ITEM 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market RiskQUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are subject to market risks in the ordinary course of our business. These risks include commodity price risk, specifically with respect to aircraft fuel, as well as interest and foreign exchange rate risk. The adverse effects of changes in these markets could pose a potential loss as discussed below. The sensitivity analysis provided does not consider the effects that such adverse changes may have on overall economic activity, nor does it consider additional actions we may take to mitigate our exposure to such changes. Actual results may differ.
Our strategy has been primarily to purchase out-of-the-money call options which are intended to provide protection against a large upward movement in fuel prices, while also allowing us to participate in any material fall in fuel prices. While this has been our strategy, we entered into collars during 2019 that resulted in significant payment in 2020 when the price of fuel went below the put. As of March 31, 20212022 and December 31, 20202021 we had no fuel derivative contracts outstanding.
ITEM 4. Controls and ProceduresCONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to ourthe company’s management, including its chiefprincipal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officerprincipal executive officer and Chief Financial Officerprincipal financial officer concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.
PART II.II – OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we have been and will continue to be subject to commercial litigation claims and to administrative and regulatory proceedings and reviews that may be asserted or maintained. We believe the ultimate outcome of such lawsuits, proceedings and reviews is not reasonably likely, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making aan investment decision related to invest in our common stock. The risks and uncertainties described below may not be the only ones we face, and many of such risks have been and will be exacerbated by the coronavirus ("COVID-19"(“COVID-19”) pandemic. If any of these risks should occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition or growth prospects could be adversely affected. In those cases, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic and measures to reduce its spread have had, and are expected to continue to have, a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 has since spread to almost every country in the world, including the United States. The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 and the implementation of measures to reduce its spread have adversely impacted our business and continue to adversely impact our business in a number of ways. Multiple
governments in countries we serve, principally the United States, have responded to the virus with air travel restrictions, and closures or recommendations against air travel and the implementation of mandatory quarantine periods after travel, and certain countries we serve have required airlines to limit or completely stop operations. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have significantly reduced capacity from our original plan and will continue to evaluate the need for further flight schedule adjustments. While we experienced a modest uptick in demand during the latter half of the second quarter and continuing into the third and fourth quarters of 2020, demand was negatively impacted by a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in certain domestic markets. The length and severity of the decline in demand due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain and, as such, we expect the adverse impact to continue to persist throughout 2021. Although we have seen early signssignificant recovery of recovery in airline travel, there is no assurance that it will continuedemand through the quarter ended March 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior year period, we are unable to predict the future spread and impact of COVID-19, including future variants of the virus such as the recent Omicron variant and its respective subvariants, or the pace at which it will recover,efficacy and adherence rates of vaccines and other therapeutics and the recovery we anticipateresulting measures that may not materializebe introduced by governments or other parties and what impact those measures may have on the demand for air travel. We are closely monitoring the impact of the Omicron variant, and any new variants or subvariants, and expect any impact to be short term in a timely manner or at all.nature given the availability of vaccines and the likely increase in vaccination rates in response to these variants.
In response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in March 2020, we have taken measures to address the significant cash outflows resulting from the sharp decline in demand and we continue to evaluate options should the lack of demand for air travel continue beyond the near term. During 2020 and 2021, and through March 31, 2021,2022, we also reduced our flight schedule to match demand levels and implemented various other initiatives to reduce costs and manage liquidity including, but not limitedto:
•reducing planned headcount increases;
•reducing employee relatedemployee-related costs, including:
◦salary reductions and/or deferrals for our officers and board members;
◦suspension of merit salary increases for 2020; and
◦voluntary paid and unpaid leave of absence programs for employees not covered under labor arrangements, as well as certain employees covered under such arrangements, including pilots and flight attendants, that range from one month to six months;
•deferring aircraft deliveries;
•reducing or suspending discretionary expenses;
•reaching agreements with major vendors, which are primarily related to many of our aircraft and engine leases as well as airports, for deferral of payments and deliveries until later in 2020 and into 2021;payments;
•delaying non-essential maintenance projects and reducing or suspending other discretionary spending;projects;
•reducing non-essential capital projects;
•securing current funding and future liquidity from the CARES Act, PSP, PSP2, andas well as other financing sources; and
•amending certain debt covenant metrics to align with current and expected demand.
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law. On April 30, 2020 we entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) to receive funding through the Payroll Support Program (the “PSP”) over the second and third quarters of 2020. On September 28, 2020, we entered into a Loan and Guarantee Agreement (the “Treasury Loan Agreement”) with the Treasury for a secured term loan facility (the “Treasury Loan”); on January 15, 2021, we entered into an agreement with the Treasury for additional funding under the Payroll Support Extension Agreement (the “PSP2 Agreement”); and on April 29, 2021, we entered into an agreement with the Treasury for additional funding under the Payroll Support Program 3 Agreement. The funding we received is subject to significant restrictions and limitations. See “—We have agreed to certain restrictions on our business by accepting financing under the CARES Act.”
Additionally, we also outsource certain critical business activities to third parties, including our dependenceand we depend on a limited number of suppliers for our aircraft and engines. As a result, we have increased our reliance on the successful implementation and execution of the business continuity planning of such third-party service providers in the current environment. If one or more of such third parties experience operational failures as a result of the impacts fromof the spread of COVID-19 pandemic or due to sanctions imposed by the United States and foreign government bodies in response to the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or claim that they cannot perform due to a force majeure event, it may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, including the currently unknowable duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; the efficacy and adherence rates of COVID-19 vaccines; the impact of existing and future governmental regulations, travel advisories, testing regimes and restrictions that are imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; additional reductions to our flight capacity, or a voluntary temporary cessation of all flights, that we implement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior, such as a reduction in the demand for air travel, especially in our destination cities. The potential economic impact brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, and it has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruptions of global economies and financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital on favorable terms or at all, and increase the cost of capital. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse economic event, resulting fromincluding, but not limited to, an inflationary economic environment and the spreaddisruption, instability and volatility in global markets as a result of COVID-19international conflicts, such as the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine, would materially adversely impact our business and the value of our common stock. The COVID-19 pandemic makes it more challenging for management to estimate
future performance of our business, particularly over the near to medium term. A further significant decline in demand for our flights could have a materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are dependingalso dependent upon a successful COVID-19 vaccine,vaccines, including an efficient distribution, and sufficient supply and significant uptake by the general public, in order to normalize economic conditions, the airline industry and our business operations and to realize our growth plans and business strategy. The potential efficacy and availability of a COVID-19 vaccine and the extent to which a vaccine is widely accepted is highly uncertain, and weWe cannot predict if or when we will be able to resume full normal operations. The failure of a vaccine, including to the extent it is not effective against any COVID-19the future variants of the virus, significant unplanned adverse reactions to the vaccine, politicization of the vaccine or general public distrust of the vaccine could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations
and financial condition.
On March 27, 2020, Legally required vaccine mandates have been imposed and have resulted in multiple unresolved court challenges, some of which remain ongoing. We cannot predict what policies we may elect to or be required to implement in the CARES Act was signed into law. On April 30, 2020 we entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement withfuture, or the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury) to receive funding through the PSP over the second and third quarters of 2020 (the “PSP Agreement”). On September 28, 2020, we entered into an agreement with the Treasury for a term loan facility (“Treasury Loan”), on January 15, 2021, we entered into an agreement with the Treasury for additional funding under the Payroll Support Extension Agreement (the “PSP2 Agreement”), and on April 29, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with the Treasury for additional funding under the third Payroll Support Program (the “PSP3 Agreement”). The funding we received is subject to significant restrictions and limitations. See “—We have agreed to certain restrictionseffect thereof on our business, by accepting financing underincluding whether the CARES Act.”imposition of a mandatory vaccination requirement could cause us to lose, or experience difficulties hiring, qualified personnel.
In addition, an outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or fear of such an event, that affects travel demand, travel behavior or government mandated travel restrictions and regulations, could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, including, but not limited to, our competitiveness, demand for our services, shifting consumer preferences and our substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness.
We have agreed to certain restrictions on our business by accepting financing under the CARES Act.
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law. The CARES Act provided liquidity in the form of loans, loan guarantees, and other investments to air carriers, such as us, that incurred, or are expected to incur, covered losses such that the continued operations of the business are jeopardized, as determined by the Treasury.
On April 30, 2020, we reached an agreement with the U.S. government under which we would receive $205 million of installment funding comprised of a $174 million grant (“PSP Grant”) for payroll support for the period from April 2020 through September 30, 2020, and a $31 million unsecured 10-year, low interest loan (“PSP Promissory Note”). In addition, on September 30, 2020, the Treasury provided us with an additional disbursement under the PSP of $6 million, comprised of an additional $4 million toward the PSP Grant, and $2 million toward the PSP Promissory Note. In connection with our participation in the PSP, we also issued to the Treasury warrants pursuant to a warrant agreement to purchase up to 522,576 shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, with an exercise price of $6.36 per share (the value of a share of common stock on April 9, 2020 as determined by a third-party valuation).
