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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Allegiant Travel Company and its majority-owned operating subsidiaries. The Company's investments in unconsolidated affiliates, which are 50 percent or less owned, are accounted for under the equity or cost method. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

The Company has reclassified certain prior period amounts to conform to the current period presentation.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include highly liquid investments and interest bearing instruments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased. Such investments are carried at cost which approximates fair value.

Restricted Cash
 
Restricted cash represents escrowed funds under fixed fee contracts, and cash collateral held against letters of credit required by hotel properties for guaranteed room availability, airports and certain other parties.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at invoiced amount which approximates fair value. In addition to income tax receivables, the accounts receivable consist primarily of amounts due from credit card companies associated with the sale of tickets for future travel. These receivables are short-term and generally settle within a few days of sale. There are also receivables related to commission amounts due from Enterprise Holdings Inc. based on terms in the rental car provider agreement and amounts due related to fixed fee charter agreements. If deemed necessary, the Company records charges to its allowance for doubtful accounts for amounts not expected to be collected, for which the balance was immaterial for all years presented.

Short-term and Long-term Investments
 
The Company’s investments in marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale and are reported at fair value with the net unrealized gain or (loss) reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in shareholders’ equity. For investments in an unrealized loss position, the Company determines whether a credit loss exists by considering information about the collectability of the instrument and current market conditions. There have been no credit losses in the years presented. Investment securities with original maturities of three months or less are classified as cash equivalents. Investment securities with original maturities greater than three months are classified as either short-term investments or long-term investments based on the maturity date in relation to the balance sheet date. Short-term investments have a maturity date less than or equal to one year from the balance sheet date, and long-term investments have a maturity date greater than one year from the balance sheet date. 

The amortized cost of investment securities sold is determined by the specific identification method with any realized gains or losses reflected in other (income) expense. The Company had minimal realized losses during the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020. The Company believes unrealized losses related to debt securities are not other-than-temporary and does not intend to sell these securities prior to amortized cost recoverability.

The Company attempts to minimize its concentration risk with regard to its cash, cash equivalents, and investment portfolio. This is accomplished by diversifying and limiting amounts among different counterparties, the type of investment, and the amount invested in any individual security, commercial paper, or money market fund.

Expendable Parts, Supplies and Fuel, Net
 
Expendable parts, supplies and fuel inventories are valued at cost using the first-in, first-out method. Such expendable parts, supplies and fuel are charged to expense as they are used in operations. An obsolescence allowance for expendable parts and supplies is based on salvage values and the average remaining useful life of the Airbus fleet. The obsolescence allowance for expendable parts and supplies was $8.1 million and $6.0 million at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Deposits and Other Assets

Deposits and Other Assets consist primarily of airport deposits, aircraft lease deposits, deposits as required by the construction loan agreement and a note receivable to the counter-party in the Company’s joint venture alliance. The Company also had
outstanding receivables from third parties as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, of which $18.3 million and $12.4 million respectively, was due more than one year after the balance sheet date.

Operating Lease Right-of-Use Asset and Liability

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception and has lease agreements for aircraft, office facilities, office equipment, certain airport and terminal facilities, and other space and assets with non-cancelable lease terms. Certain real estate and property leases, aircraft leases, and various other operating leases are measured on the balance sheet with a lease liability and right-of-use ("ROU") asset. Airport terminal leases mostly include variable lease payments outside of those based on a fixed index, and are therefore excluded from consideration.

ROU assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make scheduled lease payments. ROU assets and liabilities are recognized on the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The present value of lease payments is calculated using an estimated incremental borrowing rate at lease commencement, which takes into consideration recent debt issuances as well as other applicable market data available.

Lease payments include fixed payments, variable payments based on an index or rate, reasonably certain purchase options, termination penalties, and others as required by the Accounting Standards (ASU) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Lease payments do not include variable lease payments other than those that depend on an index or rate, any guarantee by the lessee of the lessor’s debt, or any amount allocated to non-lease components.

Lease terms include options to extend when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Leases with a term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. Additionally, lease and non-lease components are accounted for as a single lease component for real estate agreements.

