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REVENUE | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2018
Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue [Abstract] |
Deferred Revenue Disclosure [Text Block] | REVENUE Passenger Revenues The Company’s contracts with its Customers primarily consist of its tickets sold, which are initially deferred as Air traffic liability. Passenger revenue associated with tickets is recognized when the performance obligation to the Customer is satisfied, which is primarily when travel is provided. Revenue is categorized by revenue source as the Company believes it best depicts the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flow. The following table provides the components of Passenger revenue recognized for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017:
| Three months ended September 30, |  | Nine months ended September 30,
(in millions) | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Passenger non-loyalty | $ | 4,417 |  |  | $ | 4,182 |  |  | $ | 12,969 |  |  | $ | 12,733 |
Passenger loyalty - air transportation | 623 |  |  | 616 |  |  | 1,702 |  |  | 1,724 |
Passenger ancillary sold separately | 154 |  |  | 146 |  |  | 466 |  |  | 412 |
Total passenger revenues | $ | 5,194 |  |  | $ | 4,944 |  |  | $ | 15,137 |  |  | $ | 14,869 |
Passenger non-loyalty includes all revenues recognized from Passengers related to flights paid for primarily with cash or credit card. All Customers purchasing a ticket on Southwest Airlines are generally able to check up to two bags at no extra charge (with certain exceptions as stated in the Company's published Contract of Carriage), and the Company also does not charge a fee for a Customer to make a change to their flight after initial purchase, although fare differences may apply. Passenger loyalty - air transportation primarily consists of the revenue recognized associated with award flights taken by frequent flyer program members upon redemption of frequent flyer points. Passenger ancillary sold separately includes any revenue recognized associated with ancillary fees charged separately, such as in-flight purchases, EarlyBird Check-In®, and Upgraded Boarding. Air traffic liability primarily represents tickets sold for future travel dates, funds that are past flight date and remain unused, but are expected to be used in the future, and the Company’s liability for frequent flyer benefits that are expected to be redeemed in the future. The majority of the Company’s tickets sold are nonrefundable. Southwest has a No Show policy that applies to fares that are not canceled or changed by a Customer at least ten minutes prior to a flight's scheduled departure. Refundable tickets that are sold but not flown on the travel date and canceled in accordance with the No Show policy can also be reused for another flight, up to a year from the date of sale. A small percentage of tickets (or partial tickets) expire unused. The Company estimates the amount of tickets that expire unused and recognizes such amounts in Passenger revenue using the redemption method once the scheduled flight date has lapsed. Based on the Company's revenue recognition policy, revenue is recorded at the flight date for a Customer who does not change his/her itinerary and loses his/her funds as the Company has then fulfilled its performance obligation. Amounts collected from passengers for ancillary services are also recognized when the service is provided, which is typically the flight date. Initial spoilage estimates for both tickets and funds available for future use are routinely adjusted and ultimately finalized once the tickets expire, which is typically twelve months after the original purchase date. Spoilage estimates are based on the Company's Customers' historical travel behavior as well as assumptions about the Customers' future travel behavior. Assumptions used to generate spoilage estimates can be impacted by several factors including, but not limited to: fare increases, fare sales, changes to the Company's ticketing policies, changes to the Company’s refund, exchange and unused funds policies, seat availability, and economic factors. Frequent Flyer Program The Company records a frequent flyer liability for the relative fair value of providing free travel under its frequent flyer program for all points earned from flight activity or sold to companies participating in the Company’s frequent flyer program as business partners. The frequent flyer liability is a performance obligation that is satisfied when a member redeems points for travel or other goods and services, or upon spoilage of the points. Points earned from flight activity are valued at their relative standalone selling price by applying fair value based on historical redemption patterns. Points earned from business partner activity are valued using a relative fair value methodology based on the contractual rate which partners pay to Southwest to award Rapid Rewards points to the business partner’s customers. The terms for these agreements are no more than 10 years in length. The Company’s liability for frequent flyer benefits include a portion that are expected to be redeemed during the following twelve months (classified as a component of Air traffic liability), and a portion that are not expected to be redeemed during the following twelve months (classified as Air traffic liability - noncurrent). The Company continually updates this analysis and adjusts the split between current and non-current liabilities as appropriate. In order to determine the value of each frequent flyer point, certain assumptions must be made at the time of measurement, which include the following:
• | Allocation of Passenger Revenue - Revenues from Passengers, related to travel, who also earn Rapid Rewards Points have been allocated between flight (recognized as revenue when transportation is provided) and Rapid Rewards Points (deferred until points are redeemed or spoil) based on each obligation’s relative standalone selling price. The Company utilizes historical earning patterns to assist in this allocation.
