Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

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Item 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Overview

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"). 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.

Impact of COVID-19 and Outlook

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 began experiencing a significant decline in international and domestic demand related to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020. The decline in demand caused a material deterioration in our revenues in 2020, resulting in a net loss of $7.1 billion. The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including those outside our control related to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty.

In response to decreased demand, the Company cut, relative to 2019 capacity, approximately 57% of its scheduled capacity for 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company expects scheduled capacity to be down at least 51% versus the first quarter of 2019. The Company plans to continue to proactively evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 60-day basis until it sees signs of a recovery in demand and expects demand to remain suppressed, relative to 2019 levels, until vaccines for COVID-19 are widely distributed and are effective in curbing the spread of the virus. In addition, the Company does not currently expect the recovery from COVID-19 to follow a linear path. As such, the Company's actual flown capacity may differ materially from its currently scheduled capacity.

The Company has taken a number of actions in response to the decreased demand for air travel. In addition to the schedule reductions discussed above, the Company has:

  • reduced its planned capital expenditures and reduced operating expenditures in 2020 (including by postponing projects deemed non-critical to the Company's operations);

  • terminated its share repurchase program;

  • issued or entered into approximately $13.4 billion in new secured notes, secured term loan facilities and new aircraft financings in 2020, including short term borrowings that were paid in 2020;

  • borrowed $1.0 billion under the $2.0 billion revolving credit facility established under the Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the "Credit Agreement");

  • availed itself of financial assistance and/or financing made available by the U.S. Treasury Department ("Treasury"), as further described below;

  • raised approximately $2.1 billion in cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock in 2020;

  • entered into agreements to finance certain aircraft currently subject to purchase agreements through sale and leaseback transactions;

  • elected to defer the payment of $199 million in payroll taxes incurred through December 31, 2020, as provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"), until December 2021, at which time 50% is due, with the remaining amount due December 2022; and

  • taken a number of actions to reduce employee-related costs, including, among other items, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and President waived 100% of their respective base salaries through the end of 2020, other officers temporarily waived a portion of their base salaries, the Company's non-employee directors waived 100% of their cash

compensation for the second and third quarters of 2020, the Company suspended merit salary increases for 2020 and implemented a temporary four-day work week for management and administrative employees and the Company offered voluntary unpaid leaves of absence. The Company also entered into an agreement with its pilots to distribute fewer flight hours to a larger number of pilots, while also reaching agreements to provide a path to early retirement and reduce expense through voluntary leave of absence programs.

In addition, and as announced in July 2020, the Company started the involuntary furlough process by issuing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification ("WARN") Act notices to 36,000 of its employees. Since then, the Company worked to reduce the total number of furloughs to approximately 13,000 employees by working closely with its union partners, introducing new voluntary options selected by approximately 9,000 employees and proposing creative solutions that would save jobs. As a result of the Company's entry into the PSP2 Agreement, as described below, the Company issued recall notices to these furloughed employees and others impacted by furlough mitigation programs. See the discussion below for more detail about the PSP2 Agreement and the recall process.

The Company continues to focus on reducing expenses and managing its liquidity. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.

On March 27, 2020, the President of the United States signed the CARES Act into law. The CARES Act is intended to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses. The CARES Act also provides supplemental appropriations for federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 20, 2020, United entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement (the "PSP Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $5.1 billion pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under the CARES Act. These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees. Approximately $3.6 billion of the $5.1 billion was provided as a direct grant, and approximately $1.5 billion consists of indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note issued by UAL to Treasury (the "PSP Note"). See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information related to warrants issued in connection with the PSP Note and Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP Note.

During 2020, UAL and United entered into a loan and guarantee agreement with Treasury. The agreement provides for a term loan facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion (the "CARES Act Term Loan Facility") pursuant to the loan program established under Section 4003(b)(1) of the CARES Act (the "Loan Program"). The loans (the "CARES Act Term Loans") may be disbursed in up to three disbursements on or before May 28, 2021. On September 28, 2020, United borrowed, and recorded as Long-term debt on the Company's consolidated balance sheet, $520 million under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility, the proceeds of which were used to pay certain transaction fees and expenses and for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company. See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion on warrants issued in connection with the CARES Act Term Loans and Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the CARES Act Term Loans.

Under the PSP Agreement and the Loan Program, the Company and its business are subject to certain restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the payment of dividends and the ability to repurchase UAL's equity securities, requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled service and certain limitations on executive compensation.

On January 15, 2021, United entered into a Payroll Support Agreement (the "PSP2 Agreement") with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $2.6 billion, pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under Subtitle A of Title IV of Division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the "PSP Extension Law"). 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. Approximately $1.9 billion was provided as a direct grant and approximately $753 million consists of indebtedness evidenced by a 10-year senior unsecured promissory note issued by UAL to Treasury (the "PSP2 Note"). As of February 25, 2021, we have received a total of $1.3 billion. See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information on warrants issued in connection with the PSP2 Note and Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP2 Note.