On September 28, 2020, we entered into a $574 million secured term loan facility with the Treasury, of which we borrowed $150 million. As of March 31, 2021, we have issued 2,358,090 warrants with an exercise price of $6.36 per share in conjunction with the first draw on the loan. The warrants expire in five years from the date of issuance, are settled in cash or shares, are transferable, have no voting rights and contain customary terms regarding anti-dilution. If the Treasury or any subsequent warrant holder exercises the warrants, the interest of our holders of common stock would be diluted and we would be partially owned by the U.S. government, which could have a negative impact on our common stock price, and which could require increased resources and attention by our management.
On January 15, 2021, as a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which extended the PSP provisions of the CARES Act, the Company entered into an agreement with the Treasury for a minimum of $140 million of installment funding under the PSP2 Agreement, comprised of a $128 million grant (“PSP2 Grant”) for the continuation of payroll support through March 31, 2021, and a $12 million unsecured 10-year low interest loan (“PSP2 Promissory Note”), all of which was received during the three months ended March 31, 2021. In conjunction with the PSP2 Promissory Note, the Company issued warrants to the Treasury to acquire up to 103,208 shares of common stock of FGHI at an exercise price of $11.65 per share.
In April 2021, the Treasury provided us with an additional disbursement under the PSP2 Agreement of $21 million, comprised of an additional $15 million toward the PSP2 Grant, and $6 million toward the PSP2 Promissory Note. In conjunction with this additional funding, we granted the Treasury warrants to purchase up to 54,105 additional shares of common stock of FGHI at an exercise price of $11.65 per share.
The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”), enacted on March 11, 2021, provided for additional assistance to passenger air carriers that received financial relief under PSP2 ("PSP3"). On April 29, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with the Treasury for approximately $150 million of installment funding under the PSP3 Agreement, comprised of a $135 million grant (“PSP3 Grant”) for the continuation of payroll support through September 30, 2021, and a $15 million unsecured 10-year low interest loan (“PSP3 Promissory Note”). In conjunction with funding from PSP3, the Company agreed to issue the Treasury warrants to purchase up to 79,961 additional shares of common stock of FGHI at an exercise price of $18.85 per share.
In connection with our participation in the PSP, PSP2, PSP3 and the Treasury Loan, we are,have been and will continue to be subject to certain restrictions and limitations, including, but not limited to:
•Restrictionsrestrictions on repurchases of equity securities listed on a national securities exchange orand on payment of dividends until the later of September 30, 2022 or one year after the Treasury Loan facility is repaid;February 2, 2023;
•Requirementsrequirements to maintain certain levels of scheduled services through March 31, 2022 (including to destinations where there may currently be significantly reduced or no demand);
•Aa prohibition on involuntary terminations or furloughs of employees (except for health, disability, cause, or certain disciplinary reasons) through September 30, 2021;
•Aa prohibition on reducing the salary, wages or benefits of our employees (other than our executive officers or independent contractors, or as otherwise permitted under the terms of the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3) through September 30, 2021;
•Limitslimits on certain executive compensation, including limiting pay increases and severance pay or other benefits upon terminations,termination, until the later of April 1, 2023 or one year after the Treasury Loan facility is repaid;2023;
•Limitationslimitations on the use of the grant funds exclusively for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries and benefits; and
•Additionaladditional reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
These restrictions and requirements could materially adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things, requiring us to change certain of our business practices and to maintain or increase cost levels to maintain scheduled service and employment with little or no offsetting revenue, affecting retention of key personnel and limiting our ability to effectively compete with others in our industry who may not be receiving funding and may not be subject to similar limitations.
We cannot predict whether the assistance from the Treasury will be adequate to continue to pay our employees for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or whether additional assistance will be required or available in the future. There can be no assurance that loans or other assistance will be available through the CARES Act or any other legislation, or whether we will be eligible to receive any additional assistance, if needed.
Further, the Treasury Loan Agreement includes affirmative and negative covenants that restrict our ability to, among other things, dispose of certain assets, merge, consolidate or sell assets, incur certain additional indebtedness or pay certain dividends. In addition, we are required to maintain unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and unused
commitments available under all revolving credit facilities aggregating not less than $250 million and to maintain a minimum ratio of the borrowing base of the collateral. If we do not meet the minimum collateral coverage ratio, we must either provide additional collateral to secure our obligations under the Treasury Loan Agreement or repay the loans by an amount necessary to maintain compliance with the collateral coverage ratio.
The airline industry is exceedingly competitive, and we compete against legacy network airlines, low-cost carriers and other ultra low-cost carriers; if we are not able to compete successfully in our markets, our business, willresults of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.
We face significant competition with respect to routes, fares and services. Within the airline industry, we compete with legacy network carriers, low-cost carriers (“LCCs”), and ULCCs. There are presently three very large legacy networkultra low-cost carriers in the United States, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which together with Southwest Airlines, which classifies itself as an LCC, are commonly referred to as the “Big Four” carriers. There are presently two additional legacy network carriers in the United States, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which together with JetBlue Airways, which classifies itself as an LCC, are commonly referred to as the “Middle Three” carriers. Finally, there are presently three ULCCs in the United States, Frontier, Allegiant Travel Company, and Spirit Airlines.(“ULCCs”). Competition on most of the routes we presently serve is intense,significant, due to the large number of carriers in those markets. Furthermore, other airlines may begin service or increase existing service on routes where we currently
face nolittle or littleno competition. In almost all instances, our competitors are larger than us and possess significantly greater financial and other resources than we do.
The airline industry is particularly susceptible to price discounting because, once a flight is scheduled, airlines incur only nominal additional costs to provide service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. Increased fare or other price competition could adversely affect our operations. Airlines typically use discount fares and other promotions to stimulate traffic during normally slower travel periods to generate cash flow and to increase revenue per available seat mile. The prevalence of discount fares can be particularly acute when a competitor has excess capacity to sell. Given the high levels of excess capacity among U.S. airlines generally as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect to face significant discounted fare competition as the U.S. market recovers.continues to recover. Moreover, many other airlines have unbundled their services, at least in part, by charging separately for services such as baggage and advance seat selection which previously were offered as a component of base fares. This unbundling and other cost-reducing measures could enable competitor airlines to reduce fares on routes that we serve.
In addition, airlines increase or decrease capacity in markets based on perceived profitability. If our competitors increase overall industry capacity, or capacity dedicated to a particular domestic or foreign region, market or route that we serve, it could have a material adverse impact on our business. For instance, in 2017 there was widespread capacity growth across the United States, including in many of the markets in which we operate. In particular, during 2017, both Southwest Airlines and United Airlines increased their capacity in Denver. The domestic airline industry has often been the source of fare wars undertaken to grow market share or for other reasons, including, for example, actions by American Airlines in 2015 and United Airlines in 2017 to match fares offered in many of itstheir markets by ULCCs, with resulting material adverse effects on the revenues of the airlines involved. The increased capacity across the United States in 2017 exacerbated the competitive pricing environment, particularly beginning in the second quarter of 2017, and this activity continued throughout 2018 and the first half of 2019. Given the decreased demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect significant competition, including price competition, at least in the short-termshort term and as the U.S. market recovers.continues to recover. If we continue to experience increased competition our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
We also expect that new work patterns and the increased growth of remote work from home will lead to increasing numbernumbers of employees choosing to live remotely from their office location, which could significantly alter the historical demand levels on the routes we serve. While we believe our low fares and low costs will enable us to grow our network in new markets profitably to take advantage of new demand patterns as they arise, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in doing so or that we will be able to successfully compete with other U.S. airlines on such routes. If we fail to establish ourselves in such new markets our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Our growth and the success of our ULCC business model could stimulate competition in our markets through our competitors’ development of their own ULCC strategies orstrategies. Additionally, several new market entrants, including several new entrants, including Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways, that have commenced, or announced the intentiontheir intent to commence, operations.operations, which could present further competition should they develop ULCC strategies. For example, certain legacy network airlines have further segmented the cabins of their aircraft in order to enable them to offer a new tier of reduced base fares designed to be competitive with those offered by us and other ULCCs. We expect the legacy airlines to continue to match low-cost carrierLCC and ULCC pricing on portions of their network. A competitor adopting a ULCC strategy may have greater financial resources and access to lower cost sources of capital than we do, which could enable them to execute a ULCC strategy with a lower cost structure than we can. If these competitors adopt and successfully execute a ULCC business model, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
There has been significant consolidation within the airline industry, including, for example, the combinations of American Airlines and US Airways, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines, Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, and Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.America, and our pending merger with Spirit Airlines, Inc. (“Spirit”). In the future, there may be additional consolidation in the airline industry.
