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Debt and Other Obligations
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Debt and Other Obligations Debt and Other Obligations
Long-term debt

    As of December 31, 2023, the Company had outstanding public and non-public debt instruments.

Revolving credit facility due in 2025

As of both December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had $300.0 million undrawn and available under its revolving credit facility. Any amounts drawn on this facility are included in long-term debt and finance leases, less current maturities, on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. During the fourth quarter 2023, the Company amended the agreement to extend the final maturity of the facility to September 30, 2025 and adjust other terms.

The Company may pledge the following types of assets as collateral to secure its obligations under the revolving credit facility: (i) certain take-off and landing rights of the Company at LaGuardia Airport, (ii) certain eligible aircraft spare parts and ground support equipment, (iii) aircraft, spare engines and flight simulators, (iv) real property assets and (v) cash and cash equivalents. The revolving credit facility bears variable interest based on SOFR, plus a 2.00% margin per annum, or another rate, at the Company's election, based on certain market interest rates, plus a 1.00% margin per annum, in each case with a floor of 0%.

The 2025 revolving credit facility requires the Company to maintain (i) so long as any loans or letters of credit are outstanding under the 2025 revolving credit facility, unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, short-term investment securities and unused commitments available under all revolving credit facilities (including the 2025 revolving credit facility) aggregating not less than $450.0 million, of which no more than $300.0 million may be derived from unused commitments under the 2025 revolving credit facility, (ii) a minimum ratio of the borrowing base of the collateral described above (determined as the sum of a specified percentage of the appraised value of each type of such collateral) to outstanding obligations under the 2025 revolving credit facility of not less than 1.0 to 1.0 (if the Company does not meet the minimum collateral coverage ratio, it must either provide additional collateral to secure its obligations under the 2025 revolving credit facility or repay the loans under the 2025 revolving credit facility by an amount necessary to maintain compliance with the collateral coverage ratio), and (iii) the pledged take-off and landing rights of the Company at LaGuardia Airport and a specified number of spare engines in the collateral described above so long as any loans or letters of credit are outstanding under the 2025 revolving credit facility.

Convertible senior notes due 2025

On May 12, 2020, the Company completed the public offering of $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2025 ("convertible notes due 2025").
Noteholders may convert their notes at their option only in the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter commencing after the calendar quarter ending on June 30, 2020 (and only during such calendar quarter), if the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price for each of at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during the 30 consecutive trading days ending on, and including, the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter; (2) during the five consecutive business days immediately after any five consecutive trading day period (such five consecutive trading day period, the “measurement period”) in which the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of notes for each trading day of the measurement period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock on such trading day and the conversion rate on such trading day; (3) upon the occurrence of certain corporate events or distributions on the Company’s common stock; and (4) at any time from, and including, February 18, 2025 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately before the maturity date. As of December 31, 2023, the notes may be converted by noteholders through March 31, 2024.

Based on the terms of the indenture, upon conversion, the Company will pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of common stock, at the Company’s election. However, based on the terms of Merger Agreement with JetBlue, upon conversion of any convertible notes due 2025 through the closing or termination of the Merger Agreement with JetBlue, the conversion value, including the principal amount, will be paid all in shares of the Company's common stock. The initial conversion rate was 78.4314 shares of voting common stock per $1,000 principal amount of convertible notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $12.75 per share of common stock). The conversion rate will be subject to adjustment in some events but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest. Due to the payment of the Approval Prepayment and Additional Prepayment Amounts paid by JetBlue to the Company's stockholders, in accordance with the terms of the indenture, the Company has announced related adjustments to the conversion rate of its convertible senior notes due 2025. As of December 31, 2023, the conversion rate was 94.9262 shares of voting common stock per $1,000 principal amount of convertible notes (equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $10.53 per share of common stock). Refer to Note 3, Current Developments for additional information on the Approval Prepayment and Additional Prepayment Amounts.

During the first quarter of 2023, $0.3 million of the Company's convertible notes due 2025 were converted to 27,204 shares of the Company's voting common stock. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had recorded $0.3 million, net of issuance costs and common stock, in additional paid-in-capital on its consolidated balance sheets related to the conversion of these notes. Since the notes are currently convertible in accordance with the terms of the indenture governing such notes, the Company had $25.1 million recorded within current maturities of long-term debt and finance leases on its consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 related to its convertible notes due 2025. As of December 31, 2023, the if-converted value exceeds the principal amount of the convertible notes due 2025 by $14.2 million using the average stock price for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

Convertible senior notes due 2026

On April 30, 2021, the Company completed the public offering of $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 1.00% convertible senior notes due 2026 ("convertible notes due 2026").