• | Fair Value of Rapid Rewards Points - Determined from the base fare value of tickets which were purchased using prior point redemptions for travel and other products and services, which the Company believes to be indicative of the fair value of points as perceived by Customers and representative of the value of each point at the time of redemption. The Company’s booking site allows a Customer to toggle between fares utilizing either cash or point redemptions, which provides the Customer with an approximation of the equivalent value of their points. The value can differ however, based on demand, the amount of time prior to the flight, and other factors. The fare mix during the period measured represents a constraint, which could result in the assumptions above changing at the measurement date, as fare classes can have different coefficients used to determine the total frequent flyer points needed to purchase an award ticket. The mixture of these fare classes could cause the fair value per point to increase or decrease.
For points that are expected to expire unused, the Company recognizes spoilage in accordance with the redemption method. The Company utilizes historical behavioral data to develop a predictive statistical model to analyze the amount of spoilage expected for points sold to business partners and earned through flight. The Company continues to evaluate expected spoilage at least annually and applies appropriate adjustments in the fourth quarter of each year, which impacts revenue recognition prospectively through the redemption method. In most historical periods, the impact of changes in the estimated spoilage rate has not resulted in material changes to revenue recognition. However, due to the size of the Company’s liability for frequent flyer benefits as a result of the elimination of the incremental cost method of accounting for flight points, changes in Customer behavior and/or expected future redemption patterns could result in more significant variations in Passenger revenue under the New Revenue Standard. ASC 606 requires the Company to allocate consideration received to performance obligations based on the relative fair value of those obligations. The Company has a co-branded credit card agreement (“Agreement”) with Chase Bank USA, N.A. (“Chase”), through which the Company sells loyalty points and certain marketing components, which consist of the use of Southwest Airlines’ brand and access to Rapid Rewards Member lists, licensing and advertising elements, and the use of the Company’s resource team. The Company estimated the selling prices and volumes over the term of the Agreement in order to determine the allocation of proceeds to each of the two performance obligations identified in the Agreement, which have been characterized as a transportation component and a marketing component (which includes loyalty points and ancillary benefits). The allocations utilized are reviewed to determine if adjustment is necessary any time there is a modification to the Agreement. The Company records Passenger revenue related to loyalty point redemptions for air travel when the travel is delivered. The marketing elements are recognized as Other revenue when earned following the sales-based royalty method, as intellectual property was determined to be the predominant component of this performance obligation in the Agreement. The Company has elected the transition provision within ASC 606 to reflect the aggregate effect of historical modifications to the Agreement on January 1, 2018, when (i) identifying the satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations, (ii) determining the transaction price, and (iii) allocating the transaction price to the satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations. When applying the full retrospective adoption provisions of ASC 606, the Company determined the transaction price for all satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations in the Agreement and performed a single allocation of the transaction price to those performance obligations, based on the relative selling prices on January 1, 2016. In applying this transition provision, the Company evaluated the historical modifications of the Agreement and did not identify any new performance obligations throughout the periods prior to adoption of the new standard. The Company did not believe it was reasonably possible to quantitatively estimate the impact of applying this transition provision to contract modifications prior to January 1, 2016. As performance obligations to Customers are satisfied, the related revenue is recognized. The events that result in revenue recognition that are associated with performance obligations identified as a part of the Rapid Rewards Program are as follows:
• | Tickets and Rapid Rewards Points - When a flight occurs, the related performance obligation is satisfied and the related value provided by the Customer, whether from purchased tickets or Rapid Rewards Points, is recognized as revenue.
• | Frequent flyer points redeemed for goods and/or services other than travel - Rapid Rewards Members have the option to redeem points for goods and services offered through a third party vendor, who acts as principal. The performance obligation related to the purchase of these goods and services is satisfied when the good and/or service is delivered to the Customer.
• | Marketing Royalties - As part of its Agreement with Chase, Southwest provides certain deliverables, including use of the Southwest Airlines’ brand, access to Rapid Rewards Member lists, advertising elements, and the Company’s resource team. These performance obligations are satisfied each month that the Agreement is active.