Business combinations could significantly alter industry conditions and competition within the airline industry and could enable our competitors to reduce their fares.
The extremely competitive nature of the airline industry could prevent us from attaining the level of passenger traffic or maintaining the level of fares or revenues related to non-fare services required to achieve and sustain profitable operations in new and existing markets and could impede our growth strategy, which could harm our operating results. Due to our relatively small size, we are susceptible to a fare war or other competitive activities in one or more of the markets we serve, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business has been, and may in the future be, materially adversely affected by the price and availability of aircraft fuel. Unexpected pricing of aircraft fuel or a shortage or disruption in the supply of aircraft fuel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The cost of aircraft fuel is highly volatile and in recent years has generally been one of our largest individual operating expenses, accounting for 23%28% and 31%23% of our operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively. High fuel prices or increases in fuel costs (or in the price of crude oil) couldwould result in increased levels of expense, and we may not be able to increase ticket prices sufficiently to cover such increased fuel costs, particularly when fuel prices rise quickly.quickly, as occurred in 2021 and early 2022. We also sell a significant number of tickets to passengers well in advance of travel and, as a result, fares sold for future travel may not reflect such increased fuel costs. In addition, our ability to increase ticket prices to offset an increase in fuel costs is limited by the competitive nature of the airline industry and the price sensitivity associated with air travel, particularly leisure travel, and any increases in fares may reduce the general demand. Conversely, prolonged low fuel prices could limit our ability to differentiate our product and low fares from those of the legacy network airlines and LCCs, as prolonged low fuel prices could enable such carriers to, among other things, substantially decrease their costs, fly longer stages or utilize older aircraft. In addition, prolonged low fuel prices could also reduce the benefit we expect to receive from the new technology, more fuel-efficient A320neo family aircraft, we operate and have on order. See also “Risks Related to Our Business—We may be subject to competitive risks due to the long-term nature of our fleet order book and the unproven new engine technology utilized by the aircraft in our order book.” Aircraft fuel expense per gallon decreased 35%increased 156%, in the three months ended March 31, 2021 to $1.882022 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2020, resulting from lower demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and2021, due to losses ona 59% increase in price per gallon to $2.99 and a significant increase in fuel hedges during 2020.consumption due to higher utilization and more operating aircraft. Any future fluctuations in aircraft fuel prices or sustained high or low fuel prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business is also dependent on the availability of aircraft fuel (or crude oil), which is not predictable. Weather-related events, natural disasters, terrorism, wars, political disruption or instability involving oil-producing countries, changes in governmental or cartel policy concerning crude oil or aircraft fuel production, labor strikes, cyberattacks or other events affecting refinery production, transportation, taxes, marketing, environmental concerns, market manipulation, price speculation and other unpredictable events may drive actual or perceived fuel supply shortages. In particular, the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused shortages in the availability of aircraft fuel, including as a result of targeted sanctions and export control measures imposed by the United States and foreign government bodies. Although, for the three months ended March 31, 2022 any such shortages have not been material, there is no assurance that the shortages will not become more severe, and we cannot predict the continued impact of these sanctions and export control measures, or the impact of any further retaliatory actions that may be taken by Russia and the U.S. and foreign government bodies. Shortages in the availability of, or increases in demand for, crude oil in general, other crude oil-based fuel
derivatives and aircraft fuel in particular have resulted, and could continue to result, in increased fuel prices and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
As of March 31, 2021,2022, we had no fuel cash flow hedges for future fuel consumption. Our resultsconsumption, and fuel hedges therefore had no impact within our condensed consolidated statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 include operating expenses of $56 million relating to the de-designation of fuel hedges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on the quantities where consumption was not deemed probable. During 2020 our hedges consisted of call options and collar structures, although we have in the past and may in the future use other instruments such as swaps on jet fuel or highly correlated commodities and fixed forward price contracts (“FFPs”) which allow us to lock in the price of jet fuel for specified quantities and at specified locations in future periods.2022. We cannot assure you our fuel hedging program will be effective or that we will maintain a fuel hedging program. Even if we are able to hedge portions of our future fuel requirements, we cannot guarantee that our hedge contracts will provide an adequate level of protection against increased fuel costs or that the counterparties to our
hedge contracts will be able to perform. Our fuel hedge contracts may contain margin funding requirements that could require us to post collateral to counterparties in the event of a significant drop in fuel prices in the future. Additionally, our ability to realize the benefit of declining fuel prices may be delayed by the impact of any fuel hedges in place, and we may record significant losses on fuel hedges during periods of declining prices. A failure of our fuel hedging strategy, significant margin funding requirements, overpaying for fuel through the use of hedging arrangements or our failure to maintain a fuel hedging program could prevent us from adequately mitigating the risk of fuel price increases and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Restrictions on, or increased taxes applicable to, charges for non-fare products and services paid by airline passengers and burdensome consumer protection regulations or laws could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
For the three months ended March 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, we generated non-fare passenger revenues of $162$359 million and $309$162 million, , respectively. Our non-fare passenger revenue consists primarily of revenue generated from air travel-related services such as baggageservice fees, servicebaggage fees, seat selection fees and other passenger-related revenue and areis a component of our passenger revenue within the condensed consolidated statements of operations. The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) has rules governing many facets of the airline-consumer relationship including, for instance, consumer notice requirements, handlingunfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods of consumer complaints, price advertising,competition including undisclosed display bias, lengthy tarmac delays, chronically delayed flights, consumer notice and disclosure requirements, consumer complaints, airline advertising and marketing practices, codeshare disclosure, oversales and involuntary denied boarding process/process and compensation, ticket refunds, liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage, customer service commitments, contracts of carriage, consumer disclosurescustomer service commitments and the transportation of passengers with disabilities. The DOT periodically audits airlines to determine whether such airlines have violated any of the DOT rules. The DOT has conducted audits of our business and routine post-audit investigations of our business are ongoing. If the DOT determines that we are not, or have not been, in compliance with these rules or if we are unable to remain compliant, the DOT may subject us to fines or other enforcement action. For instance, in 2017 we were fined $0.40$0.4 million by the DOT for certain infractions relating to oversales, rules related to passengers with disabilities and customer service plan rules,rules; $40,000 for certain infractions relating to oversales disclosure and notice requirements, the domestic baggage liability limit rule and customer service plan rules; and $1.5 million by the DOT relating to lengthy tarmac delays, which was offset by a $0.9 million credit for compensation provided to passengers on the affected flights and other delayed flights. In addition, on March 12, 2021, the DOT advised us that it was in receipt of information indicating that the Companywe had failed to comply with certain DOT consumer protection requirements relating to our consumer refund and credit practices and requested that we provide certain information to the DOT. The original DOT request for information and subsequent correspondence and requests have been focused on our refund practices on Frontier-initiated flight cancellations and/or significant schedule changes in flights as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fully cooperating with the DOT request.request and the review of this matter is still in process.
The DOT may also impose additional consumer protection requirements, including adding requirements to modify our websites and computer reservations system, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The FAAU.S. Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) Reauthorization Act of 2018 provided for several new requirements and rulemakings related to airlines including, but not limited to: (i) prohibition on voice communication cell phone use during certain flights, (ii) insecticide use disclosures, (iii) new training policy best practices for training regarding racial, ethnic and religious non-discrimination, (iv) training on human trafficking for certain staff, (v) departure gate stroller check-in, (vi) the protection of pets on airplanes and service animal standards, (vii) requirements to refund promptly to passengers any ancillary fees paid for services not received, (viii)
consumer complaint process improvements, (ix) pregnant passenger assistance, (x) restrictions on the ability to deny a revenue passenger permission to board or involuntarily remove such passenger from the aircraft, (xi) minimum customer service standards for large ticket agents, (xii) information publishing requirements for widespread disruptions and passenger rights, (xiii) submission of plans pertaining to employee and contractor training consistent with the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, (xiv) ensuring assistance for passengers with disabilities, (xv) flight attendant duty periodduty-period limitations and rest requirements, including submission of a fatigue risk management plan, (xvi) submission of policypolicies concerning passenger sexual misconduct, (xvii)
development of an Employee Assault Prevention and Response Plan related to the customer service agents, (xviii) increased penalties available related to harm to passengers with disabilities or damage to wheelchairs or other mobility aids and (xix) minimum dimensions for passenger seats. Furthermore, in 2019, the FAA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding flight attendant duty-period limitations and rest requirements. The DOT also published a Noticenotice of Proposed Rulemakingproposed rulemaking in January 2020 regarding the accessibility features of lavatories and onboard wheelchair requirements on certain single-aisle aircraft with an FAA certificated maximum capacity of 125 seats or more, training flight attendants to proficiency on an annual basis to provide assistance in transporting qualified individuals with disabilities to and from the lavatory from the aircraft seat, and providing certain information on request to qualified individuals with a disability or persons inquiring on their behalf, on the carrier’s website and in printed or electronic form on the aircraft, concerning the accessibility of aircraft lavatories. In July 2021, the DOT issued a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring airlines to refund checked bag fees for delayed bags if they are not delivered to the passenger within a specified number of hours and refunding ancillary fees for services related to air travel that passengers did not receive. The DOT also recently published Final Rulesfinal rules regarding traveling by air with service animals, and defining unfair or deceptive practices. The DOT also recently published a Final Rulepractices, clarifying that the maximum amount of denied boarding compensation that a carrier may provide to a passenger denied boarding involuntarily is not limited, prohibiting airlines from involuntarily denying boarding to a passenger after the passenger’s boarding pass has been collected or scanned and the passenger has boarded (subject to safety and security exceptions), raising the liability limits for denied boarding compensation, and raising the liability limit for mishandled baggage in domestic air transportation. The U.S. Congress and the DOT have examined the increasingly common airline industry practice of unbundling the pricing of certain products and ancillary services, a practice that is a core component of our business strategy. If new laws or regulations are adopted that make unbundling of airline products and services impermissible, or more cumbersome or expensive, or if new taxes are imposed on non-fare passenger revenues, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed. Congressional, Federalfederal agency and other government scrutiny may also change industry practice or the public’s willingness to pay for non-fare ancillary services. See also “—We are subject to extensive and increasing regulation by the Federal Aviation Administration,FAA, the Department of Transportation, the Transportation Security Administration,DOT, TSA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial results.condition.”
