Special Items

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Unusual or Infrequent Items, or Both [Abstract]

The following is a listing of special items presented on our consolidated statements of operations (in millions):


	Year Ended December 31,
		2021		2020		2019
Special Items
Federal payroll support grant recognition(1)		$	(830)	$	(685)	$	—
CARES Act employee retention credit(2)		(11)		(36)		—
Union contract costs(3)		8		—		8
Fleet impairment(4)		—		273		—
Severance and benefit costs(5)		—		59		—
Losses on sale-leaseback transactions(6)		—		106		—
Embraer E190 fleet transition costs(7)		—		—		6
Total		$	(833)	$	(283)	$	14

(1) As discussed in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements, we received assistance in the form of grants and unsecured loans under various federal payroll support programs. Funds under these federal payroll support programs were to be used exclusively for the continuation of payment of crewmember wages, salaries and benefits. The carrying values of the payroll support grants (after consideration of the warrants we issued) were recorded within other liabilities and were recognized as contra-expenses within special items on our consolidated statements of operations as the funds were utilized. We utilized $830 million and $685 million of payroll support grants for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our payroll support grants were fully utilized as of December 31, 2021.

(2) The Employee Retention Credit ("ERC") under the CARES Act is a refundable tax credit which encourages businesses to keep employees on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible employers can qualify for up to $5,000 of credit for each employee based on qualified wages paid after March 12, 2020 and before January 1, 2021. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") subsequently issued Notice 2021-23 and Notice 2021-49 which collectively extended the ERC eligibility to cover qualified wages paid after December 31, 2020 and before January 1, 2022. Qualified wages are the wages paid to an employee for the time that the employee is not providing services due to an economic hardship, specifically, either (1) a full or partial suspension of operations by order of a governmental authority due to COVID-19, or (2) a significant decline in gross receipts. Our policy is to recognize the ERC when it is filed with the IRS. We recognized $11 million and $36 million of ERC as contra-expenses within special items on our consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

(3) In April 2018, JetBlue inflight crewmembers elected to be represented by the Transport Workers Union of America, or TWU. The National Mediation Board, or NMB, certified the TWU as the representative for JetBlue inflight crewmembers. The parties reached a final agreement for the first collective bargaining agreement which was ratified by our inflight crewmembers in December 2021. The agreement is a five-year, renewable contract effective December 13, 2021. During the fourth quarter of 2021, we recorded a one-time ratification bonus totaling $8 million to be allocated amongst our inflight crewmembers as determined by TWU.

In April 2014, JetBlue pilots elected to be represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, or ALPA. The NMB certified ALPA as the representative for JetBlue pilots. The parties reached a final agreement for our first collective bargaining agreement which was ratified by the pilots in July 2018. The agreement is a four-year renewable contract, which became effective August 1, 2018. For the year ended December 31, 2019, union contract costs include various one-time costs incurred to implement the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement into our IT systems.

(4) Under ASC 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment, we are required to assess long-lived assets for impairment when events and circumstances indicate that the assets may be impaired. An impairment of long-lived assets exists when the sum of the forecasted undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated directly by the assets are less than the book value of the assets. Our long-lived assets include both owned and leased properties which are classified as property and equipment, and operating lease assets on our consolidated balance sheets, respectively.

Our operations were adversely impacted by the unprecedented decline in demand for travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To determine if impairment exists in our fleet, we grouped our aircraft by fleet-type and estimated their future cash flows based on projections of capacity, aircraft age, maintenance requirements, and other relevant conditions. Based on the

assessment, we determined the future cash flows from the operation our Embraer E190 fleet were lower than the carrying value. For those aircraft, including the ones that are under operating lease, and related spare parts in our Embraer E190 fleet, we recorded impairment losses of $273 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. These losses represent the difference between the book value of these assets and their fair value. In determining fair value, we obtained third party valuations for our Embraer E190 fleet, which considered the effects of the current market environment, age of the assets, and marketability. For our owned Embraer E190 aircraft and related spare parts, we made adjustments to the valuations to reflect the impact of their current maintenance conditions to determine fair value. Our estimate of fair value was not based on distressed sales or forced liquidations. The fair value of our Embraer E190 aircraft under operating lease and related parts was based on the present value of current market lease rates utilizing a market discount rate for the remaining term of each lease. Since the fair value of our Embraer E190 fleet was determined using unobservable inputs, it is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. We evaluated the remaining fleet types and determined the future cash flows of our Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 fleets exceeded their carrying value as of December 31, 2020.

No fleet impairment loss was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2021.

As the extent of the ongoing impact from the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain, we will update our assessment as new information becomes available.

(5) In 2020, the unprecedented declines in demand and in our capacity caused by COVID-19 led to a significant reduction to our staffing needs. In June 2020, we announced a voluntary separation program which allowed eligible crewmembers the opportunity to voluntarily separate from the Company in exchange for severance, health coverage for a specified period of time, and travel privileges based on years of service. Virtually all of our crewmembers were eligible to participate in the voluntary separation program with the exception of our union-represented crewmembers and crewmembers of our wholly-owned subsidiaries (JetBlue Technology Ventures and JetBlue Travel Products). Separation agreements for the majority of the crewmembers who elected to participate in the voluntary program were executed in the third quarter of 2020. One-time costs of $59 million, consisting of severance and health benefits, were recorded for the year ended December 31, 2020 in connection with the program. Approximately $44 million of this charge was disbursed in 2020. Substantially all of the remaining balance has been disbursed as of December 31, 2021 with the residual amount expected to be disbursed by mid-2022. Accruals related to the voluntary separation program are primarily recorded in accrued salaries, wages and benefits, and accounts payable on our consolidated balance sheets.

(6) In 2020, we executed $563 million of aircraft sale-leaseback transactions. Of these transactions, $354 million did not qualify as sales for accounting purposes. The remaining $209 million qualified as sales and generated a loss of $106 million. These losses represent the difference between the book value of these assets and their fair value. We estimated the fair value of the related aircraft considering third party valuations and considered specific circumstances such as aircraft age, maintenance requirements and condition, and therefore classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(7) In July 2018, we announced our decision to exit the Embraer E190 fleet and order 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, formerly known as the Bombardier CS300, for expected deliveries beginning in 2020 with the option to purchase 60 additional aircraft. Fleet transition costs for the year ended December 31, 2019 include certain contract termination costs associated with the transition. In 2019, we converted 10 of our options for the A220-300 aircraft into firm orders. Options for 50 additional A220-300 aircraft deliveries remained available to us as of December 31, 2021. In anticipation for the surge in demand created by the NEA with American, in 2021, we announced our decision to delay the retirement of the 30 Embraer E190 aircraft that we own. We reassessed our Embraer E190 assets and adjusted the depreciable lives and salvage value to align with our expected transition dates to the Airbus A220-300 through 2025. Although the Company has not finalized its retirement plans for the Embraer E190 aircraft at December 31, 2021, we do not believe the impact of the change in useful lives of these aircraft will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements in future periods.