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REVENUE | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2021
Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue [Abstract] |
REVENUE | REVENUE Passenger Revenues 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 months ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020:
| Three months ended March 31, |  |
(in millions) | 2021 |  | 2020 |  |  |  |
Passenger non-loyalty | $ | 1,354 |  |  | $ | 3,220 |  |  |  |  |
Passenger loyalty - air transportation | 278 |  |  | 461 |  |  |  |  |
Passenger ancillary sold separately | 80 |  |  | 164 |  |  |  |  |
Total passenger revenues | $ | 1,712 |  |  | $ | 3,845 |  |  |  |  |
As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the components of Air traffic liability and Air traffic liability - noncurrent, including contract liabilities based on tickets sold, unused funds available to the Customer, and loyalty points available for redemption, net of expected spoilage, within the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were as follows:
| Balance as of
(in millions) | March 31, 2021 |  | December 31, 2020
Air traffic liability - passenger travel and ancillary passenger services | $ | 3,109 |  |  | $ | 2,686 |
Air traffic liability - loyalty program | 4,623 |  |  | 4,447 |
Total Air traffic liability | $ | 7,732 |  |  | $ | 7,133 |
The balance in Air traffic liability - passenger travel and ancillary passenger services also includes unused funds that are available for use by Customers and are not currently associated with a ticket, but represent funds effectively refunded and made 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. Rollforwards of the Company's Air traffic liability - loyalty program for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 were as follows (in millions):
| Three months ended March 31, |  |  |  |
| 2021 |  | 2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Air traffic liability - loyalty program - beginning balance | $ | 4,447 |  |  | $ | 3,385 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Amounts deferred associated with points awarded | 466 |  |  | 656 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Revenue recognized from points redeemed - Passenger | (278) |  |  | (461) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Revenue recognized from points redeemed - Other | (12) |  |  | (19) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Air traffic liability - loyalty program - ending balance | $ | 4,623 |  |  | $ | 3,561 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Air traffic liability includes consideration received for ticket and loyalty related performance obligations which have not been satisfied as of a given date. Rollforwards of the amounts included in Air traffic liability as of March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 were as follows (in millions):
| Air traffic liability
Balance at December 31, 2020 | $ | 7,133 |
Current period sales (passenger travel, ancillary services, flight loyalty, and partner loyalty) | 2,324 |
Revenue from amounts included in contract liability opening balances | (743) |
Revenue from current period sales | (982) |
Balance at March 31, 2021 | $ | 7,732 |
| Air traffic liability
Balance at December 31, 2019 | $ | 5,510 |
Current period sales (passenger travel, ancillary services, flight loyalty, and partner loyalty) | 4,565 |
Revenue from amounts included in contract liability opening balances | (1,949) |
Revenue from current period sales | (1,915) |
Balance at March 31, 2020 | $ | 6,211 |
During 2020, the Company experienced a significantly higher number of Customer-driven flight cancellations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. See Note 2 for further information. As a result, the amount of Customer travel funds held by the Company, net of spoilage, that can be redeemed for future travel as of March 31, 2021, represents approximately 22 percent of the total Air traffic liability balance at March 31, 2021, as compared to approximately 28 percent of the total Air traffic liability balance at December 31, 2020. Both of these recent periods represent a significantly higher portion than the approximate 2 percent of the Air traffic liability balance that Customer funds made up as of December 31, 2019. In order to provide additional flexibility to Customers who hold these funds, the Company has significantly relaxed its previous policies with regards to the time period within which these funds can be redeemed, which is typically twelve months from the original date of purchase. For all Customer travel funds created or that would have otherwise expired between March 1 and September 7, 2020 associated with flight cancellations, the Company has extended the expiration date to September 7, 2022. At March 31, 2021, $1.8 billion of Customer travel funds remain in Air traffic liability with a September 7, 2022 expiration date. The Company has limited data available to predict the occurrence or timing of performance obligation satisfaction on these funds due to certain constraints including, but not limited to, consumer confidence, economic health, vaccines, and uncertainty regarding customer travel fund redemption patterns for funds that live longer than 12 months as this is unprecedented in Company history. As a result, recognition of these travel funds as flown revenue, refunds, or spoilage revenue will likely be more volatile from period to period compared to what previous Customer behavior may indicate, as cumulative revenue recognized is constrained to amounts that are not probable of being reversed. Despite the possibility that some of these travel funds may be redeemed beyond the following twelve-month period, the Company has continued to classify them as "current" in the accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as they remain a demand liability and the Company has limited data to enable it to accurately estimate the portion that will not be redeemed for travel in the subsequent twelve months. Recognition of revenue associated with the Company’s loyalty 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 loyalty 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 loyalty points that were estimated to be redeemed in periods beyond 12 months following the representative balance sheet date. The Company expects the majority of loyalty points to be redeemed within two years. 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. Given the unprecedented amount of 2020 Customer flight cancellations and the amount of travel funds provided, the Company expects additional variability in the amount of spoilage revenue recorded in future periods, as the estimates of the portion of sold tickets that will expire unused may differ from historical experience. The Company has a co-branded credit card agreement (the “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 the brand and access to Rapid Rewards Member lists, licensing and advertising elements, and the use of the Company’s resource team. In 2018, Chase and Southwest executed a multi-year extension of the Agreement, extending the decades-long relationship between the parties. 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 March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020, the Company recognized $280 million and $321 million, respectively.

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- Definition The entire disclosure of revenue from contract with customer to transfer good or service and to transfer nonfinancial asset. Includes, but is not limited to, disaggregation of revenue, credit loss recognized from contract with customer, judgment and change in judgment related to contract with customer, and asset recognized from cost incurred to obtain or fulfill contract with customer. Excludes insurance and lease contracts. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=49130388 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 10 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130551-203045 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 13 -Subparagraph (b)(2) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130556-203045 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130554-203045 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130550-203045 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (e) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130554-203045 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130554-203045 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (d) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130554-203045 Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130558-203045 Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 606 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130554-203045 + Details
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