Property and Equipment
 
Property and equipment are recorded at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives less any estimated salvage value. Property under finance leases and related obligations are initially recorded at an amount equal to the present value of future minimum lease payments computed on the basis of the Company’s incremental borrowing rate, and depreciation is recorded on a straight-line basis and is included within depreciation and amortization expense. The estimated useful lives of the principal asset classes are shown below.

Aircraft, engines and related rotable parts 10-25 Years
Buildings and leasehold improvements10-25 Years
Equipment3-10 Years
Computer hardware and software3-15 Years

In estimating the useful lives and residual values of aircraft, the Company primarily relies upon actual experience with the same or similar aircraft types, current and projected future market information, and input from other industry sources. Subsequent revisions to these estimates could be caused by changing market prices of the Company’s aircraft, changes in utilization of the aircraft, and other fleet events. Changes in the estimate for useful lives or residual values of the Company’s property and equipment could result in changes in depreciation expense.

Interest is capitalized by applying a capitalization rate to the weighted-average carrying amount of expenditures for qualifying assets over the period and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the related asset(s) acquired/developed.

Software Capitalization
 
The Company capitalizes certain internal and external costs related to the acquisition and development of computer software during the application development stage of projects. The Company amortizes these capitalized costs using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the software, which typically ranges from three to ten years. The Company had unamortized computer software development costs of $80.2 million and $43.3 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Amortization expense related to computer software was $15.2 million, $10.6 million and $9.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 respectively. Costs incurred during the preliminary and post-implementation stages are expensed as incurred.

Aircraft Maintenance and Repair Costs
 
The Company accounts for all non-major maintenance and repair costs incurred for its Airbus fleet under the direct expense method. Under this method, maintenance and repair costs for aircraft are charged to maintenance and repair expenses as
incurred. Maintenance and repair costs include all parts, materials, and line maintenance activities required to maintain the Company's fleet.

The Company accounts for major maintenance costs of its Airbus airframes and the related CFM engines using the deferral method. Under this method, the Company capitalizes the cost of major maintenance events, which are amortized as a component of depreciation and amortization expense, over the estimated period until the next scheduled major maintenance event. During 2022 and 2021, the Company capitalized $4.1 million and $23.3 million of major maintenance costs for engines. Amortization expense related to major maintenance costs for engines was $21.5 million, $21.0 million, and 17.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020 respectively. During 2022 and 2021, the Company capitalized $56.5 million and $39.0 million of major maintenance costs for airframes. Amortization expense related to major maintenance costs for airframes was $22.3 million, $21.1 million and $19.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 respectively.

Measurement of Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company records impairment losses on long-lived assets used in operations, consisting principally of property and equipment, when events or changes in circumstances indicate, in management’s judgment, that the assets might be impaired, and the undiscounted future cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets are less than the carrying amount of those assets. In making these determinations, the Company utilizes certain assumptions, including, but not limited to: (i) estimated fair value of the assets; and (ii) estimated future cash flows expected to be generated by these assets, which are based on additional assumptions such as asset utilization, length of service for which the asset will be used in operations, and estimated salvage values.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded a $161.6 million impairment as a result of COVID-19.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded a $0.5 million impairment loss on a building in Chesterfield, Missouri associated with the Allegiant Nonstop family entertainment line of business.

The Company did not recognize any impairment for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Revenue Recognition

Passenger revenue

Passenger revenue includes scheduled service revenue, ancillary air-related charges, and travel point redemptions from the co-branded Allegiant credit card and the Company's non-card loyalty program.

Scheduled service revenue consists of ticket revenue generated from nonstop flights in the Company’s route network, recognized either when the transportation is provided, or when ticket voucher breakage occurs. Nonrefundable scheduled itineraries expire on the date of the intended flight, unless the date is extended by notification from the customer in advance. Itineraries sold for transportation not yet used, as well as unexpired credits, are included in air traffic liability.

