COMMITMENTS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Future minimum payments for commitments, excluding operating leases, as of June 30, 2019 (in millions):



	Aircraft Commitments^(a)		Capacity Purchase Agreements ^(b)		Aircraft Maintenance Deposits
Remainder of 2019	$	255	$	69	$	33
2020	542		145		73
2021	553		166		62
2022	303		174		51
2023	103		179		27
Thereafter	32		1,065		9
Total	$	1,788	$	1,798	$	255


(a)	Includes non-cancelable contractual commitments for aircraft and engines, buyer furnished equipment, and aircraft maintenance and parts management.


(b)	Includes all non-aircraft lease costs associated with capacity purchase agreements.

Aircraft Commitments

Aircraft purchase commitments include non-cancelable contractual commitments for aircraft and engines. As of June 30, 2019, the Company had commitments to purchase 32 B737 MAX9 aircraft, with deliveries in the remainder of 2019 through 2023. Future minimum contractual payments for these aircraft have been updated to reflect the most current anticipated delivery timing for B737 MAX9 aircraft, which has been delayed as a result of the grounding order mandated by the FAA on March 13, 2019. The Company also has commitments to purchase five E175 aircraft with deliveries in the remainder of 2019 through 2021 and has cancelable purchase commitments for 30 Airbus A320neo aircraft with deliveries from 2023 through 2025. In addition, the Company has options to purchase 37 B737 MAX aircraft from 2021 through 2024 and 30 E175 aircraft from 2021 through 2023. The Company also has the option to increase capacity flown by SkyWest with eight additional E175 aircraft with deliveries from 2021 to 2022. The cancelable purchase commitments and option payments are not reflected in the table above.

Contingencies

The Company is a party to routine litigation matters incidental to its business and with respect to which no material liability is expected. Liabilities for litigation related contingencies are recorded when a loss is determined to be probable and estimable.

In 2015, three flight attendants filed a class action lawsuit seeking to represent all Virgin America flight attendants for damages based on alleged violations of California and City of San Francisco wage and hour laws. The court certified a class of approximately 1,800 flight attendants in November 2016. The Company believes the claims in this case are without factual and legal merit.

In July 2018, the Court granted in part Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, finding Virgin America, and Alaska Airlines, as a successor-in-interest to Virgin America, responsible for various damages and penalties sought by the class members. On February 4, 2019, the Court entered final judgment against Virgin America and Alaska Airlines in the amount of approximately $78 million. It did not award injunctive relief against Alaska Airlines.

The Company is seeking an appellate court ruling that the California laws on which the judgment is based are invalid as applied to national airlines pursuant to the U.S. Constitution and federal law and for other employment law and improper class certification reasons. The Company remains confident that a higher court will respect the federal preemption principles that were enacted to shield inter-state common carriers from a patchwork of state and local wage and hour regulations such as those at issue in this case and agree with the Company's other bases for appeal. For these reasons, no loss has been accrued.

This forward-looking statement is based on management's current understanding of the relevant law and facts, and it is subject to various contingencies, including the potential costs and risks associated with litigation and the actions of judges and juries.