UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A10-K
(Mark One)
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | ||||
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20192021
or
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | ||||
For the transition period from to
Commission File No. 001-35186
Spirit Airlines, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 38-1747023 | |||||||||||||||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||||||||||
| 2800 Executive Way | Miramar | Florida | 33025 | |||||||||||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |||||||||||||||
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | ||||||||||||
| SAVE | New York Stock Exchange | |||||||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
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. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by checkmark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
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.
| Large accelerated filer | ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | ||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ☐ | ||||||||||
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 7(a)(2)(B)13(a) of the SecuritiesExchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $3.2$3.3 billion computed by reference to the last sale price of the common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2019,2021, the last trading day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Shares held by each executive officer, director and by certain persons that own 10 percent or more of the outstanding Common Stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.
The number of shares of each registrant's classes of common stock outstanding as of the close of business on January 28, 2020:
February 1, 2022:
| Class | Number of Shares | ||||
| Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share | |||||
Documents Incorporated by Reference
Portions of the registrant's Proxy Statement for the registrant's 20202022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. The Proxy Statement will be filed within 120 days of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 20192021.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| PART I | Page | ||||
| PART II | |||||
| PART III | |||||
| PART IV | |||||
__________________________________________________
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
Spirit Airlines, Inc. ("Spirit Airlines"), headquartered in Miramar, Florida, offers affordable travel to value-conscious customers. Our all-Airbus fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel efficient in the United States. We currently serve more than 600 daily flights to 7785 destinations in 16 countries throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Our stock trades under the symbol "SAVE" on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE").
Our ultra low-cost carrier, or ULCC, business model allows us to compete principally by offering customers unbundled base fares that remove components traditionally included in the price of an airline ticket. By offering customers unbundled base fares, we give customers the power to save by paying only for the Á La SmarteTM options they choose, such as checked and carry-on bags, advance seat assignments, priority boarding and refreshments. We record revenue related to these options as non-fare passenger revenue, which is recorded within passenger revenues in our consolidated statements of operations.
Our History and Corporate Information
We were founded in 1964 as Clippert Trucking Company, a Michigan corporation. We began air charter operations in 1990 and renamed ourselves Spirit Airlines, Inc. in 1992. In 1994, we reincorporated in Delaware, and in 1999 we relocated our headquarters to Miramar, Florida.
Our Corporate Information
Our mailing address and executive offices are located at 2800 Executive Way, Miramar, Florida 33025, and our telephone number at that address is (954) 447-7920. We are subject to the information and periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or Exchange Act, and, in accordance therewith, file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC. Such periodic reports, proxy statements and other information are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. We also post on the Investor Relations page of our website, www.spirit.com, a link to our filings with the SEC, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which applies to all directors and all our employees, and the charters of our Audit, Compensation, Finance, Safety, Security and Operations and Nominating and Corporate Governance committees. Our filings with the SEC are posted as soon as reasonably practical after they are filed electronically with the SEC. Please note that information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, this report.
Changes to Our Corporate Structure
In August 2020, Spirit Airlines formed several new subsidiaries; Spirit Finance Cayman 1 Ltd. (“HoldCo 1”), Spirit Finance Cayman 2 Ltd. (“HoldCo 2), Spirit IP Cayman Ltd. (“Spirit IP”) and Spirit Loyalty Cayman Ltd. (“Spirit Loyalty”). Each are Cayman Islands exempted companies incorporated with limited liability. Spirit IP and Spirit Loyalty are wholly-owned subsidiaries of HoldCo 2 (other than the special share issued to the special shareholder, who granted a proxy to vote such share to the collateral agent for the 8.00% senior secured notes (as defined herein)). HoldCo 1 and HoldCo 2 are special purpose holding companies. HoldCo 2 is a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of HoldCo 1 (other than the special share issued to the special shareholder, who granted a proxy to vote such share to the collateral agent for the 8.00% senior secured notes). HoldCo 1 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spirit Airlines (other than the special share issued to the special shareholder, who granted a proxy to vote such share to the collateral agent for the 8.00% senior secured notes).
Recent Developments
On February 5, 2022, Spirit Airlines entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Frontier Group Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Frontier”), and Top Gun Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Frontier (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which and subject to the terms and conditions therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into Spirit Airlines, with Spirit Airlines continuing as the surviving entity (the “Merger”). As a result of the Merger, each existing share of Spirit Airlines’ common stock will be converted into the right to receive (i) $2.13 in cash, without interest and (ii) 1.9126 shares of Frontier’s common stock (“Frontier Common Stock”), par value $0.001 per share. Upon consummation of the Merger, existing shareholders of Spirit Airlines will own approximately 48.5% of the outstanding shares of Frontier on a fully diluted basis.
Completion of the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain closing conditions, including, among other things, (1) approval of the transactions by Spirit Airlines’ stockholders, (2) receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, including
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approvals from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and the expiration or early termination of the statutory waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and other required regulatory approvals; (3) the absence of any law or order prohibiting the consummation of the transactions; (4) the effectiveness of the registration statement to be filed by Frontier and Spirit Airlines with the SEC pursuant to the Merger Agreement; (5) the authorization and approval for listing on NASDAQ of the shares of Frontier Common Stock to be issued to holders of Spirit Airlines’ common stock in the Merger; and (6) the absence of any material adverse effect (as defined in the Merger Agreement) on either Spirit Airlines or Frontier.
The Merger Agreement contains certain customary termination rights for Spirit Airlines and Frontier, including, without limitation, a right for either party to terminate if the Merger is not consummated on or before February 5, 2023, subject to certain extensions if needed to obtain regulatory approvals. Upon the termination of the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, Spirit Airlines will be required to pay Frontier a breakup fee of $94.2 million. The Merger Agreement also provides the methodology by which certain expenses will be borne.
Summary Risk Factors
Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully in Item 1A. Risk Factors herein. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
•The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations and financial condition;
•The impact on our business of the Merger and our ability to complete the Merger in a timely manner;
•The impact of the new 5G C-band service deployed by AT&T and Verizon and its potential effect on the technology we rely on to operate our aircraft;
•The competitiveness of our industry;
•Volatility in fuel costs or significant disruptions in the supply of fuel, in particular the impact on our single service provider on whom we rely to manage approximately half of our fuel supply;
•Adverse domestic or global economic conditions on our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our ability to obtain financing or access capital markets;
•Factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, air traffic control inefficiencies, major construction or improvements at airports, adverse weather conditions, increased security measures, new travel related taxes or the outbreak of disease;
•Increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruption;
•Our maintenance costs, which will increase as our fleet ages;
•The extensive regulation by the FAA, DOT, TSA and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies to which we are subject;
•Our reliance on technology and automated systems to operate our business;
•Our reliance on third-party service providers to perform functions integral to our operations, including for ground handling, catering, passenger handing, maintenance, reservations and other services;
•Our reliance on a limited number of suppliers for our aircraft and engines;
•Reduction in demand for air transportation, or governmental reduction or limitation of operating capacity, in the domestic U.S., Caribbean or Latin American markets;
•The success of the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM;and
•Our significant amount of aircraft-related fixed obligations and additional debt that we have incurred, and may incur in the future.
Our Business Model
Our ULCC business model provides customersguests low, unbundled base fares with a range of optional services, allowing customersguests the freedom to choose only the options they value. The success of our model is driven by our low-cost structure, which permitshas
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historically permitted us to offer low base fares while maintaining high profit margins. During 2020 and 2021, we were unable to deliver a profit due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our airline.
We are focused on value-conscious travelers who pay for their own travel, and our business model is designed to deliver what our customersguests want: low fares and a great experience. We use low fares to address underserved markets, which helps us to increase passenger volume and load factors on the flights we operate. We also have high-density seating configurations on our aircraft and a simplified onboard product designed to lower costs. High passenger volumes and load factors help us sell more ancillary products and services, which in turn allows us to reduce the base fare we offer even further. We strive to be recognized by our customersguests and potential customersguests as the low-fare leader in the markets we serve.
We compete based on total price. We believe that we and our customersguests benefit when we allow our customersguests to know the total price of their travel by breaking out the cost of optional products or services. We allow our customersguests to see all available options and their respective prices prior to purchasing a ticket, and this full transparency illustrates that our total price, including options selected, is lower on average than other airlines.
Through branded campaigns, we educate the public on how our unbundled pricing model works and show them how it provides a choice on how they spend their money and saves them money compared to other airlines. We show our commitment to delivering the best value in the sky by continuing to make improvements to the customer experience, including a freshly updated cabin interior with ergonomically-designed seats and self bag-tagging in most airports to reduce check-in processing time.
Our Strengths
We believe we compete successfully in the airline industry by leveraging the following demonstrated business strengths:
Ultra Low-Cost Structure. Our unit operating costs are among the lowest of all airlines operating in the United States. We believe this unit cost advantage helps protect our market position and enables us to offer some of the lowest base fares in our markets, sustain among the highest operating margins in our industry and support continued growth. Our operating costs per available seat mile ("CASM") of 7.978.07 cents in 20192021 were significantly lower than those of the major domestic network carriers and among the lowest of the domestic low-cost carriers. We achieve these low unit operating costs in large part due to:
•high aircraft utilization;
•high-density seating configurations on our aircraft along with a simplified onboard product designed to lower costs;
•minimal hub-and-spoke network inefficiencies;
•highly productive workforce;
•opportunistic outsourcing of operating functions;
•operating a single-fleet type of Airbus A320-family aircraft that is one of the youngest and most fuel efficient in the United States and operated by common flight crews;
•reduced sales, marketing and distribution costs through direct-to-consumer marketing;
•efficient flight scheduling, including minimal ground times between flights; and
•a company-wide business culture that is keenly focused on driving costs lower.
Innovative Revenue Generation. We execute our innovative, unbundled pricing strategy to generate significant non-ticket revenue, which allows us to lower base fares and enables our passengers to identify, select and pay for only the products and services they want to use. In implementing our unbundled strategy, we have grown non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment from approximately $5 in 2006 to $56$59 in 20192021 generally by:
•charging for checked and carry-on baggage;
•passing through allmost distribution-related expenses;
•charging for premium seats and advance seat selection;
•maintaining consistent ticketing policies, including service charges for changes and cancellations;
•generating subscription revenue from our Spirit Saver$ ClubTM (the "Spirit Saver$ ClubTM" formerly known as the $9 Fare Club low-fare subscription service;TM);
•deriving brand-based revenues from proprietary services, such as our FREE SPIRIT affinity credit card program;
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•offering third-party travel products (travel packages), such as hotel rooms, ground transportation (rental and hotel shuttle products) and attractions (show or theme park tickets) packaged with air travel on our website; and
•selling third-party travel insurance through our website.
Resilient Business Model and Customer Base. By focusing on price-sensitive travelers, we have generally maintained profitability or been impacted to a lesser degree than most of our competitors during volatile economic periods because we are not highly dependent on premium-fare business traffic. We believe our growing customer base is more resilient than the customer bases of most other airlines because our low fares and unbundled service offering appeal to price-sensitive travelers.
Well Positioned for Growth. We have developed a substantial network of destinations in profitable U.S. domestic niche markets, targeted growth markets in the Caribbean and Latin America and high-volume routes flown by price-sensitive travelers. In the United States, we also have grown into large markets that, due to higher fares, have priced out those more price-sensitive travelers. We seek to balance growth between large domestic markets, large leisure destinations and opportunities in the Caribbean and Latin America according to current economic and industry conditions.
Experienced International Operator. We believe we have substantial experience in foreign aviation, security and customs regulations, local ground operations and flight crew training required for successful international and overwater flight operations. All of our aircraft are certified for overwater operations. We believe we compete favorably against other low-cost carriers because we have been conducting international flight operations since 2003 and have developed substantial experience in complying with the various regulations and business practices in the international markets we serve. During 2019, 20182021, 2020 and 2017,2019, no revenue from any one foreign country represented greater than 4% of our total passenger revenue. We attribute operating revenues by geographic region based upon the origin and destination of each passenger flight segment.
Financial Strength Achieved with Focus on Cost Discipline. We believe our ULCC business model has delivered strong financial results in both favorable and more difficult economic times. We have generated these results by:
•keeping a consistent focus on maintaining low unit operating costs;
•ensuring our sourcing arrangements with key third parties are regularly benchmarked against the best industry standards;
•generating and maintaining an adequate level of liquidity to insulate against volatility in key cost inputs, such as fuel and in passenger demand that may occur as a result of changing general economic conditions.
Loyalty Programs
We operate the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM, which is a subscription-based loyalty program that allows members access to unpublished, extra-low fares as well as discounted prices on bags, exclusive offers on hotels, rental cars and other travel necessities. In January 2021, the benefits of the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM were expanded to include discounts on seats, shortcut boarding and security, and "Flight Flex" flight modification product. We also operate the Free Spirit loyalty program (the “Free Spirit Program”), which attracts members and partners and builds customer loyalty for us by offering a variety of awards, benefits and services. Free Spirit loyalty program members earn and accrue points for our flights and services from non-air partners such as retail merchants, hotels or car rental companies or by making purchases with credit cards issued by partner banks and financial services providers. Points earned and accrued by Free Spirit loyalty program members can be redeemed for travel awards such as free (other than taxes and government-imposed fees), discounted or upgraded travel. In January 2021, we launched a more expansive Free Spirit Program with extended mileage expirations, additional benefits based on status tiers, and other changes.
Route Network
Below is a routecurrent map of our current network, which includesincluding seasonal routes and routes announced as of January 29, 2020 for which service has not yet started:destinations we serve:
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Our network expansion targets underserved and/or overpriced markets. We employ a rigorous process to identify opportunities to deploy new aircraft where we believe they will be most profitable. To monitor the profitability of each route, we analyze weekly and monthly profitability reports as well as near-term forecasting.
Competition
The airline industry is highly competitive. The principal competitive factors in the airline industry are fare pricing, total price, flight schedules, aircraft type, passenger amenities, number of routes served from a city, customer service, safety record and reputation, code-sharing relationships and frequent flyer programs and redemption opportunities. We typically compete in markets served by traditional network airlines, and other low-cost carriers and ULCCs, and, to a lesser extent, regional airlines.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, our top twothree largest network overlaps are with Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines at approximately 62% and 44% of our markets, respectively. Our principal competitors on domestic routes are Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines. Our principal competitors to our markets in the Caribbean and Latin
The airline industry is particularly susceptible to price discounting because, once a flight is scheduled, airlines incur only nominal incremental costs to provide service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. The expenses of a scheduled aircraft flight do not vary significantly with the number of passengers carried and, as a result, a relatively small change in the number of passengers or in pricing could have a disproportionate effect on an airline’s operating and financial results. Price competition occurs on a market-by-market basis through price discounts, changes in pricing structures, fare matching, target promotions and frequent flyer initiatives. Airlines typically use discount fares and other promotions to stimulate traffic during normally slower travel periods to generate cash flow and to maximize TRASM. The prevalence of discount fares can be particularly acute when a competitor has excess capacity that it is unable to fill at higher rates. A key element to our competitive strategy is to maintain very low unit costs in order to permit us to compete successfully in price-sensitive markets.
Seasonality
Our business is subject to significant seasonal fluctuations. We generally expect demand to be greater in the second and third quarters each year due to more vacation travel during these periods, as compared to the rest of the year. The air transportation business is also volatile and highly affected by economic cycles and trends.
Distribution
The majority of our tickets are sold through direct channels, including online via www.spirit.com, our call center and our airport ticket counters, with www.spirit.com being the primary channel. We also partner with a number of third parties to distribute our tickets, including online and traditional travel agents and electronic global distribution systems.
Customers
We believe our customers are primarily leisure travelers who are paying for their own ticket and who make their purchase decision based largely on price. By maintaining a low cost structure, we canhave historically been able to successfully sell tickets at low fares while maintaining a strong profit margin. During 2020 and 2021, we were unable to deliver a profit due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our airline.
Customer Service
We are committed to taking care of our customers. We believe focusing on customer service in every aspect of our operations, including personnel, flight equipment, in-flight and ancillary amenities, on-time performance, flight completion ratios, and baggage handling will strengthen customer loyalty and attract new customers. We proactively aim to improve our operations to ensure further improvement in customer service.
Our online booking process allows our customers to see all available options and their prices prior to purchasing a ticket. We maintain a campaign that illustrates our total prices are lower, on average, than those of our competitors, even when options are included.
Fleet
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We fly only Airbus A320 family aircraft, which provides us significant operational and cost advantages compared to airlines that operate multiple aircraft types. By operating a single aircraft type, we avoid the incremental costs of training crews across multiple types. Flight crews are entirely interchangeable across all of our aircraft, and maintenance, spare parts inventories and other operational support remains highly simplified compared to those airlines with more complex fleets. Due to this commonality among Airbus single-aisle aircraft, we can retain the benefits of a fleet comprised of a single type of aircraft while still having the flexibility to match the capacity and range of the aircraft to the demands of each route.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, we had a fleet of 145173 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, which are commonly referred to as “A320 family” aircraft. A320 family aircraft include the A319, A320 and A321 models, which have broadly common design and equipment but differ most notably in fuselage length, service range and seat capacity. Within the A320 family of aircraft, models using existing engine technology may carry the suffix “ceo,” denoting the “current engine option,” while models equipped with new-generation engines may carry the suffix “neo,” denoting the “new engine option.” As of December 31, 2019,2021, our fleet consisted of 31 A319ceos, 64 A320ceos, 2048 A320neos and 30 A321ceos, and the average age of the fleet was 5.96.8 years. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we owned 91 of ourhad 106 aircraft, of which 3746 aircraft are financed through fixed-rate long-term
debt with 7 to 1218 year terms, 27 aircraft are financed through enhanced equipment trust certificates ("EETCs"), and 2733 aircraft were purchased off lease and are currently unencumbered. Refer to “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—13.14. Debt and Other Obligations” for information regarding our debt financing and “Notes to the Financial Statements—4. Special Charges” for information regarding our aircraft purchased off lease.financing. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we had 5267 aircraft financed under operating leases and 2 aircraft financed under finance leases with lease term expirations between 20202023 and 2037.2039. In addition, as of December 31, 2019,2021, we had 912 spare engines financed under operating leases and owned 1420 unencumbered spare engines.
On December 20, 2019, we entered into an A320 NEO Family Purchase Agreement with Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") for the purchase of 100 new Airbus A320neo family aircraft, with options to purchase up to 50 additional aircraft. This agreement includes a mix of Airbus A319, A320A319neo, A320neo and A321A321neo aircraft with such aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2027. As of December 31, 2019,2021, our firm aircraft orders consisted of 135120 A320 family aircraft with Airbus, including A319neos, A320neos and A321neos, with deliveries expected through 2027. As of December 31, 2021, we had secured financing for 17 aircraft, scheduled for delivery from Airbus through 2022 which will be financed through sale leaseback transactions. In addition, as of December 31, 2021, we had 1236 direct operating leases for A320neos and A321neos with third-party lessors, with deliveries expected through 2021.2024. During the third quarter of 2021, we entered into an Engine Purchase Support Agreement which requires us to purchase a certain number of spare engines in order to maintain a contractual ratio of spare engines to aircraft in the fleet. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we are committed to purchase 16 PW1100G-JM spare engine orders consisted of one V2500 SelectTwo engine with IAE and four PurePower PW 1100G-JM engines, with Pratt & Whitney scheduled for delivery from 2020deliveries through 2023.2027. The firm aircraft orders provide for capacity growth as well as the flexibility to add to, or replace, the aircraft in our present fleet. We may elect to supplement these deliveries by additional acquisitions from the manufacturer or in the open market if demand conditions merit. We also may adjust or defer deliveries, or change models of aircraft in our delivery stream, from time to time, as a means to match our future capacity with anticipated demand and growth trends.
Consistent with our ULCC business model, each of our aircraft is configured with a high density seating configuration, which helps us maintain a lower unit cost and pass savings to our customers.cost. Our high density seating configuration accommodates more passengers than those of our competitors when comparing the same type of aircraft.
Maintenance and Repairs
We have a Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") mandated and approvedmaintain our aircraft in accordance with an FAA-approved maintenance program which is administeredbuilt from the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule and maintained by our technical servicesTechnical Services department. Our maintenance technicians undergo extensive initial and ongoingrecurrent training to ensure the safetysafe operation of our aircraft. For the secondfourth year in a row, we haveSpirit has achieved the FAA'sFAA’s highest award for Technical Training, the Diamond Award of Excellence. This award is only achieved if 100% of technicians receive the FAA'sFAA’s Aircraft Maintenance Technician ("AMT"(“AMT”) Certificate of Training.
Aircraft maintenance and repair consists of routine and non-routine maintenance, and work performed is divided into three general categories: line maintenance, heavy maintenance and component service. Line maintenance consists of routine daily and weekly scheduled maintenance checks on our aircraft, including pre-flight, daily, weekly and overnight checks, and any diagnostics and routine repairs and any unscheduled items on an as needed basis. Additionally, maintenance program tasks that may take up to two years to fully complete are performed periodically in line maintenance at scheduled day visits or segmented into overnight work packages. Line maintenance events are currently serviced by in-house mechanics supplemented by contract labor and are primarily completed at airports we currently serve. Heavy airframe maintenance checks consist of a series of more complex tasks that can take from one to four weeks to accomplish and typically are required approximately every 24 to 36 months. Heavy engine maintenance is performed approximately every six years and includes a more complex scope of work. Due to our relatively small fleet size and projected fleet growth, we believe outsourcing all of our heavy maintenance activity, such as engine servicing, heavy airframe maintenance checks, major part repair and component service repairs is more economical. Outsourcing eliminates the substantial initial capital requirements inherent in heavy aircraft maintenance. We have entered into a long-term flight hour agreement for the majority of our current fleet with IAE International Aero Engines AG ("IAE")
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and Pratt & Whitney for our engine overhaul services and with Lufthansa Technikvarious maintenance providers on an hour-by-hour basis for component services. We outsource our heavy airframe maintenance to FAA-qualified maintenance providers.
Our recent maintenance expenses have been lower than what we expect to incur in the future because of the relatively young age of our aircraft fleet. Our maintenance costs are expected to increase as the scope of repairs increases with the increasing age of our fleet. As our aircraft age, scheduled scope of work and frequency of unscheduled maintenance events is likely to increase like any maturing fleet. Our aircraft utilization rate could decrease with the increase in aircraft maintenance.
Employees
Our business is labor intensive, with labor costs representing approximately 26.0%32.4%, 24.2%39.3% and 23.4%26.0% of our total operating costs for 2019, 20182021, 2020 and 2017,2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we had 2,3902,744 pilots, 4,1794,597 flight attendants, 6875 dispatchers, 304268 ramp service agents, 270224 passenger service agents, 778900 maintenance personnel, 214208 airport agents/other and 735807 employees in administrative roles for a total of 8,938 employees.9,823 active employees compared to 8,756 active employees as of December 31, 2020. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, there were 1,633 employee terminations, including both voluntary and involuntary terminations, for an overall employee turnover rate of 18.7%. As of December 31, 2019,2021, approximately 81% of our
employees were represented by five labor unions. On an average full-time equivalent basis, for the full year 2019,2021, we had 8,0779,218 employees, compared to 7,1108,692 in 2018.2020.
FAA regulations require pilots to have commercial licenses with specific ratings for the aircraft to be flown and be medically certified as physically fit to fly. FAA and medical certifications are subject to periodic renewal requirements, including recurrent training and recent flying experience. Flight attendants must have initial and periodic competency training and qualification. For the year ended December 31, 2021, paid training hours for our pilots and flight attendants were 147,533 and 38,149 hours, representing 12.8% and 1.6% of total crew block hours, respectively. Mechanics, quality-control inspectors and dispatchers must be certificated and qualified for specific aircraft. Flight attendants must have initial and periodic competency training and qualification. Training programs are subject to approval and monitoring by the FAA. Management personnel directly involved in the supervision of flight operations, training, maintenance and aircraft inspection must also meet experience standards prescribed by FAA regulations. All safety-sensitive employees are subject to pre-employment, random and post-accident drug testing.
Consistent with our core values, we focus on hiring highly productive and qualified personnel and ensure they have comprehensive training. Our training programs focus on and emphasize the importance of safety, customer service, productivity, and cost control. We provide continuous training for our crew members including technical training as well as regular training focused on safety and front-line training for our customer service teams. Our training programs include classroom learning, extensive real-world flying experience, and instruction in full flight simulators, as appropriate.