The demand for airline services is highly sensitive to changes in economic conditions, and another recession or similar economic downturn in the United States or globally would further weaken demand for our services and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, particularly since a substantial portion of our customers travel for leisure or other non-essential purposes.
The demand for travel services is affected by U.S. and global economic conditions. Unfavorable economic conditions, such as those resulting from reactionan inflationary economic environment and/or reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, have historically reducedimpaired airline travel spending.economics. For most cost-conscious leisure travelers, travel is a discretionary expense, and though we believe ULCCs are best suited to attract travelers during periods of unfavorable economic conditions as a result of such carriers’ low base fares, travelers have often elected to replace air travel at such times with various other forms of ground transportation or have opted not to travel at all. Likewise, during periods of unfavorable economic conditions, businesses have deferred air travel or forgone it altogether. Travelers have also reduced spending by purchasing fewer non-fare services, which can result in a decrease in average revenue per passenger. Because airlines typically have relatively high fixed costs as a percentage of total costs, much of which cannot be mitigated during periods of lower demand for air travel, the airline business is particularly sensitive to changes in U.S. and global economic conditions. A reduction in the demand for air travel due to unfavorable economic conditions also limits our ability to raise fares to counteract increased fuel, labor and other costs. If U.S. or global economic conditions are unfavorable or uncertain for an extended period of time, including due to the disruption, instability and volatility in global markets resulting from the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated decline in economic activity and increase in unemployment levels are expectedhave had, and may continue to have, a severe and prolonged effect on the global economy generally and, in turn, is expectedmay continue to depress demand for air travel into the foreseeable future. Due to the
to the uncertainty surrounding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can provide no assurance as to when and at what pace demand for air travel will return to pre-pandemic levels, if at all.
We face competition from air travel substitutes.
In addition to airline competition from legacy network airlines, LCCs and other ULCCs, we also face competition from air travel substitutes, partially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On our domestic routes, particularly those with shorter stage lengths, we face competition from some other transportation alternatives, such as bus, trainbuses, trains or automobile.automobiles. In addition, technology advancements may limit the demand for air travel. For example, video teleconferencing, virtual and augmented reality and other methods of electronic communication may reduce the need for in-person communication and add a new dimension of competition to the industry as travelers seek lower-cost substitutes for air travel. If we are unablecommunication. Any inability to stimulate demand for air travel with our low base fares or if we are unable to adjust rapidly in the event that the basis of competition in our markets changes it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Threatened or actual terrorist attacks or security concerns, particularly involving airlines, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Past terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, particularly those against airlines, have caused substantial revenue losses and increased security costs, and any actual or threatened terrorist attack or security breach, even if not directly against an airline, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For instance, enhanced passenger screening, increased regulation governing carry-on baggage and other similar restrictions on passenger travel may further increase passenger inconvenience and reduce the demand for air travel. In addition, increased or enhanced security measures have tended to result in higher governmental fees imposed on airlines, resulting in higher operating costs for airlines, which we may not be able to pass on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Terrorist attacks made directly on an airline, particularly in the U.S., or the fear of such attacks or other hostilities, (includingincluding elevated national threat warnings or selective cancellation or redirection of flights due to terror threats),threats, would have a negative impact on the airline industry and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Airlines are often affected by factors beyond their control, including: air traffic congestion at airports; air traffic control inefficiencies; government shutdowns; major construction or improvements at airports; aircraft and engine defects; FAA grounding of aircraft; adverse weather conditions; increased security measures; new travel-related taxes; or the outbreak of disease, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Like other airlines, our business is affected by factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, air traffic control inefficiencies, government shutdowns, major construction or improvements at airports at which we operate, aircraft and engine defects, FAA grounding of aircraft, increased security measures, new travel-related identification requirements, taxes and fees, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and the outbreak of disease. Flight delays caused by these factors may frustrate passengers and may increase costs and decrease revenues, which in turn could adversely affect profitability. The federal government controls all U.S. airspace, and airlines are completely dependent on the FAA to operate that airspace in a safe, efficient and affordable manner. The federal government also controls airport security. The air traffic control system, which is operated by the FAA, faces challenges in managing the growing demand for U.S. air travel. U.S. and foreign air-traffic controllers often rely on outdated technologies that routinely overwhelm the system and compel airlines to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays. In addition, federalFederal government slow-downsslowdowns or shutdowns may further impact the availability of federal resources, such as air traffic controllers and security personnel, necessary to provide air traffic control and airport security,security. Staffing shortages, such as those recently experienced at the Jacksonville Air Traffic Control Center during the first quarter of 2022 and which maycontinue into the second quarter, can cause delays or cancellations of flights or may impact our ability to take delivery of aircraft or expand our route network or airport footprint. In addition, U.S. and foreign air-traffic controllers often rely on outdated technologies that routinely overwhelm the system and compel airlines to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays. Further, implementation of the Next Generation Air Transport System, or NextGen, by the FAA could result in changes to aircraft routings and flight paths that could lead to increased noise complaints and other lawsuits,
resulting in increased costs. The U.S. Congress could enact legislation that could impose a wide range of consumer protection requirements, which could increase our costs of doing business.
In addition, airlines may also experience disruptions to their operations as a result of the aircraft and engines they operate, such as manufacturing defects, spare part shortages and other factors beyond their control. For example, regulators ordered the grounding of the entire worldwide Boeing 737 MAX fleet in March 2019. While such order did not have a direct impact on our fleet, which is comprised entirely of Airbus A320 family aircraft, any similar or other disruption to our operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, blizzards, snowstorms or earthquakes, can cause flight cancellations or significant delays. Cancellations or delays due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, air traffic control problems or inefficiencies, breaches in security or other factors may affect us to a greater degree than other larger airlines that may be able to recover more quickly from these events, and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition to a greater degree than other air carriers. Because of our high utilization and point-to-point network, operational disruptions can have a disproportionate impact on our ability to recover. In addition, many airlines re-accommodate their disrupted passengers on other airlines at prearranged rates under flight interruption manifest agreements. We have been unsuccessful in procuring any of these agreements with our peers, which makes our recovery from disruption more challenging than for larger airlines that have these agreements in place. Similarly, outbreaks of contagious diseases, such as COVID-19, ebola,Ebola, measles, avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1 (swine) flu, pertussis (whooping cough) and zikaZika virus, have in the past and may in the future result in significant decreases in passenger traffic and the imposition of government restrictions in service, resulting in a material adverse impact on the airline industry. New identification requirements, such as the implementation of rules under the REAL ID Act of 2005, and increased travel taxes, such as those provided in the Travel Promotion Act, enacted in March 2010, which charges visitors from certain countries a $10 fee every two years to travel into the United States to subsidize certain travel promotion efforts, could also result in decreases in passenger traffic. Any general reduction in airline passenger traffic could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks associated with our presence in international emerging markets, including political or economic instability, and failure to adequately comply with existing legal requirements, may materially adversely affect us.our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Some of our target growth markets include countries with less developed economies, legal systems, financial markets and business and political environments that are vulnerable to economic and political disruptions, such as significant fluctuations in gross domestic product, interest and currency exchange rates, civil disturbances, government instability, nationalization and expropriation of private assets, trafficking and the imposition of taxes or other charges by governments. The occurrence of any of these events in markets served by us now or in the future and the resulting instability may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We emphasize compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and have implemented and continue to implement and refresh policies, procedures and certain ongoing training of our employees, third-party specialists and partners with regard to business ethics and key legal requirements; however, we cannot assure you that our employees, third-party specialists or partners will adhere to our code of ethics, other policies or other legal requirements. If we fail to enforce our policies and procedures properly or maintain adequate recordkeeping and internal accounting practices to record our transactions accurately, we may be subject to sanctions. In the event we believe, or have reason to believe, that our employees, third-party specialists or partners have or may have violated applicable laws or regulations, we may incur investigation costs, potential penalties and other related costs, which in turn may have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Increases in insurance costs or reductions in insurance coverage may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If any of our aircraft were to be involved in a significant accident or if our property or operations were to be affected by a significant natural catastrophe or other event, we could be exposed to material liability or loss. If we are unable to obtain sufficient insurance (including aviation hull and liability insurance and property and business
interruption coverage) to cover such liabilities or losses, whether due to insurance market conditions or otherwise, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
We currently obtain third-party war risk (terrorism) insurance as part of our commercial aviation hull and liability policy and additional third-party war risk (terrorism) insurance through a separate policy with a different private insurance company. Our current third-party war risk (terrorism) insurance from commercial underwriters excludes nuclear, radiological and certain other events. If we are unable to obtain adequate war risk insurance or if an event not covered by the insurance we maintain were to take place, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
A decline in, or temporary suspension of, the funding or operations of the U.S. federal government or its agencies may adversely affect our future operating results or negatively impact the timing and implementation of our growth prospects.