Pursuant to the PSP2 Agreement, the Company is required to comply with certain provisions of the PSP Extension Law, including, among others, the requirement that all funds provided under the Payroll Support Program will be used by United exclusively for the continuation of payment of its U.S. employee wages, salaries and benefits, including the payment of lost wages, salaries and benefits to returning U.S. employees; requirements to maintain U.S. employment levels from the date of the PSP2 Agreement through March 31, 2021; requirements to recall (as such term is defined in the PSP2 Agreement), any U.S. employees subject to involuntary termination or furlough between October 1, 2020 and the date of the PSP2 Agreement,

compensate such returning employees for certain lost salary, wages and benefits between December 1, 2020 and the date of the PSP2 Agreement and restore certain rights and protections for such returning employees; provisions prohibiting certain reductions in U.S. employee wages, salaries and benefits; provisions prohibiting the payment of dividends and the repurchase of certain equity until March 31, 2022; and provisions restricting the payment of certain executive compensation until October 1, 2022.

As a result of the PSP2 Agreement, the Company offered employment, through March 2021, to employees who were impacted by involuntary furloughs. Because the Company cannot predict with certainty whether it will receive further payroll support from the federal government or when demand for air travel will increase in the short term, the Company is preparing for the possibility that these recalled employees might again be furloughed as soon as the end of the first quarter of 2021. The Company may record additional costs associated with these actions in the first quarter of 2021. Also, in order to reduce the number of such furloughs, during the first quarter of 2021, the Company offered voluntary leave and other programs to certain of its frontline employees, the cost of which cannot be estimated at this time.

Results of Operations

The following discussion provides an analysis of our results of operations and reasons for material changes therein for 2020 as compared to 2019. See "Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2020 (the "2019 Annual Report"), for analysis of the 2019 results as compared to 2018.

Operating Revenue. The table below illustrates the year-over-year percentage change in the Company's operating revenues for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes):

20202019Increase (Decrease)% Change
Passenger revenue$11,805$39,625$(27,820)(70.2)
Cargo1,6481,17946939.8
Other operating revenue1,9022,455(553)(22.5)
Total operating revenue$15,355$43,259$(27,904)(64.5)

The table below presents passenger revenue and select operating data of the Company, broken out by geographic region, expressed as year-over-year changes:

Increase (decrease) from 2019:
DomesticAtlanticPacificLatinTotal
Passenger revenue (in millions)$(16,717)$(5,326)$(3,546)$(2,231)$(27,820)
Passenger revenue(67.4)%(77.9)%(79.4)%(63.4)%(70.2)%
Average fare per passenger(11.7)%0.1%3.6%(7.8)%(16.2)%
Yield(7.0)%(9.0)%11.5%(1.9)%(3.4)%
PRASM(31.0)%(44.8)%(27.0)%(24.1)%(30.9)%
Passengers(63.1)%(77.9)%(80.1)%(60.3)%(64.4)%
RPMs (traffic)(64.9)%(75.7)%(81.5)%(62.7)%(69.1)%
ASMs (capacity)(52.8)%(59.9)%(71.8)%(51.8)%(56.9)%
Passenger load factor (points)(22.0)(32.5)(27.9)(19.2)(23.8)
Note: See Part II, Item 6. Selected Financial Data, of this report for the definition of these statistics.

Passenger revenue decreased $27.8 billion, or 70.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the decrease in demand for air travel as a result of the worldwide spread of COVID-19 and the associated shelter-in-place directives and travel restrictions. Earlier in 2020, the Company suspended change fees and effective August 30, 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Also, in December 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on flights from the U.S. to all international destinations and fees on Basic Economy and all other international travel tickets issued by March 31, 2021. The elimination of change fees and waivers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in change fee revenue declining $542 million in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Cargo revenue increased $469 million, or 39.8%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to an increase in cargo-only charter flights with higher yields as a result of increased demand for critical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other operating revenue decreased $553 million, or 22.5%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a decline in mileage revenue from non-airline partners, including the co-branded credit card partner, Chase, and lower revenue from airport lounges due to United Club closures and fewer overall customers utilizing these lounges.

Operating Expense. The table below includes data related to the Company's operating expense for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes):

20202019Increase (Decrease)% Change
Salaries and related costs$9,522$12,071$(2,549)(21.1)
Aircraft fuel3,1538,953(5,800)(64.8)
Depreciation and amortization2,4882,2882008.7
Landing fees and other rent2,1272,543(416)(16.4)
Regional capacity purchase2,0392,849(810)(28.4)
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs8581,794(936)(52.2)
Distribution expenses4591,651(1,192)(72.2)
Aircraft rent198288(90)(31.3)
Special charges (credit)(2,616)246(2,862)NM
Other operating expenses3,4866,275(2,789)(44.4)
Total operating expenses$21,714$38,958$(17,244)(44.3)

Salaries and related costs decreased $2.5 billion, or 21.1%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a 22.4% reduction in employees resulting from voluntary separation programs and furloughs caused by COVID-19, $623 million lower profit sharing and other employee incentives due to the impact of COVID-19 on 2020 results and $180 million in tax credits provided by the Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act in 2020.