Additionally, in 2021, we launched a comprehensive Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy, to drive meaningful change within the organization and the communities in which we live and work. This includes Team Member run employee resource groups (ERGs) to ensure all Team Members have a voice in paving our path; providing education to increase awareness of systemic inequities and to reduce bias; and a new Supplier Diversity program around a network of minority-owned business partners and diverse suppliers, as part of our strategic sourcing and procurement process.
We believe a direct relationship between Team Members and our leadership is in the best interests of our crew members, our customers, and our shareholders. Our leadership team communicates on a regular basis with all Team Members, including crew members, in order to maintain a direct relationship and to keep them informed about news, strategy updates, and challenges affecting the airline and the industry. Effective and frequent communication throughout the organization is fostered through various means including email messages from our CEO and other senior leaders, open forum meetings across our network, periodic leadership visits to our stations, and annual Team Member engagement surveys. We also seek to build human rights awareness among our Team Members and Guests and we have recently implemented a Human Rights Policy.
The Railway Labor Act, or RLA, governs our relations with labor organizations. Under the RLA, our collective bargaining agreements do not expire, but instead become amendable as of a stated date.date, subject to standard early opener provisions. If either party wishes to modify the terms of any such agreement, they must notify the other party in the manner agreed to by the parties. Under the RLA, after receipt of such notice, the parties must meet for direct negotiations. If no agreement is reached, either party may request the National Mediation Board, or NMB, to appoint a federal mediator. The RLA prescribes no set timetable for the direct negotiation and mediation process. It is not unusual for those processes to last for many months, and even several years. If no agreement is reached in mediation, the NMB in its discretion may declare at some time
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that an impasse exists. If an impasse is declared, the NMB proffers binding arbitration to the parties. Either party may decline to submit to arbitration. If arbitration is rejected by either party, a 30-day “cooling off” period commences. During that period (or after), a Presidential Emergency Board, or PEB, may be established, which examines the parties’ positions and recommends a solution. The PEB process lasts for 30 days and is followed by another “cooling off” period of 30 days. At the end of a “cooling off” period, unless an agreement is reached or action is taken by Congress, the labor organization and the airline each may resort to “self-help,” including, for the labor organization, a strike or other labor action, and for the airline, the imposition of any or all of its proposed amendments and the hiring of new employees to replace any striking workers. Congress and the President have the authority to prevent “self-help” by enacting legislation that, among other things, imposes a settlement on the parties. The table below sets forth our employee groups and status of the collective bargaining agreements.
| Employee Groups | Representative | Amendable Date | ||||||||||||
| Pilots | Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) | February 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Flight Attendants | Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) | |||||||||||||
| Dispatchers | Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA) | October 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Ramp Service Agents | International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) | |||||||||||||
| Passenger Service Agents | Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) | NA | ||||||||||||
In March 2016, under the supervision of the NMB, we reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract with our flight attendants. Our flight attendants andratified the agreement in May 2016,2016. In February 2021, we entered into a Letter of Agreement with the AFA-CWA to change the amendable date of the collective bargaining agreement from May 4, 2021 to September 1, 2021. All other terms of the collective bargaining agreement remained the same.In June 2021, the AFA-CWA notified us, as required by the Railway Labor Act, that it intended to submit proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement covering our flight attendants votedattendants. We commenced negotiations with the AFA-CWA on September 27, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, we continued to approvenegotiate with the new five-year contract.AFA-CWA.
Our dispatchers are represented by the PAFCA. In June 2018, we commenced negotiations with PAFCA for an amended agreement with our dispatchers. In October 2018, we reached a tentative agreement with PAFCA for a new five-year agreement, which was ratified by the PAFCA members in October 2018.
In July 2014, certain ramp service agents directly employed by us voted to be represented by the IAMAW. In May 2015, we entered into a five-year interim collective bargaining agreement with the IAMAW, covering material economic terms. In June 2016, we reached an agreement on the remaining terms of the collective bargaining agreement. In February 2020, the IAMAW notified us, as required by the Railway Labor Act, that it intended to submit proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement covering our ramp service agents which isbecame amendable in June 2020. On September 28, 2021, we filed an “Application for Mediation Services” with the NMB. We were able to reach a tentative agreement with the IAMAW with the assistance of the NMB on October 16, 2021. Our ramp service agents ratified the five-year agreement in November 2021.
In June 2018, our passenger service agents voted to be represented by the TWU, but the representation only applies to our Fort Lauderdale station where we have direct employees in the passenger service classification. We began meeting with the TWU in late October 2018 to negotiate an initial collective bargaining agreement. As of December 31, 2019,During February 2022, we continued to negotiatereached a tentative agreement with the TWU.
Safety and Security
We are committed to the safety and security of our passengers and employees. We strive to comply with or exceed health and safety regulation standards. In pursuing these goals, we maintain an active aviation safety program. All of our personnel are expected to participate in the program and take an active role in the identification, reduction and elimination of hazards.
Our ongoing focus on safety relies on training our employees to proper standards and providing them with the tools and equipment they require so they can perform their job functions in a safe and efficient manner. Safety in the workplace targets several areas of our business, including: flight operations, maintenance, in-flight, dispatch and station operations. The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, is charged with aviation security for both airlines and airports. We maintain active, open lines of communication with the TSA at all of our locations to ensure proper standards for security of our personnel, customers, equipment and facilities are exercised throughout our business.
Insurance
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We maintain insurance policies we believe are customary in the airline industry and as required by the Department of Transportation ("DOT").DOT. The policies principally provide liability coverage for public and passenger injury; damage to property; loss of or damage to flight equipment; fire and extended coverage; war risk (terrorism); directors’ and officers’ liability; advertiser and media liability; cyber risk liability; fiduciary; and workers’ compensation and employer’s liability. Renewing coverage could result in a change in premium and more restrictive terms. Although we currently believe our insurance coverage is adequate, there can be no assurance that the amount of such coverage will not be changed or that we will not be forced to bear substantial losses from accidents.
Management Information Systems
We have continued our commitment to technology improvements to support our ongoing operations and initiatives. During 2017, we completed the migration of critical operating and sales systems into a state-of-the-art data center facility in South Florida, implemented a new customer mobile application, deployed all new self-service kiosks, and improved the customer experience on our website. During 2018, we invested in the development of a regionally diverse cloud infrastructure and further network improvements.
In 2019, we began the process of upgrading our enterprise accounting software. This project was suspended in the third quarter of 2019 and we have elected to re-evaluate and pursue the optimal solution. In addition, we implemented a new website built on a more stable codebase which provides for a better user experience. In addition, we invested in improving the stability of our mobile application.
In 2021, we focused on additional modernization capabilities to enhance the travel experience of our Guests. In cooperation with the TSA, our Automated Self Service Bag Drop project is installed and functioning in several airports. Our plan is to accelerate the deployment of this experience as well as to further enhance the customer convenience features. In addition, we have achieved a broad investment in a mobility tool for all our workforce that enhances productivity and capabilities. Furthermore, the launch of our new Loyalty program has delivered an exceptional improvement in the Guest experience and utility. In 2021, the Azure Cloud migration of Data and Application continued and is expected to be completed by early 2023. Lastly, our secondary Operations Control Center in Orlando went into production mid-year and will provide substantial improvements in disaster recovery scenarios.
Foreign Ownership
Under DOT regulations and federal law, we must be controlled by U.S. citizens. In order to qualify, at least 75% of our stock must be voted by U.S. citizens, and our president and at least two-thirds of our board of directors and senior management must be U.S. citizens.
We believe we are currently in compliance with such foreign ownership rules.
Government Regulation
Operational Regulation
The airline industry is heavily regulated, especially by the federal government. Two of the primary regulatory authorities overseeing air transportation in the United States are the DOT and the FAA. The DOT has jurisdiction over economic and consumer issues affecting air transportation, such as competition, route authorizations, advertising and sales practices, baggage liability and disabled passenger transportation, reporting of mishandled bags, tarmac delays and responding to customer complaints among other areas.
In August 2019,July 2021, the DOT issued a Final Statement of Enforcement Priorities Regarding Service Animals, to highlight its intended enforcement focus pending issuance of a new rule. In January 2020, the DOT issued a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking to seek comment on proposed amendments to its Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel regulations regarding transportation of service animals. In 2016, Congress passed a law(NRPM) requiring airlines to refund checked bag fees for delayed bags if they are not delivered to the passenger within a specified number of hours. Though the DOT has been collecting information from carriershours and other interested parties and organizations from whichrefunding ancillary fees for services related to developair travel that passengers did not receive. As of December 31, 2021, a final rule, as of January 2020, a rule has not been issued.
In November 2021, the DOT reopened the comment period on an NPRM regarding short-term improvements to lavatory accessibility, including new proposed requirements for onboard wheelchairs (OBWs). As of December 31, 2021, a final rule has not been issued.
The Biden Administration issued an executive order mandating that masks be worn on commercial aircraft. This was extended in December 2021 to at least March 2022. We will continue to follow all relevant guidelines and guidance to protect our guests and staff, but we cannot forecast what additional safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the extent of any pre-travel testing requirements (See “International Regulation”) that may be under consideration in the United States and that may be in place, or renewed, in any foreign jurisdiction we serve, including the effect of such requirements on passenger demand or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
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Additional rules and executive orders, including those pertaining to disabled passenger rules,passengers, may be issued in 2020.issued. See “Risk Factors—Restrictions on or increased taxes applicable to charges for ancillary products and services paid by airline passengers and burdensome consumer protection regulations or laws which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition."
The DOT has authority to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity required for airlines to provide air transportation. We hold a DOT certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing us to engage in scheduled air transportation of passengers, property and mail within the United States, its territories and possessions and between the United States and all countries that maintain a liberal aviation trade relationship with the United States (known as “open skies” countries). We also hold DOT certificates to engage in air transportation to certain other countries with more restrictive aviation policies.
The FAA is responsible for regulating and overseeing matters relating to air carrier flight operations, including airline operating certificates, aircraft certification and maintenance and other matters affecting air safety, including rest periods and work hours for all airlines certificated under Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA requires each commercial airline to obtain and hold an FAA air carrier certificate. This certificate, in combination with operations specifications issued to the airline by the FAA, authorizes the airline to operate at specific airports using aircraft approved by the FAA. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we had FAA airworthiness certificates for all of our aircraft, we had obtained the necessary FAA authority to fly to all of the cities we currently serve, and all of our aircraft had been certified for overwater operations. Any new or revised operational regulations in the future could result in further increased costs. We believe we hold all necessary operating and airworthiness authorizations, certificates and licenses and are operating in compliance with applicable DOT and FAA regulations, interpretations and policies.
International Regulation
All international service is subject to the regulatory requirements of the foreign government involved. We currentlygenerally offer international service to Aruba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and St. Maarten, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If we decide to increase our routes to additional international destinations, we will be required to obtain necessary authority from the DOT and the applicable foreign government. We are also required to comply with overfly regulations in countries that lay along our routes but which we do not serve.
International service is also subject to Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, immigration and agriculture requirements and the requirements of equivalent foreign governmental agencies. Like other airlines flying international routes, from time to time we may be subject to civil fines and penalties imposed by CBP if unmanifested or illegal cargo, such as illegal narcotics, is found on our aircraft. These fines and penalties, which in the case of narcotics are based upon the retail value of the seizure, may be substantial. We have implemented a comprehensive security program at our airports to reduce the risk of illegal cargo being placed on our aircraft, and we seek to cooperate actively with CBP and other U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies in investigating incidents or attempts to introduce illegal cargo.
We will continue to comply with all contagious disease requirements issued by the US and foreign governments, but we cannot forecast what additional requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements. For example, as of December 6, 2021, all air passengers 2 years or older with a flight departing to the United States from a foreign country are required show a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than 1 day before travel, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days, before they board their flight. See, “Risk Factors—“We are subject to extensive and increasing regulation by the FAA, DOT, TSA and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business and financial results."
Security Regulation
The TSA was created in 2001 with the responsibility and authority to oversee the implementation, and ensure the adequacy of security measures at airports and other transportation facilities. Funding for passenger security is provided in part by a per enplanement ticket tax (passenger security fee). Prior to and for the first half of 2014, this fee was $2.50 per passenger flight segment, subject to a maximum of $5 per one-way trip. Effective July 1, 2014, the security fee was set at a flat rate of $5.60 each way. On December 19, 2014, the law was amended to limit a round-trip fee to $11.20. In addition, in the past, the TSA has assessed an Aviation Security Infrastructure Fee, or ASIF, on each airline. This fee was eliminated by the TSA effective October 1, 2014. We cannot forecast what additional security and safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
Environmental Regulation
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We are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and affecting matters such as aircraft engine emissions, aircraft noise emissions and the discharge or disposal of materials and chemicals, which laws and regulations are administered by numerous state and federal agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, regulates operations, including air carrier operations, which affect the quality of air in the United States. We
believe the aircraft in our fleet meet all emission standards issued by the EPA. Concern about climate change and greenhouse gases may result in additional regulation or taxation of aircraft emissions in the United States and abroad.
Federal law recognizes the right of airport operators with special noise problems to implement local noise abatement procedures so long as those procedures do not interfere unreasonably with interstate and foreign commerce and the national air transportation system. These restrictions can include limiting nighttime operations, directing specific aircraft operational procedures during takeoff and initial climb, and limiting the overall number of flights at an airport.
Other Regulations
We are subject to certain provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and are required to obtain an aeronautical radio license from the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC. To the extent we are subject to FCC requirements, we will take all necessary steps to comply with those requirements. We are also subject to state and local laws and regulations at locations where we operate and the regulations of various local authorities that operate the airports we serve. In addition, we are subject to the deployment of new 5G C-band service by wireless communications providers. The DOT and the FAA are currently working with AT&T and Verizon to create appropriate safeguards in the deployment of their new 5G C-band service, including a potential delay in its overall deployment, the installation of buffer zones around airports and other measures to be announced.
Future Regulations
The U.S. and foreign governments may consider and adopt new laws, regulations, interpretations and policies regarding a wide variety of matters that could directly or indirectly affect our results of operations. We cannot predict what laws, regulations, interpretations and policies might be considered in the future, nor can we judge what impact, if any, the implementation of any of these proposals or changes might have on our business.
We are committed to integrating environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) practices into and within our business practices and commit to sustainable operations which support the long-term success of our business, shareholders, Team Members, Guests and business partners. We have established four strategic focus areas of our ESG initiatives, practices, and commitments: environment, social, workforce and governance. Recognizing the fundamental importance of ESG matters, Spirit’s Board and its committees provide guidance and oversight. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for oversight of our ESG strategy and practices and periodically reports on these matters to the Board.
We recognize aviation’s impact on climate and our responsibility to help reduce the carbon footprint of air travel. Fuel burn is our greatest environmental and financial impact, and our greatest source of carbon emissions. To address the impact of our flights and operations over the short-term and long-term, our climate and emissions approach focuses on reducing emissions through both fleet and operational efficiencies that conserve fuel and improve overall fuel burn. Our all-Airbus fleet is one of the youngest in the United States and our dense seating configuration, along with our consistent focus on weight-saving measures, has made us consistently one of the most fuel-efficient carriers in the United States.
Further illustrating our commitment, we issued our 2020 Sustainability Report, showing results of our longstanding commitment to meaningful advancements in environmental sustainability, Guest and community service, Team Member support, and governance. The report highlights our plan for continued progress in broadening ESG initiatives and improving communities. Refer to “Spirit’s 2020 Sustainability Report” on the Investor Relations section of our website at.www.spirit.com.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. All statements other than statements of historical facts are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of these provisions. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “potential,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements. Additional risks or uncertainties (i) that are not currently known to us, (ii) that we currently deem to be immaterial, or (iii) that could apply to any company, could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or future results. You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information in this report. If any of the following risks materialize, our business could be materially harmed, and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. References in this report to “Spirit,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” shall mean Spirit Airlines, Inc., unless the context indicates otherwise.
Risks Related to Recent Events
The COVID-19 pandemic and measures to reduce its spread have had, and will likely continue to have, a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The outbreak of COVID-19 and implementation of measures to reduce its spread have adversely impacted our business and continue to adversely impact our business in a number of ways. Multiple governments in countries we serve, principally the United States, have responded to the virus with air travel restrictions and closures, testing requirements or recommendations against air travel, and certain countries we serve have required airlines to limit or completely stop operations. The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects continue to evolve, with developments including fluctuations in the rate of infections during 2021, the emergency use authorization issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 vaccines, the requirement, effective January 26, 2021, that all U.S. inbound international travelers provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to flying and recent increases in the availability of COVID-19 vaccines resulting in expanded eligibility to more groups of people to receive the vaccine. While we currently estimate that air travel demand will continue to be volatile and will fluctuate in the upcoming months as the lingering effects of COVID-19 continue to develop, it expects that air travel demand will continue to recover in 2022. However, the situation continues to be fluid and actual capacity adjustments may be different than what we currently expect.
Additionally, we also outsource certain critical business activities to third parties, including our dependence on a limited number of suppliers for our aircraft and engines. As a result, we rely upon the successful implementation and execution of the business continuity planning of such entities in the current environment. The successful implementation and execution of these third parties’ business continuity strategies are largely outside our control. If one or more of such third parties experience operational failures as a result of the impacts from the spread of COVID-19, or claim that they cannot perform due to a force majeure, it may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, including the currently unknowable duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of any variants; the efficacy of, ability to administer and extent of adoption of any COVID-19 vaccines domestically and globally; the impact of existing and future governmental regulations, travel advisories and restrictions that are imposed in response to the pandemic, including pursuant to executive orders, such as mask mandates; additional reductions to our flight capacity, or a voluntary temporary cessation of all flights, that we implement in response to the pandemic; and the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior, such as a reduction in the demand for air travel, especially in our destination cities. The total potential economic
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impact brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, and it has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruptions of global financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital on favorable terms or at all, and increase the cost of capital. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse economic event resulting from the spread of COVID-19 would materially adversely impact our business and the value of our common stock. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global financial markets has negatively impacted the value of our common stock to date as well as our debt ratings, and could continue to negatively affect our liquidity. Our credit rating was downgraded by Fitch to BB- in April 2020 and by S&P Global to B in June 2020. In May 2020, the credit rating of our Spirit Airlines Pass Through Trust Certificates Series 2015-1 Class C and our Spirit Airlines Pass Through Trust Certificates Series 2017-1 Class C was downgraded by Fitch from BBB- to BB+. In June 2020, the credit ratings of our Spirit Airlines Pass Through Trust Certificates Series 2017-1 Class A and B were downgraded by S&P Global to BBB and BB-, respectively. In November 2020, the credit ratings of our Spirit Airlines Pass Through Trust Certificates Series 2017-1 Class AA and C were downgraded by S&P Global to AA- and BB, respectively. The downgrades of our ratings were based on our increased level of credit risk as a result of the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. If our credit ratings were to be further downgraded, or general market conditions were to ascribe higher risk to our ratings levels, the airline industry, or the Company, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected. These developments are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. There are limitations on our ability to mitigate the adverse financial impact of these items, including as a result of our significant aircraft-related fixed obligations. COVID-19 also makes it more challenging for management to estimate future performance of our business, particularly over the near to medium term. A further significant decline in demand for our flights could have a materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, and on April 20, 2020 we reached an agreement with the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) to receive funding through the Payroll Support Program (“PSP”) over the second and third quarters of 2020. On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law which extended the PSP portion of the CARES Act through March 31, 2021 (“PSP2”) and in January 2021, we reached an agreement with the Treasury to receive additional funding in early 2021. The funding we received subjects us to restrictions and limitations, as described below.
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), enacted on March 11, 2021, also authorized the Treasury to provide additional assistance to passenger air carriers that received financial assistance under PSP2 (“PSP3”). Under the ARP, the Treasury provided approximately $14 billion to fund the PSP3 for employees of passenger air carriers during the second quarter of 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, including, but not limited to, our competitiveness, demand for our services, shifting consumer preferences and our substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness.
We have agreed to certain restrictions on our business by accepting financing under the legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law. The CARES Act provided liquidity in the form of loans, loan guarantees, and other investments to air carriers, such as us, that incurred, or are expected to incur, covered losses such that the continued operations of the business are jeopardized, as determined by the Treasury.
On April 20, 2020, we entered into a PSP agreement with the Treasury, pursuant to which we received a total of $344.4 million used exclusively to pay for salaries, wages and benefits for our employees through September 30, 2020. Of that amount, $73.3 million is in the form of a low-interest 10-year loan. In addition, in connection with its participation in the PSP, we issued to the Treasury warrants pursuant to a warrant agreement to purchase up to 520,797 shares of our common stock, at a strike price of $14.08 per share (the closing price for the shares of our common stock on April 9, 2020) with a fair value of $3.9 million. We registered the resale of the warrants pursuant to the warrant agreement with the Treasury in September and October 2020. The remaining amount of $267.2 million is in the form of a grant and was recognized in special credits in our consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020.
The warrants expire in five years from the date of issuance, are transferable, have no voting rights and contain customary terms regarding anti-dilution. If the Treasury or any subsequent warrant holder exercises the warrants, the interest of our holders of common stock would be diluted and we would be partially owned by the U.S. government, which could have a negative impact on our common stock price, and which could require increased resources and attention by our management.
On December 27, 2020, PSP2 was signed into law and provided an additional $15 billion to fund PSP2 for employees of passenger air carriers. We entered into a new payroll support program agreement with the Treasury on January 15, 2021.During
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the first and second quarters of 2021, we received a total of $212.1 million through PSP2, used exclusively to pay for salaries, wages and benefits for our Team Members through March 31, 2021. Of that amount, $33.6 million is in the form of a low-interest 10-year loan. In addition, in connection with its participation in PSP2, we issued to the Treasury warrants pursuant to a warrant agreement to purchase up to 137,753 shares of our common stock at a strike price of $24.42 per share (the closing price for the shares of our common stock on December 24, 2020) with a fair value of $2.8 million. The remaining amount of $175.6 million is in the form of a grant and was recognized in special credits in our consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Airlines participating in the PSP2 program are required to, among other things:
•Continue restrictions on payment of dividends and stock buybacks through March 31, 2022;
•Continue limits on executive compensation through October 1, 2022;
•Continue requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled services through March 1, 2022; and
•Continue reporting requirements.
These restrictions and requirements could materially adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things, requiring us to change certain of our business practices and to maintain or increase cost levels to maintain scheduled service with little or no offsetting revenue, affecting retention of key personnel and limiting our ability to effectively compete with others in our industry who may not be receiving funding and may not be subject to similar limitations.
ARP also authorized Treasury to provide additional assistance in the form of the PSP3. Under the ARP, Treasury provided approximately $14 billion to fund PSP3 for employees of passenger air carriers. During the second quarter of 2021, we received $197.9 million under PSP3. Of that amount, $29.4 million is in the form of a low-interest 10-year loan. In addition, in connection with its participation in PSP3, we issued to the Treasury warrants pursuant to a warrant agreement to purchase up to 80,539 shares of our common stock at a strike price of $36.45 per share (the closing price for the shares of our common stock on March 10, 2021) with a fair value of $1.5 million. The remaining amount of $167.0 million is in the form of a grant and was recognized in special credits in our consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021. Total warrants issued in connection with the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3 represent less than 1% of the outstanding shares of our common stock as of December 31, 2021.
In connection with our participation in PSP3, we are subject to certain restrictions and limitations, including, but not limited to:
•Restrictions on payment of dividends and stock buybacks through September 30, 2022;
•Limits on executive compensation through April 1, 2023; and
•Reporting requirements.
The CARES Act also provided an employee retention credit (“CARES Employee Retention credit”) which was a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. We qualified for the credit beginning on April 1, 2020 and received additional credits for qualified wages through December 31, 2020. The Consolidated Appropriations Act extended and expanded the availability of the CARES Employee Retention credit through June 30, 2021. Subsequently, the ARP extended and expanded the availability of the CARES Employee Retention credit through December 31, 2021, however, certain provisions apply only after December 31, 2020. During the first and second quarters of 2021, we recorded $37.5 million related to the CARES Employee Retention credit within special credits on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and within accounts receivable, net on our condensed consolidated balance sheet. We did not qualify for the employee retention credit for the third and fourth quarter of 2021. As of December 31, 2021, $40.8 million remained in accounts receivable, net on our consolidated balance sheet related to the CARES employee retention credit for the fourth quarter of 2020 and first and second quarters of 2021.
