Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Under ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, disclosures relating to how fair value is determined for assets and liabilities are required, and a hierarchy for which these assets and liabilities must be grouped is established, based on significant levels of inputs, as follows:

Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2—Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The Company utilizes several valuation techniques in order to assess the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities.

Fuel Derivative Instruments

From time to time, the Company may enter into fuel derivative contracts in order to mitigate the risk of future volatility in fuel prices. The Company’s fuel derivative contracts, if any, generally consist of jet fuel swaps and jet fuel options. These instruments are valued using energy and commodity market data, which is derived by combining raw inputs with quantitative models and processes to generate forward curves and volatilities.

The Company utilizes the market approach to measure fair value for its fuel derivative instruments, if any. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities.

The Company has not historically elected hedge accounting on its fuel derivative instruments. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had no outstanding jet fuel derivatives.

Long-term Debt

The estimated fair value of the Company's term loan debt agreements has been determined to be Level 3 as certain inputs used to determine the fair value of these agreements are unobservable. The Company utilizes a discounted cash flow method to estimate the fair value of the Level 3 long-term debt. The estimated fair value of the Company's publicly and non-publicly held EETC debt agreements has been determined to be Level 2 as the Company utilizes quoted market prices in markets with low trading volumes to estimate the fair value of its Level 2 long-term debt.

The carrying amounts and estimated fair values of the Company's long-term debt at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, were as follows:



	As of December 31,
	2018				2017
	Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value		Fair value level hierarchy
	(in millions)
Fixed-rate senior term loans	$	382.4	$	373.6	$	417.9	$	435.3	Level 3
Fixed-rate junior term loans	31.1		31.1		39.3		40.4		Level 3
Fixed-rate term loans	625.1		600.1		518.0		528.6		Level 3
2015-1 EETC Class A	378.6		374.8		408.6		420.9		Level 2
2015-1 EETC Class B	80.0		78.1		92.0		94.2		Level 2
2015-1 EETC Class C	109.5		107.9		—		—		Level 2
2017-1 EETC Class AA	242.5		228.8		37.5		37.4		Level 2
2017-1 EETC Class A	80.8		76.6		12.5		12.6		Level 2
2017-1 EETC Class B	83.7		79.1		13.8		13.8		Level 2
2017-1 EETC Class C	85.5		84.2		—		—		Level 2
Revolving credit facility	135.3		135.3		—		—		Level 3
Total long-term debt	$	2,234.5	$	2,169.6	$	1,539.6	$	1,583.2

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 are comprised of liquid money market funds and cash and are categorized as Level 1 instruments. The Company maintains cash with various high-quality financial institutions.

Short-term Investment Securities

Short-term investment securities at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 are classified as available-for-sale and consist of U.S. Treasury and U.S. government agency securities with contractual maturities of twelve months or less. The Company's short-term investment securities are categorized as Level 1 instruments, as the Company uses quoted market prices in active markets when determining the fair value of these securities. For additional information, refer to Note 8, Short-term Investment Securities.

Assets and liabilities measured at gross fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below:



	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2018
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,004.7	$	1,004.7	$	—	$	—
Short-term investment securities	102.8		102.8		—		—
Total assets	$	1,107.5	$	1,107.5	$	—	$	—

Total liabilities	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—



	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2017
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(in millions)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	800.8	$	800.8	$	—	$	—
Short-term investment securities	100.9		100.9		—		—
Total assets	$	901.7	$	901.7	$	—	$	—

Total liabilities	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—

The Company had no transfers of assets or liabilities between any of the above levels during the years ended December 31, 2018 or 2017.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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