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REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2018
Revenue Recognition [Abstract] |
REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS | REVENUE Ticket revenue is recorded as Passenger revenue, and represents the primary source of the Company's revenue. Also included in Passenger revenue are passenger ancillary revenues such as bag fees, on-board food and beverage, ticket change fees, and certain revenue from the frequent flyer program. Mileage plan™ other revenue includes brand and marketing revenue from our co-branded credit card and other partners and certain interline frequent flyer revenue, net of commissions. Cargo and other revenue includes freight and mail revenue, and to a lesser extent, other ancillary revenue products such as lounge membership and certain commissions. The Company disaggregates revenue by segment in Note 9. The level of detail within the Company’s statements of operations, segment disclosures, and in this footnote depict the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and how cash flows are affected by economic and other factors. Passenger Ticket and Ancillary Services Revenue The primary performance obligation in a typical passenger ticket is to provide air travel to the Company’s passengers. Ticket revenue is collected in advance of travel and recorded as Air Traffic Liability (ATL) on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company satisfies its performance obligation and recognizes ticket revenue on each flight segment when the transportation is provided. Ancillary passenger revenues relate to items such as checked-bag fees, ticket change fees, and on-board food and beverage sales, all of which are provided at time of flight. As such, the obligation to perform these services is satisfied at the time of travel and is recorded with ticket revenue in Passenger revenue. Revenue is also recognized for tickets that are expected to expire unused, a concept referred to as “passenger ticket breakage.” Passenger ticket breakage is recorded in advance of the flight date using estimates based on the Company’s historical experience of expired tickets, and other facts such as program changes and modifications. In addition to selling tickets on its own marketed flights, the Company has interline agreements with partner airlines where it sells multi-city tickets with one or more segments of the trip flown by a partner airline, or it operates a connecting flight sold by a partner airline. Each segment in a connecting flight represents a separate performance obligation. Revenue on segments sold and operated by the Company is recognized as Passenger revenue in the gross amount of the allocated ticket price when the travel occurs, while the commission paid to the partner airline is recognized as a selling expense when the related transportation is provided. Revenue on segments operated by a partner airline is deferred for the full amount of the consideration received at the time the ticket is sold and, once the segment has been flown the Company records the net amount, after compensating the partner airline, as Cargo and other revenue. A portion of revenue from the Mileage Plan™ program is recorded in Passenger revenue. As members are awarded mileage credits on flown tickets, these credits become a distinct performance obligation to the Company. The Company allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation identified in a passenger ticket contract on a relative standalone selling price basis. The standalone selling price for loyalty mileage credits issued is discussed in the Loyalty Mileage Credits section of this Note below. The amount allocated to the mileage credits is deferred on the balance sheet. Once a member travels using a travel award redeemed with mileage credits on one of the Company's airline carriers, the revenue associated with those mileage credits is recorded as Passenger revenue. Taxes collected from passengers, including transportation excise taxes, airport and security fees and other fees, are recorded on a net basis within passenger revenue in the consolidated statements of operations. Passenger revenue recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations (in millions):
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2018 |  | 2017
Passenger ticket revenue, including ticket breakage and net of taxes and fees | $ | 1,428 |  |  | $ | 1,358 |
Passenger ancillary revenue | 118 |  |  | 116 |
Mileage Plan TM passenger revenue | 139 |  |  | 128 |
Total passenger revenue | $ | 1,685 |  |  | $ | 1,602 |
