United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "UAL" or the "Company") is a holding company and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "United"). United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." United has the most comprehensive route network among North American carriers, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. 

As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. United's operating revenues and operating expenses comprise nearly 100% of UAL's revenues and operating expenses. In addition, United comprises approximately the entire balance of UAL's assets, liabilities and operating cash flows. When appropriate, UAL and United are named specifically for their individual contractual obligations and related disclosures and any significant differences between the operations and results of UAL and United are separately disclosed and explained. We sometimes use the words "we," "our," "us," and the "Company" in this report for disclosures that relate to all of UAL and United.

The Company's principal executive office is located at 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606 (telephone number (872) 825-4000). The Company's website is located at www.united.com and its investor relations website is located at ir.united.com. The information contained on or connected to the Company's websites is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this or any other report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The Company's filings with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports, as well as UAL's proxy statement for its annual meeting of stockholders, are accessible without charge on the Company's investor relations website, as soon as reasonably practicable, after we electronically file such material is electronically filed with, or furnishedfurnish such material to, the SEC.SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Such filings are also available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

The Company transports people and cargo throughout North America and to destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates across six continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport ("Newark"EWR"), Chicago O'Hare International Airport ("Chicago O'Hare"ORD"), Denver International Airport ("Denver"DEN"), George Bush Intercontinental Airport ("Houston Bush"IAH"), Los Angeles International Airport ("LAX"), A.B. Won Pat International Airport ("Guam"GUM"), San Francisco International Airport ("SFO") and Washington Dulles International Airport ("Washington Dulles"IAD").

continued to negatively impact travel demand. It remains difficult to reasonably assess or predict the full extent of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's longer-term operational and financial performance, which will depend on a number of future developments, including thosemany of which are outside ourthe Company's control, related tosuch as the ultimate duration of and factors impacting the recovery from the pandemic (including the efficacy and speed of vaccination programs in curbing the spread of the virus in different markets, the efficacy and availability of various treatment options, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus whichthat may be resistant to currently approved vaccines passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictionstreatment options, and the continuation of existing or implementation of new government travel restrictions), customer behavior changes and fluctuations in demand for air travel, among others. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken in response may continue to impact many aspects of our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity in a number of ways, including labor shortages (including reductions in available staffing and related impacts to the Company's flight schedules and reputation), facility closures and related costs, disruptions to the Company's and its business partners' operations, reduced travel demand and consumer spending, increased operating costs, supply chain disruptions, logistics constraints, volatility in the price of our securities, our ability to access capital markets and volatility in the global economy and financial markets generally. The Company's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has not followed a linear path, and due to the significant uncertainty that remains, its future operating performance, particularly in the short-term, may be subject to volatility. The Company is taking steps to be prepared for recovery as demand for travel continues to generally increase, which include investing in innovative technology, focusing on travel, all of which are highly uncertainprocess improvements and cannot be predicted with certainty. In response to decreased demand,implementing the United Next transformative strategy. During 2021, the Company cut, relative to 2019 capacity,operated approximately 57%63% of its scheduled capacity for 2020.2019 capacity.

United also participates in fourthree passenger joint business arrangements ("JBAs"): one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Eurowings Discover and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes, and one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand and one with Avianca and Copa, which, upon regulatory approval, will cover routes between the United States and Central and South America, excluding Brazil.Zealand. These passenger JBAs enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering enhanced customer benefits, such as highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. Separate from the passenger JBAs, United also participates in cargo JBAs with ANA for transpacific cargo services and with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo JBAs offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers' respective combined networks.

United has an agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("Chase"), pursuant to which members of United's MileagePlus loyalty program who are residents of the United States can earn miles for making purchases using a MileagePlus credit card issued by Chase (the "Co-Brand Agreement"). The Co-Brand Agreement also provides for joint marketing and other support for the MileagePlus credit card and provides Chase with other benefits such as permission to market to the Company's customer database.

In 2020,2021, approximately 1.93.6 million MileagePlus flight awards were used on United and United Express. These awards represented 6.2%approximately 7% of United's total revenue passenger miles. Total miles redeemed for flights on United and United Express, including class-of-service upgrades, represented approximately 80%90% of the total miles redeemed. In addition, excluding miles redeemed for flights on United and United Express, MileagePlus members redeemed miles for approximately 0.81.0 million other awards. These awards include United Club memberships, car and hotel awards, merchandise and flights on other air carriers. Redemptions in 20202021 were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.pandemic and decreased 37% as compared to 2019 redemptions.

In response to the impact of COVID-19, the Company made changes to its MileagePlus® Premier® program that will makemade it easier to earn status in 2021 for the 2022 program year. United will again have reduced Premier Qualifying Points ("PQP") and Premier Qualifying Flights ("PQF") thresholds in 2021 and will have innovative promotions that help members earn status more quickly. Early in 2021, United deposited 25% of the PQP-onlyPremier Qualifying Points ("PQP")-only requirements in Premier members' accounts based on their 2021 Premier status level. Premier members will earnearned double the PQP on each of the first three PQP-eligible trips completed January 1 through March 31, 2021 (up to 1,500 PQP per trip), helping their flights go further toward reaching status.