Noteholders may convert their notes at their option only in the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter commencing after the calendar quarter ending on June 30, 2021 (and only during such calendar quarter), if the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price for each of at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during the 30 consecutive trading days ending on, and including, the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter; (2) during the five consecutive business days immediately after any five consecutive trading day period (such five consecutive trading day period, the “measurement period”) in which the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of notes for each trading day of the measurement period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price per share of the Company’s common stock on such trading day and the conversion rate on such trading day; (3) upon the occurrence of certain corporate events or distributions on the Company’s common stock; (4) if the Company calls such notes for redemption; and (5) at any time from, and including, February 17, 2026 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately before the maturity date. As of December 31, 2023, the notes did not qualify for conversion by noteholders through March 31, 2024.

Based on the terms of the indenture, the Company will have the right to elect to settle conversions in cash, shares of the Company's common stock or a combination of cash and shares of common stock. Upon conversion of any notes, the Company will pay the conversion value in cash up to at least the principal amount of the notes being converted. However, based on the terms of the Merger Agreement with JetBlue, upon conversion of any convertible notes due 2026 through the closing or termination of the Merger Agreement with JetBlue, the conversion value, including the principal amount, will be paid all in cash. The conversion value will be determined over an observation period consisting of 40 trading days. The initial conversion rate
was 20.3791 shares of voting common stock per $1,000 principal amount of convertible notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $49.07 per share of common stock). The conversion rate will be subject to adjustment in some events but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest. Due to the payment of the Approval Prepayment and Additional Prepayment Amounts paid by JetBlue to the Company's stockholders, in accordance with the terms of the indenture, the Company has announced related adjustments to the conversion rate of its convertible senior notes due 2026. As of December 31, 2023, the conversion rate was 24.6649 shares of voting common stock per $1,000 principal amount of convertible notes (equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $40.54 per share of common stock). Refer to Note 3, Current Developments for additional information on the Approval Prepayment and Additional Prepayment Amounts.

The Merger Agreement with JetBlue includes settlement terms for any conversion of the convertible notes due 2026, as described above, that cause the conversion option, which is an embedded derivative, not to qualify for the derivative accounting scope exception provided under ASC 815. As such, the Company bifurcated the fair value of the conversion option of the convertible senior notes due 2026 as a derivative liability with subsequent changes in fair value recorded in earnings. The Company recorded the fair value of the embedded derivative of $49.5 million as a derivative liability within deferred gains and other long-term liabilities and a debt discount within long-term debt and finance leases, less current maturities on its consolidated balance sheets. The debt discount will continue to be amortized through interest expense, using the effective interest rate method, over the remaining life of the instrument.

Since the notes are currently not convertible in accordance with the terms of the indenture governing such notes, the Company had $472.6 million, net of the related unamortized debt discount of $27.4 million, recorded within long-term debt and finance leases, less current maturities on the Company's consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 related to its convertible notes due 2026. For additional information, refer to Note 18, Fair Value Measurements.

Adoption of ASU No. 2020-06

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, "Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity's Own Equity." This standard simplifies and adds disclosure requirements for the accounting and measurement of convertible instruments. It eliminates the treasury stock method for convertible instruments and requires application of the “if-converted” method for certain agreements when computing earnings per share. In addition, the standard eliminates the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models that require separate accounting for embedded conversion features and the recognition of a debt discount and related amortization to interest expense of those embedded features.

The Company elected to early adopt this standard effective January 1, 2021 using the modified retrospective approach transition method. Therefore, the consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are presented under the new standard.

