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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Commitments. As of March 31, 2019, United had firm commitments and options to purchase aircraft from The Boeing Company ("Boeing"), Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") and Embraer S.A. ("Embraer") presented in the table below:
Aircraft Type |  | Number of Firm Commitments (a)
Airbus A350 |  | 45 |
Boeing 737 MAX |  | 171 |
Boeing 777-300ER |  | 4 |
Boeing 787 |  | 20 |
Embraer E175 |  | 25 |
(a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft. |  |
The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery through 2027. To the extent the Company and the aircraft manufacturers with whom the Company has existing orders for new aircraft agree to modify the contracts governing those orders, the amount and timing of the Company's future capital commitments could change. For the remainder of 2019, the Company is scheduled to take delivery of 25 Embraer E175 aircraft, 16 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, 4 Boeing 787 aircraft and 2 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. In 2020, the Company is scheduled to take delivery of 28 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, 15 Boeing 787 aircraft and 2 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. United also has agreements to purchase 20 used Airbus A319 aircraft with expected delivery dates through 2022. During the third quarter of 2018, United entered into an agreement with the lessor of 54 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft to purchase those aircraft in 2019. On March 13, 2019 the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order prohibiting the operation of Boeing 737 MAX series airplanes by U.S. certified operators. As a result, the Company grounded all 14 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet. Prior to the grounding, the Company operated approximately 50 flights a day on these aircraft, and expected, given the delivery schedule, to operate approximately 110 flights a day by the end of the year. The Company has proactively managed the ongoing effects of this grounding. Through a combination of spare aircraft and rebooking customers, the Company has experienced a modest operational and financial impact as of March 31, 2019 as a result of this grounding. However, the operational and financial impact could increase based on a number of factors, including, among others, the period of time the aircraft are unavailable, the availability of replacement aircraft, to the extent needed, and the circumstances of any reintroduction of the grounded aircraft to service. The table below summarizes United's commitments as of March 31, 2019, which include aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and all non-aircraft capital commitments:
|  | (in billions)
Last nine months of 2019 |  | $ | 2.5 |
2020 |  | 5.4 |
2021 |  | 3.7 |
2022 |  | 3.1 |
2023 |  | 2.0 |
After 2023 |  | 7.0 |
|  | $ | 23.7 |
Guarantees. As of March 31, 2019, United is the guarantor of approximately $1.9 billion in aggregate principal amount of tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds and interest thereon. These bonds, issued by various airport municipalities, are payable solely from rentals paid under long-term agreements with the respective governing bodies. The leasing arrangements associated with these obligations are accounted for as operating leases recognized on the Company's balance sheet with the associated expense recorded on a straight-line basis resulting in ratable accrual of the lease obligation over the expected lease term. The obligations associated with these tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds are included in our lease commitments disclosed in Note 8 of this report. All of these bonds are due between 2019 and 2038. In connection with funding the Synergy Loan Agreement, the Company entered into an agreement with AVH's significant minority shareholder, Kingsland, pursuant to which, in return for Kingsland's pledge of its 144.8 million shares of AVH common stock (equivalent to 18.1 million American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs")) and its consent to Synergy's pledge of its AVH common stock to United under the Synergy Loan Agreement, United (1) granted to Kingsland the right to put its shares of AVH common stock to United at market price on the fifth anniversary of the Synergy Loan Agreement, and (2) guaranteed Synergy's obligation to pay Kingsland (which amount, if paid by United, will increase United's secured loan to Synergy by such amount) if the market price of AVH common stock on the fifth anniversary is less than $12 per ADR on the New York Stock Exchange, for an aggregate maximum possible combined put payment and guarantee amount on the fifth anniversary of $217 million. Accordingly, the Company recorded a liability of $31 million for the fair value of its guarantee to loan additional funds to Synergy if required. Any additional loans to Synergy would be collateralized by Synergy's shares of AVH stock and other collateral. Increased Cost Provisions. In United's financing transactions that include loans, United typically agrees to reimburse lenders for any reduced returns with respect to the loans due to any change in capital requirements and, in the case of loans in which the interest rate is based on the London Interbank Offered Rate, for certain other increased costs that the lenders incur in carrying these loans as a result of any change in law, subject, in most cases, to obligations of the lenders to take certain limited steps to mitigate the requirement for, or the amount of, such increased costs. At March 31, 2019, the Company had $3.4 billion of floating rate debt and $18 million of fixed rate debt with remaining terms of up to 12 years that are subject to these increased cost provisions. In several financing transactions involving loans or leases from non-U.S. entities, with remaining terms of up to 12 years and an aggregate balance of $3.2 billion, the Company bears the risk of any change in tax laws that would subject loan or lease payments thereunder to non-U.S. entities to withholding taxes, subject to customary exclusions. As of March 31, 2019, United is the guarantor of $142 million of aircraft mortgage debt issued by one of United's regional carriers. The aircraft mortgage debt is subject to similar increased cost provisions as described above for the Company's debt, and the Company would potentially be responsible for those costs under the guarantees. Labor Negotiations. As of March 31, 2019, the Company had approximately 93,000 employees, of whom approximately 84% were represented by various U.S. labor organizations. On February 1, 2019, the collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association ("ALPA"), the union representing United’s pilots, became amendable. The Company and ALPA are in negotiations for an amended agreement. The Company and UNITE HERE, the labor union representing United's Catering Operations employees, started negotiations for a first collective bargaining agreement in March 2019.

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