Finally, the CARES Act also provided for deferred payment of the employer portion of social security taxes through the end of 2020, with 50% of the deferred amount due December 31, 2021 and the remaining 50% due December 31, 2022. During 2020, we deferred $23.2 million in social security tax payments. As of December 31, 2021, $11.7 million of deferred social security tax payments remains within other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet.
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We cannot predict whether the assistance from the Treasury through the PSP, PSP2 or PSP3 will be adequate to continue to pay our employees for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or whether additional assistance will be required or available in the future. We previously applied to the Treasury for a secured loan through the CARES Act but we determined not to move forward with such loan in September 2020. There can be no assurance that loans or other assistance will be available through the CARES Act or any future legislation, or whether we will be eligible to receive any additional assistance, if needed.
The deployment of new 5G C-band service by wireless communications service providers could have a material adverse effect on our operations, which in turn could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
On January 17, 2022, various executives of U.S. passenger airlines and cargo carriers, and airline industry associations, warned the U.S. federal government of the potential adverse impact the imminent deployment of AT&T and Verizon’s new 5G C-band service would have on U.S. aviation operations. According to aviation leaders, the deployment of the new 5G C-band service could cause, among other consequences, operational and security issues, interference with critical aircraft instruments and adverse impact to low-visibility operations. Any of these consequences could potentially cause flight cancellations, diversions and delays, or could result in damage to our aircraft and other equipment and a diminished margin of safety in airline operations. The DOT and the FAA are currently working with AT&T and Verizon to create appropriate safeguards in the deployment of their new 5G C-band service, including a potential delay in its overall deployment, the installation of buffer zones around airports and other measures to be announced. Any requirements or restrictions imposed on airlines by the DOT, the FAA or other government agencies are uncertain, but could have an adverse effect on our operations. Any sustained impact to our operations could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The pendency of the proposed Merger may cause disruption in our business.
On February 5, 2022, we entered into the Merger Agreement with Frontier and Merger Sub Inc., pursuant to which and subject to the terms and conditions therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity.
The Merger Agreement restricts us from taking specified actions without Frontier’s consent until the Merger is completed or the Merger Agreement is terminated, including amending our organizational documents, issuing shares of our common stock, divesting certain assets (including certain intellectual property rights), declaring or paying dividends, making certain significant acquisitions or investments, entering into any new lines of business, incurring certain indebtedness in excess of certain thresholds, amending or modifying certain material contracts, making non-ordinary course capital expenditures, making certain non-ordinary course changes to personnel and employee compensation, changing the cabin configuration or amenities on our aircraft and taking actions that may result in the loss of our FAA airworthiness certification or takeoff and landing slots. These restrictions and others more fully described in the Merger Agreement may affect our ability to execute our business strategies and attain our financial and other goals and may impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The pendency of the proposed Merger could cause disruptions to our business or business relationships, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Parties with which we have business relationships, including Guests, pilots, employees, suppliers, third-party service providers and third-party distribution channels, may be uncertain as to the future of such relationships and may delay or defer certain business decisions, seek alternative relationships with third parties or seek to alter their present business relationships with us. Parties with whom we otherwise may have sought to establish business relationships may seek alternative relationships with third parties.
The pursuit of the Merger and the preparation for our integration with Frontier’s business is expected to place a significant burden on our management and internal resources. The diversion of management’s attention away from day-to-day business concerns and any difficulties encountered in the transition and integration process could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have incurred and will continue to incur significant costs, expenses and fees for professional services and other transaction costs in connection with the Merger. We may also incur unanticipated costs in connection with our integration with Frontier’s business. The substantial majority of these costs will be non-recurring expenses relating to the Merger, and many of these costs are payable regardless of whether or not the Merger is consummated. We also could be subject to litigation related to the proposed Merger, which could prevent or delay the consummation of the Merger and result in significant costs and expenses.
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Failure to complete the Merger in a timely manner or at all could negatively impact the market price of our common stock, as well as our future business and our results of operations and financial condition.
The Merger cannot be completed until conditions to closing are satisfied or (if permissible under applicable law) waived. The Merger is subject to numerous closing conditions, including among other things, (1) approval of the transactions by our stockholders, (2) receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, including approvals from the FCC, FAA and DOT and the expiration or early termination of the statutory waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and other required regulatory approvals; (3) the absence of any law or order prohibiting the consummation of the transactions; (4) the effectiveness of the registration statement to be filed by Frontier and Company with the SEC pursuant to the Merger Agreement; (5) the authorization and approval for listing on NASDAQ of the shares of Frontier Common Stock to be issued to holders of our common stock in the Merger; and (6) the absence of any material adverse effect (as defined in the Merger Agreement) on either the Company or Frontier.
The satisfaction of the required conditions could delay the completion of the Merger for a significant period of time or prevent it from occurring. Further, there can be no assurance that the conditions to the closing of the Merger will be satisfied or waived or that the Merger will be completed.
If the Merger is not completed in a timely manner or at all, our ongoing business may be adversely affected as follows:
•we may experience negative reactions from the financial markets, and our stock price could decline to the extent that the current market price reflects an assumption that the Merger will be completed;
•we may experience negative reactions from employees, Guests, suppliers or other third parties;
•we may be subject to litigation, which could result in significant costs and expenses;
•management’s focus may have been diverted from day-to-day business operations and pursuing other opportunities that could have been beneficial to the Company; and
•our costs of pursuing the Merger may be higher than anticipated.
In addition to the above risks, we may be required, under certain circumstances, to pay Frontier a breakup fee equal to $94.2 million and/or to reimburse or indemnify Frontier for certain of its expenses. If the Merger is not consummated, there can be no assurance that these risks will not materialize and will not materially adversely affect our stock price, business, results of operations and financial condition.
In order to complete the Merger, the Company and Frontier must obtain certain governmental approvals, and if such approvals are not granted or are granted with conditions, completion of the Merger may be jeopardized or the anticipated benefits of the Merger could be reduced.
Although the Company and Frontier have agreed to use reasonable best efforts, subject to certain limitations, to make certain governmental filings and obtain the required governmental approvals, including from the FCC, FAA and DOT, or expiration or earlier termination of relevant waiting periods, as the case may be, there can be no assurance that the relevant waiting periods will expire or be terminated or that the relevant approvals will be obtained. As a condition to approving the Merger, these governmental authorities may impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions or require divestitures or place restrictions on the conduct of our business after completion of the Merger. There can be no assurance that regulators will not impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions and that such conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not have the effect of delaying or preventing completion of the Merger or imposing additional material costs on or materially limiting the revenues of the combined company following the Merger, or otherwise adversely affecting, including to a material extent, our business, results of operations and financial condition after completion of the Merger. If we are required to divest assets or businesses, there can be no assurance that we will be able to negotiate such divestitures expeditiously or on favorable terms or that the governmental authorities will approve the terms of such divestitures. We can provide no assurance that these conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not result in the abandonment of the Merger.
Although we expect that the Merger will result in synergies and other benefits to us, we may not realize those benefits because of difficulties related to integration, the achievement of such synergies, and other challenges.
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The Company and Frontier have operated and, until completion of the Merger, will continue to operate, independently, and there can be no assurances that our businesses can be combined in a manner that allows for the achievement of substantial benefits. Historically, the integration of separate airlines has often proven to be more time consuming and to require more resources than initially estimated. We must devote significant management attention and resources to integrating our business practices, cultures and operations. If we are not able to successfully integrate our business with Frontier’s, the anticipated benefits, including synergies, of the Merger may not be realized fully or may take longer than expected to be realized. Specifically, the following issues, among others, must be addressed in combining the operations of the Company and Frontier in order to realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger:
•combining the businesses of the Company and Frontier in a manner that permits us to achieve the synergies anticipated to result from the Merger, the failure of which would result in the anticipated benefits of the Merger not being realized in the time frame currently anticipated or at all;
•maintaining existing agreements with employees, suppliers, third-party service providers and third-party distribution channels, and avoiding delays in entering into new agreements with prospective employees, suppliers, third-party service providers and third-party distribution channels;
•the challenge of integrating complex systems and technologies, including designing and implementing an integrated customer reservations system, operating procedures, regulatory compliance programs, aircraft fleets, networks, and other assets in a manner that minimizes any adverse impact on Guests, suppliers, employees and other constituencies;
•determining whether and how to address possible differences in corporate cultures and management philosophies;
•integrating the businesses’ administrative and information technology infrastructure;
•the challenge of integrating workforces and attracting and retaining key personnel while maintaining focus on providing consistent, high quality customer service and running an efficient operation;
•managing the expanded operations of a significantly larger and more complex company;
•branding or rebranding initiatives may involve substantial costs and may not be favorably received by Guests; and
•resolving potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences and unforeseen increased expenses associated with the Merger.
Even if the operations of our business and Frontier’s business are integrated successfully, the full benefits of the Merger may not be realized, including, among others, the synergies that are expected. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame or at all. Additional unanticipated costs may also be incurred in the integration of our business and Frontier’s business. Further, it is possible that there could be loss of key Company or Frontier employees, loss of customers, disruption of either or both of the Company’s or Frontier’s ongoing businesses or unexpected issues, higher than expected costs and an overall post-completion process that takes longer than originally anticipated.
We plan to submit to the FAA a transition plan for merging the day-to-day operations of Frontier and the Company under a single operating certificate. The issuance of a single operating certificate will occur when the FAA agrees that we have achieved a level of integration that can be safely managed under one certificate. The actual time required and cost incurred to receive this approval cannot be predicted. Any delay in the grant of such approval or increase in costs beyond those presently expected could have a material adverse effect on the completion date of our integration plan and receipt of the benefits expected from that plan. See also “—We face challenges in integrating our computer, communications and other technology systems.” All of these factors could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We face challenges in integrating our computer, communications and other technology systems.
Among the principal risks of integrating Frontier’s and the Company’s businesses and operations are the risks relating to integrating various computer, communications and other technology systems, including designing and implementing an integrated customer reservations system, that will be necessary to operate Frontier and the Company as a single airline and to achieve cost synergies by eliminating redundancies in the businesses. The integration of these systems in a number of prior airline mergers has taken longer, been more disruptive and cost more than originally forecast. The implementation process to integrate these various systems will involve a number of risks that could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. The related implementation will be a complex and time-consuming project involving substantial
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expenditures for implementation consultants, system hardware, software and implementation activities, as well as the transformation of business and financial processes.
As with any large project, there will be many factors that may materially affect the schedule, cost and execution of the integration of our computer, communications and other technology systems. These factors include, among others: problems during the design, implementation and testing phases; systems delays and/or malfunctions; the risk that suppliers and contractors will not perform as required under their contracts; the diversion of management attention from daily operations to the project; reworks due to unanticipated changes in business processes; challenges in simultaneously activating new systems throughout our global network; difficulty in training employees in the operations of new systems; the risk of security breach or disruption; and other unexpected events beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our security measures, change control procedures or disaster recovery plans will be adequate to prevent disruptions or delays. Disruptions in or changes to these systems could result in a disruption to our business and our operations and the loss of important data. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Industry
We operate in an extremely competitive industry.
We face significant competition with respect to routes, fares and services. Within the airline industry, we compete with traditional network airlines, other low-cost airlines and regional airlines on many of our routes. Competition in most of the destinations we presently serve is intense, sometimes due to the large number of carriers in those markets. Furthermore, other airlines may begin service or increase existing service on routes where we currently face little competition. Most of our competitors are larger than us and have significantly greater financial and other resources than we do.
The airline industry is particularly susceptible to price discounting because once a flight is scheduled, airlines incur only nominal additional costs to provide service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. Increased fare or other price competition has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, our revenue generation. Moreover, many other airlines have begun to unbundle services by charging separately for services such as baggage and advance seat selection. This unbundling and other cost reducing measures could enable competitor airlines to reduce fares on routes that we serve. Beginning in 2015, and continuing through 2019, more widespread availability of low fares, including from legacy network carriers, coupled with an increase in domestic capacity led to dramatic changes in pricing behavior in many U.S. markets. Many domestic carriers began matching lower cost airline pricing, either with limited or unlimited inventory. Additionally, changes in practices, including with respect to change and cancellation fees, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to further pricing changes among our competitors.
Airlines increase or decrease capacity in markets based on perceived profitability, market share objectives, competitive considerations and other reasons. Decisions by our competitors that increase overall industry capacity, or capacity dedicated to a particular domestic or foreign region, market or route, could have a material adverse impact on our business. If a traditional network airline were to successfully develop a low-cost structure, compete with us on price or if we were to experience increased competition from other low-cost carriers, our business could be materially adversely affected.
Many of the traditional network airlines in the United States have on one or more occasions initiated bankruptcy proceedings in attempts to restructure their debt and other obligations and reduce their operating costs. They also have completed large mergers that have increased their scale and share of the travel market. The mergers between AMR Corporation and US Airways Group, Inc., between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, between United Airlines and Continental Airlines, between Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, and between Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, have created five large airlines, with substantial national and international networks which createscreate a more challenging competitive environment for smaller airlines like us. In the future, there may be additional consolidation in our industry. Any business combination could significantly alter industry conditions and competition within the airline industry, which could have an adverse effect on our business.
Our growth and the success of our ULCC business model could stimulate competition in our markets through our competitors’ development of their own ULCC strategies, new pricing policies designed to compete with ULCCs or new market entrants. Any such competitor may have greater financial resources and access to less expensive sources of capital than we do, which could enable them to operate their business with a lower cost structure, or enable them to operate with lower-marginallower marginal revenues without substantial adverse effects, than we can. If these competitors adopt and successfully execute a ULCC business model, we could be materially adversely affected. In 2015, Delta Air Lines began to market and sell a "Basic Economy" product which was designed in part to provide its customers with a low base fare similar to Spirit. In 2017, American Airlines
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and United Airlines announced their own "Basic Economy" product and beginning in late 2019, other airlines like Alaska Airlines and beginning in late 2019, JetBlue, have followed suit.
The extremely competitive nature of the airline industry could prevent us from attaining the level of passenger traffic or maintaining the level of fares or revenues related to ancillary services required to sustain profitable operations in new and existing markets and could impede our growth strategy, which could harm our operating results. Due to our relatively small size, we are susceptible to a fare war or other competitive activities in one or more of the markets we serve, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages, and many factors could affect our ability to control our costs.
Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages. However, we have limited control over many of our costs. For example, we have limited control over the price and availability of aircraft fuel, aviation insurance, airport costs and related infrastructure taxes, the cost of meeting changing regulatory requirements and our cost to access capital or financing. In addition, the compensation and benefit costs applicable to a significant portion of our employees are established by the terms of our collective bargaining agreements. We cannot guarantee we will be able to maintain a cost advantage over our competitors. If our cost structure increases and we are no longer able to maintain a sufficient cost advantage over our competitors, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The airline industry is heavily influenced by the price and availability of aircraft fuel. Continued volatility in fuel costs or significant disruptions in the supply of fuel, including hurricanes and other events affecting the Gulf Coast in particular, could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Aircraft fuel costs represented 29.8%27.8%, 31.6%18.6% and 27.3%29.8% of our total operating expenses for 2019, 20182021, 2020 and 2017,2019, respectively. As such, our operating results are significantly affected by changes in the availability and the cost of aircraft fuel, especially aircraft fuel refined in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, on which we are highly dependent. Both the cost and the availability of aircraft fuel are subject to many meteorological, economic and political factors and events occurring throughout the world, which we can neither control nor accurately predict. For example, a major hurricane making landfall along the Gulf Coast could disrupt oil production, refinery operations and pipeline capacity in that region, possibly resulting in significant increases in the price of aircraft fuel and diminished availability of aircraft fuel supply. Any disruption to oil production, refinery operations, or pipeline capacity in the Gulf Coast region could have a disproportionate impact on our operating results compared to other airlines that have more diversified fuel sources. Fuel prices also may be affected by geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions and events that are outside of our control, including volatility in the relative strength of the U.S. dollar, the currency in which oil is denominated. Instability within major oil producing regions, such as the Middle East and Venezuela, changes in demand from major petroleum users such as China, and secular increases in competing energy sources are examples of these trends.
Aircraft fuel prices have been subject to high volatility, fluctuating substantially over the past several years. For example, our fuel prices spiked at a high of $3.32 per gallon, in the second quarter of 2012, and fell as low as $1.22$1.05 per gallon in the firstsecond quarter of 2016 and remained at over $2.00 per gallon throughout 2019.2020. We cannot predict the future availability, price volatility or cost of aircraft fuel. Due to the large proportion of aircraft fuel costs in our total operating cost base, even a relatively small increase or decrease in the price of aircraft fuel can have a significant negative impact on our operating costs or revenues and on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The International Maritime OrganizationOrganization's ("IMO") has set January 1, 2020 as the implementation date for ships to comply with its new low-sulfur fuel oil requirements. Itrequirements for ships came into effect on January 1, 2020. Considering the general decline in jet fuel demand during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still uncertain how the availability and price of jet fuel around the world will be affected by the implementation of the IMO 2020 Regulations. Increased costs and/or decreased supply of jet fuel may be material and could adversely affect the results of our operations and financial condition.
Fuel derivative activity, if any, may not reduce fuel costs.
From time to time, we may enter into fuel derivative contracts in order to mitigate the risk to our business from future volatility in fuel prices, refining risk between the price of crude oil and the price of refined jet fuel, and to manage the risk of increasing fuel prices. Our derivatives may generally consist of United States Gulf Coast jet fuel swaps ("jet fuel swaps") and
United States Gulf Coast jet fuel options ("jet fuel options"). Both jet fuel swaps and jet fuel options can be used at times to protect the refining risk between the price of crude oil and the price of refined jet fuel, and to manage the risk of increasing fuel prices. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we had no outstanding jet fuel derivatives, and we have not engaged in fuel derivative activity since 2015. There can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into fuel derivative contracts in the future if we are required or choose to do so. In the past we have not had, and in the future we may not have, sufficient creditworthiness or
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liquidity to post the collateral necessary to hedge our fuel requirements. Our liquidity and general level of capital resources impacts our ability to hedge our fuel requirements. Even if we are able to hedge portions of our future fuel requirements, we cannot guarantee that our derivative contracts will provide sufficient protection against increased fuel costs or that our counterparties will be able to perform under our derivative contracts, such as in the case of a counterparty’s insolvency. Furthermore, our ability to react to the cost of fuel, absent hedging, is limited because we set the price of tickets in advance of incurring fuel costs. Our ability to pass on any significant increases in aircraft fuel costs through fare increases could also be limited. In the event of a reduction in fuel prices compared to our hedged position, if any, our hedged positions could counteract the cost benefit of lower fuel prices and may require us to post cash margin collateral. In a falling fuel price environment, we may be required to make cash payments to our counterparties which may impair our liquidity position and increase our costs.
Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Trends and Uncertainties Affecting Our Business—Aircraft Fuel.”
Restrictions on, or increased taxes applicable to, charges for ancillary products and services paid by airline passengers and burdensome consumer protection regulations or laws could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
During 2019, 20182021, 2020 and 2017,2019, we generated non-ticket revenues of $1,943.7$1,807.8 million, $1,618.9$1,053.8 million and $1,280.2$1,943.7 million, respectively. Our non-ticket revenues are generally generated from charges for, among other things, baggage, bookings through certain of our distribution channels, advance seat selection, itinerary changes and loyalty programs. The DOT has rules governing many facets of the airline-consumer relationship, including, for instance, price advertising, tarmac delays, bumping of passengers from flights, ticket refunds and the carriage of disabled passengers. If we are not able to remain in compliance with these rules, the DOT may subject us to fines or other enforcement action, including requirements to modify our passenger reservations system, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. The U.S. Congress and Federalfederal administrative agencies have investigated the increasingly common airline industry practice of unbundling the pricing of certain products and services. If new taxes are imposed on non-ticket revenues, or if other laws or regulations are adopted that make unbundling of airline products and services impermissible, or more cumbersome or expensive, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed. Congressional and other government scrutiny may also change industry practice or public willingness to pay for ancillary services. See also “—We are subject to extensive and increasing regulation by the FAA, DOT, TSA and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business and financial results.”
The airline industry is particularly sensitive to changes in economic conditions. Adverse economic conditions would negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business and the airline industry in general are affected by many changing economic conditions beyond our control, including, among others:
•changes and volatility in general economic conditions, including the severity and duration of any downturn in the U.S. or global economy and financial markets;
•changes in consumer preferences, perceptions, spending patterns or demographic trends, including any increased preference for higher-fare carriers offering higher amenity levels, and reduced preferences for low-fare carriers offering more basic transportation;
•higher levels of unemployment and varying levels of disposable or discretionary income;income in part due to the effect of rising inflation rates in the U.S.;
•depressed housing and stock market prices; and
•lower levels of actual or perceived consumer confidence.
These factors can adversely affect, and from time to time have adversely affected, our results of operations, our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms and our liquidity. Unfavorable general economic conditions, such as higher unemployment rates, a constrained credit market, housing-related pressures and increased focus on reducing business operating costs, can reduce spending for price-sensitive leisure and business travel. For many travelers, in particular the price-sensitive travelers we serve, air transportation is a discretionary purchase that they may reduce or eliminate from their spending in difficult economic times. The overall decrease in demand for air transportation in the United States in 2008 and 2009 resulting from record high fuel prices and the economic recession required us to take significant steps to reduce our capacity, which reduced our revenues. Additionally, we were required to reduce our capacity as a result of a dramatic drop in demand due to, and restrictions imposed as a result of, the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in the second quarter of 2020. Unfavorable
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economic conditions could also affect our ability to raise prices to counteract the effect of
increased fuel, labor or other costs, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The airline industry faces ongoing security concerns and related cost burdens, furthered by threatened or actual terrorist attacks or other hostilities, that could significantly harm our industry and our business.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath negatively affected the airline industry. The primary effects experienced by the airline industry included:
•substantial loss of revenue and flight disruption costs caused by the grounding of all commercial air traffic in or headed to the United States by the FAA for days after the terrorist attacks;
•increased security and insurance costs;
•increased concerns about future terrorist attacks;
•airport shutdowns and flight cancellations and delays due to security breaches and perceived safety threats; and
•significantly reduced passenger traffic and yields due to the subsequent dramatic drop in demand for air travel.
Since September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA have implemented numerous security measures that restrict airline operations and increase costs, and are likely to implement additional measures in the future. For example, following the widely publicized attempt of an alleged terrorist to detonate plastic explosives hidden underneath his clothes on a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day in 2009, passengers became subject to enhanced random screening, which included pat-downs, explosive detection testing and body scans. Enhanced passenger screening, increased regulation governing carry-on baggage and other similar restrictions on passenger travel may further increase passenger inconvenience and reduce the demand for air travel. In addition, increased or enhanced security measures have tended to result in higher governmental fees imposed on airlines, resulting in higher operating costs for airlines, which we may not be able to pass on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Any future terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, even if not made directly on the airline industry, or the fear of such attacks or other hostilities (including elevated national threat warnings or selective cancellation or redirection of flights due to terror threats) would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and on the airline industry in general.
