United Airlines Holdings 10-Q 2023-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2023

OR

For the transition period from to

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this Chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

The number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock as of October 12, 2023 is shown below:

OMISSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION

This combined Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is separately filed by United Airlines Holdings, Inc. and United Airlines, Inc. United Airlines, Inc. meets the conditions set forth in General Instruction H(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-Q and is therefore filing this form with the reduced disclosure format allowed under that General Instruction.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc.

United Airlines, Inc.

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2023

Table of Contents

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.

STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)

(In millions, except per share amounts)

The accompanying Combined Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.

UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.

STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (UNAUDITED)

(In millions)

The accompanying Combined Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of these statements.

UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)

(In millions, except shares)

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This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is provided as a supplement to and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to enhance the understanding of our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overview

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company and its wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United").

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is a combined report of UAL and United, including their respective consolidated financial statements. 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.

Our shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." We have the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline operations, which utilize jet aircraft with at least 126 seats, and regional operations, which utilize smaller aircraft that are operated under contract by United Express carriers. The Company serves virtually every major market around the world, either directly or through participation in Star Alliance®, the world's largest airline alliance.

Our current expectations described below are forward-looking statements and our actual results and timing may vary materially based on various factors that include, but are not limited to, those discussed below under "Economic and Market Factors", "Governmental Actions" and "Forward-Looking Information", in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (the "2022 Form 10-K") and in Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors in this report. The Company discusses certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"); refer to "Supplemental Information" below for further details. The results presented in this report are not necessarily indicative of future operating results.

Economic and Market Factors

The airline industry is highly competitive, marked by significant competition with respect to routes, fares, schedules (both timing and frequency), services, products, customer service and frequent flyer programs. We, like other companies in our industry, have been subject to these and other industry-specific competitive dynamics. In addition, our operations, supply chain, partners and suppliers have been subject to various global macroeconomic factors. We expect to continue to remain vulnerable to a number of industry-specific and global macroeconomic factors that may cause our actual results of operations to differ from our historical results of operations or current expectations. The economic and market factors and trends that we currently believe are or will be most impactful to our results of operations and financial condition include the following: the execution risks associated with our United Next plan; the impact on the Company of significant operational challenges by third parties on which we rely; rising inflationary pressures; labor market and supply chain constraints and related costs affecting us and our partners; volatile fuel prices; aircraft delivery delays; and changes in general economic conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, including an economic downturn leading to a decrease in demand for air travel or fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that may impact international travel demand. We continue to monitor the potential favorable or unfavorable impacts of these and other factors on our business, operations, financial condition, future results of operations, liquidity and financial flexibility, which are dependent on future developments, including as a result of those factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of the 2022 Form 10-K and in Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors in this report. Our future results of operations may be subject to volatility and our growth plans may be delayed, particularly in the short term, due to the impact of the above factors and trends.

Governmental Actions

We operate in complex, highly regulated environments in the U.S., the European Union, the UK and other regions around the world. Compliance with laws, regulations, administrative practices and other restrictions or legal requirements in the countries in which we do business is onerous and expensive. In addition, changes to existing legal requirements, new legal requirements and any failure to comply with legal requirements could negatively impact our business, operations, financial condition, future results of operations, liquidity and financial flexibility by increasing the Company's costs, limiting the Company's ability to offer a product, service or feature to customers, impacting customer demand for the Company's products and services and requiring changes to the Company's supply chain and its business. Legal requirements that we currently believe are or will be most impactful to our results of operations and financial condition include the following: governmental regulations and restrictions relating to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the lasting effects of which we believe have changed how our customers fly in ways that we expect to be both positive and negative for the Company, including the lingering impact of the pandemic on the return of business and international travel demand—especially in our China market—to pre-COVID-19 levels; the closure of our flying airspace and termination of other operations due to regional conflicts, including the continuation of the suspension of our overflying in Russian airspace as a result of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and to Tel Aviv as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian military conflict and an escalation of the broader economic consequences of the conflicts beyond their current scope; and any legal requirement that would result in a reshaping of the benefits that we provide to our consumers through the co-branded credit cards issued by our partner. Changes in existing applicable legal requirements or new applicable legal requirements and the related interpretations and enforcement practices of them create uncertainty about how such laws and regulations will be interpreted and applied. As a result, the impact of changing and new legal requirements generally cannot be reasonably predicted and those requirements may ultimately require extensive system and operational changes, be difficult to implement, increase our operating costs and require significant capital expenditures.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion provides an analysis of our results of operations and reasons for material changes therein for the three and nine months ended September 30,

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There have been no material changes in market risk from the information provided in Part II, Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk, in our 2022 Form 10-K.

Evaluation of Disclosure Control and Procedures

UAL and United each maintains controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports filed or submitted by UAL and United to the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified by the SEC's rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The management of UAL and United, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, performed an evaluation to conclude with reasonable assurance that UAL's and United's disclosure controls and procedures were designed and operating effectively to report the information each company is required to disclose in the reports it files with the SEC on a timely basis. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of UAL and United have concluded that as of September 30, 2023, disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting during the Quarter Ended September 30, 2023

During the three months ended September 30, 2023, there were no changes in UAL's or United's internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, their internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")).

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See Part I, Item 3, Legal Proceedings, of the 2022 Form 10-K for a description of legal proceedings.

