ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is provided as a supplement to and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to enhance the understanding of our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Overview
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company, and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). The Company's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." The Company has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is a combined report of UAL and United, including their respective consolidated financial statements. As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. United's operating revenues and operating expenses comprise nearly 100% of UAL's revenues and operating expenses. In addition, United comprises approximately the entire balance of UAL's assets, liabilities and operating cash flows. When appropriate, UAL and United are named specifically for their individual contractual obligations and related disclosures, and any significant differences between the operations and results of UAL and United are separately disclosed and explained. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.
The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline operations, which utilize jet aircraft with at least 126 seats, and regional operations, which utilize smaller aircraft that are operated under contract by United Express carriers. The Company serves virtually every major market around the world, either directly or through participation in Star Alliance®, the world's largest airline alliance.
Our business and operating results for first quarter 2022 continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the more significant impact of the pandemic on our business and operating results in 2020 and 2021, we believe that a comparison of our first quarter 2022 results to first quarter of 2019 for certain key metrics in this financial overview discussion is more reflective of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our current expectations described below are forward-looking statements and our actual results and timing may vary materially based on various factors that include, but are not limited to, those discussed below under "Forward-Looking Information" and in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the "2021 Form 10-K"). The Company discusses certain non-GAAP forward-looking projections and is unable to predict certain items contained in the corresponding GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts; refer to "Supplemental Information" below for further details.
Economic and Market Factors
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic, together with the measures implemented or recommended by governmental authorities and private organizations in response to the pandemic, has had an adverse impact that has been material to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity. The Company has seen increasing demand for travel both domestically and in countries where entry is permitted; however, as the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic remains fluid, the pandemic has continued to negatively impact travel demand. It remains difficult to reasonably assess or predict the full extent of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance, which will depend on a number of future developments, many of which are outside the Company's control, such as the ultimate duration of and factors impacting the recovery from the pandemic (including the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus in different markets, the efficacy and availability of various treatment options, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus that may be resistant to currently approved vaccines or treatment options, and the continuation of existing or implementation of new government travel restrictions), customer behavior changes and fluctuations in demand for air travel, among others. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken in response may continue to impact many aspects of our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity in a number of ways, including labor shortages (including reductions in available skilled labor and related impacts to the Company's flight schedules and reputation), facility closures and related costs, disruptions to the Company's and its business partners' operations, reduced travel demand and consumer spending, increased fuel and other operating costs, supply chain disruptions,
logistics constraints, inflation, volatility in the price of our securities, our ability to access capital markets and volatility in the global economy and financial markets generally.
We have reduced our capacity as we managed through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our capacity in 2022 remained lower than capacity prior to the pandemic, resulting in a significant reduction to our revenue through the first quarter of 2022. We operated at approximately 81% of our first quarter 2019 capacity during the first quarter of 2022. We have also delayed a portion of our previously planned capacity increases for full year 2022 in response to several macroeconomic factors, including rising fuel prices as well as expected aircraft delivery delays and may need to implement further modifications. The Company is taking steps to be prepared for recovery as demand for travel continues to generally increase, which include investing in innovative technology, focusing on process improvements and implementing the United Next transformative strategy.
We have also taken steps to strengthen our financial position during this period of market uncertainty, which has resulted in an increase of our overall debt levels. As of March 31, 2022, unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $18.7 billion, an increase of approximately $14.6 billion from March 31, 2019. We had approximately $40.3 billion of debt, finance lease, operating lease and sale-leaseback obligations as of March 31, 2022 (including $4.8 billion that will become due in the next 12 months), up from approximately $20.1 billion as of March 31, 2019.
The Company's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has not followed a linear path, and due to the significant uncertainty that remains, its future operating performance, particularly in the short-term, may be subject to volatility. Risks and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic are further described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors— "The COVID-19 pandemic has materially and adversely impacted our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity. The full extent of the impact will depend on future developments and how quickly we can return to more normal operations, among other things. If the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic extend beyond our assumed timelines, our actual results may vary significantly from our expectations" of the 2021 Form 10-K.