Aircraft fuel expense decreased $5.8 billion, or 64.8%, in 2020 as compared to 2019. The table below presents the significant changes in aircraft fuel cost per gallon for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes and per gallon data):

20202019% Change
Fuel expense$3,153$8,953(64.8)
Total fuel consumption (gallons)2,0044,292(53.3)
Average price per gallon$1.57$2.09(24.9)

Depreciation and amortization increased $200 million, or 8.7%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to additions of aircraft, upgrades to aircraft interiors and completion of technology projects.

Landing fees and other rent decreased $416 million, or 16.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to reduced flying. A portion of other rents, especially at airport facilities, is fixed in nature and is not impacted by the reduction in flights.

Regional capacity purchase costs decreased $810 million, or 28.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to reduced regional flying as a result of COVID-19 and reduced rates under certain capacity purchase agreements.

Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs decreased $936 million, or 52.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a reduction in airframe checks, engine overhauls, expenses associated with power-by-the-hour engine maintenance contracts and line maintenance due to reduced flying.

Distribution expenses decreased $1.2 billion, or 72.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, as a result of the overall decrease in passenger revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aircraft rent decreased $90 million, or 31.3%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the purchase of leased aircraft.

The table below presents special charges (credit) recorded by the Company during the years ended December 31 (in millions):

20202019
CARES Act grant$(3,536)$—
Severance and benefit costs57516
Impairment of assets318171
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges2759
Total special charges$(2,616)$246

See Note 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.

Other operating expenses decreased $2.8 billion, or 44.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the impacts of COVID-19 on our catering, airport ground handling, navigation fees, technology projects, advertising and crew-related expenses.

Nonoperating Income (Expense). The following table illustrates the year-over-year dollar and percentage changes in the Company's nonoperating income (expense) for the years ended December 31 (in millions, except percentage changes):

20202019Increase (Decrease)% Change
Interest expense$(1,063)$(731)$33245.4
Interest capitalized7185(14)(16.5)
Interest income50133(83)(62.4)
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net(194)153(347)NM
Miscellaneous, net(1,327)(27)1,300NM
Total nonoperating expense, net$(2,463)$(387)$2,076NM

Interest expense increased $332 million, or 45.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to the issuance of new debt in 2020 to provide additional liquidity to the Company during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interest income decreased $83 million, or 62.4%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to a decrease in interest rates.

Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, net decreased $347 million in 2020 as compared to 2019, due to $194 million in losses in 2020 as compared to $153 million in gains in the year-ago period, primarily as a result of a decrease in the market value of the Company's equity investment in Azul and a decrease in the fair value of the Avianca Holdings S.A. ("AVH") share call options, AVH share appreciation rights and AVH share-based upside sharing agreement. See Notes 9 and 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.

Miscellaneous, net increased $1.3 billion in 2020 as compared to 2019, primarily due to credit loss allowances associated with the Company's Term Loan Agreement, with, among others, BRW Aviation Holding LLC and BRW Aviation LLC, and related guarantee and settlement losses and special termination benefits related to furloughs and voluntary separation programs under the Company's non-pilot U.S. defined benefit pension plan and postretirement medical programs. See Notes 7, 8, 13 and 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.

Income Taxes. See Note 6 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for information related to income taxes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $11.7 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, an increase of approximately $6.7 billion from December 31, 2019. The Company also had approximately $7.0 billion available for borrowing by United under the Loan Program at any time until May 28, 2021 and $1.0 billion available for borrowing by United under the revolving credit facility of the Credit Agreement at any time until April 1, 2022.

The Company has taken a number of actions in response to the significant decline in international and domestic demand for air travel related to COVID-19, as discussed under "Impact of COVID-19 and Outlook" above.

The Company continues to focus on reducing expenses and managing its liquidity. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.

On April 20, 2020, United entered into the PSP Agreement with Treasury providing the Company with total funding of approximately $5.1 billion pursuant to the Payroll Support Program established under the CARES Act. These funds were used to pay for the wages, salaries and benefits of United employees.

During 2020, UAL and United entered into a loan and guarantee agreement with Treasury. The agreement provides for a CARES Act Term Loan Facility of up to approximately $7.5 billion pursuant to the Loan Program. The CARES Act Term Loans may be disbursed in up to three disbursements on or before May 28, 2021. On September 28, 2020, United borrowed $520 million under the CARES Act Term Loan Facility, the proceeds of which were used to pay certain transaction fees and expenses and for working capital and other general corporate purposes of the Company.

On January 15, 2021, United entered into the PSP2 Agreement with Treasury, providing the Company with total funding of approximately $2.6 billion, approximately $1.9 billion as a direct grant and approximately $753 million from the PSP2 Note. See Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of the PSP2 Note.

Several of the Company's debt agreements contain covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness and pay dividends on or repurchase stock. As of December 31, 2020, UAL and United were in compliance with their respective debt covenants. In addition, in connection with the PSP Agreement, the PSP2 Agreement and the Loan Program, the Company and its business will be subject to certain restrictions.