The components of Air traffic liability, including contract liabilities based on tickets sold, unused funds available to the Customer, and frequent flyer points available for redemption, net of expected spoilage, within the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were as follows:
| Balance as of
(in millions) | September 30, 2018 |  | December 31, 2017
Air traffic liability - passenger travel and ancillary passenger services | $ | 2,635 |  |  | $ | 1,898 |
Air traffic liability - loyalty program | 2,948 |  |  | 2,667 |
Total Air traffic liability | $ | 5,583 |  |  | $ | 4,565 |
The balance in Air traffic liability – passenger travel and ancillary passenger services also includes unused funds that are available for use by Customers that are not currently associated with a ticket, but represent funds available for use to purchase a ticket for a flight that occurs prior to their expiration. These funds are typically created as a result of a prior ticket cancellation or exchange. These performance obligations are expected to have a duration of twelve months or less; therefore, the Company has elected the provision within ASC 606 to not disclose the amount of the remaining transaction price and its expected timing of recognition for passenger tickets. Recognition of revenue associated with the Company’s frequent flyer liability can be difficult to predict, as the number of award seats available to members is not currently restricted and they could choose to redeem their points at any time that a seat is available. The performance obligations classified as a current liability related to the Company’s frequent flyer program were estimated based on expected redemptions utilizing historical redemption patterns, and forecasted flight availability, fares, and coefficients. The entire balance classified as Air traffic liability – noncurrent relates to frequent flyer points that were estimated to be redeemed in periods beyond 12 months following the representative balance sheet date. The Company expects the majority of frequent flyer points to be redeemed within two years. A rollforward of the Company's Air traffic liability - loyalty program for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 is as follows (in millions):
| Three months ended September 30, |  | Nine months ended September 30,
| 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Air traffic liability - loyalty program - beginning balance | $ | 2,919 |  |  | $ | 2,586 |  |  | $ | 2,667 |  |  | $ | 2,485 |
Amounts deferred associated with points awarded | 669 |  |  | 621 |  |  | 2,027 |  |  | 1,846 |
Revenue recognized from points redeemed - Passenger | (623 | ) |  | (616 | ) |  | (1,702 | ) |  | (1,724 | )
Revenue recognized from points redeemed - Other | (17 | ) |  | (9 | ) |  | (44 | ) |  | (25 | )
Air traffic liability - loyalty program - ending balance | $ | 2,948 |  |  | $ | 2,582 |  |  | $ | 2,948 |  |  | $ | 2,582 |
Air traffic liability includes consideration received for ticket and loyalty related performance obligations which have not been satisfied as of a given date. A rollforward of the amounts included in Air traffic liability as of September 30, 2018 and 2017 are as follows (in millions):
| Air traffic liability
Balance at December 31, 2017 | $ | 4,565 |
Current period sales (passenger travel, ancillary services, flight loyalty, and partner loyalty) | 16,200 |
Revenue from amounts included in contract liability opening balances (a) | (3,098 | )
Revenue from current period sales (a) | (12,084 | )
Balance at September 30, 2018 | $ | 5,583 |
(a) Does not include certain ancillary revenues that are purchased on the day of travel, which do not flow through Air traffic liability.
| Air traffic liability
Balance at December 31, 2016 | $ | 4,221 |
Current period sales (passenger travel, ancillary services, flight loyalty, and partner loyalty) | 15,696 |
Revenue from amounts included in contract liability opening balances (a) | (2,780 | )
Revenue from current period sales (a) | (12,114 | )
Balance at September 30, 2017 | $ | 5,023 |
(a) Does not include certain ancillary revenues that are purchased on the day of travel, which do not flow through Air traffic liability. All performance obligations related to freight services sold are completed within twelve months or less; therefore, the Company has elected the provision within ASC 606 to not disclose the amount of the remaining transaction price and its expected timing of recognition for freight shipments. Other revenues primarily consist of marketing royalties associated with the Company’s co-branded Chase® Visa credit card, but also include commissions and advertising associated with Southwest.com®. All amounts classified as Other revenues are paid monthly, coinciding with the Company fulfilling its deliverables; therefore, the Company has elected the provision within ASC 606 to not disclose the amount of the remaining transaction price and its expected timing of recognition for such services provided. The Company recognized revenue related to the marketing, advertising, and other travel-related benefits of the revenue associated with various loyalty partner agreements including, but not limited to, the Agreement with Chase, within Other operating revenues. For the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized $290 million and $273 million, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the Company recognized $856 million and $767 million, respectively. The Company is also required to collect certain taxes and fees from Customers on behalf of government agencies and remit these back to the applicable governmental entity on a periodic basis. These taxes and fees include foreign and U.S. federal transportation taxes, federal security charges, and airport passenger facility charges. These items are collected from Customers at the time they purchase their tickets, but are not included in Passenger revenue. The Company records a liability upon collection from the Customer and relieves the liability when payments are remitted to the applicable governmental agency.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for deferred revenues at the end of the reporting period, and description and amounts of significant changes that occurred during the reporting period. Deferred revenue is a liability as of the balance sheet date related to a revenue producing activity for which revenue has not yet been recognized. Generally, an entity records deferred revenue when it receives consideration from a customer before achieving certain criteria that must be met for revenue to be recognized in conformity with GAAP. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 430 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122452 + Details
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