First Quarter 2022 Overview
Capacity. Relative to the first quarter of 2019, the Company operated approximately 81% of its capacity for the first quarter of 2022 compared to approximately 46% of its capacity in the first quarter of 2021.
Operating revenue. For the first quarter of 2022, operating revenue increased by $4.3 billion, or 134.9% versus the first quarter of 2021 due to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operating expense. For the first quarter of 2022, operating expense increased by $4.3 billion, or 94.3%, versus the first quarter of 2021 mostly due to a $1.4 billion increase in fuel costs, partly as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, $1.8 billion in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act") grant in the prior period that did not repeat and other increased operating costs from flight activity. We expect elevated fuel cost to continue throughout 2022 due to market volatility caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and macroeconomic factors.
Second Quarter 2022 Outlook
Capacity. The Company expects its scheduled capacity to be down approximately 13% in the second quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period in 2019.
Total revenue per available seat mile ("TRASM"). The Company expects TRASM to increase approximately 17% in the second quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period in 2019.
Adjusted cost per available seat mile ("CASM-ex"). The Company expects CASM-ex (a non-GAAP financial measure defined as cost or operating expense per available seat mile ("CASM") excluding fuel, profit sharing, third-party business expense and special charges (credits)) to increase approximately 16% in the second quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period in 2019.
Operating margin. The Company expects operating margin of approximately 10% for the second quarter of 2022.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion provides an analysis of our results of operations and reasons for material changes therein for the three months ended March 31, 2022 as compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
First Quarter 2022 Compared to First Quarter 2021
The Company recorded a net loss of $1.4 billion for both the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2021. The Company considers a key measure of its performance to be operating income (loss), which was also a $1.4 billion loss for both the first
quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2021. Significant components of the Company's operating results for the three months ended March 31 are as follows (in millions, except percentage changes): | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2022 | | 2021 | | Increase (Decrease) | | % Change |
Operating revenue | | $ | 7,566 | | | $ | 3,221 | | | $ | 4,345 | | | 134.9 | |
Operating expense | | 8,942 | | | 4,602 | | | 4,340 | | | 94.3 | |
Operating loss | | (1,376) | | | (1,381) | | | (5) | | | (0.4) | |
Nonoperating expense, net | | (376) | | | (370) | | | 6 | | | 1.6 | |
Income tax benefit | | (375) | | | (394) | | | (19) | | | (4.8) | |
Net loss | | $ | (1,377) | | | $ | (1,357) | | | $ | 20 | | | 1.5 | |
Certain consolidated statistical information for the Company's operations for the three months ended March 31 is as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2022 | | 2021 | | Increase (Decrease) | | % Change |
Passengers (thousands) (a) | 29,333 | | | 14,674 | | | 14,659 | | | 99.9 | |
Revenue passenger miles ("RPMs" or "traffic") (millions) (b) | 38,644 | | | 17,248 | | | 21,396 | | | 124.0 | |