We have a significant amount of fixed obligations, including debt and leases of aircraft, airport and other facilities, and pension funding obligations. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $33.9 billion of debt, finance lease, operating lease and sale-leaseback obligations, including $2.7 billion that will become due in the next 12 months. In addition, we have substantial noncancelable commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of certain new aircraft and related spare engines. For 2021, including the impact of the recent Boeing agreement, the Company expects approximately $4.4 billion of gross capital expenditures. See Note 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information on commitments.

Our 2021 liquidity needs will be met through our existing liquidity levels plus additional debt or equity issuances. We must return to profitability and/or access the capital markets to meet our significant long-term debt and finance lease obligations and future commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of aircraft and related spare engines. Financing may be necessary to satisfy the Company's capital commitments for its firm order aircraft and other related capital expenditures. The Company has backstop financing commitments available from certain of its aircraft manufacturers for a limited number of its future aircraft deliveries, subject to certain customary conditions.

See Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information on aircraft financing and other debt instruments.

As of December 31, 2020, a substantial portion of the Company's assets, principally aircraft and certain related assets, its loyalty program, certain route authorities and airport slots, was pledged under various loan and other agreements. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had unencumbered assets, including aircraft, engines and other physical assets, routes, slots and gates, among other items, available to be pledged as collateral for future financings, if needed.

The following is a discussion of the Company's sources and uses of cash for 2020 as compared to 2019. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the 2019 Annual Report for a discussion of the Company's sources and uses of cash in 2019 as compared to 2018.

Operating Activities. Cash flows used by operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $4.1 billion compared to $6.9 billion provided by operations in the same period in 2019. The change is primarily attributable to a $10.7 billion decrease in operating income for 2020 as compared to 2019 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At December 31, 2020, $4.8 billion of current liabilities related to tickets sold to passengers for travel which includes $3.1 billion of credits issued to customers on electronic travel certificates ("ETCs") and future flight credits ("FFCs"), primarily for ticket cancellations, which can be applied towards a purchase of a new ticket. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company extended the expiration dates of ETCs from 12 months from the date of issuance to 24 months from the date of issuance and extended the expiration of FFCs, for tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 to 24 months from the original issue date. On February 24, 2021, the Company extended the expiration dates for all tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. While we expect many of those passengers to utilize these ETCs and FFCs during 2021, a delay in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic could result in a further extension of their expiration dates.

Investing Activities. The Company's capital expenditures, net of flight equipment purchase deposit returns, were $1.7 billion and $4.5 billion in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company's capital expenditures for both years were primarily attributable to the purchase of aircraft, aircraft improvements, facility and fleet-related costs and the purchase of information technology assets.

Maturities and sales of short-term investments provided $2.3 billion of liquidity in 2020.

In December 2019, United issued the AVH Convertible Loan. For additional information regarding the AVH Convertible Loan, see Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

Financing Activities. Significant financing events in 2020 were as follows:

Debt Issuances. During 2020, United received and recorded $16.8 billion from various credit agreements, including the MileagePlus financing, the PSP Note, the CARES Act Term Loan Facility and enhanced equipment trust certificate ("EETC") pass-through trusts established in September 2019 and October 2020. As of December 31, 2020, United had recorded approximately $159 million of debt to finance the construction of an aircraft maintenance and ground service equipment complex at Los Angeles International Airport.

Debt and Finance Lease Principal Payments. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company made debt and finance lease principal payments of $4.4 billion.

Share Issuance. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company raised approximately $2.1 billion in cash proceeds from the issuance and sale of UAL common stock, par value $0.01 per share, including through "at the market offerings" under an equity distribution agreement (the "Distribution Agreement"), dated June 15, 2020, among the Company, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BofA Securities, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. (the "ATM Offering"). During the quarter ended December 31, 2020, approximately 20.8 million shares were sold in the ATM Offering at an average price of $46.85 per share, with net proceeds to the Company totaling approximately $968 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, approximately 21.4 million shares were sold in the ATM Offering at an average price of $46.70 per share, with net proceeds to the Company totaling approximately $989 million.

As of February 23, 2021, the Company had sold all of the 28 million shares authorized under the ATM Offering, at an average price of $45.82 per share, with net proceeds to the Company of approximately $1.3 billion. The Board of Directors has authorized the Company to establish a new program providing for the issuance and sale from time to time of up to 37 million additional shares of UAL common stock in "at the market offerings". See Note 2 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for more information about these issuances.

Share Repurchases. In 2020, UAL's Board of Directors terminated the share repurchase program. In 2020, prior to the termination of the program, UAL repurchased approximately 4 million shares of UAL common stock in open market transactions for $0.3 billion. See Part II, Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities of this report for additional information.

Significant financing events in 2019 were as follows:

Debt Issuances. During 2019, United received and recorded $1.8 billion of proceeds as debt related to EETC offerings created in 2019 to finance the purchase of aircraft. Also, United received and recorded $350 million of proceeds from the 4.875% Senior Notes due January 15, 2025 and borrowed approximately $105 million aggregate principal amount from various financial institutions to finance the purchase of several aircraft delivered in 2019. As of December 31, 2019, United had recorded approximately $39 million of debt to finance the construction of an aircraft maintenance and ground service equipment complex at Los Angeles International Airport.

Debt and Finance Lease Principal Payments. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company made debt and finance lease principal payments of $1.4 billion.