Our operational and financial performance will dependresults can be significantly impacted by changes in the price and availability of aircraft fuel. The Company routinely enters into purchase contracts based on future developments, including those outsideexpected fuel requirements for UAL aircraft (including regional partners operating under CPAs) that are generally indexed to various market price benchmarks for aircraft fuel. These contracts customarily do not provide material protection against changes in market prices or guarantee the uninterrupted availability of adequate quantities of aircraft fuel. The price of aircraft fuel used by our control relatedoperations has fluctuated substantially in the past several years. The Company's current strategy is to not enter into financial transactions to hedge the market price exposure of its expected fuel consumption, although the Company regularly reviews its strategy based on market conditions and other factors. Due to the efficacy and speed of vaccination programspartial recovery in curbing the spread of the virus, the introduction and spread of new variants of the virus which may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, passenger testing requirements, mask mandates or other restrictions on travel, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with certainty. Effective August 30,operations experienced in 2021, our aircraft fuel consumption has increased from 2020 United permanently eliminated change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Also, in December 2020, the Company eliminated change fees on flights from the U.S. to all international destinations and fees on Basic Economy and all other international travel tickets issued by March 31, 2021. In addition, effective January 1, 2021, United began allowing passengers to standby for free on a flight departing the day of their travel regardless of the type of ticket or class of service, while MileagePlus Premier members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.levels.

has jurisdiction over virtually every aspect of civil aviation security. The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") has jurisdiction over certain airline competition matters. The U.S. Postal Service has authority over certain aspects of the transportation of mail by airlines. Labor relations in the airline industry are generally governed by the Railway Labor Act ("RLA"),RLA, a federal statute. The Company is also subject to investigation inquiries by the DOT, FAA, DOJ, DHS, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA"), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"), U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"),OSHA, and other U.S. and international regulatory bodies.

The Company's ability to serve some foreign marketsroutes and expand into certain others is limited by the absence of aviation agreements between the U.S. government and the relevant foreign governments. Shifts in U.S. or foreign government aviation policies may lead to the alteration or termination of air service agreements. Depending on the nature of any such change, the value of the Company's international route authorities and slot rights may be materially enhanced or diminished. Similarly, foreign governments control their airspace and can restrict our ability to overfly their territory, enhancingwhich may enhance or diminishingdiminish the value of the Company's existing international route authoritiesauthorizations and slot rights.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mostmany governments to restrict entry to foreign nationals (with some exceptions) andand/or to impose multiple health management rules which can include COVID-19 vaccinations, boosters, testing, quarantine upon arrival, health declarations, and temperature screens, among others. Such requirements may resulthave resulted in reduced demand for travel in certain circumstances and causehave caused the Company to suspend service to some foreign markets.international service. Certain foreign governments have granted waivers for limited periods that allow the Company to maintain existing slot rights and route authorizations while not operating at a particular foreign point. The airline industry is advocating for the continuation of such waivers until the operating and demand environment return to normal, but future waivers are not guaranteed.

The Company believes that policies that incentivize the production of SAF, such as a blender's tax credit, or economy-wide carbon prices or taxes, would enable the Company to decarbonize its operations more environmentally sustainable company extends beyond seekingcost efficiently than a patchwork of regulatory requirements on aviation, particularly those that require airlines to comply with regulatory requirements.

Various states have passed legislation restricting the use of Class B fire-fighting foam agents that contain intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which are expected to require the Company to continue to incur costs to convertexisting fixed foam fire suppression systems to accommodate PFAS-free firefighting foam agents. In addition, the EPA has developed a comprehensive strategic plan for PFAS regulatory actions across a wide spectrum of its statutory authorities, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Company expects these broad regulatory policies will impact its operations that currently have or historically used fire-fighting foam agents containing PFAS. To mitigate these risks, the Company is working to remove PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam from its hangars through a phased retrofit strategy, and is committed to transitioning to PFAS-free materials for fire suppression. Finally, environmental cleanup laws could require the Company to undertake or subject the Company to liability for investigation and remediation costs at certain owned or leased locations or third-party disposal locations. Because certain

PFAS are expected to be regulated under CERCLA and other environmental cleanup laws, the Company may become subject to potential liability for its historic usage of PFAS-containing materials, although such potential liability is not expected to be significant. Until the applicability of new regulations to our specific operations is better defined and/or until pending regulations are finalized, future costs to comply with such regulations will remain uncertain but are likely to increase our operating costs over time.

While we continuethe Company is required to monitorcomply with numerous applicable environmental regulations, the Company believes that these developments,regulations and programs, including the pilot phase of CORSIA, EPA regulations regarding PFAS and GHG emissions, and other existing environmental regulations is not reasonably likely to have a material effect on the Company's results or competitive position. However, the precise nature of future requirements and their applicability to the Company are difficult to predict butand the financial impact to the Company and the aviation industry could be significant.