Airlines are often affected by factors beyond their control, including: air traffic congestion at airports; air traffic control inefficiencies; major construction or improvements at airports; adverse weather conditions, such as hurricanes or blizzards; increased security measures; new travel relatedtravel-related taxes or the outbreak of disease, any of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Like other airlines, our business is affected by factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, air traffic control inefficiencies, major construction or improvements at airports at which we operate, adverse weather conditions, increased security measures, new travel relatedtravel-related taxes, the outbreak of disease, new regulations or policies from the presidential administration and Congress. Factors that cause flight delays frustrate passengers and increase costs, which in turn could adversely affect profitability. The federal government currently controls all U.S. airspace, and airlines are completely dependent on the FAA to operate that airspace in a safe, efficient and affordable manner. The air traffic control system, which is operated by the FAA, faces challenges in managing the growing demand for U.S. air travel. U.S. and foreign air-traffic controllers often rely on outdated technologies that routinely overwhelm the system and compel airlines to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays. A significant portion of our operations is concentrated in markets such as South Florida, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Northeast and northern Midwest regions of the United States, which are particularly vulnerable to weather, airport traffic constraints and other delays. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes affecting southern Florida and the Caribbean (such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, and Hurricane Dorian in August 2019)2019 and Hurricane Laura in August 2020) as well as southern Texas (such as Hurricane Harvey in August 2017), winter snowstorms or earthquakes (such as the September 2017 earthquakes in Mexico City, Mexico and the December 2019 and January 2020 earthquakes in Puerto Rico) can cause flight cancellations, significant delays and facility disruptions. For example, during 2017, the timing and location of Hurricanes Irma and Maria produced a domino effect on our operations, resulting in approximately 1,400 flight cancellations and numerous flight delays, which resulted in an adverse effect on our results of operations. Cancellations or delays due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, air traffic control problems or inefficiencies, breaches in security, staffing shortages, as a result of COVID-19 or otherwise, or other factors may affect us to a greater degree than other, larger airlines that may be able to recover more quickly from these events, and therefore could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition to a greater degree than other air carriers. Because of our high utilization, point-to-point network, operational disruptions can have a disproportionate impact on our ability to recover. In addition, many airlines reaccommodate their disrupted passengers on other airlines at prearranged rates under flight interruption
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manifest agreements. We have been unsuccessful in procuring any of these agreements with our
peers, which makes our recovery from disruption more challenging than for larger airlines that have these agreements in place. Similarly, outbreaks of pandemic or contagious diseases, such as Ebola, measles, avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1 (swine) flu, Zika virus and Coronavirus,COVID-19, could result in significant decreases in passenger traffic, and the imposition of government restrictions in service, supply chain bottlenecks or issues, and staffing shortages and could have a material adverse impact on the airline industry. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government and government authorities in other countries around the world have implemented travel bans and other restrictions, which have drastically reduced consumer demand. For additional information, see “—The COVID-19 pandemic and measures to reduce its spread have had, and will likely continue to have, a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.”Any increases in travel relatedtravel-related taxes could also result in decreases in passenger traffic. Any general reduction in airline passenger traffic could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, U.S. federal government shutdowns may cause delays and cancellations or reductions in discretionary travel due to longer security lines, including as a result of furloughed government employees, or reductions in staffing levels, including air traffic controllers. U.S. government shutdowns may also impact our ability to take delivery of aircraft and commence operations in new domestic stations. Any extended shutdown like the one in January 2019 may have a negative impact on our operations and financial results.
Restrictions on or litigation regarding third-party membership discount programs could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
We generate a relatively small but growing portion of our revenue from commissions, revenue share and other fees paid to us by third-party merchants for customer click-throughs, distribution of third-party promotional materials and referrals arising from products and services of the third-party merchants that we offer to our customers on our website. Some of these third-party referral-based offers are for memberships in discount programs or similar promotions made to customers who have purchased products from us, and for which we receive a payment from the third-party merchants for every customer that accepts the promotion. Certain of these third-party membership discount programs have been the subject of consumer complaints, litigation and regulatory actions alleging that the enrollment and billing practices involved in the programs violate various consumer protection laws or are otherwise deceptive. Any private or governmental claim or action that may be brought against us in the future relating to these third-party membership programs could result in our being obligated to pay damages or incurring legal fees in defending claims. These damages and fees could be disproportionate to the revenues we generate through these relationships. In addition, customer dissatisfaction or a significant reduction in or termination of the third-party membership discount offers on our website as a result of these claims could have a negative impact on our brand, and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We face competition from air travel substitutes.
In addition to airline competition from traditional network airlines, other low-cost airlines and regional airlines, we also face competition from air travel substitutes. On our domestic routes, we face competition from some other transportation alternatives, such as bus, train or automobile. In addition, technology advancements may limit the demand for air travel. For example, video teleconferencing and other methods of electronic communication may reduce the need for in-person communication and add a new dimension of competition to the industry as travelers seek lower-cost substitutes for air travel. If we are unable to adjust rapidly in the event the basis of competition in our markets changes, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Business
Increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruption may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial conditions.
Our business is labor intensive, with labor costs representing approximately 26.0%32.4%, 24.2%39.3% and 23.4%26.0% of our total operating costs for 2019, 20182021, 2020 and 2017,2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2019,2021, approximately 81% of our workforce was represented by labor unions. We cannot assure that our labor costs going forward will remain competitive, because in the future our labor agreements may be amended or become amendable and new agreements could have terms with higher labor costs; one or more of our competitors may significantly reduce their labor costs, thereby reducing or eliminating our comparative advantages as to one or more of such competitors; or our labor costs may increase in connection with our growth. We may also become subject to additional collective bargaining agreements in the future as non-unionized workers may unionize.
Relations between air carriers and labor unions in the United States are governed by the RLA. Under the RLA, collective bargaining agreements generally contain “amendable dates” rather than expiration dates, subject to standard opener provisions, and the RLA requires that a carrier maintain the existing terms and conditions of employment following the amendable date
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through a multi-stage and usually lengthy series of bargaining processes overseen by the NMB. This process continues until either the parties have reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement or the parties have been released to “self-help” by the NMB. In most circumstances, the RLA prohibits strikes; however, after release by the NMB, carriers and unions are free to engage in self-help measures such as lockouts and strikes.
During 2017, we experienced operational disruption from pilot-related work action which adversely impacted our results. We obtained a temporary restraining order to enjoin further illegal labor action. In January 2018, under the guidance of the NMB assignedNMB-assigned mediators, the parties reached a tentative agreement. In February 2018, the pilot group voted to approve the current five-year agreement with us. In connection with the current agreement, we incurred a one-time ratification incentive of $80.2 million, including payroll taxes, and an $8.5 million adjustment related to other contractual provisions. These amounts were recorded in special charges within operating expenses in the statement of operations for the year ended 2018.
In March 2016, under the supervision of the NMB, we reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract with our flight attendants. Our flight attendants ratified the agreement in May 2016. In May 2016,February 2021, we entered into a five-yearLetter of Agreement with the AFA-CWA to change the amendable date of the collective bargaining agreement withfrom May 4, 2021 to September 1, 2021. All other terms of the collective bargaining agreement remained the same.In June 2021, the AFA-CWA notified us, as required by the RLA, that it intended to submit proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement covering our flight attendants, which becomes amendable Mayattendants. We commenced negotiations with the AFA-CWA on September 27, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, we continued to negotiate with the AFA-CWA.
Our dispatchers are represented by the PAFCA. In JuneOctober 2018, we commenced negotiations with PAFCA for an amended agreement with our dispatchers. In October 2018, PAFCA and the Company reached a tentative agreement with PAFCA for a new five-year agreement, which was ratified by the PAFCA members in October 2018.
In June 2018, our passenger service agents voted to be represented by the TWU, but the representation only applies only to the our Fort Lauderdale station where we have direct employees in the passenger service classification. We began meeting with the TWU in late October 2018 to negotiate an initial collective bargaining agreement. As of December 31, 2019,During February 2022, we continued to negotiatereached a tentative agreement with the TWU.TWU, which will need to be ratified by the passenger service agents.
If we are unable to reach agreement with any of our unionized work groups in current or future negotiations regarding the terms of their CBAs, we may be subject to work interruptions or stoppages, such as the strike by our pilots in June 2010 and the operational disruption from pilot-related work action experienced in 2017. A strike or other significant labor dispute with our unionized employees is likely to adversely affect our ability to conduct business. Any agreement we do reach could increase our labor and related expenses.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. UnderA decision in the current administration,Supreme Court regarding this law is pending and it may be repealed in its entirety or certain aspects may be changed or replaced. If the law is repealed or significantly modified or if new healthcare legislation is passed, such action could significantly increase cost of the healthcare benefits provided to our U.S. employees. In addition, the failure to comply materially with such existing and new laws, rules and regulations could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial conditions.
A deterioration in worldwide economic conditions may adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition, liquidity and ability to obtain financing or access capital markets.
The general worldwide economy has in the past experienced downturns due to the effects of the European debt crisis, unfavorable U.S. economic conditions and slowing growth in certain Asian economies, including general credit market crises, collateral effects on the finance and banking industries, energy price volatility, concerns about inflation, slower economic activity, decreased consumer confidence, reduced corporate profits and capital spending, adverse business conditions, geopolitical conflict, pandemic risks, government constraints on international trade and liquidity concerns. The airline industry is particularly sensitive to changes in economic conditions, which affect customer travel patterns and related revenues. A weak economy could reduce our bookings, and a reduction in discretionary spending could also decrease amounts our customers are willing to pay. Unfavorable economic conditions can also impact the ability of airlines to raise fares to help offset increased fuel, labor and other costs. We cannot accurately predict the effect or duration of any economic slowdown or the timing or strength of a subsequent economic recovery.
In addition, we have significant obligations for aircraft and spare engines that we have ordered from Airbus, IAE and Pratt & Whitney over the next several years, and we will need to finance these purchases. We may not have sufficient liquidity or creditworthiness to fund the purchase of aircraft and engines, including payment of PDPs, pre-delivery deposit payments ("PDPs"),
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or for other working capital. Factors that affect our ability to raise financing or access the capital markets include market conditions in the airline industry,
economic conditions, the perceived residual value of aircraft and related assets, the level and volatility of our earnings, our relative competitive position in the markets in which we operate, our ability to retain key personnel, our operating cash flows and legal and regulatory developments. Regardless of our creditworthiness, at times the market for aircraft purchase or lease financing has been very constrained due to such factors as the general state of the capital markets and the financial position of the major providers of commercial aircraft financing.
We rely on maintaining a high daily aircraft utilization rate to implement our low-cost structure, which makes us especially vulnerable to flight delays or cancellations or aircraft unavailability.
Our maintenance costs will increase as our fleet ages, and we will periodically incur substantial maintenance costs due to the maintenance schedules of our aircraft fleet.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, the average age of our aircraft was approximately 5.96.8 years. Our relatively new aircraft require less maintenance now than they will in the future. Our fleet will require more maintenance as it ages and our maintenance and repair expenses for each of our aircraft will be incurred at approximately the same intervals. For our leased aircraft, we expect that the final heavy maintenance events will be amortized over the remaining lease term rather than until the next estimated heavy maintenance event, because we account for heavy maintenance under the deferral method. This will result in significantly higher depreciation and amortization expense related to heavy maintenance in the last few years of the leases as compared to the costs in earlier periods. Moreover, because our current fleet was acquired over a relatively short period, significant maintenance that is scheduled on each of these planes is occurring at roughly the same time, meaning we will incur our most expensive scheduled maintenance obligations, known as heavy maintenance, across our present fleet around the same time. These more significant maintenance activities result in out-of-service periods during which our aircraft are dedicated to maintenance activities and unavailable to fly revenue service. In addition, the terms of some of our lease agreements require us to pay maintenance reserves to the lessor in advance of the performance of major maintenance, resulting in our recording significant prepaid deposits on our consolidated balance sheet. Depending on their recoverability, these maintenance reserves may be classifiedexpensed as supplemental rent. We expect scheduled and unscheduled aircraft maintenance expenses to increase over the next several years. Any significant increase in maintenance and repair expenses would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our lack of marketing alliances could harm our business.
Many airlines, including the domestic traditional network airlines (American, Delta and United) have marketing alliances with other airlines, under which they market and advertise their status as marketing alliance partners. These alliances, such as OneWorld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance, generally provide for code-sharing, frequent flyer program reciprocity, coordinated
scheduling of flights to permit convenient connections and other joint marketing activities. Such arrangements permit an airline to market flights operated by other alliance members as its own. This increases the destinations, connections and frequencies offered by the airline and provides an opportunity to increase traffic on that airline’s segment of flights connecting with alliance partners. We currently do not have any alliances with U.S. or foreign airlines. Our lack of marketing alliances puts us at a competitive disadvantage to traditional network carriers who are able to attract passengers through more widespread alliances, particularly on international routes, and that disadvantage may result in a material adverse effect on our passenger traffic, business, results of operations and financial condition.
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We are subject to extensive and increasing regulation by the FAA, DOT, TSA and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business and financial results.
Airlines are subject to extensive and increasing regulatory and legal compliance requirements, both domestically and internationally, that involve significant costs. In the last several years, Congress has passed laws, and the DOT, FAA and TSA have issued regulations, relating to the operation of airlines that have required significant expenditures. We expect to continue to incur expenses in connection with complying with government regulations. Additional laws, regulations, taxes and increased airport rates and charges have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce the demand for air travel. If adopted, these measures could have the effect of raising ticket prices, reducing revenue and increasing costs.
The DOT has been aggressive in enforcing regulations for violations of the tarmac delay rules, passenger with disability rules, advertising rules and other consumer protection rules that could increase the cost of airline operations or reduce revenues. Additional rules on providing scheduling, fare and fee information to travel agents and metasearch sites may be issued in the future. In December 2019,2020, the DOT issued a NoticeFinal Rule on Traveling by Air with Service Animals. This rule limits service animals to a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM")a person with a disability, and no longer considers an emotional support animal to address accessbe a service animal. This eliminates the requirement to lavatoriescarry emotional support animals for free, and will likely reduce costs. Additionally, in December 2020, the DOT withdrew a Request for Information soliciting information on single-aisle aircraft. We expectwhether airline restrictions on the distribution or display of airline flight information constitute an unfair and deceptive business practice and/or an unfair method of competition. The DOT said that decisions on how and where to sell their services should be left to the airlines.
In its first day in office, the Biden Administration issued an executive order that froze review and approval of any new rulemaking. This freeze led the DOT to issue anwithdraw the Final Rule on Tarmac Delay and the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("ANPRM") soliciting comment and gathering updated information(ANPRM) on the costs and benefits of requiring airlines to increase the size of lavatories on new single-aisle aircraft toAirfare Advertising. The ANPRM may not be equivalent to that currently found on twin-aisle aircraft. Other additional disability rules may be proposed in the future.reissued.
In October 2018, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which extends FAA funds through fiscal year 2023. The legislation contains provisions which could have effects on our results of operations and financial condition. Among other provisions, the new law requires the DOT to lift the payment cap on denied boarding compensation, create new requirements for the treatment of disabled passengers, and treble the maximum civil penalty for damage to wheelchairs and other assistive devices or for injuring a disabled passenger. Under the Act, the FAA is required to issue rules establishing minimum dimensions for passenger seats, including seat pitch, width and length. The Act also establishes new rest requirements for flight attendants and requires, within one year, that the FAA issue an order mandating installation of a secondary cockpit barrier on each new aircraft.
In January 2021, the DOT issued a final rule, effective April 2021, to clarify that the maximum amount of Denied Boarding Compensation (DBC) that a carrier may provide to a passenger denied boarding involuntarily is not limited. We cannot forecast how eliminating this maximum amount of payment will affect our costs.
We cannot assure that these and other laws or regulations enacted in the future will not harm our business. In addition, the TSA mandates the federalization of certain airport security procedures and imposes additional security requirements on airports and airlines, most of which are funded by a per ticket tax on passengers and a tax on airlines. We cannot forecast what additional security and safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
Our ability to operate as an airline is dependent on our maintaining certifications issued to us by the DOT and the FAA. The FAA has the authority to issue mandatory orders relating to, among other things, the grounding of aircraft, inspection of aircraft, installation of new safety-related items and removal and replacement of aircraft parts that have failed or may fail in the future. A decision by the FAA to ground, or require time consuming inspections of or maintenance on, our aircraft, for any reason, could negatively affect our business and financial results. Federal law requires that air carriers operating large aircraft be continuously “fit, willing and able” to provide the services for which they are licensed. Our “fitness” is monitored by the DOT, which considers factors such as unfair or deceptive competition, advertising, baggage liability and disabled passenger transportation. While the DOT has seldom revoked a carrier's certification for lack of fitness, such an occurrence would render it impossible for us to continue operating as an airline. The DOT may also institute investigations or administrative proceedings against airlines for violations of regulations.
The U.S. government is under persistent pressure to implement cost cutting and efficiency initiatives. In addition, the U.S. government has recently and may in the future experience delays in the completion of its budget process which could delay funding for government departments and agencies that regulate or otherwise are tied to the aviation industry, including
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the DOT and FAA. To the extent that any such initiatives or budgeting delays affect the operations of these government
departments and agencies, including by forcing mandatory furloughs of government employees, our operations and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
International routes are regulated by treaties and related agreements between the United States and foreign governments. Our ability to operate international routes is subject to change because the applicable arrangements between the United States and foreign governments may be amended from time to time. Our access to new international markets may be limited by our ability to obtain the necessary certificates to fly the international routes. In addition, our operations in foreign countries are subject to regulation by foreign governments and our business may be affected by changes in law and future actions taken by such governments, including granting or withdrawal of government approvals and restrictions on competitive practices. We are subject to numerous foreign regulations based on the large number of countries outside the United States where we currently provide service. If we are not able to comply with this complex regulatory regime, our business could be significantly harmed. Please see “Business — Government Regulation.”
A January 2021 executive erder mandated that masks be worn on commercial aircraft. We will continue to follow all relevant guidelines and guidance to protect our guests and staff, but we cannot forecast what additional safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
In April 2020, we entered into a PSP Agreement with the Treasury, pursuant to which we were required to provide continued air service to certain markets between March and September 2020.
In January 2021, we entered into a PSP2 Agreement with the Treasury, pursuant to which we were required to provide continued air service to certain markets through March 1, 2022.
In April 2021, we entered into a PSP3 Agreement with the Treasury. Under these Agreements, we are subject to restrictions, along with additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements relating to the funds received under the three PSP programs and other programs to provide relief.
Internationally, the Centers for Disease Control ("CDC") issued an order requiring negative COVID-19 test results for passengers entering the U.S. effective on January 26, 2021. This order will remain in effect until the declared end of the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or a CDC determination that such order is no longer necessary to prevent the further introduction, and spread of the COVID-19 virus into the United States. This order could be modified, and other requirements, such as more stringent bans from certain countries based on emerging variants of the COVID-19 virus, could be imposed. We will continue to comply with all contagious disease requirements issued by the U.S. and foreign governments, but we cannot forecast what additional requirements may be imposed in the future or the extent of any pre-travel testing requirements that may be under consideration in the United States and that may be in place, or renewed, in any foreign jurisdiction we serve, including the effect of such requirements on passenger demand or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
Changes in legislation, regulation and government policy have affected, and may in the future have a material adverse effect on, our business.
Changes in, and uncertainty with respect to, legislation, regulation and government policy at the local, state or federal level have affected, and may in the future significantly impact, our business and the airline industry. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted on December 22, 2017, limits deductions for borrowers for net interest expense on debt. Specific legislative and regulatory proposals that could have a material impact on us in the future include, but are not limited to, infrastructure renewal programs; changes to immigration policy; modifications to international trade policy, including withdrawing from trade agreements and imposing tariffs; changes to financial legislation, including the partial or full repeal of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the "Dodd-Frank Act") or Dodd-Frankthe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; public company reporting requirements; environmental regulation and antitrust enforcement. Any such changes may make it more difficult and/or more expensive for us to obtain new aircraft or engines and parts to maintain existing aircraft or engines or make it less profitable or prevent us from flying to or from some of the destinations we currently serve.
To the extent that any such changes have a negative impact on us or the airline industry, including as a result of related uncertainty, these changes may materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Any tariffs imposed on commercial aircraft and related parts imported from outside the United States may have a material adverse effect on our fleet, business, financial condition and our results of operations.
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Certain of the products and services that we purchase, including our aircraft and related parts, are sourced from suppliers located in foreign countries, and the imposition of new tariffs, or any increase in existing tariffs, by the U.S. government on the importation of such products or services could materially increase the amounts we pay for them. In early October 2019, the World Trade Organization ruled that the United States could impose $7.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to illegal European Union subsidies to Airbus. On October 18, 2019, the United States imposed these tariffs on certain imports from the European Union, including a 10% tariff on new commercial aircraft. In February 2020, the United States announced an increase to this tariff from 10% to 15%. These tariffs apply to aircraft that we are already contractually obligated to purchase. TheseIn June 2021, the United States Trade Representative announced that the United States and European Union had agreed to suspend reciprocal tariffs on large civilian aircraft for five years, pending discussions to resolve their trade dispute. However, these tariffs are under continuing review and at any time could be increased, decreased, eliminated or applied to a broader range of products we use. The imposition of these tariffs may substantially increase the cost of, among other things, imported new Airbus aircraft and parts required to service our Airbus fleet, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and/or results of operations. We may also seek to postpone or cancel delivery of certain aircraft currently scheduled for delivery, and we may choose not to purchase as many aircraft as we intended in the future. Any such action could have a material adverse effect on the size of our fleet, business, financial condition and/or results of operations.
We may not be able to implement our growth strategy.
Our growth strategy includes acquiring additional aircraft, increasing the frequency of flights and size of aircraft used in markets we currently serve, and expanding the number of markets we serve where our low cost structure would likely be successful. Effectively implementing our growth strategy is critical for our business to achieve economies of scale and to sustain or increase our profitability. We face numerous challenges in implementing our growth strategy, including our ability to:
•maintain profitability;
•acquire delivery positions of and/or financing for new or used aircraft;
•access airports located in our targeted geographic markets where we can operate routes in a manner that is consistent with our cost strategy;
•acquire new and used aircraft in accordance with our intended delivery schedule, and obtain sufficient spare parts or related support services from our suppliers on a timely basis;
•gain access to international routes;
•access sufficient gates and other services at airports we currently serve or may seek to serve; and
•maintain efficient utilization and capacity of our existing aircraft.
Our growth is dependent upon our ability to maintain a safe and secure operation and requires additional personnel, equipment and facilities. An inability to hire and retain personnel, timely secure the required equipment and facilities in a cost-effective manner, efficiently operate our expanded facilities or obtain the necessary regulatory approvals may adversely affect our ability to achieve our growth strategy, which could harm our business. In addition, expansion to new markets may have other risks due to factors specific to those markets. We may be unable to foresee all of the existing risks upon entering certain new markets or respond adequately to these risks, and our growth strategy and our business may suffer as a result. In addition, our competitors may reduce their fares and/or offer special promotions to deter our entry into a new market or to stop our growth into existing markets or new markets. We cannot assure you that we will be able to profitably expand our existing markets or establish new markets.
Some of our target growth markets in the Caribbean and Latin America include countries with less developed economies that may be vulnerable to unstable economic and political conditions, such as significant fluctuations in gross domestic product, interest and currency exchange rates, high inflation, civil disturbances, government instability, nationalization and expropriation of private assets and the imposition of taxes or other charges by governments. The occurrence of any of these events in markets served by us and the resulting instability may adversely affect our ability to implement our growth strategy.
In 2008, in response to record high fuel prices and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions, we modified our growth plans by terminating our leases for seven aircraft. We incurred significant expenses relating to our lease terminations, and have incurred additional expenses to acquire new aircraft in place of those under the terminated leases as we expanded our network.
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We may in the future determine to reduce further our future growth plans from previously announced levels, which may impact our business strategy and future profitability.
We rely heavily on technology and automated systems to operate our business and any failure of these technologies or systems or failure by their operators could harm our business.
We are highly dependent on technology and automated systems to operate our business and achieve low operating costs. These technologies and systems include our computerized airline reservation system, flight operations system, financial planning, management and accounting system, telecommunications systems, website, maintenance systems and check-in kiosks. The performance and reliability of our technology are critical to our ability to operate and compete effectively. In 2015, our Board of Directors approved a significant technology upgrade initiative meant to address our aging IT infrastructure. This initiative has and will continue to upgrade, replace, and enhance multiple older and outdated legacy systems and hardware. The execution of our strategic plans could be negatively affected by (i) our ability to timely and effectively implement, transition, and maintain related information technology systems and infrastructure; (ii) our ability to effectively balance our investment of incremental operating expenses and capital expenditures related to our strategies against the need to effectively control cost; and (iii) our dependence on third parties with respect to our ability to implement our strategic plans. We cannot assure you that our security measures, change control procedures and disaster recovery plans will be adequate to prevent disruptions or delays. Disruption in or changes to these systems could result in an interruption to our operations or loss of important data. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition.