The success of our operations and our future growth is dependent on a number of federal agencies, specifically the FAA, the DOT and TSA.the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”). In the event of a slowdown or shutdown of the federal government, such as those experienced in October 2013 and December 2018 through January 2019, certain functions of these and other federal agencies may be significantly diminished or completely suspended for an indefinite period of time, the conclusion of which is outside of our control. During such periods, it may not be possible for us to obtain the operational approvals and certifications required for events that are critical to the successful execution of our operational strategy, such as the delivery of new aircraft or the implementation of new routes. Additionally, there may be an impact toon critical airport operations, particularly security, air traffic control and other functions that could cause airport delays and flight cancellations and negatively impact consumer demand for air travel.
Furthermore, once a period of slowdown or government shutdown has concluded, there will likely be an operational backlog within the federal agencies that may extend the length of time that such events continue to negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition beyond the end of such period.
The deployment of new 5G C-band service by wireless communications service providers could have a material adverse effect on our operations, which in turn could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
On January 17, 2022, various executives of U.S. passenger airlines and cargo carriers, and airline industry associations, warned the U.S. federal government of the potential adverse impact the imminent deployment of AT&T and Verizon’s new 5G C-band service would have on U.S. aviation operations. According to aviation leaders, the deployment of the new 5G C-band service could cause, among other consequences, operational and security issues, interference with critical aircraft instruments and adverse impact to low-visibility operations. Any of these consequences could potentially cause flight cancellations, diversions and delays, or could result in damage to our aircraft and other equipment and a diminished margin of safety in airline operations. On January 18, 2022, AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the implementation of 5G C-band service near airports while working with the FAA to develop long-term mitigations to support safe aviation operations. While AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the activation of 5G transmitters in close proximity to airports, they did move forward with the activation of a vast majority of 5G transmitters away from airports, and we expect they will continue expanding their 5G C-band service through the spring of 2022. As a result, the FAA has taken precautionary steps to mitigate any remaining interference risks, which have resulted in minimal impacts to our operations, particularly in low-visibility conditions at certain airports. We cannot predict if any new requirements or restrictions will be imposed on airlines by the DOT, the FAA or other government agencies, but any such requirement or restriction could have an adverse effect
on our operations and any sustained impact to our operations could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to the Merger
The pendency of the proposed Merger may cause disruption in our business.
On February 5, 2022, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Spirit and Top Gun Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of ours (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which and subject to the terms and conditions therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into Spirit, with Spirit continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours.
The Merger Agreement restricts us from taking specified actions without Spirit’s consent until the Merger is completed or the Merger Agreement is terminated, including amending our organizational documents, issuing shares of our common stock, divesting certain assets (including certain intellectual property rights), declaring or paying dividends, making certain significant acquisitions or investments, entering into any new lines of business, or incurring certain indebtedness. These restrictions and others more fully described in the Merger Agreement (the full text of which has been filed with the SEC) may affect our ability to execute our business strategies and attain our financial and other goals and may impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The pendency of the proposed Merger could cause disruptions to our business or business relationships, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Parties with which we have business relationships, including customers, unions, employees, suppliers, third-party service providers and third-party distribution channels, may be uncertain as to the future of such relationships and may delay or defer certain business decisions, seek alternative relationships with third parties or seek to alter their present business relationships with us. Parties with whom we otherwise may have sought to establish business relationships may seek alternative relationships with third parties.
The pursuit of the Merger and the preparation for our integration with Spirit’s business is expected to place a significant burden on our management and internal resources. The diversion of management’s attention away from day-to-day business concerns and any difficulties encountered in the transition and integration process could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
While the Merger is pending, we intend to continue to grow our business which will entail the continued hiring of additional employees, including pilots and other skilled workers, presently in short supply in the airline industry. Any disruption or perceived uncertainty may make it more difficult for us to meet our employee retention and hiring goals which could materially impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have incurred and will continue to incur significant costs, expenses and fees for professional services and other transaction costs in connection with the Merger. We may also incur unanticipated costs in connection with our integration with Spirit’s business. The substantial majority of these costs will be non-recurring expenses relating to the Merger, and many of these costs are payable regardless of whether or not the Merger is consummated. We also could be subject to litigation related to the proposed Merger, which could prevent or delay the consummation of the Merger and result in significant costs and expenses.
Failure to complete the Merger in a timely manner or at all could negatively impact the market price of our common stock, as well as our future business and our results of operations and financial condition.
The Merger cannot be completed until conditions to closing are satisfied or (if permissible under applicable law) waived. The Merger is subject to numerous closing conditions, including among other things, (i) approval of the transactions by Spirit’s stockholders, (ii) the expiration or termination of all applicable waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and other required regulatory approvals including the receipt of all consents, registrations, notices, waivers, exemptions, approvals, confirmations, clearances, permits, certificates, orders, and authorizations of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Federal
Trade Commission, the FAA, the DOT, and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”); (iii) the absence of any law or order prohibiting the consummation of the transactions; (iv) the effectiveness of the registration statement to be filed by us and Spirit with the SEC pursuant to the Merger Agreement; (v) the authorization and approval for listing on Nasdaq of the shares of our common stock to be issued to holders of Spirit’s common stock in the Merger; (vi) the absence of any material adverse effect (as defined in the Merger Agreement) on either party; (vii) the accuracy of the parties’ respective representations and warranties in the Merger Agreement, subject to specified materiality qualifications; and (viii) compliance by the parties with their respective covenants in the Merger Agreement in all material respects.
The process of satisfying such conditions, including seeking the necessary regulatory approvals, could delay the completion of the Merger for a significant period of time or prevent it from occurring. Further, there can be no assurance that the conditions to the closing of the Merger will be satisfied or waived or that the Merger will be completed.
If the Merger is not completed in a timely manner or at all, our ongoing business may be adversely affected as follows:
•we may experience negative reactions from the financial markets, and our stock price could decline to the extent that the current market price reflects an assumption that the Merger will be completed;
•we may experience negative reactions from employees, customers, suppliers or other third parties;
•we may be subject to litigation, which could result in significant costs and expenses;
•management’s focus may have been diverted from day-to-day business operations and pursuing other opportunities that could have been beneficial to us; and
•our costs of pursuing the Merger may be higher than anticipated.
The Merger will also not be completed should Spirit terminate the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms to accept the JetBlue proposal. Such a termination has not occurred as of the date of this report and, on May 2, 2022, Spirit announced that its board of directors had determined not to pursue the JetBlue proposal.
If the Merger is not consummated, there can be no assurance that these risks will not materialize and will not materially adversely affect our stock price, business, results of operations and financial condition.
In order to complete the Merger, we and Spirit must obtain certain governmental approvals, and if such approvals are not granted or are granted with conditions, completion of the Merger may be jeopardized or the anticipated benefits of the Merger could be reduced.