Below is a list of the Company's employees were represented by various U.S. labor organizations. The Company believes engaged and empowered employees are important for the success of its mission. The Company's focus areas for employee engagement and retention include, but are not limited to:

of Rogers Communications, Inc., a Canadian communications and media company. From October 2008 to June 2011, Ms. Jojo served as Chief Information Officer of Energy Future Holdings, a Dallas-based privately held energy company and electrical utility provider.

The following isCOVID-19 pandemic prompted governments and businesses to take unprecedented measures in response that have included international and domestic travel restrictions or advisories, restrictions on business operations, limitations on public gatherings, social distancing recommendations, temporary closures of businesses, remote work arrangements, closures of tourist destinations and attractions as well as quarantine and shelter-in-place orders. As a summary of the principal risks that could adversely affect, or have adversely affected, the Company's business, operating resultsresult, we experienced a precipitous decline in passenger demand and financial condition:

In addition, the outbreak and are effective in curbing the spread of the virus. In addition,COVID-19 pandemic have adversely impacted customer perceptions of the Company does not currently expecthealth, safety, ease and predictability of air travel and these negative perceptions could continue even after the recovery from COVID-19pandemic subsides. Actual or perceived risk of infection on our flights, at airports and during other travel-related activities has had, and may continue to followhave, a linear path. As such,material adverse effect on the public's perception of air travel, which has harmed, and may continue to harm, our reputation and brand and result in reduced demand for the Company's actual flown capacityflights or the flights of its codeshare partners or regional carriers. We have incurred, and expect that we will continue to incur, COVID-19-related costs as we sanitize aircraft, implement additional hygiene-related protocols and take other actions to limit the threat of infection among our employees and passengers and combat negative customer perceptions of the health and safety of travel on our aircraft and at our terminals.

Our level of indebtedness has increased as we managed through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and may differ materially from its currently scheduled capacity.

compensation, which, depending onCompany's debt agreements that limit its ability to incur additional indebtedness. In addition, the formterms of aid,any additional financing may subject the Company to additional covenants limiting its operational and financial flexibility.

We, as well as our partners, are facing and could extend upcontinue to six years, may impactface potential other negative consequences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to increased cyber threats, such as phishing, social engineering and malware attacks partly due to the increase in remote work arrangements, supply chain constraints and an increasingly competitive labor market due to an industry-wide sustained labor shortage, including for skilled labor. If a regional carrier, supplier, third party vendor or service provider were unable to timely provide adequate products or support for its products (including aircraft), or otherwise fulfill its commitments to the Company, the Company's ability to attract and retain senior management or attractoperations could be materially adversely affected.

It is possible that COVID-19 could exacerbate any of the other key employees duringrisks described in this critical time.

In June 2021, the Company announced its United Next plan, including firm orders of 270 aircraft, retrofitting plans in the long-term.

Although we are committed to reducing our debt over the long term, an important part of the Company's strategy to expand its global network has included making significant investments, both domestically and in other geographic regionsparts of the world, including in other airlines and other aviation industry participants, producers of sustainable aviation fuel and manufacturers of electric and other new generation aircraft. The Company plans to continue to make additional investments through its corporate venture capital arm, UAV. However, increased competition in forming and maintaining relationships with other airlines (since there are a limited number of potential arrangements and other airlines and industry participants seek to enter into similar relationships) may make it difficult for the Company to complete strategic investments on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

An accident, catastrophe or incident involving an aircraft that the Company operates, or an aircraft or aircraft type that is operated by another airline, or an incident involving the Company's operations, or the operations of another airline, could have a material adverse effect on the Company if such accident, catastrophe or incident created a public perception that the Company's revenues,operations, or the operations of its codeshare partners or regional carriers, are not safe or reliable, or are less safe or reliable than other airlines. Further, any such accident, catastrophe or incident involving the Company, its regional carriers or its codeshare partners could expose the Company to significant liability. Although the Company currently maintains liability insurance in amounts and of the type the Company believes to be consistent with industry practice to cover damages arising from any such accident, catastrophe or incident, and the Company's codeshare partners and regional carriers carry similar insurance and generally indemnify the Company for their operations, if the Company's liability exceeds the applicable policy limits or the ability of another carrier to indemnify it, the Company could incur substantial losses from an accident, catastrophe or incident, which may result in a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results or financial condition. In addition, any such accident, catastrophe or incident involving the Company, its regional carriers or its codeshare partners could result in operational restrictions on the Company, including voluntary or mandatory groundings of aircraft. Voluntary or involuntary groundings have also impacted, and liquidity.could in the future impact, the Company's financial results and operations in numerous ways, including reduced revenue, redistributions of other aircraft and deferrals of capital expenditure and other spending. A prolonged period of time operating a reduced fleet in these circumstances could result in a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results or financial condition. For example, the Company decided to voluntarily ground its Boeing 737 aircraft following certain electrical issues, and in February 2021, the FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness

The airline industry is highly competitive, marked by significant competition with respect to routes, fares, schedules (both timing and frequency), services, products, customer service and frequent flyer programs. Consolidation in the airline industry, the rise of well-funded government sponsored international carriers, changes in international alliances, swaps of landing and slots and the creation of immunized JBAs have altered and are expected to continue to alter the competitive landscape in the industry, resulting in the formation of airlines and alliances with increased financial resources, more extensive global networks and services and competitive cost structures. Open Skies agreements, including the longstanding agreements between the United States and each of the EU, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Colombia and Panama, as well as the more recent agreements between the United States and each of Mexico and Brazil, may also give rise to better integration opportunities among international carriers. Movement of airlines between current global airline alliances could reduce joint network coverage for members of such alliances while also creating opportunities for JBAs and bilateral alliances that did not exist before such realignment. Further airline and airline alliance consolidations or reorganizations could occur in the future, and other airlines participating in such activities may significantly improve their cost structures or revenue generation capabilities, thereby potentially making them stronger competitors of the Company and impairing the Company's ability to realize expected benefits from its own strategic relationships.

