Commitments, Contingencies And Guarantees (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended				12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended						12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2008 Boeing 787-9 Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 19, 2011 Boeing 737 NG Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 19, 2011 Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2011 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2012 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2012 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2013 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2013 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2017 [Member] NEO Airbus Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 19, 2011 2013 Through 2017 [Member] Boeing 737-800 NG Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 2013 Through 2017 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 2013 Through 2017 [Member] Maximum [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 2014 Through 2017 [Member] Airbus A320 Family [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 2014 Through 2019 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Jul. 19, 2011 2015 Through 2018 [Member] Boeing 737 NG Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 19, 2011 2018 Through 2022 [Member] Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 2018 Through 2022 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 2018 Through 2022 [Member] Maximum [Member]	Jul. 19, 2011 2020 Through 2025 [Member] Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 2017 Through 2025 [Member] Airbus A320 Family [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Purchase [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Purchase [Member] Boeing 737-800 NG Aircraft [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 Purchase [Member] Airbus A320 Family [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Lease [Member]	Jul. 20, 2011 Lease [Member] Airbus A320 Family [Member]
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Number of aircraft purchase commitments	9		100	100							10	20			70			20				280		3	130		130
Number of aircrafts to be purchased under previously announced plans		42
Rights to acquire additional number of aircrafts		58													15		40				60
Number of aircraft to be acquired pursuant to amendment to purchase agreement													20	35					20	25
Period of leases	10
Payments for the purchase commitments in 2012																							$ 1,200,000,000			$ 905,000,000
Payments for the purchase commitments in 2013																							1,500,000,000			895,000,000
Payments for the purchase commitments in 2014																							494,000,000			1,000,000,000
Payments for the purchase commitments in 2015																							243,000,000			1,200,000,000
Payments for the purchase commitments in 2016																							276,000,000			1,400,000,000
Payments for the purchase commitments in 2017 and beyond																							7,100,000,000			13,100,000,000
Purchase deposits, total																							746,000,000
Required to be paid by the company under the guarantee					100,000,000
Maximum amount of guarantee provided	75,000,000
Contractual obligations related to facility construction or improvement projects						74,000,000
Expected payments for construction or improvement projects assets							44,000,000		12,000,000
Minimum annual payments on contract related to information technology support							90,000,000
Aircraft held under contract	15
Payments on contract that decline to in later years																70,000,000
Payments under airline capacity purchase arrangements current per year								60,000,000		5,000,000
Liability for lease obligations due to the possession of aircraft	21,000,000
Lease expirations	2018 and 2019
Obligation of company's loan agreements and other LIBOR based financing transactions	(i) any reserve or special deposit requirement against assets of, deposits with or credit extended by such lender related to the loan, (ii) any tax, duty or other charge with respect to the loan (except standard income tax) or (iii) capital adequacy requirements.
Risk covenants for indebtedness and operating leases	$ 844,000,000
Higher rate of return from risk covenants	between 100 and 600 basis points above the state rate