In connection with the adoption of this standard, the Company recognized a cumulative effect adjustment, net of tax, of $6.1 million to retained earnings on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2021. This adjustment was primarily driven by the derecognition of interest expense related to the accretion of the debt discount associated with the embedded conversion option recorded in the prior period as required under the legacy guidance. In addition, the Company reclassified $75.6 million, less related tax of $17.1 million and issuance costs of $2.9 million, from additional paid-in-capital ("APIC") to long-term debt and finance leases on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2021. The reclassification was recorded in order to combine the two legacy units of account into a single instrument classified as a liability since bifurcation of the instrument into two units of account is no longer required under this standard.
Long-term debt is comprised of the following:
As of
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
(in millions)(weighted-average interest rates)
8.00% senior secured notes due in 2025
$1,110.0 $1,110.0 8.00 %8.00 %
Fixed-rate term loans due through 2039 (1)
1,093.3 1,094.7 5.83 %3.52 %
Unsecured term loans due through 2031136.3 136.3 1.00 %1.00 %
Fixed-rate class A 2015-1 EETC due through 2028
256.6 278.6 4.10 %4.10 %
Fixed-rate class B 2015-1 EETC due through 2024
40.0 48.0 4.45 %4.45 %
Fixed-rate class C 2015-1 EETC due through 2023
— 63.8 4.93 %4.93 %
Fixed-rate class AA 2017-1 EETC due through 2030
172.2 186.3 3.38 %3.38 %
Fixed-rate class A 2017-1 EETC due through 2030
57.4 62.1 3.65 %3.65 %
Fixed-rate class B 2017-1 EETC due through 2026
48.2 51.7 3.80 %3.80 %
Fixed-rate class C 2017-1 EETC due through 2023
— 85.5 5.11 %5.11 %
Convertible notes due in 202525.1 25.4 4.75 %4.75 %
Convertible notes due in 2026500.0 500.0 1.00 %1.00 %
Long-term debt$3,439.1 $3,642.4 
Less current maturities315.3 346.4 
Less unamortized discount, net
69.0 95.8 
Total$3,054.8 $3,200.2 
(1) Includes obligations related to 15 aircraft recorded as failed sale-leaseback transactions. Refer to Note 14, Leases for additional information.
The Company's debt financings entered into solely to finance aircraft acquisition costs are collateralized by first priority security interest in the individual aircraft being financed. During the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company made principal payments of $337.5 million and $193.0 million on its outstanding debt obligations, respectively.
Extinguishment of Debt
During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company early extinguished $323.3 million of outstanding fixed-rate term loans related to 16 aircraft. In connection with this debt extinguishment, the Company recorded a gain of $15.4 million within loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt on its consolidated statement of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. In addition, during December 2023, the Company completed 20 sale-leaseback transactions (including 16 previously owned aircraft and 4 unencumbered aircraft) of which, 6 resulted in operating leases and 14 would have been deemed finance leases resulting in failed sale-leaseback transactions. As a result of the 14 failed sale-leaseback transactions, the Company recorded the related debt of $458.0 million recorded within current maturities of long-term debt and finance leases and long-term debt and finance leases, less current maturities. Refer to Note 14, Leases for additional information on the 20 sale-leaseback transactions.
At December 31, 2023, long-term debt principal payments for the next five years and thereafter are as follows:
December 31, 2023
(in millions)
2024$305.2 
20251,263.7 
2026670.0 
2027150.3 
2028252.5 
2029 and beyond797.4 
Total debt principal payments$3,439.1 


Interest Expense

Interest expense related to long-term debt and finance leases consists of the following:
 Twelve Months Ended December 31,
202320222021
(in thousands)
8.00% senior secured notes (1)
$93,010 $47,954 $51,897 
Fixed-rate term loans37,213 41,446 42,765 
Unsecured term loans1,363 1,363 1,168 
Class A 2015-1 EETC10,962 11,874 12,781 
Class B 2015-1 EETC1,954 2,312 2,669 
Class C 2015-1 EETC777 3,424 3,988 
Class AA 2017-1 EETC5,990 6,464 6,938 
Class A 2017-1 EETC2,159 2,330 2,501 
Class B 2017-1 EETC1,881 2,016 2,189 
Class C 2017-1 EETC522 4,367 4,367 
Convertible notes (2)
(3,778)(68)6,997 
Revolving credit facilities— — 1,733 
Finance leases30 57 93 
Commitment and other fees1,655 2,162 2,243 
Amortization of deferred financing costs15,453 14,204 13,282 
Total$169,191 $139,905 $155,611 
(1) Includes $4.2 million, $1.4 million and $1.3 million of accretion and $88.8 million, $46.5 million and $50.6 million of interest expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 respectively.
(2) Includes $14.3 million and $20.3 million of amortization of the discount for the convertible notes due 2026 as well as interest expense for the convertible notes due 2025 and 2026, offset by $18.1 million and $20.3 million of favorable mark to market adjustments for the convertible notes due 2026 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. Includes $7.0 million of interest expense for the convertible notes due 2025 and convertible notes due 2026 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.
As of both December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had a line of credit for $20.1 million, related to corporate credit cards. Respectively, the Company had drawn $1.5 million and $1.8 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, which is included in accounts payable.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had lines of credit with counterparties for derivatives, if any, and physical fuel delivery in the amount of $25.0 million and $41.5 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had not drawn on these lines of credit for physical fuel delivery. As of December 31, 2022 the Company had drawn $2.0 million on these lines of credit for physical fuel delivery, which is included within other current liabilities in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company is required to post collateral for any excess above the lines of credit if the fuel derivatives, if any, are in a net liability position and make periodic payments in order to maintain an adequate undrawn portion for physical fuel delivery. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any outstanding fuel derivatives.