In order for our operations to work efficiently, our website and reservation system must be able to accommodate a high volume of traffic, maintain secure information and deliver flight information with a high degree of reliability. Substantially all of our tickets are issued to passengers as electronic tickets. We depend on our reservation system, which is hosted and maintained under a long-term contract by a third-party service provider, to be able to issue, track and accept these electronic tickets. If our reservation system fails or experiences interruptions, and we are unable to book seats for any period of time, we could lose a significant amount of revenue as customers book seats on competing airlines. We have experienced short duration reservation system outages from time to time and may experience similar outages in the future. For example, in November 2010, we experienced a significant service outage with our third-party reservation service provider on the day before Thanksgiving, one of the industry’s busiest travel days and in August 2013, we experienced a 13-hour outage that affected our sales and customer service response times. We also rely on third-party service providers of our other automated systems for
technical support, system maintenance and software upgrades. If our automated systems are not functioning or if the current providers were to fail to adequately provide technical support or timely software upgrades for any one of our key existing systems, we could experience service disruptions, which could harm our business and result in the loss of important data, increase our expenses and decrease our revenues. In the event that one or more of our primary technology or systems’ vendors goes into bankruptcy, ceases operations or fails to perform as promised, replacement services may not be readily available on a timely basis, at competitive rates or at all and any transition time to a new system may be significant.
In addition, our automated systems cannot be completely protected against events that are beyond our control, including natural disasters, cyber attacks, disruption of electrical grid or telecommunications failures. Substantial or sustained system failures could cause service delays or failures and result in our customers purchasing tickets from other airlines. We have implemented security measures and change control procedures and have disaster recovery plans; however, we cannot assure you that these measures are adequate to prevent disruptions. Disruption in, changes to or a breach of, these systems could result in a disruption to our business and the loss of important data. Moreover, in the event of system outages or interruptions, we may not be able to recover from our information technology and software providers all or any portion of the costs or business losses we may incur. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to cyber security risks and may incur increasing costs in an effort to minimize those risks.
Our business employs systems and websites that allow for the secure storage and transmission of proprietary or confidential information regarding our customers, employees, suppliers and others, including personal identification information, credit card data and other confidential information. Security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, litigation and potential liability. Although we take steps to secure our management information systems, and although auditors review and approve the security configurations and management processes of these systems, including our computer systems, intranet and internet sites, email and other telecommunications and data networks, the security measures we have implemented may not be effective, and our systems may be vulnerable to theft, loss, damage and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including unauthorized access or security breaches, natural or man-made disasters, cyber attacks (including ransom attacks in which malicious persons encrypt our systems, steal data, or both, and demand payment for decryption of systems or to avoid public release of data), computer viruses, power loss or other disruptive events. We may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyber attacks. Attacks may be targeted at us, our customers and suppliers, or others who have entrusted us with information. In
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addition, attacks not targeted at us, but targeted solely at suppliers, may cause disruption to our computer systems or a breach of the data that we maintain on customers, employees, suppliers and others.
Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us (and at times have caused us) to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants, or costs incurred in connection with the notifications to employees, suppliers or the general public as part of our notification obligations to the various governments that govern our business. Advances in computer capabilities, new technological discoveries, or other developments may result in the breach or compromise of technology used by us to protect transaction or other data. In addition, data and security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including breaches by us or by persons with whom we have commercial relationships that result in the unauthorized release of personal or confidential information. Our reputation, brand and financial condition could be adversely affected if, as a result of a significant cyber event or other security issues: our operations are disrupted or shut down; our confidential, proprietary information is stolen or disclosed; we incur costs or are required to pay fines in connection with stolen customer, employee or other confidential information; we must dedicate significant resources to system repairs or increase cyber security protection; or we otherwise incur significant litigation or other costs.
Our processing, storage, use and disclosure of personal data could give rise to liabilities as a result of governmental regulation.
In the processing of our customer transactions, we receive, process, transmit and store a large volume of identifiable personal data, including financial data such as credit card information. This data is increasingly subject to legislation and regulation, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Fair Accurate Credit Transparency Act and Payment Card Industry legislation, typically intended to protect the privacy of personal data that is collected, processed and transmitted. More generally, we rely on consumer confidence in the security of our system, including our website on which we sell the majority of our tickets. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected if we are unable to comply with existing privacy obligations or legislation or regulations are expanded to require changes in our business practices.
We may not be able to maintain or grow our non-ticket revenues.
Our business strategy includes expanding our portfolio of ancillary products and services. There can be no assurance that passengers will pay for additional ancillary products and services or that passengers will continue to choose to pay for the ancillary products and services we currently offer. Further, regulatory initiatives could adversely affect ancillary revenue opportunities. Failure to maintain our non-ticket revenues would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, if we are unable to maintain and grow our non-ticket revenues, we may not be able to execute our strategy to continue to lower base fares to address an underserved market. Please see “—Restrictions on or increased taxes applicable to charges for ancillary products and services paid by airline passengers and burdensome consumer protection regulations or laws could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.”
Our inability to expand or operate reliably or efficiently out of our key airports where we maintain a large presence could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are highly dependent on markets served from airports where we maintain a large presence. Our results of operations may be affected by actions taken by governmental or other agencies or authorities having jurisdiction over our operations at airports, including, but not limited to:
•increases in airport rates and charges;
•limitations on take-off and landing slots, airport gate capacity or other use of airport facilities;
•termination of our airport use agreements, some of which can be terminated by airport authorities with little notice to us;
•increases in airport capacity that could facilitate increased competition;
•international travel regulations such as customs and immigration;
•increases in taxes;
•changes in the law that affect the services that can be offered by airlines in particular markets and at particular airports;
•restrictions on competitive practices;
•the adoption of statutes or regulations that impact customer service standards, including security standards; and
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•the adoption of more restrictive locally-imposed noise regulations or curfews.
In general, any changes in airport operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We rely on third-party service providers to perform functions integral to our operations.
We have entered into agreements with third-party service providers to furnish certain facilities and services required for our operations, including ground handling, catering, passenger handling, engineering, maintenance, refueling, reservations and airport facilities as well as administrative and support services. We are likely to enter into similar service agreements in new markets we decide to enter, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain the necessary services at acceptable rates.
Although we seek to monitor the performance of third parties that provide us with our reservation system, ground handling, catering, passenger handling, engineering, maintenance services, refueling and airport facilities, the efficiency, timeliness and quality of contract performance by third-party service providers are often beyond our control, and any failure by our service providers to perform their contracts may have an adverse impact on our business and operations. For example, in 2008, our call center provider went bankrupt. Though we were able to quickly switch to an alternative vendor, we experienced a significant business disruption during the transition period and a similar disruption could occur in the future if we changed call center providers or if an existing provider ceased to be able to serve us. We expect to be dependent on such third-party arrangements for the foreseeable future.
We rely on third-party distribution channels to distribute a portion of our airline tickets.
We rely on third-party distribution channels, including those provided by or through global distribution systems, or GDSs, conventional travel agents and online travel agents, or OTAs, to distribute a portion of our airline tickets, and we expect in the future to rely on these channels to an increasing extent to collect ancillary revenues. These distribution channels are more
expensive and at present have less functionality in respect of ancillary revenues than those we operate ourselves, such as our call centers and our website. Certain of these distribution channels also effectively restrict the manner in which we distribute our products generally. To remain competitive, we will need to successfully manage our distribution costs and rights, and improve the functionality of third-party distribution channels, while maintaining an industry-competitive cost structure. Negotiations with key GDSs and OTAs designed to manage our costs, increase our distribution flexibility, and improve functionality could be contentious, could result in diminished or less favorable distribution of our tickets, and may not provide the functionality we require to maximize ancillary revenues. Any inability to manage our third-party distribution costs, rights and functionality at a competitive level or any material diminishment in the distribution of our tickets could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position and our results of operations. Moreover, our ability to compete in the markets we serve may be threatened by changes in technology or other factors that may make our existing third-party sales channels impractical, uncompetitive or obsolete.
We rely on a single service provider to manage the majorityapproximately half of our fuel supply.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, we had a single fuel service contract with World Fuel Services Corporation to manage the majorityapproximately half of the sourcing and contracting of our fuel supply. A failure by this provider to fulfill its obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our reputation and business could be materially adversely affected in the event of an emergency, accident or similar incident involving our aircraft.
We are exposed to potential significant losses in the event that any of our aircraft is subject to an emergency, accident, terrorist incident or other similar incident, and significant costs related to passenger claims, repairs or replacement of a damaged aircraft and its temporary or permanent loss from service. There can be no assurance that we will not be affected by such events or that the amount of our insurance coverage will be adequate in the event such circumstances arise and any such event could cause a substantial increase in our insurance premiums. Please see “—Increases in insurance costs or significant reductions in coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” In addition, any future aircraft emergency, accident or similar incident, even if fully covered by insurance or even if it does not involve our airline, may create a public perception that our airline or the equipment we fly is less safe or reliable than other transportation alternatives, or could cause us to perform time consuming and costly inspections on our aircraft or engines which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Negative publicity regarding our customer service or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business.
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In the past, we have experienced a relatively high number of customer complaints related to, among other things, our customer service and reservations and ticketing systems. In particular, we generally experience a higher volume of complaints when we make changes to our unbundling policies, such as charging for baggage. In addition, in 2009, we entered into a consent order with the DOT for our procedures for bumping passengers from oversold flights and our handling of lost or damaged baggage. Under the consent order, we were assessed a civil penalty of $375,000, of which we were required to pay $215,000 based on an agreement with the DOT and not having similar violations in the year after the date of the consent order. Further, media reports about incidents on our aircraft unrelated to customer complaints could negatively impact our reputation and our operations. If we do not meet our customers' expectations with respect to reliability and service, customers could decide not to fly with us, which would materially adversely affect our business and reputation.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers for our aircraft and engines.
One of the elements of our business strategy is to save costs by operating a single-family aircraft fleet - currently Airbus A320-family, single-aisle aircraft, powered by engines manufactured by IAE and Pratt & Whitney. If any of Airbus, IAE or Pratt & Whitney become unable to perform its contractual obligations, or if we are unable to acquire or lease aircraft or engines from these or other owners, operators or lessors on acceptable terms, we would have to find other suppliers for a similar type of aircraft or engine. If we have to lease or purchase aircraft from another supplier, we would lose the significant benefits we derive from our current single fleet composition. We may also incur substantial transition costs, including costs associated with retraining our employees, replacing our manuals and adapting our facilities and maintenance programs. Our operations could also be harmed by the failure or inability of aircraft, engine and parts suppliers to provide sufficient spare parts or related support services on a timely basis, particularly in connection with new-generation introductory technology. Our business would be significantly harmed if a design defect or mechanical problem with any of the types of aircraft, engines or components currently on order or that we operate were discovered that would halt or delay our aircraft delivery stream or that would ground any of our aircraft while the defect or problem was corrected, assuming it could be corrected at all. Since the addition of A320neo aircraft in 2016, we havehad experienced introductory issues with the new-generation PW1100G-JM engines, designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, which hashad previously resulted in diminished service availability of such aircraft. After the introductory period of service availability of our A320neo aircraft, design changes have been made to the new generation PW1100G JM engines designed by Pratt & Whitney to address past service availability of this fleet type. We cannot be certain that new technical issues may be mitigated given the relatively short life these engines have been in service however, during the first five years of operations, the engine manufacturer has properly addressed issues affecting service availability. We continuously work with Pratt & Whitneythe engine manufacturer to secure support and relief in connection with possible engine related operation disruptions. Due in
Reduction in demand for air transportation, or governmental reduction or limitation of operating capacity, in the domestic U.S., Caribbean or Latin American markets could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A significant portion of our operations are conducted to and from the domestic U.S., Caribbean or Latin American markets. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed if we lost our authority to fly to these markets, by any circumstances causing a reduction in demand for air transportation, or by governmental reduction or limitation of operating capacity, in these markets, such as adverse changes in local economic or political conditions, negative public perception of these destinations, unfavorable weather conditions, public health concerns or terrorist relatedterrorist-related activities. Furthermore, our business could be harmed if jurisdictions that currently limit competition allow additional airlines to compete on routes we serve. Many of the countries we serve are experiencing either economic slowdowns or recessions, which may translate into a weakening of demand and could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Increases in insurance costs or significant reductions in coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We carry insurance for third-party liability, passenger liability, property damage and all-risk coverage for damage to our aircraft. As a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, aviation insurers significantly reduced the amount of insurance coverage available to commercial air carriers for liability to persons other than employees or passengers for claims resulting from acts of terrorism, war or similar events (war risk insurance). Accordingly, our insurance costs increased significantly and our ability to continue to obtain certain types of insurance remains uncertain. While the price of commercial insurance has
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declined since the period immediately after the terrorist attacks, in the event commercial insurance carriers further reduce the amount of insurance coverage available to us, or significantly increase its cost, we would be adversely affected. We currently maintain commercial airline insurance with several underwriters. However, there can be no assurance that the amount of such coverage will not be changed, or that we will not bear substantial losses from accidents. We could incur substantial claims resulting from an accident in excess of related insurance coverage that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Renewing coverage may result in higher premiums and more restrictive terms. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if we are unable to obtain adequate insurance.
Failure to comply with applicable environmental regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the protection of the environment, including those relating to emissions to the air, discharges to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water and the management of hazardous substances, oils and waste materials. Compliance with all environmental laws and regulations can require significant expenditures and any future regulatory developments in the United States and abroad could adversely affect operations and increase operating costs in the airline industry. For example, climate change legislation was previously introduced in Congress and such legislation could be re-introduced in the future by Congress and state legislatures, and could contain provisions affecting the aviation industry, compliance with which could result in the creation of substantial additional costs to us. Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule that regulates larger emitters of greenhouse gases. Future operations and financial results may vary as a result of such regulations. Compliance with these regulations and new or existing regulations that may be applicable to us in the future could increase our cost base and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
There is also an increasing international focus on climate change, carbon emissions and environmental regulation. The incoming principal deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs at the DOT spent the last 25 years working on international aviation climate change policy at Environmental Defense Fund. This may signal increased emphasis on new environmental regulation on commercial aviation.
Members of the International Civil Aviation Organization ("ICAO") have been negotiating a global agreement in greenhouse
gas emissions for the aviation industry. In October 2016, the ICAO adopted the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation ("CORSIA"), which is a global, market-based emissions offset program designed to encourage carbon-neutral growth beyond 2020. Further, in June 2018 the ICAO adopted standards pertaining to the collection and sharing of information in international aviation emissions beginning in 2019. We are a participant in the CORSIA program. The CORSIA will increase operating costs for Spirit and other U.S. airlines that operate internationally. The CORSIA is expected to bebeing implemented in phases beginning with information sharing beginninga voluntary pilot which began in 20192021 and phase I beginningwill continue through 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic has depressed international aviation such that 2020 emissions will not be included in 2021.setting a baseline. Airlines will have until January 2025 to cancel eligible emissions units to comply with their total offsetting requirements for the pilot phase. From 2021, all flights will be subject to offsetting with certain exceptions. Certain details are still being developed and the impact cannot be fully predicted. Compliance with CORSIA could significantly increase our operating costs beginning in 2020 and beyond.costs. The potential impact of CORSIA or other emissions-related requirements on our costs will ultimately depend on a number of factors, including baseline emissions, the price of emission allowances or offsets that we would need to acquire, the efficiency of our fleet and the number of flights subject to these requirements. These costs have not been completely defined and could fluctuate.
Governmental authorities in several U.S. and foreign cities are also considering or have already implemented aircraft noise reduction programs, including the imposition of nighttime curfews and limitations on daytime take-offs and landings. We have been able to accommodate local noise restrictions imposed to date, but our operations could be adversely affected if locally-imposed regulations become more restrictive or widespread.
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If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel or fail to maintain our company culture, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Our business is labor intensive. We require large numbers of pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and other personnel. The airline industry has from time to time experienced a shortage of qualified personnel, particularly with respect to pilots and maintenance technicians. In addition, we may face high employee turnover. We may be required to increase wages and/or benefits in order to attract and retain qualified personnel. If we are unable to hire, train and retain qualified employees, our operations and business could be harmed and we may be unable to implement our growth plans. In 2021, we experienced a shortage of qualified workers as the U.S. labor market tightened. As a result, our operation was negatively impacted and our labor costs have increased substantially, and we expect to continue to face labor shortages and higher costs in 2022. In addition, COVID-19-related absences have had an adverse effect on our operations, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
In addition, as we hire more people and grow, we believe it may be increasingly challenging to continue to hire people who will maintain our company culture. Our company culture, which we believe is one of our competitive strengths, is important to providing high-quality customer service and having a productive, accountable workforce that helps keep our costs low. As we continue to grow, we may be unable to identify, hire or retain enough people who meet the above criteria, including those in management or other key positions. Our company culture could otherwise be adversely affected by our growing operations and geographic diversity. If we fail to maintain the strength of our company culture, our competitive ability and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if we lose the services of our key personnel.
Our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management team and key financial and operating personnel. In particular, we depend on the services of our senior management team. Competition for highly qualified personnel is intense,intense. For example, the executive compensation limitations under the PSP, PSP2 and thePSP3 programs (valid through March 24, 2022, October 1, 2022 and April 1, 2023, respectively) may hinder our ability to retain our executive officers or other key employees. The loss of any executive officer senior manager, or other key employee without adequate replacement or the inability to attract new qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key-person life insurance on our management team.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also have incurred and will continue to incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related rules implemented or to be implemented by the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees, or as our executive officers and may divert management’s attention. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
Risks Related to assessOur Programs
The success of the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program depend on the success of the Company.
The Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program depend on our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basiscontinued success as a commercial airline and our management has identifiedcontinued performance under certain Free Spirit Agreements. The success or failure of our business will have a material weakness. Ifdirect impact the success and the value of the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program.
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Business decisions made by the Company, including with respect to ticket prices, routes, the location of hubs, cabin designs, safety procedures, any initiatives to retain customers and otherwise, could have an adverse impact on our remediationappeal to air travelers, which could negatively affect participation in the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program, damage our reputation or harm our relationships with the Free Spirit Partners. For instance, certain business decisions may negatively adjust the rate at which points are purchased by third parties under the terms of such material weakness is not effective, or we identify additional
The success of the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program may be harmed by decisions or actions of our common stock.partners that are beyond our control.
Covenant restrictions on the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program in our debt agreements will impose restrictions on our operations, and if we are not able to comply with such covenants, our creditors could accelerate our indebtedness or exercise other remedies.
The covenants in the indenture governing the Secured Notes contains a number of provisions that impose restrictions on the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program which, subject to certain exceptions, limit the ability of the Company to, among other things, amend the policies and procedures of the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program in a manner that would be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect, compete with the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM by establishing another mileage or loyalty program (subject to certain exceptions) and sell pre-paid miles in excess of $25.0 million annually and $125.0 million in the aggregate. The indenture contains additional restrictions on the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ ClubTM program, including the ability to terminate or modify certain licenses and certain material Free Spirit Agreements. The indenture also requires Spirit to maintain a minimum liquidity of at least $400.0 million on a daily basis. Such covenants are in addition to the other restrictions in the indenture, such as amended,restrictions on the ability of the issuers and guarantors of the Secured Notes to make restricted payments, incur additional indebtedness, enter into certain transactions with affiliates, create or incur certain liens on the collateral, merge, consolidate, or sell assets, sell, transfer or otherwise convey the collateral and designate certain subsidiaries as unrestricted.
Complying with these covenants and other restrictive covenants that may be contained in any future debt agreements will limit our managementability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of business opportunities that are in our long-term interest.
The failure to comply with any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default under the indenture governing the Secured Notes or any future debt agreement, which could lead to an acceleration of the debt under such instruments and, in some cases, the acceleration of debt under other instruments that contain cross-default or cross-acceleration provisions, each of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company. In the case of an event of default, or in the event of a cross-default or cross-acceleration, we may not have sufficient funds available to make the required payments under our debt agreements.
Risks Related to Our Leverage and Liquidity
We have a significant amount of aircraft-related fixed obligations and we have incurred, and may incur in the future, significant additional debt, that could impair our liquidity and thereby harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The airline business is requiredcapital intensive and, as a result, many airline companies are highly leveraged. As of December 31, 2021, we had $2,063.7 million in aircraft-related debt and $1,174.5 million of other long-term debt on our consolidated balance sheet. In 2021 and 2020, we made scheduled principal payments of $470.0 million and $254.3 million on our
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outstanding debt obligations, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we had future principal debt obligations of $3.2 billion, of which $193.0 million is due in 2022.
In 2021 and 2020, we paid the lessors rent of $252.2 million and $172.0 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we had future aircraft and spare engine operating lease obligations of approximately $2.7 billion.
In addition, we have significant obligations for aircraft and spare engines that we have ordered from Airbus, IAE, and Pratt & Whitney for delivery over the next several years.
Our ability to reportpay the fixed and other costs associated with our contractual obligations will depend on our operating performance, cash flow and our independent registered public accounting firm is requiredability to attest to,secure adequate financing, which will in turn depend on, among other things, the effectivenesssuccess of our internal control overcurrent business strategy, fuel price volatility, weakening or improvement in the U.S. economy, as well as general economic and political conditions and other factors that are beyond our control. The amount of our aircraft-related fixed obligations, our obligations under our other debt arrangements, and the related need to obtain financing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial reporting. The rules governingcondition and could:
•require a substantial portion of cash flow from operations for operating lease and maintenance deposit payments, and principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the standards that must be met for managementavailability of our cash flow to assessfund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes;
•limit our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation. Annually, we perform activities that include reviewing, documenting and testing our internal control over financial reporting. During the performance of these activities, we may encounter problems or delays in completing the implementation of any changes necessaryability to make required pre-delivery deposit payments, or PDPs, including those payable to our aircraft and engine manufacturers for our aircraft and spare engines on order;
•limit our ability to obtain additional financing to support our expansion plans and for working capital and other purposes on acceptable terms or at all;
•make it more difficult for us to pay our other obligations as they become due during adverse general economic and market industry conditions because any related decrease in revenues could cause us to have insufficient cash flows from operations to make our scheduled payments;
•reduce our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the airline industry and, consequently, place us at a favorable assessmentcompetitive disadvantage to our competitors with fewer fixed payment obligations or which are subject to fewer limitations or restrictions; and
•cause us to lose access to one or more aircraft and forfeit our rent deposits if we are unable to make our required aircraft lease rental and debt payments and our lessors or lenders exercise their remedies under the lease and debt agreements, including cross default provisions in certain of our internal control over financial reporting. In connection withleases and mortgages.
A failure to pay our operating lease, debt and other fixed cost obligations or a breach of our contractual obligations could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including the attestation processexercise of remedies by our independent registered public accounting firm,creditors and lessors. In such a situation, it is unlikely that we may encounter problems or delays in completing the implementation of any requested improvements and receiving a favorable attestation. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting we will notwould be able to concludecure our breach, fulfill our obligations, make required lease or debt payments or otherwise cover our fixed costs, which would have a material adverse effect on an ongoing basisour business, results of operations and financial condition.
Despite our current indebtedness levels, we may incur additional indebtedness in the future, which could further increase the risks associated with our leverage.
We may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness, including additional secured indebtedness, in the future. Our debt agreements do not prohibit us from incurring additional unsecured indebtedness or certain secured indebtedness. If other such indebtedness is incurred in the future, our debt service obligations will increase. The more leveraged we become, the more we will be exposed to the risks created by our current substantial indebtedness.
Our ability to incur secured indebtedness is subject to compliance with certain covenants in the indenture governing the Secured Notes and, in certain circumstances, the liens securing such additional indebtedness will be permitted to be pari passu with the liens securing the Secured Notes.
To the extent that the terms of our current or future debt agreements would prevent us from incurring additional indebtedness, we may be able to obtain amendments to those agreements that would allow us to incur such additional indebtedness, and such additional indebtedness could be material.
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For additional information, refer to “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—14. Debt and Other Obligations and 11. Common Stock and Preferred Stock.”
We are highly dependent upon our cash balances and operating cash flows.
As of December 31, 2021, we have effective internal control over financial reportinga revolving credit facility, maturing in accordance with Section 404. If we fail2024, for up to achieve$240.0 million which was undrawn and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could harm our operating results and lead to a decline in our stock price. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased riskavailable as of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, regulatory investigations, civil or criminal sanctions and class action litigation.