Airlines also compete by increasing or decreasing their capacity, including route systems and the number of destinations served. Several of the Company's domestic and international competitors have increased their international capacity by including service to some destinations that the Company currently serves, causing overlap in destinations served and, therefore, increasing competition for those destinations. This increased competition in both domestic and international markets may have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, operating results and financial condition.

Our international operations are subject to competition from both foreign and domestic carriers. CompetitionFor instance, competition is significant from government subsidizedgovernment-subsidized competitors from certain Middle East countries. These carriers have large numbers of international widebody aircraft on order and are increasing service to the U.S. from their hubs in the Middle East. The government support provided to these carriers has allowed them to grow quickly, reinvest in their product, invest in other airlines and expand their global presence. We also face competition from foreign carriers operating under "fifth freedom" rights permitted under international treaties that allow certain carriers to provide service to and from stopover points between their home countrycountries and ultimate destination,destinations, including points in the United States, in competition with service provided by us.

Through alliance and other marketing and codesharing agreements with foreign carriers, U.S. carriers have increased their ability to sell international transportation, such as services to and beyond traditional global gateway cities. Similarly, foreign carriers have obtained increased access to interior U.S. passenger traffic beyond traditional U.S. gateway cities through these relationships. In addition, several JBAs among U.S. and foreign carriers have received grants of antitrust immunity allowing the participating carriers to coordinate schedules, pricing, sales and inventory. If we are not able to continue participating in these types of alliance and other marketing and codesharing agreements in the future, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Our MileagePlus frequent flyer program benefits from the attractiveness and competitiveness of United Airlines as a material purchaser of award miles and the majority recipient for mileage redemption. If we are not able to maintain a competitive and attractive airline business, our ability to acquire, engage and retain customers in the loyalty program may be adversely affected, which could adversely affect the loyalty program's and our operating results and financial condition.

Further, our MileagePlus frequent flyer program also faces significant and increasing direct competition from the frequent flyer programs offered by other airlines, as well as from similar loyalty programs offered by banks and other financial services companies. Competition among loyalty programs is intense regarding customer acquisition incentives, the value and utility of program currency, rewards range and value, fees, required usage, and other terms and conditions of these programs. If we are not able to maintain a competitive frequent flyer program, our ability to attract and retain customers to MileagePlus and United alike may be adversely affected, which could adversely affect our enterprise operating results and financial condition.

High and/or volatile fuel prices or significant disruptionsled to both overall price increases and pronounced price increases in certain sectors) could result in a shift in consumer demand away from both leisure and business travel. During such periods, the Company's business and operating results have been and may in the supply of aircraft fuelfuture be adversely affected. Significant declines in industry passenger demand, particularly with respect to the Company's business and premium cabin travelers and a reduction in fare levels, could havelead to a material adverse impact on the Company's strategic plans, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.

The Company has engaged third-party service providers to perform a large number of functions that are integral to its business, including regional operations, operation of customer service call centers, distribution and sale of airline seat inventory, provision of information technology infrastructure and services, transmitting or uploading of data, provision of aircraft maintenance and repairs, provision of various utilities and performance of airport ground services, aircraft fueling operations and catering services, among other vital functions and services. TheAlthough generally the Company does not directly control these third-party service providers, although generally it does enterenters into agreements that define expected service performance and compliance requirements, such as compliance with legal requirements, including anti-corruption laws; however, there can be no assurance that our third-party service providers will adhere to these requirements.

The Company may also have disagreements with such providers or such contracts may be terminated or may not be extended or renewed. For example, the number of flight reservations booked through third-party GDSs or online travel agents ("OTAs")OTAs may be adversely affected by disruptions in the business relationships between the Company and these suppliers. Such disruptions, including a failure to agree upon acceptable contract terms when contracts expire or otherwise become subject to renegotiation, may cause the Company's flight information to be limited or unavailable for display by the affected GDS or OTA operator, significantly increase fees for both the Company and GDS/OTA users and impair the Company's relationships with its customers and travel agencies. Any such disruptions or contract terminations may adversely impact our operations and financial results.

If we are not able to negotiate or renew agreements with third-party service providers, or if we renew existing agreements on less favorable terms, our operations and financial results may be adversely affected.

The airline industry is heavily dependent on business models that concentrate operations in major airports in the United States and throughout the world. An extended interruption or disruption at an airport where we have significant operations could have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operation.