Available seat miles ("ASMs" or "capacity") (millions) (c) | 53,264 | | | 30,370 | | | 22,894 | | | 75.4 | |
Passenger load factor (d) | 72.6 | % | | 56.8 | % | | 15.8 pts. | | N/A |
Passenger revenue per available seat mile ("PRASM") (cents) | 11.92 | | | 7.63 | | | 4.29 | | | 56.2 | |
Average yield per revenue passenger mile ("Yield") (cents) (e) | 16.43 | | | 13.43 | | | 3.00 | | | 22.3 | |
Cargo revenue ton miles ("CTM") (millions) (f) | 791 | | | 765 | | | 26 | | | 3.4 | |
TRASM (cents) | 14.20 | | | 10.61 | | | 3.59 | | | 33.8 | |
CASM (cents) | 16.79 | | | 15.15 | | | 1.64 | | | 10.8 | |
CASM-ex (Non-GAAP) (cents) (g) | 12.55 | | | 16.80 | | | (4.25) | | | (25.3) | |
Average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes | $ | 2.88 | | | $ | 1.74 | | | $ | 1.14 | | | 65.5 | |
Fuel gallons consumed (millions) | 775 | | | 490 | | | 285 | | | 58.2 | |
Employee headcount, as of March 31 | 87,400 | | | 84,100 | | | 3,300 | | | 3.9 | |
(a) The number of revenue passengers measured by each flight segment flown. | | | | | | | |
(b) The number of scheduled miles flown by revenue passengers. |
(c) The number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of scheduled miles those seats are flown. |
(d) Revenue passenger miles divided by available seat miles. |
(e) The average passenger revenue received for each revenue passenger mile flown. |
(f) The number of cargo revenue tons transported multiplied by the number of miles flown. |
(g) See "Supplemental Information" below for a reconciliation to CASM, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. |
Operating Revenue. The table below shows year-over-year comparisons by type of operating revenue for the three months ended March 31 (in millions, except for percentage changes): | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2022 | | 2021 | | Increase (Decrease) | | % Change |
Passenger revenue | $ | 6,348 | | | $ | 2,316 | | | $ | 4,032 | | | 174.1 | |
Cargo | 627 | | | 497 | | | 130 | | | 26.2 | |
Other operating revenue | 591 | | | 408 | | | 183 | | | 44.9 | |
Total operating revenue | $ | 7,566 | | | $ | 3,221 | | | $ | 4,345 | | | 134.9 | |
The table below presents selected first quarter passenger revenue and operating data, broken out by geographic region, expressed as year-over-year changes: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Increase (decrease) from 2021: |
| Domestic | | Atlantic | | Pacific | | Latin | | Total |
Passenger revenue (in millions) | $ | 2,798 | | | $ | 605 | | | $ | 138 | | | $ | 491 | | | $ | 4,032 | |
Passenger revenue | 163.4 | % | | 293.7 | % | | 155.1 | % | | 158.9 | % | | 174.1 | % |
Average fare per passenger | 35.9 | % | | 12.5 | % | | (14.7) | % | | 23.9 | % | | 37.1 | % |
Yield | 25.6 | % | | 34.7 | % | | (21.9) | % | | 16.0 | % | | 22.3 | % |
PRASM | 49.5 | % | | 93.3 | % | | 45.0 | % | | 74.6 | % | | 56.2 | % |
Passengers | 93.9 | % | | 250.0 | % | | 198.9 | % | | 108.9 | % | | 99.9 | % |
RPMs (traffic) | 109.8 | % | | 192.3 | % | | 226.6 | % | | 123.2 | % | | 124.0 | % |
ASMs (capacity) | 76.3 | % | | 103.6 | % | | 76.1 | % | | 48.2 | % | | 75.4 | % |
Passenger load factor (points) | 12.4 | | | 20.5 | | | 16.1 | | | 25.0 | | | 15.8 | |
Passenger revenue increased $4.0 billion, or 174.1%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to the ongoing recovery in air travel that was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cargo revenue increased $130 million, or 26.2%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher yields on freight revenue from strong global demand.
