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COMMITMENTS
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS
COMMITMENTS

Future minimum fixed payments for commitments (in millions):
June 30, 2012
Aircraft Leases
 
Facility Leases
 
Aircraft Commitments
 
Capacity Purchase Agreements
 
Engine Maintenance
Remainder of 2012
$
41.8

 
$
31.8

 
$
181.8

 
$
9.7

 
$
20.9

2013
141.6

 
42.5

 
333.2

 
17.4

 
31.9

2014
126.1

 
38.5

 
194.6

 
17.7

 
26.4

2015
104.4

 
27.0

 
48.0

 
18.0

 
10.1

2016
81.9

 
17.2

 
18.4

 
18.3

 

Thereafter
130.7

 
137.9

 
36.8

 
26.5

 

Total
$
626.5

 
$
294.9

 
$
812.8

 
$
107.6

 
$
89.3



Lease Commitments

The Company had lease contracts for 63 aircraft, which have remaining noncancelable lease terms ranging up to nine years at June 30, 2012. Of these aircraft, 14 are non-operating (i.e. not in our fleet) and subleased to third-party carriers. In May 2012, the Company entered into an agreement to sell and leaseback three Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The lease terms are less than two years and qualify as operating leases. The sale of the aircraft resulted in a gain of $3.2 million, which was deferred and will be amortized over the life of the leases to aircraft rent expense on the consolidated statement of operations. The majority of airport and terminal facilities are also leased. Rent expense was $67.9 million and $69.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and $137.9 million and $138.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Aircraft Commitments
 
As of June 30, 2012, the Company is committed to purchasing three Boeing 737-800 aircraft and 22 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, with deliveries in 2012 through 2015, and has options to purchase an additional 39 Boeing 737 aircraft. The Company also purchased one Boeing 737-800 and two Q400 aircraft in the second quarter of 2012. The Company is committed to selling two Q400 aircraft in 2012, and has options to purchase an additional 10 Q400 aircraft.

Capacity Purchase Agreements (CPAs)
 
At June 30, 2012, Alaska had CPAs with three carriers, including our wholly-owned subsidiary, Horizon. Horizon sells 100% of its capacity to Alaska under a CPA, which is eliminated upon consolidation. On May 14, 2011, SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (SkyWest) began flying certain routes under a CPA with Alaska. In addition, Alaska has a CPA with Peninsula Airways, Inc. (PenAir) to fly in the state of Alaska. Under these agreements, Alaska pays the third-party carriers an amount which is based on a determination of their cost of operating those flights and other factors. The costs paid by Alaska to Horizon are based on similar data and are intended to approximate market rates for those services. Future payments (excluding Horizon) are based on minimum levels of flying by the third-party carriers, which could differ materially due to variable payments based on actual levels of flying and certain costs associated with operating flights such as fuel.

Engine Maintenance
 
The Company had power-by-the-hour maintenance agreements for all Boeing 737 engines other than the Boeing 737-800 at June 30, 2012. These agreements transfer risk to third-party service providers and fix the amount the Company pays per flight hour in exchange for maintenance and repairs under a predefined maintenance program. Future payments are based on minimum flight hours. Accordingly, payments could differ materially based on actual flight hours.