The United Kingdom's withdrawalIn addition, as airports around the world become more congested, space, facility and infrastructure constraints at our hubs or other airports may prevent the Company from the EU may adversely impact our operationsmaintaining existing service and/or implementing new service in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

Theadditional projects that we expect to commence over the next several years is expected to result in increased costs to airlines and the traveling public that use those facilities as the airports seek to recover their investments through increased rental, landing and other facility costs. These actions have caused and may continue to cause the Company to experience increased space rental rates at various airports in its network, including a number of our hubs and gateways, and increased operating costs. Furthermore, the Company is not able to control decisions by other airlines to reduce their capacity, causing certain fixed airport costs to be allocated among fewer total flights and resulting in increased landing fees and other costs for the Company.

As a global business with operations outside of the United States from which it derives significant operating revenues, volatile conditions in certain international regions may have a negative impact on the Company's operating results and cash flowsits ability to achieve its business objectives. The Company's international operations are a vital part of its worldwide airline network. Political disruptions and an uncertain economic environment,instability in certain regions have negatively impacted the demand and network availability for air travel, as well as fuel prices, and may continue to have a negative impact on these and other uncertainties. For example,items. Terrorist attacks or international hostilities, even if not made on or targeted directly at the airline industry, or the fear of or the precautions taken in 2020,anticipation of such attacks (including elevated national threat warnings, travel restrictions, selective cancellation or redirection of flights and new security regulations) could materially and adversely affect the Company recorded impairment charges of $130 million for its China routes, primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the airline industry. The Company's subsequent suspensionfinancial resources and insurance coverage may not be sufficient to absorb the adverse effects of flights to China, $38 million for its right-of-use asset associated with an embedded aircraft lease under a CPA, primarily as a result of reduced cash flows from the COVID-19 pandemic, and $94 million related to certain of the Company's fleet of Boeing 757 aircraft, and $56 million with respect to various cancelled facility, aircraft induction and information technology capital projects as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on our operations. In addition, in 2019, the Company recorded impairment charges of $90 million associated with its Hong Kong routes, resulting in the full impairment of these assets. The Company can provide no assurance that a material impairment loss of tangibleany future terrorist attacks, international hostilities or intangible assets will not occur in a future period. The value of the Company's aircraft could be impacted in future periods by changes in supply and demand for these aircraft. Such changes in supply and demand for certain aircraft types could result from the grounding of aircraft. An impairment lossother security events, which could have a material adverse effectimpact on the Company's financial condition, liquidity and operating results. In addition, due to threats against the aviation industry, the Company has incurred, and may continue to incur, significant expenditures to comply with security-related requirements to mitigate threats and protect the safety of our employees and customers.

We operate in a public-facing industry and maintaining a good reputation is critical to our business. The Company's reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by any failure to maintain satisfactory practices for all of our operations and activities, any failure to achieve and/or make progress toward our environmental and sustainability andgoals or our diversity, equity and inclusion goals, public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, customer perceptions of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements or marketing programs, customer perceptions of our use of social media, or customer perceptions of statements made by us, our employees and executives, agents or other third parties. Damage to our reputation or brand image or loss of customer confidence in our services could adversely affect our business and financial results, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.

The Company depends on technology and automated systems to operate its business, including, but not limited to, computerized airline reservation systems, electronic tickets, electronic airport kiosks, demand prediction software, flight operations systems, in-flight wireless internet, cloud-based technologies, technical and business operations systems and commercial websites and applications, including www.united.com and the United Airlines mobile app. These systems could suffer substantial or repeated disruptions due to various circumstances,events, some of which are beyond the Company's control (including natural disasters, power failures, terrorist attacks, dependencies on third-party technology services, equipment or software failures, cybersecurity attacks or other security breaches and the deployment by certain wireless carriers of new "5G" service networks), which could reduce the attractiveness of the Company's services versus those of our competitors, materially impair our ability to market our services and operate our flights, result in the unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information, negatively impact our reputation among our customers and the public, subject us to liability to third parties, regulatory action or contract termination and result in other increased costs, lost revenue and the loss or compromise of important data. As a result, substantial or repeated systems failures or disruptions may adversely affect the Company's business, operating results and financial condition. We have resiliency initiatives and disaster recovery plans in place to prevent and mitigate disruptions, and we continue to invest in improvements to these initiatives and plans. We also maintain property and business interruption insurance. However, these measures may not be adequate to prevent or mitigate disruptions or provide coverage for all of the Company's associated costs.

In our regular business operations, we collect, process, store and transmit to commercial partners sensitive data, including personal information of our customers and employees such as payment processing information and information of our business partners, to provide our services and operate our business.

The Company must manage increasing legislative, regulatory and consumer focus on privacy issues, data security and cybersecurity risk management in a variety of jurisdictions across the globe. For example, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation imposes significant privacy and data security requirements, as well as potential for substantial penalties for non-compliance that have resulted in substantial adverse financial consequences to non-compliant companies. Also, some of the Company's commercial partners, such as credit card companies, have imposed data security standards that the Company must meet. The Company will continue its efforts to meet its privacy, data security and cybersecurity risk management obligations; however, it is possible that certain possible future transactionsnew obligations or customer expectations may be difficult to meet and could require changes in the Company's operating processes and increase the Company's costs.