Other operating revenue increased $183 million, or 44.9%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in mileage revenue from non-airline partners, including credit card spending recovery with the co-branded credit card partner, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
Operating Expenses. The table below includes data related to the Company's operating expenses for the three months ended March 31 (in millions, except for percentage changes): | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2022 | | 2021 | | Increase (Decrease) | | % Change |
Salaries and related costs | $ | 2,787 | | | $ | 2,224 | | | $ | 563 | | | 25.3 | |
Aircraft fuel | 2,230 | | | 851 | | | 1,379 | | | 162.0 | |
Landing fees and other rent | 612 | | | 519 | | | 93 | | | 17.9 | |
Depreciation and amortization | 611 | | | 623 | | | (12) | | | (1.9) | |
Regional capacity purchase | 565 | | | 479 | | | 86 | | | 18.0 | |
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs | 407 | | | 269 | | | 138 | | | 51.3 | |
Distribution expenses | 226 | | | 85 | | | 141 | | | 165.9 | |
Aircraft rent | 61 | | | 55 | | | 6 | | | 10.9 | |
Special charges (credits) | (8) | | | (1,377) | | | (1,369) | | | NM |
Other operating expenses | 1,451 | | | 874 | | | 577 | | | 66.0 | |
Total operating expenses | $ | 8,942 | | | $ | 4,602 | | | $ | 4,340 | | | 94.3 | |
Salaries and related costs increased $563 million, or 25.3%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period primarily due to several factors, including an increase in headcount and higher flight activity in the first quarter of 2022 and lower expense in the first quarter of 2021 due to $240 million in tax credits provided by the Employee Retention Credit under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Aircraft fuel expense increased by $1.4 billion, or 162.0%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, due to both higher average price per gallon of fuel and increased consumption. Fuel prices in the first quarter of 2022 were impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We expect elevated fuel cost to continue throughout 2022 due to market volatility caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other macroeconomic factors.
The table below presents the significant changes in aircraft fuel cost per gallon in the three months ended March 31, 2022 as compared to the year-ago period:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| (In millions) | | | | Average price per gallon |
| 2022 | | 2021 | | % Change | | 2022 | | 2021 | | % Change |
Fuel expense | $ | 2,230 | | | $ | 851 | | | 162.0 | % | | $ | 2.88 | | | $ | 1.74 | | | 65.5 | % |
Fuel consumption (gallons) | 775 | | | 490 | | | 58.2 | % | | | | | | |
Landing fees and other rent increased $93 million, or 17.9%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to increases in landed weight as a result of increased flight activity.
Regional capacity purchase increased $86 million, or 18.0%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to increased regional flying.
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs increased $138 million, or 51.3%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher volumes of flying and increased heavy check maintenance events.
Distribution expenses increased $141 million, or 165.9%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher credit card fees and higher volumes of global distribution fees as a result of the overall increase in passenger revenue.
Details of the Company's special charges (credits) include the following for the three months ended March 31 (in millions): | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2022 | | 2021 |
CARES Act grant | $ | — | | | $ | (1,810) | |
| | | |
Severance and benefit costs | — | | | 417 | |
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges | (8) | | | 16 | |
Special charges (credits) | $ | (8) | | | $ | (1,377) | |
See Note 9 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information on the Company's special charges (credits).
Other operating expenses increased $577 million, or 66.0%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year ago period, primarily due to increases in ground handling, passenger services, food and beverage offerings, navigation fees and personnel-related costs as a direct result of the increase in flight activity and higher expenditures on information technology services.
Nonoperating Income (Expense). The table below shows year-over-year comparisons of the Company's nonoperating income (expense) for the three months ended March 31 (in millions, except for percentage changes): | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2022 | | 2021 | | Increase (Decrease) | | % Change |
Interest expense | $ | (424) | | | $ | (353) | | | $ | 71 | | | 20.1 | |
Interest capitalized | 24 | | | 17 | | | 7 | | | 41.2 | |
Interest income | 5 | | | 7 | | | (2) | | | (28.6) | |
Unrealized losses on investments, net | — | | | (22) | | | (22) | | | 100.0 | |
Miscellaneous, net | 19 | | | (19) | | | 38 | | | NM |
Total | $ | (376) | | | $ | (370) | | | $ | 6 | | | 1.6 | |
Interest expense increased $71 million, or 20.1%, in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to higher debt balances than the year-ago period.