Operations” and “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—14. Debt and Other Obligations.” This credit facility is not adequate to finance our operations, and we will continue to be dependent on our operating cash flows and cash balances to fund our operations and to make scheduled payments on our aircraft-related fixed obligations. In addition, we have sought, and may continue to seek, financing from other available sources to fund our operations in order to remediatemitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our financial position and operations, including through the payroll support program or loan program with the Treasury and offerings of our common stock, Secured Notes and Convertible Notes. For additional information, refer to “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—14. Debt and Other Obligations and 11. Common Stock and Preferred Stock.” In addition, our credit card processors are entitled to withhold receipts from customer purchases from us, under certain circumstances. Although our credit card processors currently do not have a right to hold back credit card receipts to cover repayment to customers, if we fail to maintain certain liquidity and other financial covenants, their rights to holdback would be reinstated, which would result in a reduction of unrestricted cash that could be material. In addition, we are required by some of our aircraft lessors to fund reserves in cash in advance for scheduled maintenance, and a portion of our cash is therefore unavailable until after we have completed the scheduled maintenance in accordance with the terms of the operating leases. If we fail to generate sufficient funds from operations to meet our operating cash requirements or do not obtain a line of credit, other borrowing facility or equity financing, we could default on our operating lease and fixed obligations. Our inability to meet our obligations as they become due would have a material weakness, adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our net operating losses may be limited for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
If a corporation with net operating losses (“NOLs”) undergoes an “ownership change” within the meaning of Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), then such corporation’s use of such “pre-change” NOLs to improve our overall processes and controls. Remediation activities include, butoffset income incurred following such ownership change generally will be subject to an annual limitation specified in Section 382 of the Code. Such limitation also may apply to certain losses or deductions that are not limited“built-in” (i.e., attributable to periods prior to the following:
Risks Related to Our Securities
The issuance or sale of shares of our common stock, or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, or warrants issued to the Treasury under the PSP, PSP2 or PSP3, could depress the trading price of our common stock and Convertible Notes.
We may contain material misstatementsconduct future offerings of our common stock, preferred stock or omissions.other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our common stock to finance our operations or fund acquisitions, or for other purposes. In connection with our participation in the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3, we issued to the Treasury 739,089 warrants which may be exercised for shares of our common stock in consideration for the receipt of funding from the Treasury. See “—We have agreed to certain restrictions on our business by accepting financing under the legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Additionally, in 2020 we issued 9,000,000 shares pursuant to our ATM Program and in 2021 we completed the registered direct placement of 10,594,073 shares of our voting common stock. Further, we reserve shares of our common stock for future issuance under our equity incentive plans, which shares are eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various agreements and, to the extent held by affiliates, the volume and manner of sale restrictions of Rule 144. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, into the public market, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. The indenture for the 4.750% convertible senior notes due 2025 (the “2025 Convertible Notes”) and
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the 1.00% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Convertible Notes”, and together with the 2025 Convertible Notes, the “Convertible Notes”) does not restrict our ability to issue additional equity securities in the future. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, if any of our existing stockholders sells a substantial amount of our common stock, or if the market perceives that such issuances or sales may occur, then the trading price of our common stock, and, accordingly, the Convertible Notes, may significantly decline. In addition, any issuance of additional shares of common stock will dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders, including holders of our Convertible Notes who have received shares of our common stock upon conversion of their Convertible Notes.
Conversion of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders, including holders of the Convertible Notes who have previously converted their Convertible Notes
At our election, we may settle Convertible Notes tendered for conversion partly or, in the case of the 2025 Convertible Notes, entirely, in shares of our common stock. As a result, the conversion of some or all of the Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion of the Convertible Notes could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock and, in turn, the price of the Convertible Notes. In addition, the existence of the Convertible Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of the Convertible Notes could depress the price of our common stock.
Provisions in the indenture governing the Convertible Notes could delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover of us.
Certain provisions in the Convertible Notes and the indenture governing the Convertible Notes could make the Merger or another third party attempt to acquire us more difficult or expensive. For example, if a takeover, including the Merger, constitutes a fundamental change, then holders of the Convertible Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase their notes for cash. In addition, if a takeover, including the Merger, constitutes a make-whole fundamental change, then we may be required to temporarily increase the conversion rate. In either case, and in other cases, our obligations under the Convertible Notes and the indenture governing the Convertible Notes could increase the cost of the Merger or acquiring us or otherwise discourage a third party from acquiring us or removing incumbent management, including in a transaction that holders of the Convertible Notes or holders of our common stock may view as favorable.
The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could cause the value of an investment in our stock to decline.
The market price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
•the severity, extent and duration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and credit ratings, as well as on the travel industry and consumer spending more broadly, the actions taken to reduce the spread of the virus, the effectiveness of our cost reduction and liquidity preservation measures, and the speed and extent of the recovery across the broader travel industry;
•announcements concerning our competitors, the airline industry or the economy in general;
•strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;
•increased price competition;
•media reports and publications about the safety of our aircraft or the aircraft type we operate;
•new regulatory pronouncements and changes in regulatory guidelines;
•changes in the price of aircraft fuel;
•announcements concerning the availability of the type of aircraft we use;
•general and industry-specific economic conditions;
•changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts or failure to meet analysts’ performance expectations;
•sales of our common stock or other actions by investors with significant shareholdings;
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•trading strategies related to changes in fuel or oil prices; and
•general market, political and economic conditions.conditions, including as a result of the efficacy of, ability to administer and extent of adoption of any COVID-19 vaccines domestically and globally.
The stock markets in general have experienced substantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These types of broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
In the past, stockholders have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. Any similar litigation against us could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources and harm our business or results of operations.
We may be unable to purchase the Secured Notes or the Convertible Notes upon the occurrence of an applicable change of control or other event.
Upon the occurrence of a Parent Change of Control, as defined in the indenture governing the Secured Notes, the issuers of the Secured Notes would be required to offer to purchase such notes for cash at a price equal to 101% of their aggregate principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the repurchase date. Additionally, holders of the Convertible Notes may require us to repurchase their notes following a fundamental change, as defined in the indenture governing the Convertible Notes, at a cash repurchase price generally equal to the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. In addition, upon conversion, we will satisfy part or all of our conversion obligation in cash unless we elect to settle conversions solely in shares of our common stock.
Applicable law, regulatory authorities and the agreements governing our other indebtedness may restrict our ability to repurchase the Secured Notes or Convertible Notes or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion of the Convertible Notes. Moreover, the exercise by holders of the Secured Notes or Convertible Notes of the right to require the issuers to repurchase their respective notes, or the failure to repurchase such notes, could cause a default under our other debt, even if the event itself does not result in a default under such debt, due to the financial effect of such repurchase. In addition, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to repurchase the Convertible Notes or the Secured Notes, or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion of the Convertible Notes. Therefore, we cannot assure you that sufficient funds will be available when necessary to make any required repurchases.
In addition, the indenture governing the Secured Notes sets forth certain Mandatory Prepayment Events, as defined in the indenture governing the Secured Notes. Upon the occurrence of any such Mandatory Prepayment Event, we would be required to prepay the Secured Notes pro rata to the extent of any net cash proceeds received in connection with such event, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed plus an applicable premium and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, thereon to, but excluding, the prepayment date. Our failure to complete any such mandatory prepayment would result in a default under the indenture governing the Secured Notes. Such a default may, in turn, constitute a default under any other of our debt agreements that may then be outstanding.
Finally, the indenture governing the Secured Notes sets forth certain Mandatory Repurchase Offer Events, as defined in the indenture governing the Secured Notes. Upon the occurrence of any such Mandatory Repurchase Offer Event, we would be required to offer to repurchase the Secured Notes pro rata to the extent of any net cash proceeds received in connection with such event, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount to be repurchased plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to, but excluding, the repurchase date. Our failure to discharge this obligation would result in a default under the indenture governing the Secured Notes. Such a default may, in turn, constitute a default under other of our debt agreements that may then be outstanding.
The indenture governing the Secured Notes impose certain restrictions which may adversely affect our business and liquidity.
The indenture governing the Secured Notes imposes certain restrictions on the issuers of the Secured Notes and certain guarantors. These restrictions limit their ability to, among other things: (i) make restricted payments, (ii) incur additional indebtedness, (iii) create certain liens on the collateral, (iv) sell or otherwise dispose of the collateral and (v) consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the issuers’ assets, among other restrictions. As a result of these restrictions, we may be limited in how we conduct our business, in our ability to compete effectively or in our ability to implement changes or take advantage of business opportunities—including by making strategic acquisitions, investments or
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alliances, restructuring our organization or financing capital needs—that would be in our interest. We may also be unable to raise additional indebtedness or equity financing to operate during general economic or business downturns.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.
Our anti-takeover provisions may delay or prevent a change of control, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make it difficult to remove our board of directors and management and may discourage or delay “change of control” transactions, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock. These provisions include, among others:
•our board of directors is divided into three classes, with each class serving for a staggered three-year term, which prevents stockholders from electing an entirely new board of directors at an annual meeting;
•actions to be taken by our stockholders may only be effected at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders and not by written consent;
•special meetings of our stockholders can be called only by the Chairman of the Board or by our corporate secretary at the direction of our board of directors; and
•advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors and propose matters to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company; and
Our corporate charter and bylaws include provisions limiting voting by non-U.S. citizens and specifying an exclusive forum for stockholder disputes.
To comply with restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws restrict voting of shares of our common stock by non-U.S. citizens. The restrictions imposed by federal law currently require that no more than 25% of our stock be voted, directly or indirectly, by persons who are not U.S. citizens, and that our president and at least two-thirds of the members of our board of directors and senior management be U.S. citizens. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the failure of non-U.S. citizens to register their shares on a separate stock record, which we refer to as the “foreign stock record,” would result in a suspension of their voting rights in the event that the aggregate foreign ownership of the outstanding common stock exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law.
Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that no shares of our common stock will be registered on the foreign stock record if the amount so registered would exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. If it is determined that the amount registered in the foreign stock record exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law, shares will be removed from the foreign stock record in reverse chronological order based on the date of registration therein, until the number of shares registered therein does not exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we believe we were in compliance with the foreign ownership rules.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, there are no shares of non-voting common stock outstanding. When shares of non-voting common stock are outstanding, the holders of such stock may convert such shares, on a share-for-share basis, in the order reflected on our foreign stock record as shares of common stock are sold or otherwise transferred by non-U.S. citizens to U.S. citizens.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also specifies that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders. Because the applicability of the exclusive forum provision is limited to the extent permitted by applicable law, we do not intend for the exclusive forum provision to apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction, and acknowledge that federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over all suits
43
brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce the provision as it applies to the Securities Act and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. This provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
We do not intend to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to finance the further development and expansion of our business and fund share repurchases under programs approved by our Board of Directors. We do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. As described herein, our Board of Directors is prohibited from declaring dividends until September 30, 2022, pursuant to the terms of our participation in the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3. Additionally, the Merger Agreement restricts us from declaring or paying dividends without Frontier's consent until the Merger is completed or the Merger Agreement is terminated. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in current or future financing instruments, business prospects and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant. The timing of any share repurchases under share repurchase programs will depend upon market conditions, our capital allocation strategy and other factors.
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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Aircraft
As of December 31, 2019,2021, we operated a fleet of 145173 aircraft as detailed in the following table:
| Aircraft Type | Seats | Average Age (years) | Number of Aircraft | Number Owned (1) | Number Leased | ||||||||||||
| A319 | 145 | 15.3 | 31 | 29 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A320ceo | 182 | 7.2 | 64 | 36 | 28 | ||||||||||||
| A320neo | 182 | 1.9 | 48 | 11 | 37 | ||||||||||||
| A321 | 228 | 5.0 | 30 | 30 | — | ||||||||||||
| 6.8 | 173 | 106 | 67 | ||||||||||||||
| Aircraft Type | Seats | Average Age (years) | Number of Aircraft | Number Owned | Number Leased |
| A319 | 145 | 13.3 | 31 | 23 | 8 |
| A320ceo | 174 - 182 | 5.2 | 64 | 36 | 28 |
| A320neo | 182 | 1.2 | 20 | 2 | 18 |
| A321 | 228 | 3.0 | 30 | 30 | — |
| 5.9 | 145 | 91 | 54 | ||
On December 20, 2019, we entered into an A320 NEO Family Purchase Agreement with Airbus for the purchase of 100 new Airbus A320neo family aircraft, with options to purchase up to 50 additional aircraft. This agreement includes a mix of Airbus A319, A320A319neo, A320neo and A321A321neo aircraft with such aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2027. As of December 31, 2019,2021, our firm aircraft orders consisted of 135120 A320 family aircraft with Airbus, including A319neos, A320neos and A321neos, withwith deliveries expected through 2027. As of December 31, 2021, we had secured financing for 17 aircraft, scheduled for delivery from Airbus through 2022, which will be financed through sale leaseback transactions. In addition, we had 12 had 36 direct operating leases for A320neos and A321neos with third-party lessors, with deliveries expected through 2021. We also have onethrough 2024.During the third quarter of 2021, we entered into an Engine Purchase Support Agreement which requires us to purchase a certain number of spare engineengines in order forto maintain a V2500 SelectTwo engine with IAE and fourcontractual ratio of spare engine orders for PurePower PW 1100G-JMengines to aircraft in the fleet. As of December 31, 2021, we were committed to purchase 16 PW1100G-JM spare engines, with Pratt & Whitney. Spare engines are scheduled for delivery from 2020deliveries through 2023.2027.
Ground Facilities
We lease all of our facilities at each of the airports we serve, with the exception of our aircraft maintenance hangar in Detroit, which we own and operate on leased land. Our leases for terminal passenger service facilities, which include ticket counter and gate space, operations support areas and baggage service offices, generally have a term ranging from month-to-month to 1624 years, and contain provisions for periodic adjustments of lease rates. We also are responsible for maintenance, insurance and other facility-related expenses and services. We also have entered into use agreements at the airports we serve that provide for the non-exclusive use of runways, taxiways and other airfield facilities. Landing fees paid under these agreements are based on the number of landings and weight of the aircraft.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL) remained our single largest airport served, with approximately 12%29% of our capacity operating from FLL during 2019.2021. We operate primarily out of TerminalTerminals 3 & 4 at FLL. We currently use up to tenthirteen gates simultaneously at Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. We have preferential access to six of the Terminal 4 gates, preferential access to four of the Terminal 3 gates, common use access to the remaining four airport controlled Terminal 4 gates, and common use access to the remainingone airport controlled Terminal 3 gates.gate. Other airports through which we conduct significant operations include Orlando International Airport (MCO), McCarran International Airport (LAS), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Baltimore/WashingtonLos Angeles International Airport (BWI)(LAX), and Chicago O'HareHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ORD).(ATL) as well as Miami International Airport (MIA) beginning in late 2021.
Our largest maintenance facility is a hangar currently located at DTW. This hangar is owned and operated on leased land. The lease with the airport authority expires in September 2032. We also conduct additional maintenance operations in leased facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Fort Myers, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Latrobe, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Tampa, Florida.
Our principal executive offices and headquarters are located in a leased facility at 2800 Executive Way, Miramar, Florida 33025, consisting of approximately 56,000 square feet. The lease for this facility expires in January 2025. In January 2014, we expanded our principal executive offices and headquarters by leasing an additional facility located at 2844 Corporate Way,
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Miramar, Florida 33025, consisting of approximately 15,000 square feet. The lease for this facility expires in January 2025. In March 2018, we added approximately 26,000 square feet of office space at 2877-2899 N Commerce Parkway, Miramar, FL 33025 to further support the corporate headquarters. TheIn July 2019, the lease on this space was extended on substantially the same terms and expires on June 30, 2021. February 28, 2023. In September 2021, the lease on this space was extended an additional year on substantially the same terms and expires on February 29, 2024.
the lease agreement, we are also expected to build a 200-unit residential building. Construction of the headquarters campus is expected to commence mid-year 2020 and be completed in approximately two years.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are subject to commercial litigation claims and to administrative and regulatory proceedings and reviews that may be asserted or maintained from time to time. We believe the ultimate outcome of pending lawsuits, proceedings and reviews will not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity, or results of operations.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol "SAVE." The following table shows, for the periods indicated, the high and low closing per share sales prices for our common stock.
| High | Low | ||||||
| Fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 | |||||||
| First Quarter | $ | 48.26 | $ | 36.99 | |||
| Second Quarter | 39.61 | 34.98 | |||||
| Third Quarter | 49.27 | 36.13 | |||||
| Fourth Quarter | 64.59 | 43.83 | |||||
| Fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 | |||||||
| First Quarter | $ | 63.06 | $ | 51.55 | |||
| Second Quarter | 58.30 | 45.95 | |||||
| Third Quarter | 55.05 | 36.03 | |||||
| Fourth Quarter | 41.37 | 33.10 | |||||
As of January 28, 2020,2022, there were approximately 8570 holders of record of our common stock. Because many of our shares are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by the holders.
The information under the caption “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in our 20202022 Proxy Statement is incorporated herein by reference.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid, and do not anticipate declaring or paying, any cash dividends on our common stock. Any future determination as to the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then existing conditions, including our financial condition, operating results, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.
Our Repurchases of Equity Securities
The following table reflects our repurchases of our common stock during the fourth quarter of 2019.2021. Repurchases of equity securities during the period include repurchases made from employees who received restricted stock. All employee stock repurchases were made at the election of each employee pursuant to an offer to repurchase by us. In each case, the shares repurchased constituted the portion of vested shares necessary to satisfy tax withholding requirements.
| ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES | ||||||||||||||
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under Plans or Programs | ||||||||||
| October 1-31, 2019 | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| November 1-30, 2019 | 2,004 | 39.39 | — | — | ||||||||||
| December 1-31, 2019 | 114 | 38.48 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Total | 2,118 | $ | 39.34 | — | ||||||||||
| ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under Plans or Programs | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 1-31, 2021 | 640 | $ | 24.41 | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| November 1-30, 2021 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 1-31, 2021 | 6,932 | 21.31 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 7,572 | $ | 21.58 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
During the first three quarters of 2019,2021, we repurchased 8947 thousand shares for a total of $5.4$1.4 million. Repurchases of equity securities during this period include repurchases made from employees who received restricted stock awards or performance share awards.
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Stock Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return on the NASDAQ Compositethe NYSE ARCA Airline Index and the NYSE ARCA AirlineS&P 500 Index for the period beginning on December 31, 20142016 and ending on December 31, 2019.2021. The graph assumes an investment of $100 in our stock and the twothree indices, respectively, on December 31, 2014,2016, and further assumes the reinvestment of all dividends. Stock price performance, presented for the period from December 31, 20142016 to December 31, 2019,2021, is not necessarily indicative of future results.
| 12/31/2016 | 12/31/2017 | 12/31/2018 | 12/31/2019 | 12/31/2020 | 12/31/2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Spirit | $ | 100.00 | $ | 77.51 | $ | 100.10 | $ | 69.67 | $ | 42.26 | $ | 37.76 | ||||||||
| NYSE ARCA Airline Index | $ | 100.00 | $ | 106.18 | $ | 83.46 | $ | 102.43 | $ | 77.61 | $ | 76.26 | ||||||||
| S&P 500 Index | $ | 100.00 | $ | 121.82 | $ | 116.47 | $ | 153.13 | $ | 181.29 | $ | 233.28 | ||||||||
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| 12/31/2014 | 12/31/2015 | 12/31/2016 | 12/31/2017 | 12/31/2018 | 12/31/2019 | |||||||||||||
| Spirit | $ | 100.00 | $ | 52.73 | $ | 76.55 | $ | 59.34 | $ | 76.63 | $ | 53.33 | ||||||
| NYSE ARCA Airline Index | $ | 100.00 | $ | 84.74 | $ | 108.90 | $ | 115.64 | $ | 90.89 | $ | 111.56 | ||||||
| NASDAQ Composite Index | $ | 100.00 | $ | 107.11 | $ | 116.72 | $ | 151.41 | $ | 147.16 | $ | 201.22 | ||||||
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
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| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except share and per-share data) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Operating revenues: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Passenger (1) | $ | 3,757,605 | $ | 3,260,015 | $ | 2,572,887 | $ | 2,257,801 | $ | 1,169,338 | |||||||||
| Other (1) | 72,931 | 63,019 | 70,665 | 62,220 | 972,125 | ||||||||||||||
| Total operating revenue | 3,830,536 | 3,323,034 | 2,643,552 | 2,320,021 | 2,141,463 | ||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Aircraft fuel (2) | 993,478 | 939,324 | 615,581 | 447,553 | 461,447 | ||||||||||||||
| Salaries, wages and benefits | 865,019 | 719,635 | 527,959 | 472,471 | 377,508 | ||||||||||||||
| Landing fees and other rents | 256,275 | 214,677 | 180,655 | 151,679 | 131,077 | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 225,264 | 176,727 | 140,152 | 101,136 | 73,908 | ||||||||||||||
| Aircraft rent | 182,609 | 177,641 | 205,852 | 201,675 | 211,531 | ||||||||||||||
| Distribution | 153,770 | 137,001 | 113,472 | 96,895 | 86,576 | ||||||||||||||
| Maintenance, materials and repairs | 143,575 | 129,078 | 110,439 | 98,587 | 80,448 | ||||||||||||||
| Loss on disposal of assets | 17,350 | 9,580 | 4,168 | 4,187 | 1,604 | ||||||||||||||
| Special charges (3) | 717 | 88,921 | 12,629 | 37,189 | 673 | ||||||||||||||
| Other operating | 491,432 | 379,536 | 347,820 | 267,191 | 207,569 | ||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 3,329,489 | 2,972,120 | 2,258,727 | 1,878,563 | 1,632,341 | ||||||||||||||
| Operating income | 501,047 | 350,914 | 384,825 | 441,458 | 509,122 | ||||||||||||||
| Other (income) expense: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense (4) | 101,350 | 83,777 | 57,302 | 41,654 | 20,382 | ||||||||||||||
| Capitalized interest (5) | (12,471 | ) | (9,841 | ) | (13,793 | ) | (12,705 | ) | (11,553 | ) | |||||||||
| Interest income | (25,133 | ) | (19,107 | ) | (8,736 | ) | (5,276 | ) | (2,125 | ) | |||||||||
| Other expense | 875 | 752 | 366 | 528 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| Special charges, non-operating (6) | — | 90,357 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Total other expense (income) | 64,621 | 145,938 | 35,139 | 24,201 | 6,719 | ||||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 436,426 | 204,976 | 349,686 | 417,257 | 502,403 | ||||||||||||||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes (7) | 101,171 | 49,227 | (65,836 | ) | 153,774 | 185,183 | |||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 335,255 | $ | 155,749 | $ | 415,522 | $ | 263,483 | $ | 317,220 | |||||||||
| Earnings Per Share: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 4.90 | $ | 2.28 | $ | 6.00 | $ | 3.75 | $ | 4.39 | |||||||||
| Diluted | $ | 4.89 | $ | 2.28 | $ | 5.99 | $ | 3.74 | $ | 4.38 | |||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 68,428,528 | 68,248,931 | 69,220,750 | 70,343,935 | 72,207,725 | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted | 68,558,629 | 68,430,832 | 69,376,930 | 70,507,596 | 72,426,060 | ||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Into-plane fuel cost | $ | 993,478 | $ | 939,324 | $ | 615,581 | $ | 447,533 | $ | 454,747 | |||||||||
| Realized losses (gains) related to fuel derivatives contracts, net | — | — | — | — | 10,580 | ||||||||||||||
| Unrealized losses (gains) related to fuel derivative contracts, net | — | — | — | — | (3,880 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Aircraft fuel expense | $ | 993,478 | $ | 939,324 | $ | 615,581 | $ | 447,533 | $ | 461,447 | |||||||||
| As of December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| Balance Sheet Data: | (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 978,957 | $ | 1,004,733 | $ | 800,849 | $ | 700,900 | $ | 803,632 | |||||||||
| Short-term investment securities | 105,321 | 102,789 | 100,937 | 100,155 | — | ||||||||||||||
| Total assets (8) (9) (10) | 7,043,412 | 5,165,457 | 4,145,800 | 3,153,629 | 2,530,545 | ||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt and finance leases, including current portion | 2,219,305 | 2,188,331 | 1,502,928 | 981,713 | 646,330 | ||||||||||||||
| Shareholders' equity (9) | 2,261,332 | 1,928,504 | 1,762,574 | 1,385,184 | 1,225,310 | ||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | ||||||||||
| Operating Statistics (unaudited) (A) | ||||||||||||||
| Average aircraft | 135.2 | 118.9 | 103.6 | 86.2 | 72.7 | |||||||||
| Aircraft at end of period | 145 | 128 | 112 | 95 | 79 | |||||||||
| Average daily aircraft utilization (hours) | 12.3 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 12.4 | 12.7 | |||||||||
| Average stage length (miles) | 1,002 | 1,032 | 999 | 979 | 987 | |||||||||
| Block hours | 607,055 | 526,343 | 438,728 | 389,914 | 337,956 | |||||||||
| Departures | 227,041 | 192,845 | 165,449 | 149,514 | 128,902 | |||||||||
| Passenger flight segments (thousands) | 34,537 | 29,312 | 24,183 | 21,618 | 17,921 | |||||||||
| Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (thousands) | 35,245,285 | 30,623,379 | 24,605,512 | 21,581,611 | 17,995,311 | |||||||||
| Available seat miles (ASMs) (thousands) | 41,783,001 | 36,502,982 | 29,592,819 | 25,494,645 | 21,246,156 | |||||||||
| Load factor (%) | 84.4 | 83.9 | 83.1 | 84.7 | 84.7 | |||||||||
| Fare revenue per passenger flight segment ($) | 54.63 | 58.14 | 56.38 | 55.42 | 65.25 | |||||||||
| Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment ($) | 56.28 | 55.23 | 52.94 | 51.90 | 54.24 | |||||||||
| Total revenue per passenger segment ($) | 110.91 | 113.37 | 109.32 | 107.32 | 119.49 | |||||||||
| Average yield (cents) | 10.87 | 10.85 | 10.74 | 10.75 | 11.90 | |||||||||
| Total operating revenue per ASM (TRASM) (cents) | 9.17 | 9.10 | 8.93 | 9.10 | 10.08 | |||||||||
| CASM (cents) | 7.97 | 8.14 | 7.63 | 7.37 | 7.68 | |||||||||
| Adjusted CASM (cents) (B) | 7.93 | 7.87 | 7.59 | 7.21 | 7.69 | |||||||||
| Adjusted CASM ex fuel (cents) (C) | 5.55 | 5.30 | 5.51 | 5.45 | 5.50 | |||||||||
| Fuel gallons consumed (thousands) | 470,939 | 412,256 | 343,709 | 302,781 | 255,008 | |||||||||
| Average fuel cost per gallon ($) | 2.11 | 2.28 | 1.79 | 1.48 | 1.81 | |||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | Per ASM | (in millions) | Per ASM | (in millions) | Per ASM | (in millions) | Per ASM | (in millions) | Per ASM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CASM (cents) | 7.97 | 8.14 | 7.63 | 7.37 | 7.68 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Less: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized losses (gains) related to fuel derivative contracts | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | — | $ | (3.9 | ) | (0.02 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss on disposal of assets | 17.4 | 0.04 | 9.6 | 0.03 | 4.2 | 0.01 | 4.2 | 0.02 | 1.6 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Special charges | 0.7 | — | 88.9 | 0.24 | 12.6 | 0.04 | 37.2 | 0.15 | 0.7 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supplemental rent adjustments related to lease modifications | (0.5 | ) | — | — | — | (4.1 | ) | (0.01 | ) | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted CASM (cents) | 7.93 | 7.87 | 7.59 | 7.21 | 7.69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this annual report. Our discussion and analysis of fiscal year 20192021 compared to fiscal year 20182020 is included herein. Unless expressly stated otherwise, for discussion and analysis of fiscal year 20172019 items and fiscal year 20182020 compared to fiscal year 2017,2019, please refer to Item 7 of Part II, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018,2020, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on February 13, 201910, 2021 and is incorporated herein by reference.
