Commitments and Contingencies

Aircraft-Related Commitments and Financing Arrangements

The Company’s contractual purchase commitments consist primarily of aircraft and engine acquisitions through manufacturers and aircraft leasing companies. As of March 31, 2016, the Company's aircraft orders consisted of the following:



	Airbus				Third-Party Lessor
	A320ceo	A320neo	A321ceo	A321neo	A320neo	Total
remainder of 2016	1		7		5	13
2017	8		10			18
2018	2	6	5			13
2019		3		10		13
2020		13				13
2021		18				18
	11	40	22	10	5	88

The Company also has four spare engine orders for V2500 SelectOne engines with International Aero Engines (IAE) and nine spare engine orders for PurePower PW1100G-JM engines with Pratt & Whitney. Spare engines are scheduled for delivery from 2017 through 2023. Purchase commitments for these aircraft and spare engines, including estimated amounts for contractual price escalations and pre-delivery payments, are estimated to be approximately $405 million for the remainder of 2016, $767 million in 2017, $621 million in 2018, $704 million in 2019, $706 million in 2020, and $812 million in 2021 and beyond. The Company has secured debt financing commitments of $308.5 million for the eight aircraft scheduled for delivery in the remainder of 2016. See Note 9, Long-Term Debt - 2015-1 EETCs. In addition, the Company has secured financing for five aircraft to be leased directly from a third party, also scheduled for delivery in 2016. The Company does not have financing commitments in place for the remaining 75 Airbus aircraft currently on firm order, which are scheduled for delivery in 2017 through 2021.

Principal and interest commitments related to the Company's future secured debt financing are approximately $27.7 million for the remainder of 2016, $52.9 million in 2017, $40.9 million in 2018, $37.2 million in 2019, $34.3 million in 2020, and $315.9 million in 2021 and beyond.

As of March 31, 2016, the Company had a fleet consisting of 83 A320 family aircraft. During the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company took delivery of four aircraft financed under secured debt arrangements and purchased two previously leased aircraft. For further discussion on the two previously leased aircraft, refer to Note 3, Special Charges. These aircraft are capitalized within flight equipment and generally have depreciable lives of 25 years and estimated residual values of 10%. As of March 31, 2016, the Company had 59 aircraft and 11 spare engines financed under operating leases with lease term expiration dates ranging from 2016 to 2027. The Company entered into sale and leaseback transactions with third-party aircraft lessors for the majority of these aircraft and engine leases. Deferred losses resulting from these sale and leaseback transactions are included in other long-term assets on the accompanying balance sheet. Deferred losses are recognized as an increase to rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective operating leases. Deferred gains are included in deferred credits and other long-term liabilities on the accompanying balance sheet. Deferred gains are recognized as a decrease to rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective operating leases.

Under the terms of the lease agreements, the Company will continue to operate and maintain the aircraft. Payments under the majority of the lease agreements are fixed for the term of the lease. The lease agreements contain standard termination events, including termination upon a breach of the Company's obligations to make rental payments and upon any other material breach of the Company's obligations under the leases, and standard maintenance and return condition provisions. These return provisions are evaluated at inception of the lease and throughout the lease terms and are accounted for as supplemental rent expense when it is probable that such amounts will be incurred. Upon a termination of the lease due to a breach by the Company, the Company 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.

Future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases with initial or remaining terms in excess of one year at March 31, 2016 were as follows:



		Operating Leases
		Aircraft and Spare Engine Leases		Property Facility Leases		Total Operating Lease Obligations
	(in thousands)
remainder of 2016		$	156,000	$	23,406	$	179,406
2017		197,959		27,175		225,134
2018		179,600		28,366		207,966
2019		152,236		26,924		179,160
2020		141,894		19,083		160,977
2021 and thereafter		495,518		61,646		557,164
Total minimum lease payments		$	1,323,207	$	186,600	$	1,509,807

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 or expected to be paid to aircraft lessors in advance of the performance of major maintenance activities that are not probable of being reimbursed and probable return condition obligations. The Company expects supplemental rent to increase as individual aircraft lease agreements approach their respective termination dates and the Company begins to accrue the estimated cost of return conditions for the corresponding aircraft.

Some of the Company’s master lease agreements provide that the Company pay maintenance reserves to aircraft lessors to be held as collateral in advance of the Company’s required performance of major maintenance activities. Substantially all of these maintenance reserve payments are calculated based on a utilization measure, such as flight hours or cycles, while some maintenance reserve payments are fixed contractual amounts. Fixed maintenance reserve payments for these aircraft and related flight equipment, including estimated amounts for contractual price escalations, are expected to be $5.6 million for the remainder of 2016, $6.8 million in 2017, $5.8 million in 2018, $4.2 million in 2019, $3.9 million in 2020, and $10.2 million in 2021 and beyond. These lease agreements provide that maintenance reserves are reimbursable to the Company upon completion of the maintenance event in an amount equal to either (1) the amount of the maintenance reserves held by the lessor associated with the specific maintenance event or (2) the qualifying costs related to the specific maintenance event. Some of the master lease agreements do not require that the Company pay maintenance reserves so long as the Company's cash balance does not fall below a certain level. The Company is in full compliance with those requirements and does not anticipate having to pay reserves related to these master leases in the future.