Ancillary air-related charges include various services and products related to the flight such as baggage fees, the use of the Company’s website to purchase scheduled service transportation, advance seat assignments, and other services which are not included in the base ticket price. Revenues from air-related charges are recognized when the transportation is provided. If a customer cancels a flight, a voucher may be issued for a future flight, at which time the associated revenue is recognized in scheduled service revenue upon completion of the future flight. Additionally, the Company estimates the value of vouchers that will expire unused and recognizes such revenue at the time of issuance.

Various taxes and fees, assessed on the sale of tickets to customers, are collected by the Company serving as an agent, and remitted to taxing authorities. These taxes and fees are not included as revenue in the Company’s consolidated statements of income and are recorded as a liability until remitted to the appropriate taxing authority.

Revenue from travel point redemptions from the co-branded credit card and the loyalty program are described in the Affinity Credit Card Program and Allways Rewards® Loyalty Program sections below.

Third party products revenue

Ancillary third party products revenue is generated from the sale of hotel rooms, rental cars and ticket attractions, as well as marketing revenue associated with the co-branded credit card. Revenue from the sale of third party products is recognized at the time the product is utilized, such as the time a purchased hotel room is occupied. Revenue from the sale of third party products is recorded net of amounts paid to wholesale providers, travel agent commissions, and transaction costs.

Revenue from travel point redemptions from the co-branded credit card and the loyalty program are described in the Affinity Credit Card Program and Allways Rewards® Loyalty Program sections below.
Fixed fee contract revenue

Fixed fee contract revenue consists of agreements to provide charter service on a year-round and ad hoc basis. Fixed fee contract revenue is recognized when the transportation is provided.

Affinity Credit Card Program

The Allegiant co-branded credit card is issued by Bank of America through which arrangement points are sold and consideration is received under an agreement that expires in 2029. Under this arrangement, the Company identified the following deliverables: travel points to be awarded (the travel component), use of the Company’s brand and access to its member lists, and certain other advertising and marketing elements (collectively the marketing component). Each of these deliverables is accounted for separately and allocation of the consideration from the agreement is determined based on the relative selling price of each deliverable. The Company applied a level of management judgment and estimation in determining the best estimate of selling price for each deliverable by considering multiple inputs and methods including, but not limited to, the redemption value of points awarded, discounted cash flows, brand value, volume discounts, published selling prices, number of points to be awarded and number of points expected to be redeemed.
Revenue from the travel component is deferred based on its relative selling price and is recognized into passenger revenue when the points are redeemed by cardholders and transportation is provided. Revenue from the marketing component is considered earned in the period in which points are sold and is therefore recognized into third party products revenue in the same period.
Allways Rewards® Loyalty Program

Allegiant’s Allways Rewards® Loyalty Program enables program Members to earn points for every dollar they spend on the Company’s website. Under the program, which launched in August 2021, Members continue to accumulate points until the time they decide to redeem them. In addition to opportunities to redeem points for flights, lodging and rental cars, the program leverages Allegiant's partnerships to offer additional rewards to Members, including sports and live music event tickets and exclusive experiences. Members can also earn points by using their Allegiant co-branded credit card.

Under Allways Rewards®, Members receive one point for every dollar spent at Allegiant.com, and two points per $1 for spending over $500 (excluding taxes and fees). The Company utilizes the deferred revenue method of accounting for points earned through the program based on the stand alone selling price and revenue is recognized when points are redeemed and the underlying service has been provided. The stand alone selling price of points is adjusted for an estimate of points that will not be redeemed using a statistical model based on historical redemption patterns to develop an estimate of the likelihood of future redemption.

Advertising Costs
 
Advertising costs are charged to expense in the period incurred. Advertising expense was $40.1 million, $31.3 million and $12.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Earnings per Share
 
Basic and diluted earnings per share are computed pursuant to the two-class method as opposed to the treasury method. Under the two-class method, the Company attributes net income to two classes, common stock and unvested restricted stock awards. Unvested restricted stock awards granted to employees under the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan are considered participating securities because they receive non-forfeitable rights to cash dividends at the same rate as common stock.