Share Repurchases. The Company used $1.6 billion of cash to purchase approximately 19.2 million shares of its common stock during 2019.

For additional information regarding these Liquidity and Capital Resource matters, see Notes 2, 10, 11 and 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report. For information regarding non-cash investing and financing activities, see the Company's statements of consolidated cash flows.

Credit Ratings. As of the filing date of this report, UAL and United had the following corporate credit ratings:

S&PMoody'sFitch
UALB+Ba2BB-
UnitedB+*BB-
*The credit agency does not issue corporate credit ratings for subsidiary entities.

These credit ratings are below investment grade levels; however, the Company has been able to secure financing with investment grade credit ratings for certain EETCs, term loans and secured bond financings. Downgrades from these rating levels, among other things, could restrict the availability, or increase the cost, of future financing for the Company.

Other Liquidity Matters

Below is a summary of additional liquidity matters. See the indicated notes to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional details related to these and other matters affecting our liquidity and commitments.

Pension and other postretirement plansNote 7
Long-term debt and debt covenantsNote 10
Leases and capacity purchase agreementsNote 11
Commitments and contingenciesNote 13

Contractual Obligations. The Company's business is capital intensive, requiring significant amounts of capital to fund the acquisition of assets, particularly aircraft. In the past, the Company has funded the acquisition of aircraft with cash, by using EETC financing, by entering into finance or operating leases, or through other financings. The Company also often enters into long-term lease commitments with airports to ensure access to terminal, cargo, maintenance and other required facilities.

The table below provides a summary of the Company's material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020 (in billions):

20212022202320242025After 2025Total
Long-term debt (a)$1.9$3.9$2.7$5.1$3.7$10.0$27.3
Finance lease obligations—principal portion0.20.1———0.10.4
Total debt and finance lease obligations2.14.02.75.13.710.127.7
Interest on debt and finance lease obligations (b)1.11.00.90.70.51.05.2
Operating lease obligations0.80.70.70.70.64.07.5
Sale-leasebacks financial obligations0.10.10.10.10.11.52.0
Regional CPAs (c)1.81.81.71.51.23.111.1
Postretirement obligations (d)0.10.10.10.10.10.30.8
Pension obligations (e)——0.20.20.31.52.2
Purchase obligations (f)4.92.92.81.62.010.124.3
Total contractual obligations$10.9$10.6$9.2$10.0$8.5$31.6$80.8

(a)Long-term debt presented in the Company's financial statements is net of $554 million of debt discount, premiums and debt issuance costs which are being amortized over the debt terms. Contractual payments do not include the debt discount, premiums and debt issuance costs.

(b)Includes interest portion of finance lease obligations of $16 million in 2021, $10 million in 2022, $8 million in 2023, $6 million in 2024, $3 million in 2025 and $5 million thereafter. Interest payments on variable interest rate debt were calculated using London interbank offered rates ("LIBOR") applicable at December 31, 2020.

(c)Represents our estimates of future minimum noncancelable commitments under our CPAs and does not include the portion of the underlying obligations for aircraft and facility rent that is disclosed as part of operating lease obligations. Amounts also exclude a portion of United's finance lease obligation recorded for certain of its CPAs. See Note 11 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for the significant assumptions used to estimate the payments.

(d)Amounts represent postretirement benefit payments through 2030. Benefit payments approximate plan contributions as plans are substantially unfunded.

(e)Represents an estimate of the minimum funding requirements as determined by government regulations for United's U.S. pension plans. Amounts are subject to change based on numerous assumptions, including the performance of assets in the plans and bond rates.

(f)Represents contractual commitments for firm order aircraft (including the order entered into on February 26, 2021 with Boeing), spare engines and other capital purchase commitments. See Note 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for a discussion of our purchase commitments.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. An off-balance sheet arrangement is any transaction, agreement or other contractual arrangement involving an unconsolidated entity under which a company has (1) made guarantees, (2) a retained or a contingent interest in transferred assets, (3) an obligation under derivative instruments classified as equity, or (4) any obligation arising out of a material variable interest in an unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit risk support, or that engages in leasing, hedging or research and development arrangements. The Company's primary off-balance sheet arrangements include guarantees that are discussed below and variable-rate operating leases. See Note 11 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for more information related to variable-rate operating leases.

Letters of Credit and Surety Bonds. As of December 31, 2020, United had approximately $658 million of letters of credit and surety bonds securing various obligations with expiration dates through 2030. Certain of these amounts are cash collateralized and reported within Restricted cash on our statement of financial position. See Note 13 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for more information related to these letters of credit and surety bonds.

Guarantee of Debt of Others. As of December 31, 2020, United is the guarantor of $119 million of aircraft mortgage debt issued by one of United's regional carriers. The aircraft mortgage debt is subject to increased cost provisions and the Company would potentially be responsible for those costs under the guarantees. The increased cost provisions in the $119 million of aircraft mortgage debt are similar to those in certain of the Company's debt agreements. See discussion under Increased Cost Provisions, below, for additional information on increased cost provisions related to the Company's debt.