We evaluate our financial performance utilizing various accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted CASM and Adjusted CASM ex-fuel. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial information presented in this annual report that is calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and these non-GAAP financial measures are presented because management believes that they supplement or enhance management’s, analysts’ and investors’ overall understanding of our underlying financial performance and trends and facilitate comparisons among current, past and future periods.
Operating expenses per available seat mile (“CASM”) is a common metric used in the airline industry to measure an airline’s cost structure and efficiency. We exclude loss on disposal of assets, special charges (credits), federal excise tax recovery adjustments and accelerated depreciation to determine Adjusted CASM. We believe that also excluding aircraft fuel and related taxes ("Adjusted CASM ex-fuel") from certain measures is useful to investors because it provides an additional measure of management’s performance excluding the effects of a significant cost item over which management has limited influence and increases comparability with other airlines that also provide a similar metric. In prior periods, we excluded supplemental rent adjustments related to the modification of aircraft or engine leases from Adjusted CASM and Adjusted CASM ex-fuel. However, we no longer exclude supplemental rent adjustments from our non-GAAP measures. Therefore, 2021 and 2020 non-GAAP measures have been revised to reflect this change and no longer exclude previously reported supplemental rent adjustments.
2021 Year in Review
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced sharp declines in passenger demand and bookings beginning in March 2020 that lasted throughout 2020, and to a lesser extent throughout 2021. Since its initial onset in early 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any of its variants, has evolved and continues to be fluid. While air travel demand improved during 2021, as compared to the majority of 2020, we still experienced weakened passenger demand and bookings as compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, as the current year has progressed and as described below, we have seen some improvement in our business.
Load factor for 2021 was 78.8% as compared to 69.7% in the prior year. We experienced an increase in capacity of 47.0%, period over period, as air travel demand continued to increase compared to prior year. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, our financial and operational outlook remains subject to change. We continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on our operations and financial condition, and to adjust our mitigation and operational strategies.
Impact on the Operations
Beginning in March 2020, we began to experience significant fluctuations in demand due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we currently estimate that air travel demand will continue to fluctuate in the upcoming months as the effects
50
of COVID-19 continue to develop, we expect that air travel demand will continue to recover in 2022.However, the situation continues to be fluid and actual capacity adjustments may be different than what we currently expect.
The year 2019 marksCOVID-19 pandemic and its effects continue to evolve, with developments including:
•Fluctuations in the rate of infections;
•Infections from the identified Delta and Omicron variants;
•The emergency use authorization issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 vaccines;
•Increases in the availability of COVID-19 vaccines resulting in expanded eligibility to more groups of people to receive the vaccine;
•The approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for persons aged 5 years and over;
•The requirement, effective November 8, 2021, that all inbound international travelers, that are not U.S. citizens and not an immigrant (not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or traveling to the United States on an immigrant visa) provide evidence of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19; and
•The requirement, effective December 6, 2021, that all inbound international travelers (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) provide a negative COVID-19 test no more than one day before traveling by air into the United States.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced his Path Out of the Pandemic plan, which includes mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for certain employees in the private sector, the federal government, and health care settings. For private employers with 100 or more employees, President Biden's plan directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing of all employees, absent disability or religious accommodations. The attorneys general of several states filed lawsuits challenging the ETS. On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its vaccine or test requirements for employers with 100 employees or more, however, each state may institute vaccination or testing requirements. We will continue to monitor the developments as it relates to this mandate.
COVID-19 Legislation
On April 20, 2020, we entered into a PSP Agreement with the United States Department of the Treasury ("Treasury"), pursuant to which we received a total of $344.4 million, used exclusively to pay for salaries, wages and benefits for our thirteenth consecutive yearTeam Members through September 30, 2020. Of that amount, $73.3 million is in the form of profitability.a low-interest 10-year loan. In 2019,addition, in connection with our participation in the PSP, we issued to the Treasury warrants pursuant to a warrant agreement to purchase up to 520,797 shares of our common stock at a strike price of $14.08 per share (the closing price for the shares of our common stock on April 9, 2020) with a fair value of $3.9 million. We registered the resale of the warrants pursuant to the warrant agreement with the Treasury in September and October 2020. The remaining amount of $267.2 million, net of related costs, is in the form of a grant and was recognized in special credits in our consolidated statement of operations in 2020.
On December 27, 2020, the PSP2 was signed into law which extended the PSP portion of the CARES Act through March 31, 2021 and provided an additional $15 billion to fund the PSP2 for employees of passenger air carriers. We entered into the PSP2 payroll support program agreement with the Treasury on January 15, 2021. During the first and second quarters of 2021, We received a total of $212.1 million through the PSP2, used exclusively to pay for salaries, wages and benefits for our Team Members through March 31, 2021.
In addition, the ARP, enacted on March 11, 2021, authorized the Treasury to provide additional assistance through the PSP3. Under the ARP, Treasury provided approximately $14 billion to fund the PSP3 for employees of passenger air carriers. We entered into the PSP3 payroll support program agreement with the Treasury on April 29, 2021. During the second quarter of 2021, we received a total of $197.9 million through the PSP3, to be used exclusively to pay for salaries, wages and benefits for our Team Members through September 30, 2021.
Of the amounts received in 2021 mentioned above, $63.0 million is in the form of a low-interest 10-year loan. In addition, in connection with our participation in the PSP2 and PSP3, we issued to the Treasury warrants pursuant to a warrant agreement to purchase up to 137,753 shares and 80,539 shares of our common stock at a strike price of $24.42 per share (the closing price
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for the shares of our common stock on December 24, 2020) and $36.45 (the closing price for the shares of our common stock on March 10, 2021) with fair values of $2.8 million and $1.5 million, respectively. We registered the resale of the warrants pursuant to the warrant agreement with the Treasury in May 2021 and June 2021, respectively. The remaining amount of $342.7 million is in the form of a grant and was recognized in special credits in our consolidated statement of operations in 2021. Total warrants issued in connection with the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3 represent less than 1% of the outstanding shares of our common stock as of December 31, 2021.
In connection with our participation in the PSP2 and PSP3, we are subject to certain restrictions and limitations, including, but not limited to:
•Restrictions on payment of dividends and stock buybacks through September 30, 2022;
•Limits on executive compensation through April 1, 2023;
•Restrictions from conducting involuntary furloughs or reducing pay rates and benefits until September 30, 2021, or the date on which all PSP funding has been expended;
•Requirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled services through March 1, 2022; and
•Reporting requirements.
The CARES Act also provided an employee retention credit (“CARES Employee Retention credit”) which was a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. We qualified for the credit beginning on April 1, 2020 and received additional credits for qualified wages through December 31, 2020. The Consolidated Appropriations Act extended and expanded the availability of the CARES Employee Retention credit through June 30, 2021. Subsequently, the ARP extended and expanded the availability of the CARES Employee Retention credit through December 31, 2021, however, certain provisions apply only after December 31, 2020. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, we recorded the $37.5 million related to the CARES Employee Retention credit for the first and second quarters of 2021 within special credits on our consolidated statement of operations. We did not qualify for the employee retention credit for the third and fourth quarters of 2021. As of December 31, 2021, $40.8 million remained in accounts receivable, net on our consolidated balance sheet related to the CARES employee retention credit for the fourth quarter of 2020 and first and second quarters of 2021. Refer to “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—5. Special Charges and Credits", for additional information.
Finally, the CARES Act also provided for deferred payment of the employer portion of social security taxes through the end of 2020, with 50% of the deferred amount due December 31, 2021 and the remaining 50% due December 31, 2022. During 2020, we deferred $23.2 million in social security tax payments. As of December 31, 2021, $11.7 million of deferred social security tax payments remains within other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet.
Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Liquidity
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. in the first quarter of 2020, we have taken several actions to increase liquidity and strengthen our financial position. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, these actions included the private offering of $850.0 million of the 8.00% senior secured notes, the public offering of $175.0 million in 4.75% convertible notes due 2025, the public offering of 20,125,000 shares of our voting common stock for which we received net proceeds of $192.4 million, the issuance and sale of 9,000,000 shares of our voting common stock through our ATM Program for which we received net proceeds of $156.7 million and the execution of a revolving credit facility with a total commitment of $180.0 million as of December 31, 2020. During the first quarter of 2021, we entered into an amendment to this revolving credit facility which extended the maturity to March 30, 2024 and increased the commitment amount to $240.0 million. During the second quarter of 2021, the revolving credit facility was paid down in full and $240.0 million remained undrawn and available as of December 31, 2021. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, we further improved our capacityliquidity and financial position through the public offering of $500.0 million in 1.00% convertible notes due 2026, the issuance of 10,594,073 shares of our voting common stock for which we received net proceeds of $370.8 million, the extinguishment of $146.8 million in principal amount of our 4.75% convertible notes due 2025 and the extinguishment of $340.0 million in principal amount of our 8.00% senior secured notes. Refer to “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—14. Debt and Other Obligations" and "Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—11. Common Stock and Preferred Stock" for additional information. As a result of these actions, as of December 31, 2021, we had $1,679.8 million of liquidity comprised of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, short-term investment securities and funds available under our revolving credit facility due in 2024.
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The Omicron variant has significantly impacted staffing levels and disrupted travel across the industry and is expected to temporarily delay the demand recovery in early 2022. However, for purposes of assessing our liquidity needs, we estimate that air travel demand will continue to recover in 2022. We believe the actions taken since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic address our future liquidity needs, but we may implement further discretionary changes and other cost reduction and liquidity preservation and/or enhancement measures, as needed, to address the volatility and quickly changing dynamics of passenger demand and the impact of revenue changes, regulatory and public health directives, prevailing government policy and financial market conditions.
Workforce Actions
As required by 14.5%the PSP2, during the first quarter of 2021, we offered to rehire all eligible Team Members who were involuntarily terminated during 2020. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, we recorded $2.0 million in special charges within special credits on our consolidated statement of operations related to the rehiring of Team Members under our involuntary employee separation program. In addition, in response to increased air travel demand, during the first quarter of 2021, we requested the voluntary return to work of certain Team Members on leave under our voluntary leave programs. As of December 31, 2021, asall Team Members previously on voluntary leave had returned to work. Expenses related to voluntary leave programs were recorded within salaries, wages and benefits on our consolidated statement of operations. As we grewcontinue to monitor the impacts of the pandemic on our fleetoperations and financial condition, we will consider and evaluate the need for any additional workforce actions in future periods. In addition, we will continue to monitor any government mandates related to vaccine, testing and other requirements.
Summary of Airbus single-aisle aircraft from 128 to 145 aircraft, launched service to 54 new markets and added 7 new destinations: Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Burbank, California; Charlotte-Douglas, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Sacramento, California.Results
During 2019,2021, we earnedgenerated a pre-tax loss of $520.3 million and a net incomeloss of $335.3$472.6 million, ($4.89$(4.50) per share, diluted), compared to a pre-tax loss of $620.2 million and a net incomeloss of $155.7$428.7 million, ($2.28$(5.06) per share, diluted) in 2018.2020. The increasedecrease in earningspre-tax loss was primarily driven by a 15.1%66.3% increase in our traffic and a 0.2%7.4% increase in average yield, year over year. In 2021, we increased our capacity by 47.0%, as compared to the prior year period. In addition, we recorded special chargesa loss on extinguishment of debt of $331.6 million in 20182021, that contributed to the increase in earningsour net loss, year over year. During 2018, wePartially offsetting the net loss incurred in the period was a $377.7 million special credit recorded $90.4 million inwithin special charges non-operating and $88.9 million in special charges, operating.(credits). Refer to “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—4.5. Special Charges"Charges and Credits" for additional information.
For the year ended December 31, 2019,2021, we achieved anhad a negative operating profit margin of 13.1%1.8% on $3,830.5$3,230.8 million in operating revenues. Our traffic grew by 15.1% as we continued to address our value-conscious customers with ultra-low fares. Our operating yield increased by 0.2%, year over year. TRASM in 20192021 was 9.177.93 cents, an increase of 0.8%21.4% compared to the prior year. However, totalTotal revenue per passenger flight segment decreased 2.2%increased 6.8%, year over year, from $113.37$98.14 to $110.91 reflecting a shorter average stage length, as compared to the prior year period. Fare revenue per passenger flight segment decreased 6.0% partially offset by a 1.9%$104.80. The increase in non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment, as compared to the prior year. In addition to the stage length, the decrease intotal fare revenue per passenger flight segment was driven by lower fares and competitive pricing during the period. Theprimarily due to an increase of 7.4% in average yield, year over year. Fare revenue per passenger flight segment increased 12.6%, while non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment was primarily attributable to higher passenger usage fee, higher seat revenue and higher bag revenue per passenger flight segment,increased by 2.6%, as compared to the prior year, as the majority of the breakage revenue was recognized within fare revenue. In addition, due to large increases in credit shells issued as well as significant increases in the expiration of those credit shells, we recognized significantly higher credit shell breakage in 2021 as compared to prior year.
Our operating cost structure is a primary area of focus and is at the core of our ULCC business model. Our unit operating costs continue to be among the lowest of any airline in the United States. During 2019,2021, our adjustedAdjusted CASM ex-fuel increased by 4.7%was 6.74 cents as compared to 5.55 cents.7.90 cents for 2020. The increasedecrease on a per-ASM basis was primarily due to increasesimproved air travel demand, as compared to the prior year period, which drove a significant increase of 47.0% in otherASMs, period over period. This increase in ASMs drove a decrease in operating expense per ASM,expenses on a per-ASM basis with the greatest impact noted on primarily fixed costs such as salaries, wages, and benefits expense, per ASM and depreciation and amortization expense per ASM.and landing fees and other rents expense.
During 2019,2021, we added 8 new destinations: Louisville, Kentucky; St. Louis, Missouri; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Pensacola, Florida; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Manchester, New Hampshire; Miami, Florida; Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During 2021, we grew our fleet of Airbus single-aisle aircraft from 157 to 173 aircraft as we took delivery of 4 new10 aircraft financed under secured debt arrangements,direct operating leases and 6 aircraft under sale-leaseback transactions and 7 aircraft under direct operating leases.(1 of which did not qualify to be accounted for as a sale-leaseback). In addition, we purchased 54 previously leased aircraft. In addition, weWe also took delivery of 46 engines under direct, short-term, operating leases, 2 new engines through cash purchases and purchased 2 previously leased engines. As of December 31, 2019,2021, our 145173 Airbus A320-family aircraft fleet was comprised of 31 A319ceos, 64 A320ceos, 2048 A320neos and 30 A321ceos of which 6473 aircraft are financed through secured debt, 5267 are financed under operating leases, 2 are financed under finance leases, and 2733 are unencumbered. As of December 31, 2019,2021, our aircraft orders consisted of 147156 A320 family aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2027.
Operating Revenues
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Our operating revenues are comprised of passenger revenues and other revenues.
Passenger revenues
Fare revenues. Tickets sold are initially deferred within air traffic liability on the Company'sour consolidated balance sheet. Passenger fare revenues are recognized at time of departure when transportation is provided. AllGenerally, all tickets sold by the Companyus are nonrefundable. An unused ticket expires at the date of scheduled travel and is recognized as revenue at the date of scheduled
travel. PassengerFare revenues reported prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09 are now reported as fare revenuesrecorded within passenger revenues inon our consolidated statement of operations. Refer to our disaggregated revenue table within “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements— 3.4. Revenue Disaggregation."
Customers may elect to change or cancel their itinerary prior to the date of departure. For changes, a service charge is recognized at time of departure of newly scheduled travel and is deducted from the face value of the original purchase price of the ticket, and the original ticket becomes invalid. For cancellations, a service charge is assessed and the amount remaining after deducting the service charge is called a credit shell. For credit shells that we estimate are not likely to be used prior to expiration, we recognize the associated value proportionally during the period over which the remaining credit shells may be used. Estimating the amount of credits that will go unused involves some level of subjectivity and judgment and can be impacted by several factors including, but not limited to, changes to our ticketing policies, changes to our refund, exchange, and credit shell policies, and economic factors.
Non-fare revenues. Our most significant non-fare revenues generally include revenues generated from air travel-related services paid for baggage, passenger usage fees, advance seat selection, itinerary changes, and loyalty programs. The adoption of ASU 2014-09 impacted the classification of theseThese ancillary items since they are deemed part of the single performance obligation of providing passenger transportation. These ancillary itemstransportation and as such, are now recognized in non-fare revenues within passenger revenues inon our consolidated statement of operations. Refer to our disaggregated revenue table within “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements— 3.4. Revenue Disaggregation." The majority of our passenger non-fare revenues are recognized at time of departure when transportation is provided.
Passenger revenues are recognized once the related flight departs. Accordingly, the value of tickets and non-fare revenues sold in advance of travel is included under our current liabilities as “air traffic liability,” or ATL, until the related air travel is provided. Revenue generated from
Guests may earn points based on their spending with the FREE SPIRIT credit card affinity program which we have an agreement to sell points. The contract to sell points under this agreement has multiple performance obligations, as discussed below.
Our co-branded credit card agreement provides for joint marketing where cardholders earn points for making purchases using co-branded cards. During 2020, we extended our agreement with the administrator of the FREE SPIRIT affinity credit card program to extend through March 31, 2024. In connection with the extension of the agreement, in January 2021, we launched a new loyalty program with extended points expiration, additional benefits based on status tiers, and other loyalty programs are recognized in accordancechanges. We account for this agreement consistently with the criteria as set forth in Accounting Standards Update ASU 2014-09.accounting method that allocates the consideration received to the individual products and services delivered. The value is allocated based on the relative stand-alone selling prices of those products and services, which generally consists of (i) points to be awarded, (ii) airline benefits and (iii) advertising and marketing efforts. We determined the estimate of the stand-alone selling prices by considering discounted cash flow analysis using multiple inputs and assumptions, including: (1) the expected number of points awarded and number of points redeemed, (2) the estimated stand-alone selling price of the award travel obligation and airline benefits and, (3) the costs of advertising and marketing efforts.
Other revenues
Other revenues primarily consist of the marketing component of the sale of frequent flyer milespoints to our credit card partner and commissions revenue from the sale of various items such as hotels and rental cars.
Substantially all of our revenues are denominated in U.S. dollars. We recognize revenues net of certain taxes and airport passenger fees, which are collected by us on behalf of airports and governmental agencies and remitted to the applicable governmental entity or airport on a periodic basis. These taxes and fees include U.S. federal transportation taxes, federal security charges, airport passenger facility charges and foreign arrival and departure taxes. These items are collected from customers at the time they purchase their tickets, but are not included in our revenues. Upon collection from the customer, we record a liability within other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets and relieve the liability when payments are remitted to the applicable governmental agency or airport.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of the following line items.
Salaries, Wages and Benefits. Salaries, wages and benefits expense includes the salaries, hourly wages, bonuses and equity compensation paid to employees for their services, as well as the related expenses associated with employee benefit plans and employer payroll taxes.
Aircraft Fuel. Aircraft fuel expense includes the cost of jet fuel, related federal taxes, fueling into-plane fees and transportation fees. It also includes realized and unrealized gains and losses arising from activity on our fuel derivatives, if any.
Landing Fees and Other Rents. Landing fees and other rents include both fixed and variable facilities expenses, such as the fees charged by airports for the use or lease of airport facilities, overfly fees paid to other countries and the monthly rent paid for our headquarters facility.
Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense includes the depreciation of fixed assets we own and leasehold improvements. It also includes the amortization of capitalized software costs and heavy maintenance. Under the deferral method, the cost of our heavy maintenance is capitalized and amortized on a straight-line or usage basis until the earlier of the next estimated heavy maintenance event or the remaining lease term.
Aircraft Rent. Aircraft rent expense consists of all minimum lease payments under the terms of our aircraft and spare engine lease agreements recognized on a straight-line basis. Aircraft rent expense also includes supplemental rent. Supplemental rent is made up of maintenance reserves paid to aircraft lessors in advance of the performance of major maintenance activities that are not probable of being reimbursed and probable and estimable return condition obligations. Prior to the adoption of Topic 842 that became effective for the Company on January 1, 2019, aircraft rent expense was net of the amortization of gains and losses on sale leaseback transactions on our flight equipment. Refer to “Notes to the Financial Statements—14. Leases and Prepaid Maintenance Deposits” for information regarding the Company's accounting policy on sale-leaseback transactions after the adoption of Topic 842. As of December 31, 2019, 522021, 67 of our 145173 aircraft and 912 of our 2332 spare engines are financed under operating leases.
Maintenance, Materials and Repairs. Maintenance, materials and repairs expense includes parts, materials, repairs and fees for repairs performed by third-party vendors and in-house mechanics required to maintain our fleet. It excludes direct labor cost related to our own mechanics, which is included under salaries, wages and benefits. It also excludes the amortization of heavy maintenance expenses, which we defer under the deferral method of accounting and amortize as a component of depreciation and amortization expense.
Distribution. Distribution expense includes all of our direct costs, including the cost of web support, our third-party call center, travel agent commissions and related GDS fees and credit card transaction fees, associated with the sale of our tickets and other products and services.
Loss on Disposal of Assets. Loss on disposal of assets includes the net losses on the disposal of our fixed assets. In addition, subsequent toassets as well as the adoption of Topic 842 that became effective for the Company on January 1, 2019, it includes net losses or gains resulting from our aircraft and engine sale-leaseback transactions.