Income Taxes. See Note 4 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for information related to income taxes.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Liquidity
As of March 31, 2022, the Company had $18.7 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, as compared to $18.4 billion at December 31, 2021. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with cash generated from operations, will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated liquidity needs for the next twelve months, and we expect to meet our long-term liquidity needs with our anticipated access to the capital markets and
projected cash from operations. We regularly assess our anticipated working capital needs, debt and leverage levels, debt maturities, capital expenditure requirements (including in connection with our capital commitments for our firm order aircraft) and future investments or acquisitions in order to maximize shareholder return, efficiently finance our ongoing operations and maintain flexibility for future strategic transactions. We also regularly evaluate our liquidity and capital structure to ensure financial risks, liquidity access and cost of capital are each managed efficiently. While we have been able to access the capital markets to meet our significant long-term debt and finance lease obligations and future commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of aircraft and related spare engines, we must return to profitability in order to service our debt and maintain appropriate liquidity levels for our long-term operating needs. For 2022, the Company expects approximately $5.3 billion of adjusted capital expenditures (a non-GAAP financial measure defined as GAAP capital expenditures including expenditures for assets acquired through the issuance of debt, finance leases and other financial liabilities). See "Supplemental Information" for additional information on non-GAAP financial measures and Note 7 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item I of this report for additional information on commitments.
In 2021, the Company entered into a four-year $1.75 billion revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility") expiring April 21, 2025 (subject to customary extension rights). The Revolving Credit Facility is secured by certain route authorities and airport slots and gates. No borrowings were outstanding under the facility at March 31, 2022.
In addition, the Company has backstop financing commitments available from certain of its aircraft manufacturers for a limited number of its future aircraft deliveries, subject to certain customary conditions.
We have a significant amount of fixed obligations, including debt, leases of aircraft, airport and other facilities, and pension funding obligations. As of March 31, 2022, the Company had approximately $40.3 billion of debt, finance lease, operating lease and sale-leaseback obligations, including $4.8 billion that will become due in the next 12 months. In addition, we have substantial noncancelable commitments for capital expenditures, including the acquisition of certain new aircraft and related spare engines.
Our debt agreements contain customary terms and conditions as well as various affirmative, negative and financial covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness and pay dividends or repurchase stock. As of March 31, 2022, UAL and United were in compliance with their respective debt covenants.
As of March 31, 2022, a substantial portion of the Company's assets, principally aircraft and certain related assets, its loyalty program, certain route authorities and airport slots and gates, was pledged under various loan and other agreements.
See Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information on aircraft financing and other debt instruments.
As of March 31, 2022, United had firm commitments and options to purchase aircraft from The Boeing Company ("Boeing") and Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") as presented in the table below:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries |
Aircraft Type | | Number of Firm Commitments (a) | | Last Nine Months of 2022 | | 2023 | | After 2023 | |
Airbus A321XLR | | 50 | | | — | | | — | | | 50 | | |
Airbus A321neo | | 70 | | | — | | | 12 | | | 58 | | |
Airbus A350 | | 45 | | | — | | | — | | | 45 | | |
Boeing 737 MAX | | 367 | | | 53 | | | 109 | | | 205 | | |
Boeing 787 | | 8 | | | 8 | | | — | | | — | | |
(a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft. | | | | | | | |
The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery through 2030. The amount and timing of the Company's future capital commitments could change to the extent that: (i) the Company and the aircraft manufacturers, with whom the Company has existing orders for new aircraft, agree to modify the contracts governing those orders; (ii) rights are exercised pursuant to the relevant agreements to modify the timing of deliveries; or (iii) the aircraft manufacturers are unable to deliver in accordance with the terms of those orders. Furthermore, subsequent to March 31, 2022, Boeing notified United that seven Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and two Boeing 787 aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2022, as shown in the table above, are now expected to deliver in 2023.
As of March 31, 2022, UAL and United have total capital commitments related to the acquisition of aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and non-aircraft capital commitments for approximately $34.7 billion, of which approximately $5.4 billion, $7.7 billion, $5.0 billion, $4.4 billion, $3.4 billion and $8.8 billion are due in the last nine months of 2022, for the full years 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and after 2026, respectively.