Although we and Spirit have agreed to use reasonable best efforts to make certain governmental filings and obtain the required governmental approvals, including from the FCC, the FAA, the DOJ and the DOT, subject to certain limitations such as the expiration or earlier termination of relevant waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended, there can be no assurance that the relevant waiting periods will expire or be terminated or that the relevant approvals will be obtained. As a condition to approving the Merger, these governmental authorities may impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions or require divestitures or place restrictions on the conduct of our business after completion of the Merger. There can be no assurance that regulators will not impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions and that such conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not have the effect of delaying or preventing completion of the Merger or imposing additional material costs on or materially limiting the revenues of the combined company following the Merger, or otherwise adversely affecting, including to a material extent, our business, results of operations and financial condition after completion of the Merger. If we are required to divest assets or businesses, there can be no assurance that we will be able to negotiate such divestitures expeditiously or on favorable terms or that the governmental authorities will
approve the terms of such divestitures. We can provide no assurance that these conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not result in the abandonment of the Merger.
Although we expect that the Merger will result in synergies and other benefits to us, we may not realize those benefits because of difficulties related to integration, the achievement of such synergies and other challenges.
We and Spirit have operated and, until completion of the Merger, will continue to operate, independently, and there can be no assurances that our businesses can be combined in a manner that allows for the achievement of substantial benefits. Historically, the integration of separate airlines has often proven to be more time consuming, to cost more and to require more resources than initially estimated. We must devote significant management attention and financial and other resources to integrating our business practices, cultures and operations. If we are not able to successfully integrate our business with Spirit’s, the anticipated benefits, including synergies, of the Merger may not be realized fully or may take longer than expected to be realized. Specifically, the following issues, among others, must be addressed in combining our operations with Spirit’s in order to realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger:
•combining our business with Spirit’s in a manner that permits us to achieve the synergies anticipated to result from the Merger, the failure of which would result in the anticipated benefits of the Merger not being realized in the time frame currently anticipated or at all;
•maintaining existing agreements with unions, employees, suppliers, third-party service providers and third-party distribution channels, and avoiding delays in entering into new agreements with prospective employees, suppliers, third-party service providers and third-party distribution channels;
•the challenge of integrating complex systems and technologies, including designing and implementing an integrated customer reservations system, operating procedures, regulatory compliance programs, aircraft fleets, networks, and other assets in a manner that minimizes any adverse impact on customers, suppliers, employees and other constituencies;
•determining whether and how to address possible differences in corporate cultures and management philosophies;
•diversion of the attention of management and other key employees;
•integrating the businesses’ administrative and information technology infrastructure;
•the challenge of integrating workforces and attracting and retaining key personnel while maintaining focus on providing consistent, high quality customer service and running an efficient operation;
•managing the expanded operations of a significantly larger and more complex company;
•branding or rebranding initiatives may involve substantial costs and may not be favorably received by customers; and
•resolving potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences and unforeseen increased expenses associated with the Merger.
Even if the operations of our business and Spirit’s business are integrated successfully, the full benefits of the Merger may not be realized, including, among others, the synergies that are expected. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame or at all. Additional unanticipated costs, which could be material, may also be incurred in the integration of our business and Spirit’s business. Further, it is possible that there could be loss of key Frontier or Spirit employees, loss of customers, disruption of either or both of our or Spirit’s ongoing businesses or unexpected issues, higher than expected costs and an overall post-completion process that takes longer than originally anticipated.
We plan to submit to the FAA a transition plan for merging the day-to-day operations of Frontier and Spirit under a single operating certificate. The issuance of a single operating certificate will occur when the FAA agrees that we have achieved a level of integration that can be safely managed under one certificate. The actual time required and cost incurred to receive this approval cannot be predicted. Any delay in the grant of such approval or increase in costs beyond those presently expected could have a material adverse effect on the completion date of our integration plan and receipt of the benefits expected from that plan. See also “—We face challenges in integrating our computer, communications and other technology systems.” All of these factors could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may face challenges in integrating our computer, communications and other technology systems.
Among the principal risks of integrating our and Spirit’s businesses and operations are the risks relating to integrating various computer, communications and other technology systems, including designing and implementing an integrated customer reservations system, that will be necessary to operate Frontier and Spirit as a single airline and to achieve cost synergies by eliminating redundancies in the businesses. The integration of these systems in a number of prior airline mergers has taken longer, been more disruptive and cost more than originally forecasted. The implementation process to integrate these various systems will involve a number of risks that could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. The related implementation will be a complex and time-consuming project involving substantial expenditures for implementation consultants, system hardware, software and implementation activities, as well as the transformation of business and financial processes.
As with any large project, there will be many factors that may materially affect the schedule, cost and execution of the integration of our computer, communications and other technology systems. These factors include, among others: problems during the design, implementation and testing phases; systems delays and/or malfunctions; the risk that suppliers and contractors will not perform as required under their contracts; the diversion of management attention from daily operations to the project; reworks due to unanticipated changes in business processes; challenges in simultaneously activating new systems throughout our global network; difficulty in training employees in the operations of new systems; the risk of security breach or disruption; and other unexpected events beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our security measures, change control procedures or disaster recovery plans will be adequate to prevent disruptions or delays. Disruptions in or changes to these systems could result in a disruption to our business and our operations and the loss of important data. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The combined company is expected to incur substantial expenses related to the Merger and the integration of Frontier and Spirit.
The combined company is expected to incur substantial expenses in connection with the Merger and the integration of Frontier and Spirit. There are a large number of processes, policies, procedures, operations, technologies and systems that must be integrated, including purchasing, accounting and finance, sales, payroll, pricing, revenue management, reservations, maintenance, flight operations, marketing and benefits. While we and Spirit have assumed that a certain level of expenses would be incurred, there are many factors beyond their control that could affect the total amount or the timing of the integration expenses. Moreover, many of the expenses that will be incurred are, by their nature, difficult to estimate accurately. These expenses could, particularly in the near term, exceed the savings that the combined company expects to achieve from the elimination of duplicative expenses and the realization of economies of scale and cost savings. These integration expenses likely will result in the combined company taking significant charges against earnings following the completion of the Merger, and the amount and timing of such charges are uncertain at present.
Uncertainties associated with the Merger may cause a loss of management personnel and other key employees which could adversely affect the future business and operations of the combined company.
We and Spirit are dependent on the experience and industry knowledge of our respective officers and other key employees to execute our respective business plans. The combined company’s success after the Merger will depend in part upon the ability of our and Spirit’s to retain key management personnel and other key employees. Current and prospective employees of Frontier and Spirit may experience uncertainty about their roles within the combined company following the Merger, which may have an adverse effect on the ability of each of us and Spirit to attract or retain key management and other key personnel. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the combined
company will be able to attract or retain key management personnel and other key employees of Frontier and Spirit to the same extent that Frontier and Spirit have previously been able to attract or retain their own employees.
The future results of the combined company will suffer if the combined company does not effectively manage its expanded operations following the Merger.
Following the Merger, the size of the business of the combined company will increase significantly beyond the current size of either our or Spirit’s business. The combined company’s future success depends, in part, upon its ability to manage this expanded business, which will pose substantial challenges for management, including challenges related to the management and monitoring of new operations and associated increased costs and complexity. There can be no assurances that the combined company will be successful or that it will realize the expected operating efficiencies, cost savings, revenue enhancements and other benefits currently anticipated from the Merger.
Following the closing of the Merger, we will be bound by all of the obligations and liabilities of both companies.
Following the closing, we will become bound by all of the obligations and liabilities of the Company and Spirit. Neither we nor Spirit can predict the financial condition of the Company or Spirit at the time of that combination or our ability to satisfy the obligations and liabilities of the combined company.
The need to integrate the Frontier and Spirit workforces following the Merger and negotiate new joint labor agreements presents the potential for delay in achieving expected synergies, increased labor costs or labor disputes that could adversely affect the combined company’s operations.
The successful integration of us and Spirit and achievement of the anticipated benefits of the combination depend significantly on integrating our and Spirit’s employee groups and on maintaining productive employee relations. Failure to do so presents the potential for delays in achieving expected synergies of integration, increased labor costs and labor disputes that could adversely affect the combined company’s operations.
We and Spirit are both highly unionized companies. The process for integrating labor groups in an airline merger is governed by a combination of the United States Railway Labor Act (“RLA”), the McCaskill-Bond Act, and where applicable, the existing provisions of each company’s collective bargaining agreements and union policy. Pending operational integration, it is generally necessary to maintain a “fence” between employee groups, during which time the combined company will keep the employee groups separate and apply the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreements unless other terms have been negotiated.
Under the RLA, the National Mediation Board (“NMB”) has exclusive authority to resolve representation disputes arising out of airline mergers. The disputes that the NMB has authority to resolve include (i) whether the merger has created a “single carrier” for representation purposes; (ii) designation of the appropriate “craft or class”—the RLA term for “bargaining unit”—for bargaining at the combined company on a system wide basis, an issue which typically arises from minor inconsistencies over which positions are included within a particular craft or class at the two companies; and (iii) designation of the representative of each craft or class at the combined company.