EETCs. As of December 31, 2020, United had $12.1 billion principal amount of equipment notes outstanding issued under EETC financings. Generally, the structure of these EETC financings consists of pass-through trusts created by United to issue pass-through certificates, which represent fractional undivided interests in the respective pass-through trusts and are not obligations of United. The proceeds of the issuance of the pass-through certificates are used to purchase equipment notes which are issued by United and secured by aircraft and, in certain structures, spare engines and spare parts. United is responsible for the payment obligations under the equipment notes. In certain EETC structures, proceeds received from the sale of pass-through certificates are initially held by a depositary in escrow for the benefit of the certificate holders until United issues equipment notes to the trust, which purchases such notes with a portion of the escrowed funds. These escrowed funds are not guaranteed by United and are not reported as debt on United's consolidated balance sheet because the proceeds held by the depositary are not United's assets. There were no EETC funds held in escrow as of December 31, 2020. See Note 10 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.

Fuel Consortia. United participates in numerous fuel consortia with other air carriers at major airports to reduce the costs of fuel distribution and storage. Interline agreements govern the rights and responsibilities of the consortia members and provide for the allocation of the overall costs to operate the consortia based on usage. The consortia (and in limited cases, the participating carriers) have entered into long-term agreements to lease certain airport fuel storage and distribution facilities that are typically financed through tax-exempt bonds, either special facilities lease revenue bonds or general airport revenue bonds, issued by various local municipalities. In general, each consortium lease agreement requires the consortium to make lease payments in amounts sufficient to pay the maturing principal and interest payments on the bonds. As of December 31, 2020, approximately $2.3 billion principal amount of such bonds were secured by significant fuel facility leases in which United participates, as to which United and each of the signatory airlines has provided indirect guarantees of the debt. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's contingent exposure was approximately $293 million principal amount of such bonds based on its recent consortia participation. The Company's contingent exposure could increase if the participation of other air carriers decreases. The guarantees will expire when the tax-exempt bonds are paid in full, which ranges from 2022 to 2051. The Company did not record a liability at the time these indirect guarantees were made.

Increased Cost Provisions. In United's financing transactions that include loans in which United is the borrower, United typically agrees to reimburse lenders for any reduced returns with respect to the loans due to any change in capital requirements and, in the case of loans with respect to which the interest rate is based on LIBOR, for certain other increased costs that the lenders incur in carrying these loans as a result of any change in law, subject, in most cases, to obligations of the lenders to take certain limited steps to mitigate the requirement for, or the amount of, such increased costs. At December 31, 2020, the Company had $9.8 billion of floating rate debt with remaining terms of up to 12 years that are subject to these increased cost provisions. In several financing transactions involving loans or leases from non-U.S. entities, with remaining terms of up to 12 years and an aggregate balance of $8.3 billion, the Company bears the risk of any change in tax laws that would subject loan or lease payments thereunder to non-U.S. entities to withholding taxes, subject to customary exclusions.

Critical Accounting Policies

Critical accounting policies are defined as those that are affected by significant judgments and uncertainties which potentially could result in materially different accounting under different assumptions and conditions. The Company has prepared the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions. The Company has identified the following critical accounting policies that impact the preparation of the financial statements.

Revenue Recognition. Passenger revenue is recognized when transportation is provided. Passenger tickets and related ancillary services sold by the Company for flights are purchased primarily via credit card transactions, with payments collected by the Company in advance of the performance of related services. The Company initially records ticket sales in its Advance ticket sales liability, deferring revenue recognition until the travel occurs. For travel that has more than one flight segment, the Company deems each segment as a separate performance obligation and recognizes revenue for each segment as travel occurs. Tickets sold by other airlines where the Company provides the transportation are recognized as passenger revenue at the estimated value to be billed to the other airline when travel is provided. Differences between amounts billed and the actual amounts may be rejected and rebilled or written off if the amount recorded was different from the original estimate. When necessary, the Company records a reserve against its billings and payables with other airlines based on historical experience.

The Company sells certain tickets with connecting flights with one or more segments operated by its other airline partners. For segments operated by its other airline partners, the Company has determined that it is acting as an agent on behalf of the other airlines as they are responsible for their portion of the contract (i.e. transportation of the passenger). The Company, as the agent, recognizes revenue within Other operating revenue at the time of the travel for the net amount representing commission to be retained by the Company for any segments flown by other airlines.

Advance ticket sales represent the Company's liability to provide air transportation in the future. All tickets sold at any given point of time have travel dates extending up to 12 months. The Company defers amounts related to future travel in its Advance ticket sales liability account. The Company's Advance ticket sales liability also includes credits issued to customers on ETCs and FFCs, primarily for ticket cancellations, which can be applied towards a purchase of a new ticket. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company extended the expiration dates of ETCs from 12 months from the date of issuance to 24 months from the date of issuance and extended the expiration of FFCs for tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 to 24 months from the original issue date. On February 24, 2021, the Company extended the expiration dates for all tickets issued between May 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's Advance ticket sales liability included $3.1 billion related to these credits.