As passenger tickets and related ancillary services are primarily sold via credit cards, certain amounts due from credit card processors are recorded as airline traffic receivables. These credit card receivables and receivables from our affinity credit card partner represent the majority of the receivables balance on the Balance Sheet. For performance obligations with performance periods of less than one year,GAAP provides a practical expedient that allows the Company not to disclose the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations and the timing of related revenue recognition. As passenger tickets expire one year from ticketing, if unused or not exchanged, the Company elected to apply this practical expedient. Mileage Plan™ Loyalty Program Loyalty mileage credits The Company’s Mileage Plan™ loyalty program provides frequent flyer travel awards to program members based upon accumulated loyalty mileage credits. Mileage credits are earned through travel, purchases using the Mileage Plan™ co-branded credit card and purchases from other participating partners. The program has a 24-month expiration period for unused mileage credits from the month of last account activity. The Company offers redemption of mileage credits through free, discounted or upgraded air travel on Alaska flights or on one of its 16 airline partners. The Company uses a relative standalone selling price allocation to allocate consideration to material performance obligations in contracts with customers that include loyalty mileage credits. As directly observable selling prices for mileage credits are not available, the Company determines the standalone selling price of mileage credits primarily using actual ticket purchase prices for similar tickets flown, adjusted for the likelihood of redemption, or breakage. In determining similar tickets flown, the Company considers current market prices, class of service, type of award, and other factors. For mileage credits accumulated through travel on partner airlines, the Company uses actual consideration received from the partners. Revenue related to air transportation is deferred in the amount of the relative standalone selling price allocated to the loyalty mileage credits as they are issued. The Company satisfies its performance obligation when the mileage credits are redeemed and the related air transportation is delivered. The Company estimates breakage for the portion of loyalty mileage credits not expected to be redeemed using a statistical analysis of historical data, including actual mileage credits expiring, slow-moving and low-credit accounts, among other factors. The breakage rate for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was 17.4%. The Company reviews the breakage rate used on an annual basis. Co-brand credit card agreement and other In addition to mileage credits, the co-brand credit card agreement, referred to herein as the Agreement, also includes performance obligations for waived bag fees, Companion Fare™ offers to purchase an additional ticket at a discount, marketing, and the use of intellectual property including the brand (unlimited access to the use of the Company’s brand and frequent flyer member lists), which is the predominant element in the Agreement. The affinity card bank partner is the related customer for some elements, including the brand and marketing, while the Mileage Plan™ member is the customer for other elements such as mileage credits, bag waivers, and companion fares. At the inception of the Agreement, management estimated the selling price of each of the deliverables, or performance obligations. The objective was to determine the price at which a sale would be transacted if the product or service was sold on a stand-alone basis. The Company determined its best estimate of selling price for each element by considering multiple inputs and methods including, but not limited to, the estimated selling price of comparable travel, discounted cash flows, brand value, published selling prices, number of miles awarded and number of miles redeemed. 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 multiple deliverables. The estimates of the standalone selling prices of each element do not change subsequent to the original valuation of the contract unless the contract is materially modified, but the allocation between elements may change based upon the actual and updated projected volumes of each element delivered during the term of the contract. Consideration received from the bank is variable and is primarily from consumer spend on the card, among other items. The Company allocates consideration to each of the performance obligations, including mileage credits, waived bag fees, companion fares, and brand and marketing, using their relative standalone selling price. Because the performance obligation related to providing use of intellectual property including the brand is satisfied over time, it is recognized in Mileage Plan TM other revenue in the period that those elements are sold. The Company records passenger revenue related to the air transportation and certificates for discounted companion travel when the transportation is delivered. In contracts with non-bank partners, the Company has identified two performance obligations in most cases - travel and brand. Revenue is recognized using the residual method, where the travel performance obligation is deferred until transportation is provided in the amount of the estimated standalone selling price of the ticket, less breakage. The residual amount, if any, is recognized as commission revenue when the brand element is sold. Mileage credit sales recorded under the residual approach are immaterial to the overall program. Interline loyalty The Company has interline arrangements with certain airlines whereby its members may earn and redeem Mileage Plan™ credits on those airlines, and members of a partner airline’s loyalty program may