There have been no material changes from the risk factors disclosed in Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors of the 2022 Form 10-K except for the changes to the following risk factor related to the monetary and operational costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry:

The airline industry is subject to extensive government regulation, which imposes significant costs and may adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

Airlines are subject to extensive regulatory and legal oversight. Compliance with U.S. and international regulations imposes significant costs and may have adverse effects on the Company.

United provides air transportation under certificates of public convenience and necessity issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT"). If the DOT modified, suspended or revoked these certificates, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business. The DOT also regulates consumer protection and, through its investigations or rulemaking authority (including, for example, any rulemakings or initiatives in response to the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy issued by the President on July 9, 2021), could impose restrictions that materially impact the Company's business. United also operates pursuant to an air carrier operating certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA"), and FAA orders and directives have previously resulted in the temporary grounding of an entire aircraft type when the FAA identifies design, manufacturing, maintenance or other issues requiring immediate corrective action (including the FAA Emergency Airworthiness Directive grounding our Boeing 777 Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft), which has had an effect that has been material to the Company's business, operating results and financial condition.

In 2018, the U.S. Congress approved a five-year reauthorization for the FAA, which encompasses a range of policy issues related to aviation tax, airline customer service and aviation safety. Depending on how the issues are implemented, our operations and costs could be materially impacted. Additionally, the U.S. Congress may consider legislation related to environmental issues relevant to the airline industry, such as implementation of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which could negatively impact the Company and the airline industry.

The Company's operations may also be adversely impacted due to the existing antiquated air traffic control ("ATC") system utilized by the U.S. government and regulated by the FAA, which may not be able to effectively handle projected future air traffic growth. The outdated ATC system has led to short-term capacity constraints imposed by government agencies and has resulted in delays and disruptions of air traffic during peak travel periods in certain markets due to its inability to handle

demand and reduced resiliency in the event of a failure causing flight cancellations and delays. Failure to update the ATC system in a timely manner and the substantial funding requirements of a modernized ATC system that may be imposed on air carriers may have an adverse impact on the Company's financial condition or operating results.

Access to slots at several major U.S. airports and many foreign airports served by the Company is subject to government regulation on airspace management and competition that might limit the number of slots or change the rules on the use and transfer of slots. If slots are eliminated at one of our hubs or other airports, or if the number of hours of operation governed by slots is reduced at an airport, the lack of controls on take-offs and landings could result in greater congestion both at the affected airport and in the regional airspace and could significantly impact the Company's operations. Similarly, a government or regulatory agency, including DOT, could choose to impose slot restrictions at one of our hubs or other airports or grant increased access to another carrier and limit or reduce our operations at an airport, whether or not slot-controlled, which could have significant impact on our operations. The DOT (including FAA) may limit the Company's airport access by limiting the number of departure and arrival slots at congested airports, which could affect the Company's ownership and transfer rights, and local airport authorities may have the ability to control access to certain facilities or the cost to access their facilities, which could have an adverse effect on the Company's business. If the DOT were to take actions that adversely affect the Company's slot holdings, the Company could incur substantial costs to preserve its slots or may lose slots.

The Company currently operates a number of flights on international routes under government arrangements, regulations or policies that designate the number of carriers permitted to operate on such routes, the capacity of the carriers providing services on such routes, the airports at which carriers may operate international flights or the number of carriers allowed access to particular airports. Applicable arrangements between the United States and foreign governments (such as "Open Skies" (meaning all U.S. and foreign carriers have access to the destination)) may be amended from time to time, government policies with respect to airport operations may be revised and the availability of appropriate slots or facilities may change, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial condition and operating results and could result in the impairment of material amounts of related tangible and intangible assets. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased regulatory burdens in the U.S. and around the globe, which included closure of international borders to flights and/or passengers from specific countries, passenger and crew quarantine requirements and other regulations promulgated to protect public health but that have had and may continue to have a negative impact on travel and airline operations.

In addition, disruptions to the Company's business could result from the deployment of new cellular networks (e.g., "5G") by wireless carriers, which, due to potential interference with aircraft systems, could cause flights to be cancelled or diverted, which in turn could affect consumer perceptions of the safety of air travel. For example, over the past two years regulators addressed potential "5G" interference on a temporary and piecemeal basis tailored to specific aircraft and airports, which could occur again. Systematic regulation of the overlap between aviation systems and cellular networks may not occur in the near term or may not involve terms that are favorable to the Company.

Moreover, any legislation that would result in a reshaping of the benefits that the Company is able to provide to its consumers through the co-branded credit cards issued by our partner could also materially negatively affect the Company's profitability and competitive position.

In addition, competition from revenue-sharing joint business arrangements ("JBAs") and other alliance arrangements by and among other airlines could impair the value of the Company's business and assets on the Open Skies routes. The Company's plans to enter into or expand U.S. antitrust immunized alliances and JBAs on various international routes are subject to receipt of approvals from applicable U.S. federal authorities and other applicable foreign government clearances or satisfaction of other applicable regulatory requirements. There can be no assurance that such approvals and clearances will be granted or will continue in effect upon further regulatory review or that changes in regulatory requirements or standards can be satisfied.

See Part I, Item 1. Business—Industry Regulation, of the 2022 Form 10-K, for additional information on government regulation impacting the Company.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES, USE OF PROCEEDS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

(a) None

(b) None

(c) None

(a) None.

(b) None.

(c) During the three months ended September 30, 2023, no director or "officer" (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act) of the Company or United informed the Company or United of the adoption, modification or termination of a "Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement" or a "non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement," as each term is defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act.

EXHIBIT INDEX

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.