In order to fully integrate the pre-merger represented employee groups, the combined company must negotiate a joint collective bargaining agreement covering each combined group. These negotiations can begin immediately where the same union represents employees of both companies within the craft or class in question, but otherwise will likely begin after a single post-merger representative has been certified by the NMB.
Prior to the completion of the Merger, there is a risk of litigation or arbitration by unions or individual employees that could delay or halt the Merger or result in monetary damages on the basis that the Merger either violates a provision of an existing collective bargaining agreement or an obligation under the RLA or other applicable law. The unions or individual employees might also pursue judicial or arbitral claims arising out of changes implemented as a result of the Merger. There is also a possibility that employees or unions could engage in
job actions such as slow-downs, work-to-rule campaigns, sick-outs or other actions designed to disrupt our and Spirit’s normal operations, whether in opposition to the Merger or in an attempt to pressure the companies in collective bargaining negotiations. Although the RLA makes such actions unlawful until the parties have been lawfully released to self-help, and we and Spirit can seek injunctive relief against premature self-help, such actions can cause significant harm even if ultimately enjoined.
Risks Related to Our Business
If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our business, results of operations and financial condition willcould be materially adversely affected.
Our growth strategy includes significantly expanding our fleet and expanding the number of markets we serve. We select target markets and routes where we believe we can achieve profitability within a reasonable timeframe, and we only continue operating on routes where we believe we can achieve and maintain our desired level of profitability. When developing our route network, we focus on gaining market share on routes that have been underserved or that are served primarily by higher cost airlines, where we believe we have a competitive cost advantage. Effectively implementing our growth strategy is critical for our business to achieve economies of scale and to sustain or increase our profitability. We face numerous challenges in implementing our growth strategy, including our ability to:
•sustain our relatively low unit operating costs;
•continue to realize attractive revenue performance;
•achieve and maintain profitability;
•maintain a high level of aircraft utilization; and
•access airports located in our targeted geographic markets where we can operate routes in a manner that is consistent with our cost strategy.
In addition, in order to successfully implement our growth strategy, which includes the planned growth of our fleet from 107size and a firm commitment to purchase 232 A320neo family aircraft as of March 31, 2021 to a fleet of 163 by the end of 2025,2029, we will require access to a large number of gates and other services at airports we currently serve or may seek to serve. We believe there are currently significant restraints on gates and related ground facilities at many of the most heavily utilized airports in the United States, in addition to the fact that three major domestic airports (JFK and LaGuardia in New York and
Reagan National in Washington, D.C.) require government-controlled take-off or landing “slots” to operate at those airports. As a result, if we are unable to obtain access to a sufficient number of slots, gates or related ground facilities at desirable airports to accommodate our growing fleet, we may be unable to compete in those markets, our aircraft utilization rate could decrease and we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our growth is also dependent upon our ability to maintain a safe and secure operation, including enhanced safety procedures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will require additional personnel, equipment and facilities as we continue to induct new aircraft and continue to execute our growth plan. In addition, we will require additional third-party personnel for services we do not undertake ourselves. An inability to hire and retain personnel, secure the required equipment and facilities in a cost-effective and timely manner, efficiently operate our expanded facilities or obtain the necessary regulatory approvals may adversely affect our ability to achieve our growth strategy, which could harm our business. Furthermore, expansion to new markets may have other risks due to factors specific to those markets. We may be unable to foresee all of the existing risks upon entering certain new markets or respond adequately to these risks, and our growth strategy and our business may suffer as a result. In addition, our competitors may reduce their fares and/or offer special promotions following our entry into a new market. We cannot assure you that we will be able to profitably expand our existing markets or establish new markets.
Some of our target growth markets outside of the United States include countries with less developed economies that may be vulnerable to unstable economic and political conditions, such as significant fluctuations in gross domestic product, interest and currency exchange rates, civil disturbances, government instability, nationalization and expropriation of private assets and the imposition of taxes or other charges by governments. The
occurrence of any of these events in markets served by uswe serve, and the resulting instability, may adversely affect our ability to implement our growth strategy.
Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages, and many factors could affect our ability to control our costs.
Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages. However, we have limited control over some of our costs. For example, we have limited control over the price and availability of aircraft fuel, aviation insurance, the acquisition and operating cost of aircraft, airport and related infrastructure costs, taxes, the cost of meeting changing regulatory requirements and our cost to access capital or financing. In addition, the compensation and benefit costs applicable to a significant portion of our employees are established by the terms of collective bargaining agreements, which could result in increased labor costs. See “— Increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruption may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.” Further, in an inflationary environment which is also exhibiting worker and fuel shortages, such as the current U.S. economic environment, depending on airline industry and other economic conditions, we may be unable to manage through the resulting increases in our operating costs. We cannot predict how long the current inflationary period will last or the extent to which high inflation may occur in the U.S. economy in the future. As such, we cannot guarantee we will be able to maintain our relatively low costs. If our costs increase and we are no longer able to maintain a competitive cost structure, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to grow or maintain our unit revenues or maintain our non-fare revenues.
A key component of our Low Fares Done Right strategy is attracting customers with low fares and garnering repeat business by delivering a high-quality, family-friendly customer experience with a more upscale look and feel than traditionally experienced on other ULCCs in the United States. We intend to continue to differentiate our brand and product in order to expand our loyal customer base and grow or maintain our unit revenues and maintain our non-fare revenues. The rising cost of aircraft and engine maintenance may impair our ability to offer low-cost fares, resulting in reduced revenues. Differentiating our brand and product has required, and will continue to require, significant investment, and we cannot assure you that the initiatives we have implemented will continue to be successful or that the initiatives we intend to implement will be successful. If we are unable to maintain or further differentiate our brand and product from the other U.S. ULCCs, our market share could decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We may also not be successful in leveraging our brand and product to stimulate new demand with low base fares or gain market share from the legacy airlines, particularly if the significant excess capacity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic persists.
In addition, our business strategy includes maintaining our portfolio of desirable, value-oriented, non-fare products and services. However, we cannot assure you that passengers will continue to perceive value in the non-fare products and services we currently offer and regulatory initiatives could adversely affect non-fare revenue opportunities. Failure to maintain our non-fare revenues wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, if we are unable to maintain our non-fare revenues, we may not be able to execute our strategy to continue to lower base fares in order to stimulate demand for air travel.
Increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruption may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business is labor intensive, with labor costs representing approximately 38%23% and 23%38% of our total operating costs for the three months ended March 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively. As of March 31, 2021,2022, approximately 87%88% of our workforce was represented by labor unions. We have recently ratified labor agreements with several of the labor unions representing our employees, andincluding with the union representing our pilots in MarchJanuary 2019 we reached a tentative agreementand with the union representing our flight attendants which was ratified onin May 15, 2019. See “Business—Employees”Human Capital Resources” in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021.2021 Annual Report. We cannot assure you that our labor costs going forward will remain competitive or that any new agreements into which we enter will not have terms with higher labor costs or that the negotiations of such labor agreements will not result in any work stoppages.
Relations between air carriers and labor unions in the United States are governed by the RLA. Under the RLA, collective bargaining agreements generally contain “amendable dates” rather than expiration dates, and the RLA requires that a carrier maintain the existing terms and conditions of employment following the amendable date through a multi-stage, and usually lengthy, series of bargaining processes overseen by the National Mediation Board (“NMB”).NMB. This process continues until either the parties have reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, or the parties have been released to “self-help” by the NMB. In most circumstances, the RLA prohibits strikes; however, after release by the NMB, carriers and unions are free to engage in self-help measures such as lockouts and strikes.