Additionally, the Company must manage the increasing threat of continually evolving cybersecurity risks. Our network, systems and storage applications, and those systems and applications maintained by our third-party commercial partners (such as credit card companies, our regional carriers and international airline partners) may be subject to attempts to gain unauthorized access, breach, malfeasance or other system disruptions, including those involving criminal hackers, denial of service attacks, hacktivists, state-sponsored actors, corporate espionage, employee malfeasance and human or technological error. In some cases, it is difficult to anticipate or to detect immediately such incidents and the saledamage caused thereby. In addition, as attacks by cybercriminals become more sophisticated, frequent and intense, the costs of proactive defense measures have increased and may continue to increase. In addition, several large organizations recently have been affected by "ransomware" attacks, and these highly publicized events may embolden individuals or issuancegroups to target our systems or the third party systems on which we rely. Furthermore, the Company's remote work arrangements make it more vulnerable to targeted activity from cybercriminals and significantly increase the risk of UAL common stock,cyberattacks or if taxable income does not reachother security breaches. While we continually work to safeguard our network, systems and applications, including through risk assessments, system monitoring, cybersecurity and data protection security policies, processes and technologies and employee awareness and training, and require third-party security standards, there is no assurance that such actions will be sufficient levels.to prevent cyberattacks or data breaches.

United is a highly unionized company. As of December 31, 2020, UAL reported consolidated2021, the Company and its subsidiaries had approximately 84,100 employees, of whom approximately 85% were represented by various U.S. federal net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwardslabor organizations (See Part I, Item 1. Business—Human Capital Management and Resources, of approximately $11.0 billion.

attempt to pressure the Company in collective bargaining negotiations. Although the RLA makes such actions unlawful until the parties have been lawfully released to self-help, and the Company can seek injunctive relief against premature self-help, such actions can cause significant harm even if ultimately enjoined. Similarly, if the operations of our third-party regional carriers, ground handlers or more ofother vendors are impacted by labor-related disruptions, our operations could be adversely affected. In addition, collective bargaining agreements with the outstanding shares of UAL common stock, or a combination ofCompany's represented employee groups increase the foregoing. Company's labor costs, and such costs could become material.

Much of our future success is possible that the Company's NOLs and certain other tax attribute carryforwards could expire before we would be able to use them to offset future income tax obligations.

Airlines are subject to extensive regulatory and legal oversight. Compliance with U.S. and international regulations imposes significant costs and may have adverse effects on the Company. Laws, regulations, taxes and airport rates and charges, both domestically and internationally, have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce airline revenue. The airline industry is heavily taxed and additional taxation could negatively impact our business.

United provides air transportation under certificates of public convenience and necessity issued by the DOT. If the DOT altered, amended, modified, suspended or revoked these certificates, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business. The DOT also regulates consumer protection and, through its investigations or rulemaking authority (including, for example, any rulemakings or initiatives in response to the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy issued by the President on July 9, 2021), could impose restrictions that materially impact the Company's business. The FAA regulates the safety of United's operations. United also operates pursuant to an air carrier operating certificate issued by the FAA. The FAA's regulations include stringent pilot flightFAA, and duty time requirements under Part 117 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, as well as minimum qualifications for air carrier first officers. From time to time, the FAA also issues orders, airworthiness directives and other regulations relating to the maintenance and operation of aircraft that require material expenditures or operational restrictions by the Company. These FAA orders and directives have previously resulted in the temporary grounding of an entire aircraft type ifwhen the FAA identifies design, manufacturing, maintenance or other issues requiring immediate corrective action (including the FAA OrderEmergency Airworthiness Directive grounding our Boeing 737 MAX777 Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft). These FAA directives or requirements could have a, which has had an effect that has been material adverse effect onto the Company.Company's business, operating results and financial condition.

In 2018, the U.S. Congress approved a five-year reauthorization for the FAA, which encompasses significant aviation tax and policy-related issues. The law includes a range of policy changesissues related to aviation tax, airline customer service and aviation safety. Implementation of some items continues into the new Administration and, dependingDepending on how theythe issues are implemented, could impact our operations and costs. U.S. Congressional action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has provided funding for U.S. airlines, in both grants and loans. The U.S. Congress has imposed limited conditions on airlines accepting funding, including workforce retention and minimum service requirements. With the change in control of the U.S. Congress and a new presidential administration, any future funding or other pandemic reliefcosts could include additional requirements that could impact our operations and costs.be materially impacted. Additionally, the U.S. Congress may consider legislation related to environmental issues or increases to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate, as outlined in the proposed Build Back Better Act or otherwise, which could negatively impact the Company and the airline industry.

