Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

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 June 30, 2022, the Company's total firm aircraft orders consisted of 113 A320 family aircraft with Airbus, including A319neos, A320neos and A321neos, with deliveries expected through 2027. Out of these 113 aircraft, the Company has 10 aircraft scheduled for delivery in the remainder of 2022 and 17 aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2023. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had secured financing for the 10 aircraft scheduled for delivery from Airbus through the remainder of 2022, which will be financed through sale leaseback transactions. As of June 30, 2022, the Company did not have financing commitments in place for the remaining 103 Airbus aircraft on firm order through 2027. However, the Company has a financing letter of agreement with Airbus which provides backstop financing for a majority of the aircraft included in the A320 NEO Family Purchase Agreement signed in the fourth quarter of 2019. The agreement provides a standby credit facility in the form of senior secured mortgage debt financing. The contractual purchase amounts for all aircraft orders from Airbus are included within the purchase commitments below.

During the third quarter of 2021, the Company entered into an Engine Purchase Support Agreement which requires the Company 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 June 30, 2022, the Company is committed to purchase 14 PW1100G-JM spare engines, with deliveries through 2027.

As of June 30, 2022, purchase commitments for the Company's aircraft and engine orders, including estimated amounts for contractual price escalations and pre-delivery payments, are expected to be $507.3 million for the remainder of 2022, $906.9 million in 2023, $999.8 million in 2024, $1,060.7 million in 2025, $1,349.9 million in 2026, and $872.8 million in 2027 and beyond.

During the third quarter of 2019, the United States announced its decision to levy tariffs on certain imports from the European Union, including commercial aircraft and related parts. These tariffs include aircraft and other parts that the Company is already contractually obligated to purchase including those reflected above. In 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.

In addition to the aircraft purchase agreement, as of June 30, 2022, the Company has agreements in place for 40 A320neos and A321neos to be financed through direct leases with third-party lessors with deliveries scheduled from the remainder of 2022 through 2024. As of June 30, 2022, aircraft rent commitments for future aircraft deliveries to be financed under direct leases from third-party lessors and sale leaseback transactions are expected to be approximately $18.0 million for the remainder of 2022, $110.8 million in 2023, $188.9 million in 2024, $217.9 million in 2025, $217.9 million in 2026, and $1,861.5 million in 2027 and beyond.

Interest commitments related to the secured debt financing of 73 delivered aircraft as of June 30, 2022 are $46.2 million for the remainder of 2022, $64.6 million in 2023, $53.3 million in 2024, $45.8 million in 2025, $38.3 million in 2026, and $90.3 million in 2027 and beyond. As of June 30, 2022, interest commitments related to the Company's 8.00% senior secured notes, convertible debt financing, unsecured term loans and revolving credit facility are $24.5 million for the remainder of 2022, $48.4 million in 2023, $48.4 million in 2024, $45.4 million in 2025, $5.9 million in 2026, and $14.0 million in 2027 and beyond. For principal commitments related to the Company's debt financing, refer to Note 12, Debt and Other Obligations.

The Company is contractually obligated to pay the following minimum guaranteed payments for its reservation system, construction commitments related to its new headquarters campus and residential building and other miscellaneous subscriptions and services as of June 30, 2022: $34.3 million for the remainder of 2022, $21.7 million in 2023, $18.1 million in 2024, $18.1 million in 2025, $17.5 million in 2026, and $19.2 million in 2027 and thereafter. During the first quarter of 2018, the Company entered into a contract renewal with its reservation system provider which expires in 2028.

Litigation and Assessments

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. In making a determination regarding accruals, using available information, the Company evaluates the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome in legal or regulatory proceedings and assessments to which the Company is a party and records a loss contingency when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These subjective determinations are based on the status of such legal or regulatory proceedings, the merits of the Company's defenses, and consultation with legal counsel. Actual outcomes of these legal and regulatory proceedings may materially differ from the Company's current estimates. It is possible that resolution of one or more of the legal matters currently pending or threatened could result in losses material to the Company's consolidated results of operations, liquidity, or financial condition.

Following an audit by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") related to the collection of federal excise taxes on optional passenger seat selection charges covering the period of the second quarter 2018 through the fourth quarter 2020, on March 31, 2022, the Company was assessed $34.9 million. On July 19, 2022, the assessment was reduced to $27.5 million. The Company believes a loss in this matter is not probable and has not recognized a loss contingency.

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 that 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 provided that 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 June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company's credit card 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 Spirit Saver$ Club® memberships as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, was $632.5 million and $371.8 million, respectively.

Employees

The Company has 5 union-represented employee groups that together represented approximately 79% of all employees as of June 30, 2022. The table below sets forth the Company's employee groups and status of the collective bargaining agreements as of June 30, 2022.

Employee Groups	Representative	Amendable Date (1)	Percentage of Workforce
Pilots	Air Line Pilots Association, International ("ALPA")	February 2023	27%
Flight Attendants	Association of Flight Attendants ("AFA-CWA")	September 2021	46%
Dispatchers	Professional Airline Flight Control Association ("PAFCA")	October 2023	1%
Ramp Service Agents	International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers ("IAMAW")	November 2026	3%
Passenger Service Agents	Transport Workers Union of America ("TWU")	February 2027	2%

(1) Subject to standard early opener provisions.

The Company's passenger service agents are represented by the TWU, but the representation applies only to the Company's Fort Lauderdale station where the Company has direct employees in the passenger service classification. The Company and the TWU began meeting in late October 2018 to negotiate an initial collective bargaining agreement. During February 2022, the Company reached a tentative agreement with the TWU. The Company's passenger service agents ratified the five-year agreement on February 21, 2022.

In February 2021, the Company 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 the Company, as required by the Railway Labor Act, that it intends to submit proposed changes to the collective bargaining agreement covering the Company’s flight attendants. The Company and the AFA-CWA began the negotiation sessions on September 27, 2021. As of June 30, 2022, the Company continued to negotiate with the AFA-CWA.In May 2022, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association ("AMFA") filed an application with the NMB to represent the Company's aircraft maintenance technicians ("AMTs"). In June 2022, the Company received confirmation that the union election was authorized. The union election is currently ongoing through August 25, 2022. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had approximately 600 AMTs. In the event that the Company's AMTs vote to be represented by the AMFA, the Company's labor costs may increase.