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Revenue
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
REVENUE REVENUE
Passenger Revenues

The Company’s contracts with its Customers primarily consist of its tickets sold, which are initially deferred as Air traffic liability. Passenger revenue associated with tickets is recognized when the performance obligation to the Customer is satisfied, which is primarily when travel is provided.

Revenue is categorized by revenue source as the Company believes it best depicts the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flow. The following table provides the components of Passenger revenue recognized for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021:
 Three months ended September 30,Nine months ended September 30,
(in millions)2022202120222021
Passenger non-loyalty$4,630 $3,443 $13,112 $7,672 
Passenger loyalty - air transportation791 621 2,236 1,448 
Passenger ancillary sold separately192 163 519 388 
Total passenger revenues$5,613 $4,227 $15,867 $9,508 

As of September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2021, the components of Air traffic liability, including contract liabilities based on tickets sold and unused flight credits available to the Customer, both of which are net of recorded breakage, and loyalty points available for redemption, within the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were as follows:
 Balance as of
(in millions)September 30, 2022December 31, 2021
Air traffic liability - passenger travel and ancillary passenger services$3,540 $2,936 
Air traffic liability - loyalty program4,885 4,789 
Total Air traffic liability$8,425 $7,725 

The balance in Air traffic liability - passenger travel and ancillary passenger services also includes flight credits not currently associated with a ticket that can be applied by Customers towards the purchase of future travel. These flight credits are typically created as a result of a prior ticket cancellation or exchange. Rollforwards of the Company's Air traffic liability - loyalty program for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (in millions):

Three months ended September 30,Nine months ended September 30,
2022202120222021
Air traffic liability - loyalty program - beginning balance$4,885 $4,719 $4,789 $4,447 
Amounts deferred associated with points awarded815 688 2,395 1,810 
Revenue recognized from points redeemed - Passenger(791)(621)(2,236)(1,448)
Revenue recognized from points redeemed - Other(24)(14)(63)(37)
Air traffic liability - loyalty program - ending balance$4,885 $4,772 $4,885 $4,772 

Air traffic liability includes consideration received for ticket and loyalty related performance obligations which have not been satisfied as of a given date. Rollforwards of the amounts included in Air traffic liability as of September 30, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (in millions):

 Air traffic liability
Balance at December 31, 2021$7,725 
Current period sales (passenger travel, ancillary services, flight loyalty, and partner loyalty)16,630 
Revenue from amounts included in contract liability opening balances(3,750)
Revenue from current period sales(12,180)
Balance at September 30, 2022$8,425 

 Air traffic liability
Balance at December 31, 2020$7,133 
Current period sales (passenger travel, ancillary services, flight loyalty, and partner loyalty)10,648 
Revenue from amounts included in contract liability opening balances(2,346)
Revenue from current period sales(7,199)
Balance at September 30, 2021$8,236 

During 2020 and in parts of 2021, the Company experienced a significantly higher number of Customer-driven flight cancellations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. See Note 2 for further information. As a result, the amount of Customer flight credits held in Air traffic liability that are estimated to be redeemed for future travel has remained much higher than historical levels. In order to provide additional flexibility to Customers who hold these flight credits, the Company significantly relaxed its previous policies with regards to the time period within which these flight credits can be redeemed, which was previously twelve months from the original date of purchase. For all Customer flight credits created or that would have otherwise expired between March 1 and September 7, 2020, associated with flight cancellations, the Company previously extended the expiration date to September 7, 2022.

On July 28, 2022, the Company announced that all existing Customer flight credits as of that date, as well as any future flight credits issued, will no longer expire and will thus remain redeemable by Customers. Flight credits for non-refundable fares will be issued as long as the flight is cancelled more than 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. This announcement is considered a contract modification under applicable accounting guidance and the Company accounted for such change prospectively in third quarter 2022. The Company’s balance of existing Customer flight credits as of the modification date was approximately $1.9 billion, including the extended flight credits that had been set to expire on September 7, 2022. As the Company continues to believe that a portion of Customer flight credits issued after July 28, 2022, will not be redeemed, it has estimated and recorded in third quarter 2022, and expects to continue to estimate and record, breakage associated with such amounts. The amount of breakage realized on a prospective basis, however, is expected to be lower and more stable than it has been during the pandemic.

The amount of Customer flight credits represents approximately 6 percent and 16 percent of the total Air traffic liability balance at September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2021, respectively, compared to approximately 2 percent of the Air traffic liability balance as of December 31, 2019.

Recognition of revenue associated with the Company’s loyalty liability can be difficult to predict, as the number of award seats available to Members is not currently restricted and they could choose to redeem their points at any time that a seat is available. The performance obligations classified as a current liability related to the Company’s loyalty program were estimated based on expected redemptions utilizing historical redemption patterns, and forecasted flight availability and fares. The entire balance classified as Air traffic liability—noncurrent relates to loyalty points that were estimated to be redeemed in periods beyond the twelve months following the representative balance sheet date. Based on historical experience as well as current forecasted redemptions, the Company expects the majority of loyalty points to be redeemed within approximately two years of the date the points are issued.

All performance obligations related to freight services sold are completed within twelve months or less; therefore, the Company has elected to not disclose the amount of the remaining transaction price and its expected timing of recognition for freight shipments.

Other revenues primarily consist of marketing royalties associated with the Company’s co-brand Chase® Visa credit card, but also include commissions and advertising associated with Southwest.com®. All amounts classified as Other revenues are paid monthly, coinciding with the Company fulfilling its deliverables; therefore, the Company has elected to not disclose the amount of the remaining transaction price and its expected timing of recognition for such services provided.

The Company recognized revenue related to the marketing, advertising, and other travel-related benefits of the revenue associated with various loyalty partner agreements including, but not limited to, the Agreement with Chase, within Other operating revenues. For the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company recognized $521 million and $355 million, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company recognized $1.5 billion and $987 million, respectively.
The Company is also required to collect certain taxes and fees from Customers on behalf of government agencies and remit these back to the applicable governmental entity on a periodic basis. These taxes and fees include foreign and U.S. federal transportation taxes, federal security charges, and airport passenger facility charges. These items are collected from Customers at the time they purchase their tickets, are excluded from the contract transaction price, and are therefore not included in Passenger revenue. The Company records a liability upon collection from the Customer and relieves the liability when payments are remitted to the applicable governmental agency.