The Company's operations may also be adversely impacted due to the existing antiquated ATC system utilized by the U.S. government and regulated by the FAA. During peak travel periods in certain markets, the current ATC system's inability to handle demand has led to short-term capacity constraints imposed by government agencies and resulted in delays and disruptions of air traffic. In addition, the current system willFAA, which may not be able to effectively handle projected future air traffic growth. The outdated technologies also cause the ATC system has led to be less resilientshort-term capacity constraints imposed by government agencies and has resulted in delays and disruptions of air traffic during peak travel periods in certain markets due to its inability to handle demand and reduced resiliency in the event of a failure causing flight cancellations and delays. Imposition of these ATC constraints on a long-term basis may have a material adverse effect on the Company's operations. Failure to update the ATC system in a timely manner and the substantial funding requirements of a modernized ATC system that may be imposed on air carriers may have an adverse impact on the Company's financial condition or operating results.

Access to landing and take-off rights, or "slots,"slots at several major U.S. airports and many foreign airports served by the Company are, or recently have been,is subject to government regulation. Certain of the Company's major hubs are among the most congested airports in the United Statesregulation on airspace management and have been or could be the subject of regulatory actioncompetition that might limit the number of flights and/slots or increase costs of operations at certain times or throughoutchange the day. The DOT (including FAA) may limitrules on the Company's airport access by limiting the number of departure and arrival slots at high density traffic airports, which

departure and arrival slots at congested airports, includingwhich could affect the Company's major hubs, may increase significantly because of capital improvements at such airports that the Company may be required to fund, directly or indirectly. Such costs could be imposed by the relevantownership and transfer rights, and local airport authority without the Company's approval andauthorities may have a materialthe ability to control access to certain facilities or the cost to access their facilities, which could have an adverse effect on the Company's financial condition. Because of airport infrastructure updates and other factors,business. If the DOT were to take actions that adversely affect the Company's slot holdings, the Company has experienced increased space rental rates at various airports in its network. Further, the Company cannot control decisions by other airlines to reduce their capacity. When this occurs, certain fixed airport costs are allocated among fewer total flights, which can result in increased landing fees and other costs for the Company. In light of constraints on existing facilities, there is presently a significant amount of capital spending underway at major airports in the United States, including large projects underway at a number of airports where we have significant operations, such as Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). This spending is expected to result in increasedcould incur substantial costs to airlines and the traveling public that use those facilities as the airports seek to recover their investments through increased rental, landing and other facility costs. In some circumstances, such costs could be imposed by the relevant airport authority without our approval. Accordingly, our operating costs are expected to increase significantly at many airports at which we operate, including a number of our hubs and gateways, as a result of capital spending projects currently underway and additional projects that we expect to commence over the next several years.

The Company currently operates a number of flights on international routes under government arrangements, regulations or policies that designate the number of carriers permitted to operate on such routes, the capacity of the carriers providing services on such routes, the airports at which carriers may operate international flights or the number of carriers allowed access to particular airports. In addition,Applicable arrangements between the pandemic has resulted in,United States and created the potential for, increased regulatory burdens in the U.S. and around the globe. These include but are not limited to closure of international borders to flights and/or passengers from specific countries, passenger and crew quarantine requirements, and other regulations promulgated to protect public health but that have a negative impact on travel and airline operations. Any limitations, additions or modifications to such arrangements, regulations or policies could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and operating results. Additionally, a change in law, regulation or policy for any of the Company's international routes, suchforeign governments (such as Open Skies,Skies) may be amended from time to time, government policies with respect to airport operations may be revised and the availability of appropriate slots or facilities may change, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial condition and operating results and could result in the impairment of material amounts of related tangible and intangible assets. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased regulatory burdens in the U.S. and around the globe, which include closure of international borders to flights and/or passengers from specific countries, passenger and crew quarantine requirements and other regulations promulgated to protect public health but that have had and may continue to have a negative impact on travel and airline operations.

In addition, competition from revenue-sharing JBAs and other alliance arrangements by and among other airlines could impair the value of the Company's business and assets on the Open Skies routes. The Company's plans to enter into or expand U.S. antitrust immunized alliances and JBAs on various international routes are subject to receipt of approvals from applicable U.S. federal authorities and obtaining other applicable foreign government clearances or satisfying the necessarysatisfaction of other applicable regulatory requirements. There can be no assurance that such approvals and clearances will be granted or will continue in effect upon further regulatory review or that changes in regulatory requirements or standards can be satisfied.

See Part I, Item 1. Business—Industry Regulation, of this report for additional information on government regulation impacting the Company.

From time to time, we are subject to litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings relating to our business or investigations or other actions by governmental agencies, including as described in Part I, Item 3,3. Legal Proceedings, of this report. In addition, the Company is subject to an increased risk of litigation and other proceedings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and responsive measures. For example, the Company is involved in litigation relating to its vaccination requirements for employees. No assurances can be given that the results of these or new matters will be favorable to us. An adverse resolution of lawsuits, arbitrations, investigations or other proceedings or actions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results, including as a result of non-monetary remedies, and could also result in adverse publicity. Defending ourselves in these matters may be time-consuming, expensive and disruptive to normal business operations and may result in significant expense and a diversion of management's time and attention from the operation of our business, which could impede our ability to achieve our business objectives. Additionally, any amount that we may be required to pay to satisfy a judgment, settlement, fine or penalty may not be covered by insurance. If we fail to comply with the terms contained in any settlement, order or agreement with a governmental authority relating to these matters, we could be subject to criminal or civil penalties, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company. Under our charter and certain indemnification agreements that we have entered into (and may in the future enter into) with our officers, directors and certain third parties, we