Sources and Uses of Cash
The following table summarizes our cash flow for the three months ended March 31 (in millions):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2022 | | 2021 | | Increase (Decrease) |
Total cash provided by (used in): | | | | | | |
Operating activities | | $ | 1,476 | | | $ | 447 | | | $ | 1,029 | |
Investing activities | | (430) | | | (329) | | | 101 | |
Financing activities | | (856) | | | 1,278 | | | (2,134) | |
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | | $ | 190 | | | $ | 1,396 | | | $ | (1,206) | |
Operating Activities. Cash flows provided by operations increased $1.0 billion in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to an increase in advance ticket sales as demand for air travel continued to recover.
Investing Activities. Cash flows used in investing activities increased $101 million in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the year-ago period, primarily due to the purchase of short-term and other investments.
Financing Activities. Significant financing events in the three months ended March 31, 2022 were as follows:
Debt, Finance Lease and Other Financing Liability Principal Payments. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company made payments for debt, finance leases, and other financing liabilities of $0.8 billion.
See Note 8 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
Commitments, Contingencies and Liquidity Matters. As described in the 2021 Form 10-K, the Company's liquidity may be adversely impacted by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, pension funding obligations, reserve requirements associated with credit card processing agreements, guarantees, commitments, contingencies and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
See the 2021 Form 10-K and Notes 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
See "Critical Accounting Policies" in Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the 2021 Form 10-K.
Supplemental Information
The Company evaluates its financial performance utilizing various GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, including CASM-ex and adjusted capital expenditures. The Company has provided CASM-ex and adjusted capital expenditures, non-GAAP financial measures that are not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP, as supplemental information and in addition to the financial measures that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that adjusting CASM for special charges (credits) is useful to investors because special charges (credits) are not indicative of UAL's ongoing performance. Management also believes that excluding third-party business expenses, such as maintenance and ground handling for third parties, from CASM provides more meaningful disclosure because these expenses are not directly related to UAL's core business. Management also believes that excluding fuel costs from CASM 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. Management also believes that excluding profit sharing from CASM allows investors to better understand and analyze UAL's operating cost performance and provides a more meaningful comparison of our core operating costs to the airline industry. UAL believes that adjusting capital expenditures for assets acquired through the issuance of debt, finance leases and other financial liabilities is useful to investors in order to appropriately reflect the total amounts spent on capital expenditures.
Because these non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered superior to, and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as substitutes for, the related GAAP financial measures and may not be the same as or comparable to any similarly titled measures presented by other companies due to possible differences in methods and in the items being adjusted. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.
The Company is not providing a target for CASM or a reconciliation for CASM-ex projections to CASM, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, because the Company is unable to predict certain items contained in the GAAP measure without unreasonable efforts and it does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking measures where it believes such a reconciliation would imply a degree of precision and certainty that could be confusing to investors and is unable to reasonably predict certain items contained in the GAAP measure without unreasonable efforts. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing or amount of various items that have not yet occurred and are out of the Company's control or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Forward-looking measures provided without the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures may vary materially from the corresponding GAAP financial measures. See "Forward-Looking Information" below. Below is a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure (CASM-ex) to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure (CASM) for the three months ended March 31, 2022, March 31, 2021, March 31, 2019 and year ended December 31, 2019 (in cents):
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Three Months Ended March 31, | | Year Ended December 31, |
| | 2022 | | 2021 | | 2019 | | 2019 |
CASM (GAAP) | | 16.79 | | | 15.15 | | | 13.85 | | | 13.67 |
Special charges (credits) | | (0.01) | | | (4.54) | | | 0.02 | | | 0.09 |
Third-party business expenses | | 0.06 | | | 0.09 | | | 0.05 | | | 0.06 |
Fuel expense | | 4.19 | | | 2.80 | | | 3.08 | | | 3.14 |
Profit sharing | | — | | | — | | | 0.05 | | | 0.17 |
CASM-ex (Non-GAAP) | | 12.55 | | 16.80 | | | 10.65 | | | 10.21 |
Non-cash capital expenditures are not determinable at this time. Accordingly, United does not provide capital expenditures guidance on a GAAP basis.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This report contains certain "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including in Part I, Item 2, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere in this report, relating to, among other things, the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and steps the Company plans to take in response thereto and goals, plans and projections regarding the Company’s financial position, results of operations, market position, capacity, fleet, product development, ESG targets and business strategy. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the Company’s future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, known or unknown, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond the Company's control and could cause the Company's future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Words such as "should," "could," "would," "will," "may," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "indicates," "remains," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals", "targets" and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such terms. All statements, other than those that relate solely to historical facts, are forward-looking statements.