The Company records breakage revenue on the travel date for its estimate of tickets that will expire unused. To determine breakage, the Company uses its historical experience with refundable and nonrefundable expired tickets and other facts, such as recent aging trends, program changes and modifications that could affect the ultimate expiration patterns of tickets. The Company continues to use its historical experience and most recent trends and program changes to estimate its breakage. The Company will update its breakage estimates as future information is received. Given the uncertainty of travel demand caused by COVID-19, a significant portion of the $3.1 billion related to the ETCs and FFCs may expire unused in future periods and get recognized as breakage. Also, the Company is unable to estimate the amount of the ETCs and FFCs that will be used within the next 12 months and has classified the entire amount of the Advanced ticket liability in current liabilities even though some of the ETCs and FFCs could be used after the next 12 months.

Frequent Flyer Accounting. United's MileagePlus loyalty program builds customer loyalty by offering awards, benefits and services to program participants. Members in this program earn miles for travel on United, United Express, Star Alliance members and certain other airlines that participate in the program. Members can also earn miles by purchasing goods and services from our network of non-airline partners. We have contracts to sell miles to these partners with the terms extending from one to nine years. These partners include domestic and international credit card issuers, retail merchants, hotels, car rental companies and our participating airline partners. Miles can be redeemed for free (other than taxes and government-imposed fees), discounted or upgraded air travel and non-travel awards.

Co-Brand Agreement. During 2020, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Co-Branded Card Marketing Services Agreement (as amended from time to time, the "Co-Brand Agreement") with its co-branded credit card partner Chase. The Co-Brand Agreement extended the term of the agreement into 2029 and modified certain other terms, resulting in a different allocation among the separately identifiable performance obligations. Chase awards miles to MileagePlus members based on their credit card activity. United identified the following significant separately identifiable performance obligations in the Co-Brand Agreement:

  • MileagePlus miles awarded – United has a performance obligation to provide MileagePlus cardholders with miles to be used for air travel and non-travel award redemptions. The Company records Passenger revenue related to the travel awards when the transportation is provided and records Other revenue related to the non-travel awards when the goods or services are delivered. The Company records the cost associated with non-travel awards in Other operating revenue, as an agent.

  • Marketing – United has a performance obligation to provide Chase access to United's customer list and the use of United's brand. Marketing revenue is recorded to Other operating revenue as miles are delivered to Chase.

  • Advertising – United has a performance obligation to provide advertising in support of the MileagePlus card in various customer contact points such as United's website, email promotions, direct mail campaigns, airport advertising and in-flight advertising. Advertising revenue is recorded to Other operating revenue as miles are delivered to Chase.

  • Other travel-related benefits – United's performance obligations are comprised of various items such as waived bag fees, seat upgrades and lounge passes. Lounge passes are recorded to Other operating revenue as customers use the lounge passes. Bag fees and seat upgrades are recorded to Passenger revenue at the time of the associated travel.

We account for all the payments received (including monthly and one-time payments) under the Co-Brand Agreement by allocating them to the separately identifiable performance obligations. The fair value of the separately identifiable performance obligations is determined using management's estimated selling price of each component. The objective of using the estimated selling price based methodology is to determine the price at which we would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. Accordingly, we determine our best estimate of selling price by considering multiple inputs and methods including, but not limited to, discounted cash flows, brand value, volume discounts, published selling prices, number of miles awarded and number of miles redeemed. The Company estimated the selling prices and volumes over the term of the Co-Brand Agreement in order to determine the allocation of proceeds to each of the components to be delivered. We also evaluate volumes on an annual basis, which may result in a change in the allocation of the estimated consideration from the Co-Brand Agreement on a prospective basis.

Indefinite-lived intangible assets. The Company has indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1, or on an interim basis whenever a triggering event occurs. An impairment occurs when the fair value of an intangible asset is less than its carrying value. The Company determines the fair value using a variation of the income approach known as the excess earnings method, which discounts an asset's projected future net cash flows to determine the current fair value. Assumptions used in the discounted cash flow methodology include a discount rate, which is based upon the Company's current weighted average cost of capital plus an asset-specific risk factor, and a projection of sales, expenses, gross margin, tax rates and contributory asset charges for several future years and a terminal growth rate. The assumptions used for future projections are determined based upon the Company's asset-specific forecasts along with the Company's strategic plan. These assumptions are inherently uncertain as they relate to future events and circumstances. Actual results will be influenced by the competitive environment, fuel costs and other expenses, and potentially other unforeseen events or circumstances that could have a material impact on future results. In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the U.S. and global economies, the significant, sustained impact on the demand for travel and government policies that restrict air travel, the exact timing of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the speed at which such recovery could occur, continues to remain uncertain and could result in additional impairment charges in the future. We expect to continue to modify our cost management structure and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.

As a result of the impairment assessments, the Company recorded impairment charges of $130 million during 2020 for its China routes which was primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company's subsequent suspension of flights to China and a further delay in the expected return of full capacity to the China markets. Based on our assessment at year-end, a 10% decline in the fair value of our China routes would not have resulted in an incremental impairment.

See Note 1 and 14 to the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report for additional information.

