Expenses related to the grounding of the company's aircraft.

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Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Restructuring

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No definition available.

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Total operating and nonoperating special charges net of income taxes.

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No definition available.

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Amount of write-down of assets recognized in the income statement. Includes, but is not limited to, losses from tangible assets, intangible assets and goodwill.

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- Definition

Costs incurred to effect a business combination which have been expensed during the period. Such costs could include business integration costs, systems integration and conversion costs, and severance and other employee-related costs.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of gain (loss) on sale or disposal of other assets.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 230

-SubTopic 10

-Section 45

-Paragraph 28

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Difference between the fair value of payments made and the carrying amount of debt which is extinguished prior to maturity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 230

-SubTopic 10

-Section 45

-Paragraph 28

-Subparagraph (b)

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 470

-SubTopic 50

-Section 40

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-Topic 470

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-Section 40

-Paragraph 4

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- Definition

Amount of payroll tax expense, compensation, postemployment and benefit-related expenses not elsewhere specified in the taxonomy (such as health plan, profit sharing, incentives, tuition reimbursement, other fringe benefits and perquisites) incurred in the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.4)

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Period expense related to postemployment benefits.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

The aggregate amount provided for estimated restructuring charges, remediation costs, and asset impairment loss during an accounting period. Generally, these items are either unusual or infrequent, but not both (in which case they would be extraordinary items).

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-Publisher FASB

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-Section S99

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-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.3)

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Components of Special Charges (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Operating:
Severance and benefit costs	$ 141	$ 6	$ 38	$ 14	$ 91			$ 14	$ 76	$ 199	$ 105	$ 125
Integration-related costs	17	28	17	34	40	50	45	70		96	205	739
Impairment of assets	16us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges		32us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges	1us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges	33us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges					49us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges	33us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges	30us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges
Labor agreement costs						127us-gaap_OtherLaborRelatedExpenses					127us-gaap_OtherLaborRelatedExpenses	475us-gaap_OtherLaborRelatedExpenses
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special (gains) losses, net	5us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	9us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	16us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	3us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	1us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	34us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	7us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	8us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets		33us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	50us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets	(46)us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherAssets
Special charges	179	43	169	52						443	520	1,323
Nonoperating:
Loss on extinguishment of debt and other, net	53			21						74		309
Income tax benefit										(10)	(7)	(11)
Total operating and nonoperating special charges, net of income taxes	226	40	169	72						507	513	1,312
Permanently grounded Embraer ERJ 135 aircraft
Operating:
Costs associated with permanently grounding Embraer ERJ 135 aircraft			$ 66							$ 66