earn and redeem frequent flyer program credits on Alaska. When a Mileage Plan™ member earns credits on a partner airline, the partner airline remits a contractually-agreed upon fee to the Company that is deferred and recognized as Passenger revenue for mileage credits redeemed and flown on the Company's airlines, and as Mileage Plan other revenue for mileage credits redeemed and flown on other airlines (less the cost paid to the other airlines based on contractual agreements). When a member of a partner airline redeems frequent flyer credits on Alaska, the partner airline remits a contractually-agreed upon amount to the Company, recognized as Passenger revenue upon travel. If the partner airline’s member earns frequent flyer program credits on an Alaska flight, the Company remits a contractually-agreed upon fee to the partner airline and records a commission expense. Mileage Plan™ revenue included in the condensed consolidated statements of operations (in millions):
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2018 |  | 2017
Passenger revenue | $ | 139 |  |  | $ | 128 |
Mileage Plan TM other revenue | 107 |  |  | 100 |
Total Mileage Plan™ revenue | $ | 246 |  |  | $ | 228 |
Mileage Plan™ other revenue is primarily brand and marketing revenue from our affinity card products. Cargo and Other The Company provides freight and mail services (cargo). The majority of cargo services are provided to commercial businesses and the United States Postal Service. The Company satisfies cargo service performance obligations and recognizes revenue when the shipment arrives at its final destination, or is transferred to a third-party carrier for delivery. The Company also earns other revenue for lounge memberships, hotel and car commissions, and certain other immaterial items not intrinsically tied to providing air travel to passengers. Revenue is recognized when these services are rendered and recorded as Cargo and other revenue. The transaction price for Cargo and other revenue is the price paid by the customer. Cargo and other revenue included in the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 (in millions):
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2018 |  | 2017
Cargo revenue | $ | 26 |  |  | $ | 24 |
Other revenue | 14 |  |  | 14 |
Total Cargo and other revenue | $ | 40 |  |  | $ | 38 |
Air Traffic Liability and Deferred Revenue Passenger ticket and ancillary services liabilities Air traffic liability included on the consolidated balance sheets represents the remaining obligation associated with passenger tickets and ancillary services. The air traffic liability balance fluctuates with seasonal travel patterns. The Company recognized Passenger revenue of $434 million and $431 million from the prior year-end air traffic liability balance for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. Mileage Plan TM liabilities The total Deferred revenue liability included on the consolidated balance sheets represents the remaining transaction price that has been allocated to Mileage Plan TM performance obligations not yet satisfied by the Company. In general, the current amounts will be recognized as revenue within 12 months and the long term amounts will be recognized as revenue over, on average, a period of approximately three to four years. This period of time represents the average time that members have historically earned and redeemed miles. The Company records a receivable for amounts due from the affinity card partner and from other partners as mileage credits are sold until the payments are collected. The Company had $101 million of such receivables as of both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. Mileage credits are combined in one homogeneous pool and are not specifically identifiable. As such, loyalty revenues disclosed earlier in this Note are comprised of miles that were part of the deferred revenue and liabilities balances at the beginning of the period and miles that were issued during the period. The table below presents a roll forward of the total frequent flyer liability (in millions):
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2018 |  | 2017
Total Deferred Revenue balance at January 1 | $ | 1,726 |  |  | $ | 1,535 |
Travel miles and companion certificate redemption - Passenger revenue | (139 | ) |  | (128 | )
Miles redeemed on partner airlines - Other revenue | (19 | ) |  | (23 | )
Increase in liability for mileage credits issued | 183 |  |  | 185 |
Total Deferred Revenue balance at March 31 | $ | 1,751 |  |  | $ | 1,569 |
Selling Costs Certain costs such as credit card fees, travel agency and other commissions paid, as well as Global Distribution Systems (GDS) booking fees are incurred when the Company sells passenger tickets and ancillary services in advance of the travel date. The Company defers such costs and recognizes them as expense when the travel occurs. Prepaid expense recorded on the consolidated balance sheets for such costs was $29 million and $24 million as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. The Company recorded related expense on the condensed consolidated statement of operations of $51 million and $56 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

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