Tax valuation allowance. A tax valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company's management assesses available positive and negative evidence regarding the Company's ability to realize its deferred tax assets and records a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets will not be realized. In order to form a conclusion, management considers positive evidence in the form of taxable income in prior carryback years, reversing temporary differences, tax planning strategies and projections of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible, as well as negative evidence such as historical losses. Although the Company was in a cumulative loss position at the end of 2020, management determined that the 2020 results were not indicative of future results due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. The Company concluded that the positive evidence outweighs the negative evidence, primarily driven by the approval and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as well as increased confidence with the timing of the recovery. The Company has $6.6

billion of deferred tax assets, of which $2.3 billion are attributable to federal net operating losses ("NOLs") at December 31, 2020. The majority of the NOLs do not expire and the Company expects to recognize the NOLs through the reversal of existing deferred tax liabilities of $6.5 billion and projected future taxable income. Therefore, we have not recorded a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets other than the capital loss carryforwards and state attributes that have short expiration periods. While the Company expects to generate sufficient future profits to fully utilize these NOLs, the Company may have to record a valuation allowance against its NOLs if it is unable to generate sufficient taxable income in future periods. Recording a valuation allowance against our NOLs would not impact our ability to use them. However, our ability to use NOLs may be significantly limited due to various circumstances, as discussed in more detail in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors—"The Company's ability to use its net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be significantly limited due to various circumstances, including certain possible future transactions involving the sale or issuance of UAL common stock, or if taxable income does not reach sufficient levels." Assumptions about our future taxable income are consistent with the plans and estimates used to manage our business.

Management will continue to evaluate future financial performance to determine whether such performance is both sustained and significant enough to provide sufficient evidence to support not recording a valuation allowance on these NOLs. Any reduction in estimated future taxable income may require additional valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets, which could be material.

As of December 31, 2020, the Company has recorded $185 million of valuation allowance against its capital loss deferred tax assets. Capital losses have a limited carryforward period of five years, and they can be utilized only to the extent of capital gains. The Company does not anticipate generating sufficient capital gains to utilize the losses before they expire, therefore, a valuation allowance is necessary as of December 31, 2020. Additionally, the Company recorded a valuation allowance of $62 million on the state NOL and state tax credit deferred tax assets primarily due to utilization limitations resulting from a prior ownership change.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements throughout Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and elsewhere in this report are forward-looking and thus reflect the Company's current expectations and beliefs with respect to certain current and future events and anticipated financial and operating performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be subject to many risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's operations and business environment that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals", "targets" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Additionally, forward-looking statements include statements that do not relate solely to historical facts, such as statements which identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties, or which indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: the duration and spread of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of any other disease or similar public health threat and the impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition; the lenders' ability to accelerate the MileagePlus indebtedness, foreclose upon the collateral securing the MileagePlus indebtedness or exercise other remedies if we are not able to comply with the covenants in the MileagePlus financing agreements; the effects of borrowing pursuant to the Loan Program under the CARES Act and the effects of the grant and promissory note through the Payroll Support Program under the CARES Act; the costs and availability of financing; our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations and ability to seek additional liquidity and maintain adequate liquidity; our ability to comply with the terms of our various financing arrangements; our ability to utilize our net operating losses to offset future taxable income; the material disruption of our strategic operating plan as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and our ability to execute our strategic operating plans in the long term; general economic conditions (including interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, investment or credit market conditions, crude oil prices, costs of aircraft fuel and energy refining capacity in relevant markets); risks of doing business globally, including instability and political developments that may impact our operations in certain countries; demand for travel and the impact that global economic and political conditions have on customer travel patterns; our capacity decisions and the capacity decisions of our competitors; competitive pressures on pricing and on demand; changes in aircraft fuel prices; disruptions in our supply of aircraft fuel; our ability to cost-effectively hedge against increases in the price of aircraft fuel, if we decide to do so; the effects of any technology failures or cybersecurity or significant data breaches; disruptions to services provided by third-party service providers; potential reputational or other impact from adverse events involving our aircraft or operations, the aircraft or operations of our regional carriers or our code share partners or the

aircraft or operations of another airline; our ability to attract and retain customers; the effects of any terrorist attacks, international hostilities or other security events, or the fear of such events; the mandatory grounding of aircraft in our fleet; disruptions to our regional network as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; the success of our investments in other airlines, including in other parts of the world, which involve significant challenges and risks, particularly given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; industry consolidation or changes in airline alliances; the ability of other air carriers with whom we have alliances or partnerships to provide the services contemplated by the respective arrangements with such carriers; costs associated with any modification or termination of our aircraft orders; disruptions in the availability of aircraft, parts or support from our suppliers; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations and the results of any collective bargaining agreement process with our union groups; any disruptions to operations due to any potential actions by our labor groups; labor costs; the impact of any management changes; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate; U.S. or foreign governmental legislation, regulation and other actions (including Open Skies agreements, environmental regulations and the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union); the seasonality of the airline industry; weather conditions; the costs and availability of aviation and other insurance; our ability to realize the full value of our intangible assets and long-lived assets; any impact to our reputation or brand image and other risks and uncertainties set forth under Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of this report, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC.

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