Additionally, forward-looking statements include conditional statements and statements that identify uncertainties or trends, discuss the possible future effects of known trends or uncertainties, or that indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be predicted, guaranteed or assured. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including, without limitation, the following: the adverse impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic on our business, operating results,
financial condition and liquidity; execution risks associated with our strategic operating plan; changes in our network strategy or other factors outside our control resulting in less economic aircraft orders, costs related to modification or termination of aircraft orders or entry into less favorable aircraft orders, as well as any inability to accept or integrate new aircraft into our fleet as planned; any failure to effectively manage, and receive anticipated benefits and returns from, acquisitions, divestitures, investments, joint ventures and other portfolio actions; adverse publicity, harm to our brand, reduced travel demand, potential tort liability and voluntary or mandatory operational restrictions as a result of an accident, catastrophe or incident involving us, our regional carriers, our codeshare partners or another airline; the highly competitive nature of the global airline industry and susceptibility of the industry to price discounting and changes in capacity, including as a result of alliances, joint business arrangements or other consolidations; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers to source a majority of our aircraft and certain parts, and the impact of any failure to obtain timely deliveries, additional equipment or support from any of these suppliers; disruptions to our regional network and United Express flights provided by third-party regional carriers; unfavorable economic and political conditions in the United States and globally; reliance on third-party service providers and the impact of any significant failure of these parties to perform as expected, or interruptions in our relationships with these providers or their provision of services; extended interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports where we operate and space, facility and infrastructure constrains at our hubs or other airports; geopolitical conflict, terrorist attacks or security events; any damage to our reputation or brand image; our reliance on technology and automated systems to operate our business and the impact of any significant failure or disruption of, or failure to effectively integrate and implement, the technology or systems; increasing privacy and data security obligations or a significant data breach; increased use of social media platforms by us, our employees and others; the impacts of union disputes, employee strikes or slowdowns, and other labor-related disruptions on our operations; any failure to attract, train or retain skilled personnel, including our senior management team or other key employees; the monetary and operational costs of compliance with extensive government regulation of the airline industry; current or future litigation and regulatory actions, or failure to comply with the terms of any settlement, order or arrangement relating to these actions; costs, liabilities and risks associated with environmental regulation and climate change, including our climate goals; high and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel (including as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict); the impacts of our significant amount of financial leverage from fixed obligations, the possibility we may seek material amounts of additional financial liquidity in the short-term, and the impacts of insufficient liquidity on our financial condition and business; failure to comply with financial and other covenants governing our debt, including our MileagePlus® financing agreements; the impacts of the proposed phase out of the London interbank offer rate; limitations on our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes; our failure to realize the full value of our intangible assets or our long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments; fluctuations in the price of our common stock; the impacts of seasonality and other factors associated with the airline industry; increases in insurance costs or inadequate insurance coverage; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of our 2021 Form 10-K, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC.
The foregoing list sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could impact our ability to achieve results described in any forward-looking statements. Investors should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors and should not consider this list to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. In addition, certain forward-looking outlook provided in this report relies on assumptions about the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the timing of the return to a more stable business environment, the volatility of aircraft fuel prices, customer behavior changes and a return in demand for air travel, among other things (together, the "Recovery Process"). If the actual Recovery Process differs materially from our assumptions, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business could be worse than expected, and our actual results may be negatively impacted and may vary materially from our expectations and projections. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change as the year or each quarter in the year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections, beliefs and assumptions upon which we base our expectations may change. For instance, we regularly monitor future demand and booking trends and adjust capacity, as needed. As such, our actual flown capacity may differ materially from currently published flight schedules or current estimations.