Special Charges.Charges (Credits). Special charges and credits include lease termination charges, ratification incentive payouts related torecognition of the new collective bargaining agreementsgrant component of the Payroll Support Program ("PSP") with the Treasury, the CARES Act Employee Retention credit, amounts paid in connection with our pilotsvoluntary and dispatchersinvoluntary employee separation programs and the write-off of aircraft related credits.
Other Operating Expenses. Other operating expenses include airport operations expense and fees charged by third-party vendors for ground handling services and food and liquor supply service expenses, passenger re-accommodation expense, the cost of passenger liability and aircraft hull insurance, all other insurance policies except for employee related insurance, travel and training expenses for crews and ground personnel, professional fees, personal property taxes and all other administrative and operational overhead expenses. No individual item included in this category represented more than 5% of our total operating expenses.
Other (Income) Expense
Interest Expense. Interest expense in 20192021 primarily related to the financing of purchased aircraft as well as the interest related to our convertible notes and 2018the interest and accretion related to our 8.00% senior secured notes. Interest expense in 2020 primarily related to the financing of purchased aircraft as well as the interest and accretion related to our convertible notes and 8.00% senior secured notes. Interest expense in 2019 was primarily related to the financing of purchased aircraft.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt. Loss on extinguishment of debt in 2021 primarily related to premiums paid to early extinguish a portion of our 8.00% senior secured notes and 4.75% convertible notes due 2025. In addition, it includes the write-off of related deferred financing costs and original issuance discount. Refer to "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements —14. Debt and Other Obligations" for more information. We had no loss on extinguishment of debt in 2020 and 2019.
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Capitalized Interest. The Company capitalizesWe capitalize the interest that is primarily attributable to the outstanding PDP balances as a percentage of the related debt on which interest is incurred. Capitalized interest represents interest cost incurred during the acquisition period of a long-term asset and is the amount which theoretically could have been avoided had we not paid PDPs for the related aircraft or engines. Capitalization of interest ceases when the asset is ready for service. Capitalized interest for 2021, 2020 and 2019 and 2018 primarily relatedrelates to the interest incurred on long-term debt.
Interest Income. For 2021 and 2020, interest income represents interest income earned on cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as well as interest earned on income tax refunds. For 2019, interest income represents interest income earned on cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. For 2018, interest income represents interest income earned on cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and on funds required to be held in escrow in accordance with the terms of our Series 2017-1 EETC.
Other Expense. Other expense primarily includes realized gains and losses related to foreign currency transactions.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method. We record a valuation allowance to reduce the deferred tax assets reported if, based on the weight of the evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred taxes are recorded based on differences between the financial statement basis and tax basis of assets and liabilities and available tax loss and credit carryforwards. In assessing the realizability of the deferred tax assets, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. In evaluating the ability to utilize our deferred tax assets, we consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, in determining future taxable income on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis.
Trends and Uncertainties Affecting Our Business
We believe our operating and business performance is driven by various factors affecting airlines and their markets, trends affecting the broader travel industry and trends affecting the specific markets and customer base that we target. The following key factors may affect our future performance.
Ability to Execute our Growth Strategy. Over recent years, we have pursued a high-growth strategy, which we expect to continue. Execution of such a strategy requires us to effectively deploy new flying into our network, as new routes or increased frequency of existing routes develop. New flying may not perform as well as expected or may result in a competitive reaction. Moreover, our growth strategy depends on the timely delivery of aircraft and engines in accordance with the intended delivery schedule in accordance with the applicable agreement. Delivery delays, as we have experienced from time to time in recent years, may cause us to scale back our growth, unless we are able to replace delayed aircraft in the secondary market or otherwise. Finally, our growth strategy relies in part on our ability to obtain additional facilities in airports, some of which are constrained, as well as additional flight crew, maintenance, and other personnel. WeAnd, given recent staffing and workforce shortages, we expect to experience an increase in our compensation expense to attract and retain qualified personnel.
Ability to Maintain or Grow Capacity. We pursue a high-growth strategy that expands revenue and maintains lower cost due to economies of scale and lower initial expense for aircraft and labor. Execution of such a strategy depends on the ability to maintain efficient utilization of existing capacity and the timely delivery of new aircraft and engines. In recent years, we haveWe previously experienced aircraft operational reliability issues and delivery delays particularly regarding our PW1100G engine on our A320neo aircraft. However, beginning in the second half of 2020, the A320neo aircraft fleet reliability has stabilized and the PW1100G engine technical issues have improved. The new generation aircraft provide fuel burn and other efficiencies, as compared to the older A320ceo aircraft, and the ability to serve additional markets with greater operating range. However, ongoing or expanded reliability and delivery issues could materially impact our operations, costs and net results.
Impact of COVID-19. In 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced sharp declines in passenger demand and bookings. In addition, we had unprecedented levels of cancellations and refunds. Through early 2021,we continued to experience declines in passenger demand and bookings although to a lesser extent than noted at the height of the pandemic during mid-2020. Our operations for 2020 and through mid-2021 were adversely affected by the reduction in air travel demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the sudden and significant reduction in air travel demand during these periods, our load factor significantly decreased. Since mid-2021, passenger demand and bookings increased such that operations were nearly back to levels prior to the pandemic. However, the Omicron variant significantly impacted staffing levels and disrupted travel across the industry since its emergence in late November 2021, which negatively impacted our operation during the November and December holiday season. During the period from December 26, 2021 through December 31, 2021,we experienced an irregular operations event due to crew and airport staffing shortages as a result of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, our financial and operational outlook remains subject to change. We continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on our operations and financial condition, and to implement and adapt mitigation strategies while working to preserve our cash and protect our long-term sustainability. For
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more detailed information on the impact of COVID-19, please refer to "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—2. Impact of COVID-19."
Competition. The airline industry is highly competitive. The principal competitive factors in the airline industry are fare pricing, total price, flight schedules, aircraft type, passenger amenities, number of routes served from a city, customer service, safety record, reputation, code-sharing relationships, frequent flyer programs and redemption opportunities. Price competition occurs on a market-by-market basis through price discounts, changes in pricing structures, fare matching, target promotions and frequent flyer initiatives. Airlines typically use discount fares and other promotions to stimulate traffic during normally slower travel periods in efforts to maximize unit revenue. The prevalence of discount fares can be particularly acute when a competitor has excess capacity that it is under financial pressure to sell.sell tickets.
Moreover, the network carriers have developed a fare-class pricing approach, in which a portion of available seats may be sold at or near ULCC prices, but without most product features available to their passengers paying at higher fare levels on the same flight. Broad fare discounting may have the effect of diluting the profitability of revenues of high-cost carriers but the fare-class approach may allow network carriers to continue offering a competitive price to ULCCs on some flights or routes, while maintaining higher pricing to their traditional constituencies of corporate and less price-sensitive travelers. Refer to “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—We operate in an extremely competitive industry."
Seasonality and Volatility. Our results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of those for the entire year because the air transportation business is subject to significant seasonal fluctuations. We generally expect demand to be greater in the second and third quarters compared to the rest of the year. The air transportation business is also volatile and highly affected by economic cycles and trends. Consumer confidence and discretionary spending, fear of terrorism or war, weakening economic conditions, fare initiatives, fluctuations in fuel prices, labor actions, changes in governmental regulations on taxes and fees, weather, outbreaks of pandemic or contagious diseases, and other factors have resulted in significant fluctuations in revenues and results of operations in the past. We believe demand for business travel historically has been more sensitive to economic pressures than demand for low-price travel. Finally, a significant portion of our operations are concentrated in markets such as South Florida, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Northeast and northern Midwest regions of the United States, which are particularly vulnerable to weather, airport traffic constraints and other delays.
Aircraft Fuel. Fuel costs represents one of our largest operating expenses, as it does for most airlines. Fuel costs have been subject to wide price fluctuations in recent years. Fuel availability and pricing are also subject to refining capacity, periods of market surplus and shortage and demand for heating oil, gasoline and other petroleum products, as well as meteorological, economic and political factors and events occurring throughout the world, which we can neither control nor accurately predict. We source a significant portion of our fuel from refining resources located in the southeast United States, particularly facilities adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Coast fuel is subject to volatility and supply disruptions, particularly in hurricane season when refinery shutdowns have occurred, or when the threat of weather-related disruptions has caused Gulf Coast fuel prices to spike above other regional sources. Our fuel hedging practices are dependent upon many factors, including our assessment of market conditions for fuel, our access to the capital necessary to support margin requirements, the pricing of hedges and other derivative products in the market, our overall appetite for risk and applicable regulatory policies. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we
had no outstanding jet fuel derivatives and we have not engaged in fuel derivative activity since 2015. As of December 31, 2019,2021, we purchased a majorityapproximately half of our aircraft fuel under a single fuel service contract. The cost and future availability of jet fuel cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty.
Labor. The airline industry is heavily unionized. The wages, benefits and work rules of unionized airline industry employees are determined by collective bargaining agreements, or CBAs. Relations between air carriers and labor unions in the United States are governed by the RLA. Under the RLA, CBAs generally contain “amendable dates” rather than expiration dates, subject to standard early opener provisions, and the RLA requires that a carrier maintain the existing terms and conditions of employment following the amendable date through a multi-stage and usually lengthy series of bargaining processes overseen by the NMB. This process continues until either the parties have reached agreement on a new CBA, or the parties have been released to “self-help” by the NMB. In most circumstances, the RLA prohibits strikes; however, after release by the NMB, carriers and unions are free to engage in self-help measures such as strikes and lockouts.
We have five union-represented employee groups comprising approximately 81% of our employees at December 31, 2019.2021. Our pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International, or ALPA, our flight attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, or AFA-CWA, our dispatchers are represented by the Professional Airline Flight Control Association, or PAFCA, our ramp service agents are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAMAW, and our passenger service agents are represented by the Transport Workers Union, or TWU. Conflicts between airlines and their unions can lead to work slowdowns or stoppages.
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During 2017, we experienced operational disruption from pilot-related work action which adversely impacted our results. We obtained a temporary restraining order to enjoin further illegal labor action. In January 2018, under the guidance of the NMB assigned mediators, the parties reached a tentative agreement and inagreement. In February 2018, the pilot group voted to approve the current five-year agreement, with the Company. In connection with this agreement, we incurred a one-time ratification incentive of $80.2 million, including payroll taxes, and an $8.5 million adjustment related to other contractual provisions. These amounts were recorded in special charges within operating expenses in the statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018. For further information, refer to “Notes to the Financial Statements—4. Special Charges.”which becomes amendable February 2023.
In March 2016, withunder the helpsupervision of the NMB, we reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract with our flight attendants. In May 2016, thewe entered into a five-year agreement with our flight attendants voted to approve the new five-year contractattendants. In February 2021, we entered into a Letter of Agreement with the Company.AFA-CWA to change the amendable date of the collective bargaining agreement from May 4, 2021 to September 1, 2021. All other terms of the collective bargaining agreement remained the same. In June 2021, the AFA-CWA notified us, as required by the Railway Labor Act, that it intended to submit proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement covering our flight attendants. We commenced negotiations with the AFA-CWA on September 27, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, we continued to negotiate with the AFA-CWA.
Our dispatchers are represented by the PAFCA. In June 2018, we commenced negotiations with PAFCA for an amended agreement with our dispatchers. In October 2018, we reached a tentative agreement with PAFCA for a new five-year agreement, with our dispatchers, which was ratified by the PAFCA members in October 2018.
In July 2014, certain ramp service agents directly employed by the Companyus voted to be represented by the IAMAW. In May 2015, we entered into a five-year interim collective bargaining agreement with the IAMAW, coveringincluding material economic terms. In June 2016, with the help of the IAMAW, we reached an agreement on the remaining terms of the collective bargaining agreement that became amendable in 2020. In February 2020, the IAMAW notified us, as required by the Railway Labor Act, that it intended to submit proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement covering our ramp service agents which isbecame amendable in June 2020. On September 28, 2021, we filed an “Application for Mediation Services” with the NMB. We were able to reach a tentative agreement with the IAMAW with the assistance of the NMB on October 16, 2021. Our ramp service agents ratified the five-year agreement in November 2021.
We believe the five-year term of our CBAs is valuable in providing stability to our labor costs and provide us with competitive labor costs compared to other U.S.-based low-cost carriers. If we are unable to reach agreement with any of our unionized work groups in current or future negotiations regarding the terms of their CBAs, we may be subject to work interruptions or stoppages, such as the strike by our pilots in June 2010. A strike or other significant labor dispute with our unionized employees is likely to adversely affect our ability to conduct business. Any agreement we do reach could increase our labor and related expenses.
In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed into law. Under the current administration, thisThis law may be repealed in its entirety or certain aspects may be changed or replaced. If the law is repealed or modified or if new legislation is passed, such action could potentially increase our operating costs, with healthcare costs increasing at a higher rate than our employee headcount.
Maintenance Expense. Maintenance expense grew through 2019 and 20182021 mainly as a result of increased aircraft utilization compared to the prior year, a growing fleet and the gradual increase of required maintenance for the older aircraft in our fleet. However, in 2020, maintenance expense decreased year over year mainly as a result of decreased aircraft utilization due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As theour fleet ages, we expect that maintenance costs will increase in absolute terms. The amount of total maintenance costs and related amortization of heavy maintenance (included in depreciation and amortization expense) is subject to many variables such as future utilization rates, average stage length, the
interval between heavy maintenance events, the size and makeup of the fleet in future periods and the level of unscheduled maintenance events and their actual costs. Accordingly, we cannot reliably quantify future maintenance expenses for any significant period of time. However, we believe, basedtime particularly in the current period given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our scheduled maintenance events, maintenance expense and maintenance-related amortization expense in 2020 will be approximately $266 million. In addition, we expect to capitalize approximately $100 million of costs for heavy maintenance during 2020.airline.
As a result of a majority of our fleet being acquired over a relatively short period of time, heavy maintenance scheduled on certain aircraft will overlap, meaning we will incur our most expensive scheduled maintenance obligations on certain aircraft at roughly the same time. These more significant maintenance activities will result in out-of-service periods during which our aircraft will be dedicated to maintenance activities and unavailable to fly revenue service. When accounting for maintenance expense under the deferral method, heavy maintenance is amortized over the shorter of either the remaining lease term or the next estimated heavy maintenance event. As a result, deferred maintenance events occurring closer to the end of the lease term will generally have shorter amortization periods than those occurring earlier in the lease term. This will create higher depreciation and amortization expense specific to any aircraft related to heavy maintenance during the final years of the lease as compared to earlier periods.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our consolidated financial statements. For a detailed discussion of our significant accounting policies, refer to “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.”
Critical accounting policies are defined as those policies that reflect significant judgments or estimates about matters both inherently uncertain and material to our financial condition or results of operations.
Loyalty Mileage CreditsPoints earned with Co-branded credit card. Customers may earn mileage creditspoints based on their spending with our co-branded credit card company with which we have an agreement to sell mileage credits.points. The contract to sell mileage creditspoints under this agreement has multiple performance obligations. The agreement provides for joint marketing and we account for this agreement consistently with the accounting method that allocates the consideration received to the individual products and services delivered. The value is allocated based on the relative stand-alone selling prices of those products and services, which generally consists of (i) travel milespoints to be awarded, (ii) licensing of brand and access to member listsairline benefits and (iii) advertising and marketing efforts. We determined the best estimate of the stand-alone selling prices by considering discounted cash flow analysis using multiple inputs and assumptions, including: (1) the expected number of milespoints awarded and number of milespoints redeemed, (2) ETV forthe estimated stand-alone selling price of the award travel obligation (3) licensing of brand and access to member listsairline benefits, and (4)(3) advertising and marketing efforts.
We defer the amount for award travel obligation as part of loyalty deferred revenue within air traffic liability on theour consolidated balance sheet and recognize loyalty travel awards in passenger revenue as the mileage creditspoints are used for travel. Revenue allocated to the remaining performance obligations, primarily marketing components, is recorded in other revenue over time as milespoints are delivered. During the year ended December 31, 20192021 and 20182020, total cash sales from this agreement were $48.1$48.0 million and $39.2$33.2 million, respectively, which are allocated to travel and other performance obligations.
Aircraft Maintenance Deposits. Some of our aircraft and engine master lease agreements provide that we pay maintenance reserves to aircraft lessors to be held as collateral in advance of our performance of major maintenance activities. These lease agreements generally provide that maintenance reserves are reimbursable to us upon completion of the maintenance event. A majority of these maintenance reserve payments are calculated based on a utilization measure, such as flight hours or cycles, and are used solely to collateralize the lessor for maintenance time run off the aircraft until the completion of the maintenance of the aircraft.
Maintenance reserve payments are reflected as aircraft maintenance deposits in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. We make certain assumptions to determine the recoverability of maintenance deposits. These assumptions are based on various
factors such as the estimated time between the maintenance events and the utilization of the aircraft is estimated before it is returned to the lessor. When it is not probable we will recover amounts currently on deposit with a lessor, such amounts are expensed as supplemental rent.
Leased Aircraft Return Costs. Our aircraft lease agreements often contain provisions that require us to return aircraft airframes and engines to the lessor in a certain condition or pay an amount to the lessor based on the airframe and engine's actual return condition. Lease return costs include all costs that would be incurred at the return of the aircraft, including costs incurred to repair the airframe and engines to the required condition as stipulated by the lease. Lease return costs are recognized beginning when it is probable that such costs will be incurred and they can be estimated. When costs become both probable and estimable, they are accrued as a component of supplemental rent, through the remaining lease term. We expensed $31.7 million and $3.3 million of supplemental rent recorded within aircraft rent during 2021 and 2020, respectively. During 2021, we expensed $22.9 million in lease return costs within supplemental rent related to the purchase of four aircraft off lease and two spare engines off lease made during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, partially offset by the release of an accrual related to an engine lease modification.
When determining the need to accrue lease return costs, there are various factors which need to be considered such as the contractual terms of the lease agreement, current condition of the aircraft, the age of the aircraft at lease expiration, and projected number of hours run on the engine at the time of return, and the number of projected cycles run on the airframe at the time of return, among others. In addition, typically near the lease return date, the lessors may allow reserves to be applied as return condition consideration or pass on certain return provisions if they do not
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align with their current plans to remarket the aircraft. As a result of the different factors listed above, management assesses the need to accrue lease return costs periodically throughout the year or whenever facts and circumstances warrant an assessment. Lease return costs will generally be estimable closer to the end of the lease term but may be estimable earlier in the lease term depending on the contractual terms of the lease agreement and the timing of maintenance events for a particular aircraft. As a result of COVID-19, we are currently operating our aircraft at lower utilization levels. If we continue flying our aircraft at lower utilization levels beyond our current projections, the timing of future maintenance events may change such that we will be required to accrue lease return costs and/or record reserves against our maintenance deposits earlier than we would have expected and such amounts could be significant. We expect lease return costs and unrecoverable maintenance deposits will increase as individual aircraft lease agreements approach their respective termination dates and we begin to accrue the estimated cost of return conditions for the corresponding aircraft. Upon a termination of the lease due to a breach by us, we would be liable for standard contractual damages, possibly including damages suffered by the lessor in connection with remarketing the aircraft or while the aircraft is not leased to another party.
Results of Operations
In 2019,2021, we generated operating revenues of $3,830.5$3,230.8 million and had an operating incomeloss of $501.0$56.9 million resulting in a 13.1%negative operating margin of 1.8% and a net incomeloss of $335.3$472.6 million. In 2018,2020, we generated operating revenues of $3,323.0$1,810.0 million and an operating incomeloss of $350.9$507.8 million resulting in a 10.6%negative operating margin of 28.1% and a net incomeloss of $155.7$428.7 million. OperatingThe increase in operating revenues, increased, year over year, mainly as a result of a 15.1%is primarily due to an increase in traffic.traffic of 66.3%, year over year, driven by increased air travel demand as compared to the prior year period. Increased operations resulted in higher operating expenses across the board with the exception of special charges, which decreasedboard. Aircraft fuel expense alone increased by 112.1%, year over year.year, due to an increase in both fuel price per gallon and gallons consumed. The fluctuation in air travel demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be uncertain as the Omicron variant has significantly impacted staffing levels and disrupted travel across the industry and is expected to temporarily delay the demand recovery in early 2022. We estimate that air travel demand will continue to recover in 2022.
As of December 31, 2019,2021, our cash and cash equivalents was $979.0$1,333.5 million, a decrease of $25.8$456.2 million compared to the prior year. Cash and cash equivalents is generally driven by cash from our operating activities offset by cash used to fund PDPs and capital expenditures.expenditures and principal payments related to our long-term debt. In addition to cash and cash equivalents, as of December 31, 2019,2021, we had $105.3$106.3 million in short-term investment securities.
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Comparative Operating Statistics
The following tables set forth our operating statistics for the twelve month periods ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| Twelve Months Ended December 31, | Percent Change | ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Operating Statistics (unaudited) (A): | |||||||||||||||||
| Average aircraft | 163.4 | 153.0 | 6.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| Aircraft at end of period | 173 | 157 | 10.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| Average daily aircraft utilization (hours) | 9.7 | 6.9 | 40.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Average stage length (miles) | 1,024 | 1,030 | (0.6) | % | |||||||||||||
| Departures | 213,440 | 144,272 | 47.9 | % | |||||||||||||
| Passenger flight segments (PFSs) (thousands) | 30,828 | 18,444 | 67.1 | % | |||||||||||||
| Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (thousands) | 32,124,200 | 19,319,410 | 66.3 | % | |||||||||||||
| Available seat miles (ASMs) (thousands) | 40,749,334 | 27,718,387 | 47.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Load factor (%) | 78.8 | % | 69.7 | % | 9.1 pts | ||||||||||||
| Fare revenue per passenger flight segment ($) | 46.16 | 41.00 | 12.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment ($) | 58.64 | 57.14 | 2.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Total revenue per passenger flight segment ($) | 104.80 | 98.14 | 6.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| Average yield (cents) | 10.06 | 9.37 | 7.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| TRASM (cents) | 7.93 | 6.53 | 21.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| CASM (cents) | 8.07 | 8.36 | (3.5) | % | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted CASM (cents) | 8.98 | 9.46 | (5.1) | % | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted CASM ex-fuel (cents) | 6.74 | 7.90 | (14.7) | % | |||||||||||||
| Fuel gallons consumed (thousands) | 435,174 | 289,401 | 50.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| Average fuel cost per gallon ($) | 2.10 | 1.49 | 40.9 | % | |||||||||||||
(A) See "Glossary of Airline Terms" elsewhere in this annual report for definitions used in this table.
Operating Revenues
| Year Ended 2019 | % change 2019 versus 2018 | Year Ended 2018 | Year Ended 2021 | % change 2021 versus 2020 | Year Ended 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating revenues: | Operating revenues: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare (thousands) | $ | 1,886,855 | 10.7% | $ | 1,704,107 | Fare (thousands) | $ | 1,422,927 | 88.2% | $ | 756,225 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-fare (thousands) | 1,870,750 | 20.2% | 1,555,908 | Non-fare (thousands) | 1,752,875 | 73.7% | 1,009,308 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passenger (thousands) | 3,757,605 | 15.3% | 3,260,015 | Passenger (thousands) | 3,175,802 | 79.9% | 1,765,533 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other (thousands) | 72,931 | 15.7% | 63,019 | Other (thousands) | 54,973 | 23.6% | 44,489 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating revenue (thousands) | $ | 3,830,536 | 15.3% | $ | 3,323,034 | Total operating revenue (thousands) | $ | 3,230,775 | 78.5% | $ | 1,810,022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating revenue per ASM (TRASM) (cents) | 9.17 | 0.8% | 9.10 | Total operating revenue per ASM (TRASM) (cents) | 7.93 | 21.4% | 6.53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare revenue per passenger flight segment | $ | 54.63 | (6.0)% | $ | 58.14 | Fare revenue per passenger flight segment | $ | 46.16 | 12.6% | $ | 41.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment | 56.28 | 1.9% | 55.23 | Non-ticket revenue per passenger flight segment | 58.64 | 2.6% | 57.14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue per passenger flight segment | $ | 110.91 | (2.2)% | $ | 113.37 | Total revenue per passenger flight segment | $ | 104.80 | 6.8% | $ | 98.14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||