United Airlines Holdings 10-Q 2024-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2024

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 10, 2024 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, 2024

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's regional 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" and in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the "2023 Form 10-K"). 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, especially relating to the growth in the scale of our operations as a result of the 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; increasing maintenance expenses; changes in interest rates; 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 2023 Form 10-K. 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 United Kingdom 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 or the

implementation of new legal requirements and any failure to comply with such 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: the closure of our flying airspace and termination of other operations due to regional conflicts, including the suspension of our overflying in Russian airspace as a result of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict and interruptions of our flying as a result of the military conflict in the Middle East, as well as any escalation of the broader economic consequences of these conflicts beyond their current scope; delays in aircraft certification (especially relating to the 737 MAX 10 aircraft); increased Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") oversight of the aircraft production process; and any legal requirement that would result in a reshaping of the benefits that we provide to our consumers through our loyalty program or the co-branded credit cards issued by our partner. Changes in existing applicable legal requirements or new applicable legal requirements as well as the related interpretations and enforcement practices regarding them, create uncertainty about how such laws and regulations will be understood 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, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

Third Quarter 2024 Compared to Third Quarter 2023

The Company recorded net income of $1.0 billion for the third quarter of 2024 as compared to net income of $1.1 billion for the third quarter of 2023. Significant components of the Company's operating res

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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 2023 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, 2024, disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting during the Quarter Ended September 30, 2024

During the three months ended September 30, 2024, 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 Exchange Act).

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See Part I, Item 3, Legal Proceedings, of the 2023 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 2023 Form 10-K except for the following risk factor related to the Company's share repurchase program.

We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will enhance long-term stockholder value.

As part of our capital deployment program, the Board has authorized a share repurchase program. The Company believes the price of its stock should reflect expectations that the share repurchase program will be fully consummated. However, the program does not obligate us to purchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares of UAL common stock or Warrants. The specific timing and amount of any share or Warrant purchases will depend on the capital needs of the business, the market price of UAL common stock, general market conditions, securities law limitations and other factors. Our future repurchases of UAL common stock and Warrants, if any, may be limited, suspended or discontinued at any time at our discretion and without prior notice, which could adversely affect our stock price. We, therefore, cannot guarantee that the share repurchase program will enhance long-term stockholder value.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

(a) None

(b) None

(c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table presents information with respect to the Company's repurchases of its UAL common stock during the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

(a) A putative stockholder class action complaint, styled as Colleen Witmer v. J. Scott Kirby, et al., C.A. No. 2024-0375-PAF was filed on April 10, 2024 in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the "Action"). The plaintiff alleged, among other things, that the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") breached its fiduciary duties by adopting Amendment No. 2 to the Company’s Tax Benefits Preservation Plan (the "Plan"). The Company believes that the plaintiff’s claims were not meritorious when filed because the Plan was a reasonable response to the threat that the Company’s net operating loss carryforwards could be permanently limited or lost under Section 1.382-3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations. On May 8, 2024, the parties stipulated to dismissal, which the court so ordered, based on their agreement that the Board would approve and disclose an amendment to the Plan. On April 23, 2024, the Company filed a Current Report on Form 8-K disclosing Amendment No. 3 to the Plan, which revised the definitions of "Beneficial Owner," "Beneficially Own" and "Beneficial Ownership" under the Plan (and made other conforming changes). The Company disputes that these changes caused any benefit to the Company or its stockholders. On May 8, 2024, the court dismissed the action as moot and retained jurisdiction solely for the purpose of deciding any application by the plaintiff's counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses. To avoid the cost, burden, and uncertainty inherent in litigation, the Company has agreed to pay $600,000 in fees and expenses to the plaintiff's counsel. On October 14, 2024, the court entered a stipulation and order providing that the Action will be dismissed with prejudice and the case will be closed, subject to the Company filing an affidavit with the court confirming that this notice has been disclosed in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In entering the order, the court was not asked to review, and did not pass judgment on, the amount or reasonableness of the attorneys' fees and expenses. The plaintiff's counsel is Christoper J. Orrico of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, (212) 544-1400, and the Company's counsel is Rudolf Koch of Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., (302) 651-7700.

(b) None.

(c) During the three months ended September 30, 2024, 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.