Diluted net income per share is calculated using the more dilutive of two methods. Under both methods, the exercise of employee stock options is assumed using the treasury stock method. The assumption of vesting of restricted stock, however, differs as described below:

1.Assume vesting of restricted stock using the treasury stock method.
2.Assume unvested restricted stock awards are not vested, and allocate earnings to common shares and unvested restricted stock awards using the two-class method.
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the second method above was used in the computation because it was more dilutive than the first method. Given the net loss generated in 2020, both methods yield the same result. The following table sets forth the computation of net income (loss) per share on a basic and diluted basis for the periods indicated: 
 
 Year ended December 31,
(in thousands, except per share data)202220212020
Basic:  
Net income (loss)$2,493 $151,853 $(184,093)
Less income allocated to participating securities(32)(2,218)(236)
Net income (loss) attributable to common stock$2,461 $149,635 $(184,329)
Earnings (loss) per share, basic$0.14 $8.69 $(11.53)
Weighted-average shares outstanding17,959 17,212 15,992 
Diluted:  
Net income (loss)$2,493 $151,853 $(184,093)
Less income allocated to participating securities(32)(2,215)(236)
Net income (loss) attributable to common stock$2,461 $149,638 $(184,329)
Earnings (loss) per share, diluted$0.14 $8.68 $(11.53)
Weighted-average shares outstanding17,959 17,212 15,992 
Dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock132 145 — 
Adjusted weighted-average shares outstanding under treasury stock method18,091 17,357 15,992 
Participating securities excluded under two-class method(57)(126)— 
Adjusted weighted-average shares outstanding under two-class method18,034 17,231 15,992 

Stock awards outstanding of 79,644, 815, and 24,004 shares (not in thousands) as of December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share as they were antidilutive.
 
Share-Based Compensation
 
The Company accounts for share-based compensation in accordance with accounting standards which require the compensation cost related to share-based payment transactions be recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of income. The share-based cost is measured based on grant date fair value. The Company’s share-based employee compensation plan is more fully discussed in Note 12.

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred income taxes based on the asset and liability method required by accounting standards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the timing differences between book basis for financial reporting purposes and tax basis of the assets and liabilities and measured using the enacted tax rates and provisions of the enacted tax law. A valuation allowance for deferred tax assets is provided if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company determines the net non-current deferred tax assets or liabilities separately for federal, state, foreign and other local jurisdictions.
The Company’s income tax returns are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and other tax authorities in the jurisdictions where the Company operates. The Company assesses potentially unfavorable outcomes of such examinations based on the criteria set forth in uncertain tax position accounting standards. The accounting standards prescribe a minimum recognition threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements.
Accounting standards for income taxes utilize a two-step approach for evaluating tax positions. Recognition (Step I) occurs when the Company concludes that a tax position, based on its technical merits, is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination. Measurement (Step II) is only addressed if the position is deemed to be more likely than not to be sustained. Under Step II, the tax benefit is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon settlement.
The tax positions failing to qualify for initial recognition are recognized in the first subsequent interim period they meet the “more likely than not” standard. If it is subsequently determined that a previously recognized tax position no longer meets the “more likely than not” standard, it is required that the tax position be derecognized. As applicable, the Company will recognize accrued penalties and interest related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income taxes.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements

On January 7, 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848). This new standard provides optional temporary guidance for entities transitioning away from London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") to new reference interest rates so that derivatives affected by the discounting transition are explicitly eligible for certain optional expedients and exceptions with Topic 848. These amendments do not apply to any contract modifications made after December 31, 2024, any new hedging relationships entered into after December 31, 2024, or to existing hedging relationships evaluated for effectiveness existing as of December 31, 2024, that apply certain optional practical expedients. This standard was effective immediately and may be applied (i) on a full retrospective basis as of any date from the beginning of an interim period that includes or is subsequent to March 12, 2020, or (ii) on a prospective basis to new modifications from any date within an interim period that includes or is subsequent to the date of the issuance of a final update, up to the date that financial statements are available to be issued. The Company had no material LIBOR-related contract modifications during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022.