The Company does not currently hedge its future fuel requirements. However, to the extent the Company decides to start a hedging program to hedge a portion of its future fuel requirements, such hedging program may not be successful in mitigating higher fuel costs and any price protection provided may be limited due to the choice of hedging instruments and market conditions, including breakdown of correlation between hedging instrument and market price of aircraft fuel and failure of hedge counterparties. To the extent that the Company decides to use hedge contracts that have the potential to create an obligation to pay upon settlement if fuel prices decline significantly, such hedge contracts may limit the Company's ability to benefit fully from lower fuel prices in the future. If fuel prices decline significantly from the levels existing at the time the Company enters into a hedge contract, the Company may be required to post collateral (margin) beyond certain thresholds. There can be no assurance that the Company's hedging arrangements, if any, would provide any particular level of protection against rises in fuel prices or that its counterparties will be able to perform under the Company's hedging arrangements. Additionally, deterioration in the Company's financial condition could negatively affect its ability to enter into hedge contracts in the future.

Our financing agreements include various financial and other covenants. Certain of these paymentscovenants require UAL or United, as applicable, to maintain minimum liquidity and/or minimum collateral coverage ratios. UAL's or United's ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond its control, including the overall industry revenue environment, the level of fuel costs and the appraised value of the collateral. In addition, our financing agreements contain other negative covenants

In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company is required to test its indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently where there is an indication of impairment, and certain of its other assets for impairment where there is any indication that an asset may be impaired. The Company may be required to recognize losses in the future due to, among other factors, extreme fuel price volatility, tight credit markets, government regulatory changes, decline in the fair values of certain tangible or intangible assets, such as our aircraft, route authorities, airport slots and frequent flyer database, unfavorable trends in historical or forecasted results of operations and cash flows and an uncertain economic environment, as well as other uncertainties. For example, during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded $97 million of impairments, which includes impairments resulting from current market conditions for used aircraft that are being held for sale and the decision to retire 50-seat regional aircraft as a result of the United Next order. Also in 2020, the Company recognized $130 million of impairment charges related to its China routes, which were primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company's subsequent suspension of flights to China and a further delay in the expected return of full capacity to the China markets. Adverse changes to our forecasted results caused by COVID-19 or other factors could require the Company to recognize additional impairments to its China route indefinite-lived intangible assets in future periods. The Company can provide no assurance that a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets will not be material.occur in a future period.

The Company could be exposed to significant liability or loss if its property or operations were to be affected by a natural catastrophe or other event, including aircraft accidents. The Company maintains insurance policies, including, but not limited to, terrorism, aviation hull and liability, workers' compensation and property and business interruption insurance, but we are not fully insured against all potential hazards and risks incident to our business. If the Company is unable to obtain sufficient insurance with acceptable terms, the costs of such insurance increase materially, or if the coverage obtained is unable to pay or is insufficient relative to actual liability or losses that the Company experiences, whether due to insurance market conditions, policy limitations and exclusions or otherwise, our operations,business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

United also maintains administrative, catering, cargo, training, maintenance and other facilities to support its operations in the cities it serves. In addition, United has multiple leases, which expire from 20302029 through 2033, for its principal executive office and operations center in downtown Chicago and administrative offices in downtown Houston.

On June 30, 2015, UAL received a Civil Investigative Demand ("CID") from the Antitrust Division of the DOJ seeking documents and information from the Company in connection with a DOJ investigation related to statements and decisions about airline capacity. The Company has completed its response to the CID. The Company is not able to predict what action, if any, might be taken in the future by the DOJ or other governmental authorities as a result of the investigation. Beginning on July 1, 2015, subsequent to the announcement of the CID, UAL and United were named as defendants in multiple class action lawsuits that asserted claims under the Sherman Antitrust Act, which have been consolidated in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaints generally allege collusion among U.S. airlines on capacity impacting airfares and seek treble damages. The Company intends to vigorously defend against the class action lawsuits.

UAL's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market ("Nasdaq") under the symbol "UAL."

As of February 24, 2021,10, 2022, there were 5,9895,920 holders of record of UAL common stock.

The number of record holders is based upon the actual number of holders registered on our books at such date based on information provided by Computershare Investor Services, our transfer agent, and does not include holders of shares in "street name" or other holders identified in security position listings maintained by depository trust companies.

The following graph showscompares the cumulative total stockholder return for UAL's common stock during the period from December 31, 20152016 to December 31, 2020. The graph also shows the cumulative returns2021 of UAL's common stock to the Standard and Poor's 500 Index ("SPX") and the NYSE Arca Airline Index ("XAL") of 15 investor-owned airlines over the same five-year period.. The comparison assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 20152016 in our common stock and in each of UAL common stock, the SPXforegoing indices and the XAL.assumes that all dividends were reinvested.