In July 2015, the Company executed an upgrade service agreement with Airbus Americas Customer Services Inc. (Airbus) to reconfigure the seating and increase capacity in 40 of the Company’s existing A320 aircraft from 178 to 182 seats (reconfiguration). The reconfiguration of the aircraft commenced in the first quarter of 2016 and is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2017. The cost of the reconfiguration is expected to be approximately $0.6 million per aircraft and purchase commitments for these are estimated to be approximately $13.3 million for the remainder of 2016, $2.5 million in 2017 and none thereafter.

In September 2015, the Company executed a lease agreement with Wayne County Airport Authority (the Authority), which owns and operates Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). Under the lease agreement, the Company leases a 10-acre site, adjacent to the airfield at DTW, in order to construct, operate and maintain an approximately 126,000 square foot hangar facility (the project). The project allows for the development of a maintenance hangar in order to fulfill the requirements of the Company's growing fleet and to reduce dependence on third-party facilities and contract line maintenance. The lease agreement has a 30-year term with two 10-year extension options. Upon termination of the lease, ownership will automatically pass to the Authority. The Company estimates it will complete the project during the fourth quarter of 2016 at a cost of approximately $32 million. The Company will depreciate all capitalized costs related to the project over the lesser of the useful life of the asset or the lease term.

The Company is contractually obligated to pay the following minimum guaranteed payments for its reservation system and advertising media as of March 31, 2016: $3.7 million for the remainder of 2016, $3.9 million in 2017, $2.6 million in 2018, and none thereafter. The Company's current agreement with its reservation system provider expires in 2018.

Litigation

The Company is subject to commercial litigation claims and to administrative and regulatory proceedings and reviews that may be asserted or maintained from time to time. The Company believes the ultimate outcome of such lawsuits, proceedings and reviews will not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on its financial position, liquidity or results of operations.

Credit Card Processing Arrangements

The Company has agreements with organizations that process credit card transactions arising from the purchase of air travel, baggage charges, and other ancillary services by customers. As is standard in the airline industry, the Company's contractual arrangements with credit card processors permit them, under certain circumstances, to retain a holdback or other collateral, which the Company records as restricted cash, when future air travel and other future services are purchased via credit card transactions. The required holdback is the percentage of the Company's overall credit card sales its credit card processors hold to cover refunds to customers if the Company fails to fulfill its flight obligations.

The Company's credit card processors do not require the Company to maintain cash collateral if the Company satisfies certain liquidity and other financial covenants. Failure to meet these covenants would provide the processors the right to place a holdback, resulting in a commensurate reduction of unrestricted cash. As of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company was in compliance with such liquidity and other financial covenants in its credit card processing agreements, and the processors were holding back no remittances.

The maximum potential exposure to cash holdbacks by the Company's credit card processors, based upon advance ticket sales and $9 Fare Club memberships as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, was $311.4 million and $250.2 million, respectively.

Employees

The Company has four union-represented employee groups that together represent approximately 74% of all employees at March 31, 2016. The table below sets forth the Company's employee groups and status of the collective bargaining agreements as of March 31, 2016.



Employee Groups	Representative	Amendable Date	Percentage of Workforce
Pilots	Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA)	August 2015	26%
Flight Attendants	Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA)	August 2007	43%
Dispatchers	Transport Workers Union (TWU)	August 2018	1%
Ramp Service Agents	International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)	June 2020	4%

In March 2016, under the supervision of the National Mediation Board (NMB), the Company and AFA-CWA reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract with the Company's flight attendants. This tentative agreement is subject to ratification by the flight attendant membership. The ratification vote will conclude on May 5, 2016. In connection with this tentative agreement, the Company has agreed upon a $9.6 million ratification incentive payment to be made to the flight attendants upon ratification of the agreement. The Company had previously accrued $1.2 million related to this incentive and, during the three months ended March 31, 2016, accrued an additional $8.4 million recorded within salaries, wages and benefits in the Company's statements of operations.

In August 2015, the Company's collective bargaining agreement with its pilot union, ALPA, became amendable. Currently, the Company is in bargaining with ALPA under Section 6 of the RLA to reach a new contract. Under the RLA, the parties' current agreement remains in effect during bargaining.

In July 2014, certain ramp service agents directly employed by the Company voted to be represented by the IAMAW. In May 2015, the Company entered into a five-year interim collective bargaining agreement with the IAMAW, including material economic terms, and the Company is continuing the process of negotiating a final collective bargaining agreement with the IAMAW. As of March 31, 2016, ramp service agents represented by the IAMAW service 1 of the 56 airports where the Company operates.

The Company is self-insured for health care claims, up to a stop loss amount for eligible participating employees and qualified dependent medical claims, subject to deductibles and limitations. The Company’s liabilities for claims incurred but not reported are determined based on an estimate of the ultimate aggregate liability for claims incurred. The estimate is calculated from actual claim rates and adjusted periodically as necessary. The Company has accrued $4.2 million and $4.3 million in health care claims as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.