperating unrealized (gains) losses on investments, net. During 2021, the Company recorded losses of $34 million primarily for the change in the market value of its investments in equity securities.

Nonoperating debt extinguishment and modification fees. During 2021, the Company recorded $50 million of charges for fees and discounts related to the issuance of a new term loan and revolving credit facility and the prepayment of a CARES Act loan and a 2017 term loan and revolving credit facility.

Nonoperating special termination benefits and settlement losses. During 2021, as part of the first quarter voluntary leave programs, the Company recorded $31 million of special termination benefits in the form of additional subsidies for retiree medical costs for certain U.S.-based front-line employees. The subsidies were in the form of a one-time contribution to a notional retiree health account of $125,000 for full-time employees and $75,000 for part-time employees. See Note 7 of this report for additional information.