From June to November 2018, we experienced disruptions to our flight operations during our labor negotiations with the union representing our pilots, Air Line Pilots Association (“ALPA”), which materially impacted our business and results of operations for the period. Upon reaching a tentative agreement with ALPA in December 2018, our flight operations returned to normal. However, we are unable to determine the extent to which this period of prolonged disruption may have harmed our reputation or the length of time it may take for our business to recover from such harm, if ever. In addition, the agreement, which became effective in January 2019, included a significant increase in the annual compensation of our pilots, as well as a one-time ratification incentive payment to our pilots of $75 million, plus payroll relatedpayroll-related taxes. We cancannot provide no assurance that we will not experience another operational disruption resulting from any future negotiations or disagreements with our pilots nor can we provide assurance that we will not experience an operational disruption as a result of negotiations or disagreements with any of our other union-represented employee groups. In addition, we cannot provide any estimate with regard to the amount or probability of future compensation increases, ratification incentives or other costs that may come as a result of future negotiations with our pilots or our other union representedunion-represented groups. Future operational disruptions or other costs related to labor negotiations, including reputational harm that may come as a result of such disruptions, if any, may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, the terms and conditions of our future collective bargaining agreements may be affected by the results of collective bargaining negotiations at other airlines that may have a greater ability, due to larger scale, greater efficiency, superior profitability or other factors, to bear higher costs than we can. One or more of our competitors may also significantly reduce their labor costs, thereby providing them with a competitive advantage over us. Our labor costs may also increase in connection with our growth and we could also become subject to additional collective bargaining agreements in the future as non-unionized workers may unionize. The occurrence of any such event may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our inability to expand or operate reliably or efficiently out of airports where we maintain a large presence could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are highly dependent on markets served from airports that are significant to our business, including Denver, Orlando, andDenver, Las Vegas, as well as high-traffic locations, such as Philadelphia Cleveland, Tampa, Chicago, Fort Myers and Atlanta.Tampa. Our results of operations may be affected by actions taken by governmental or other agencies or authorities having jurisdiction over our operations at these and other airports, including, but not limited to:
•increases in airport rates and charges;
•limitations on take-off and landing slots, airport gate capacity or other use of airport facilities;
•termination of our airport use agreements, some of which can be terminated by airport authorities with little notice to us;
•increases in airport capacity that could facilitate increased competition;
•international travel regulations such as customs and immigration;
•increases in taxes;
•changes in the law that affect the services that can be offered by airlines, in general and in particular markets or at particular airports;
•restrictions on competitive practices;
•the adoption of statutes or regulations that impact or impose additional customer service standards and requirements, including security standards and requirements; and
•the adoption of more restrictive locally imposed noise regulations or curfews.
Our existing lease at Denver International Airport was extended and expires in December 20212022 with an option to extend for twoone additional one-year periods.extension option, and in May 2022, we entered into an additional 10-year airport use and lease agreement with the City and County of Denver which includes a new ground-level boarding facility and 14 accompanying gates. We cannot assure you that renewal of the lease will occur on acceptable terms or at all, or that the new lease will not include additional or increased fees. In general, any changes in airport operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Any damage to our reputation or brand image could adversely affect our business or financialresults.
Maintaining a good reputation globally is critical to our business. Our reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by, among other things, any failure to maintain high ethical, social and environmental sustainability practices for all of our operations and activities; our impact on the environment; any inability to maintain our position as “America’s Greenest Airline” including, for example, if another major U.S. airline experiences more average fuel savings than us based on ASMs per fuel gallon consumed or if consumers perceive us to be less “green” than other airlines based on different factors or metrics or by attributing the sustainability practices of our vendors, suppliers and other third parties to us; public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, such as movements to institute a “living wage;” 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. In addition, we operate in a highly visible industry that has significant exposure to social media. Negative publicity, including as a result of misconduct by our customers, vendors or employees, can spread rapidly through social media. Should we not respond in a timely and appropriate manner to address negative publicity, our brand and reputation may be significantly harmed. 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.
In addition, our reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by any inability to deliver strong operational performance, which we believe helps strengthen our customer loyalty and attract new customers. The DOT publishes statistics regarding measures of customer satisfaction for domestic airlines, including on-time performance and completion factor. Our on-time performance, which measures the percentage of our scheduled flights that were operated by us that were on-time (within 15 minutes) for domestic routes only, was 76.6%, 83.9%, and 73.1% for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. Our completion factor, which measures the percentage of our scheduled flights that were completed by us for domestic routes only, whether or not delayed (i.e., not cancelled), was 98.6%, 94.9%, and 98.3% for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. The ranges of on-time performance and completion factor for the 10 airlines of significant size in the United States ranged from 68.3% to 90.1% and 96.7% to 99.6%, respectively, and we ranked 7th and 3rd, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2021. Any sustained inability to maintain or improve our operational performance could result in decreased customer loyalty and, in turn, could significantly harm our brand and reputation and adversely affect our business and financial results.
Moreover, the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 has adversely impacted consumer perceptions of the health and safety of travel, and airline travel in particular, and these negative perceptions, whether or not based in fact, could continue even after the pandemic subsides. Actual or perceived risk of infection on our flights has had, and may continue to have, a material adverse effect on the public’s perception of us, which has harmed, and may continue to harm, our reputation and business. We have taken various measures to reassure our team members and the traveling public of the safety of air travel, such as requiring that facial coverings must be worn by all customers and team members throughout every flight while governmental mask mandates were required and introducing a fogging disinfectant to our already stringent aircraft cleaning and sanitation protocols. We 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. However, we cannot assure you that these or any other actions we might take in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be sufficient to restore the confidence of consumers in the safety of air travel.
Our reputation and business could be adversely affected in the event of an emergency, accident or similar public incident involving our aircraft or personnel.
We are exposed to potential significant losses and adverse publicity in the event that any of our aircraft or personnel is involved in an emergency, accident, terrorist incident or other similar public incident, which could expose us to significant reputational harm and potential legal liability. In addition, we could face significant costs or lost revenues related to repairs or replacement of a damaged aircraft and its temporary or permanent loss from service. We cannot assure you that we will not be affected by such events or that the amount of our insurance coverage will be adequate in the event such circumstances arise, and any such event could cause a substantial increase in our insurance premiums. In addition, any future emergency, accident or similar incident involving our aircraft or personnel, even if fully covered by insurance or even if it does not involve our airline, may create an adverse public perception about our airline or that the equipment we fly is less safe or reliable than other transportation alternatives, or, in the case of our aircraft, could cause us to perform time-consuming and costly inspections on our aircraft or engines, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Negative publicity regarding our customer service could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business strategy includes the differentiation of our brand and product from the other U.S. airlines, including other ULCCs, in order to increase customer loyalty and drive future ticket sales. We intend to accomplish this by continuing to offer passengers dependable customer service. However, in the past, we have experienced a relatively high number of customer complaints related to, among other things, our customer service and reservations and ticketing systems, includingin addition to complaints related to our COVID-19 relatedCOVID-19-related refund policy. We and other airlines have also received complaints regarding the treatment and handling of passengers’ noncompliance with airline policies, including policies implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Passenger complaints, together with reports of lost baggage, delayed and cancelled flights, and other service issues, are reported to the public by the DOT. The
DOT may choose to investigate such customer complaints and this could result in fines. For instance, in 2017 we were fined $0.40$0.4 million by the DOT for certain infractions relating to oversales, rules related to passengers with disabilities and customer service plan rules,rules; $40,000 for certain infractions relating to oversales disclosure and notice requirements, the domestic baggage liability limit rule and customer service plan rules; and $1.5 million by the DOT relating to lengthlengthy tarmac delays, which was offset by a $0.9 million credit for compensation provided to passengers on the affected flights and other delayed flights. In addition, on March 12, 2021, the DOT advised us that it was in receipt of information indicating that the Companywe had failed to comply with certain DOT consumer protection requirements relating to our consumer refund and credit practices and requested that we provide certain information to the DOT. The original DOT request for information and subsequent correspondence and requests have been focused on our refund practices on Frontier-initiated flight cancellations and/or significant schedule changes in flights as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fully cooperating with the DOT request.request and the review of this matter is still in process. If we do not meet our customers’ expectations with respect to reliability and service, our brand and product could be negatively impacted, which could result in customers deciding not to fly with us and adversely affect our business and reputation.
We rely on maintaining a high daily aircraft utilization rate to implement our low-cost structure, which makes us especially vulnerable to flight delays, flight cancellations, aircraft unavailability or unplanned reductions in demand such as has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have maintained a high daily aircraft utilization rate prior to the COVIDCOVID-19 pandemic and expect our utilization rate to increase as the U.S. market beginscontinues to recover from the pandemic. Our average daily aircraft utilization was 7.310.8 hours and 11.37.3 hours for the three months ended March 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively. Aircraft utilization is the average amount of time per day that our aircraft spend carrying passengers. Part of our business strategy is to maximize revenue per aircraft through high daily aircraft utilization, which is achieved, in part, by quick turnaround times at airports so we can fly more hours on average in a day. Aircraft utilization is reduced by delays and cancellations caused by various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports or other air traffic control problems or outages, labor availability, adverse weather conditions,
increased security measures or breaches in security, international or domestic conflicts, terrorist activity, or other changes in business conditions. A significant portion of our operations are concentrated in markets such as Denver, the Northeast and northern Midwest regions of the United States, which are particularly vulnerable to weather, airport traffic constraints and other delays, particularly in the winter months. In addition, pulling aircraft out of service for unscheduled and scheduled maintenance may materially reduce our average fleet utilization and require that we re-accommodate passengers or seek short-term substitute capacity at increased costs. Further, an unplanned reduction in demand such as has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic reduces the utilization of our fleet and resultresults in a related increase in unit costs, which may be material. Due to the relatively small size of our fleet, our point-to-point network and high daily aircraft utilization rate, the unexpected unavailability of one or more aircraft and resulting reduced capacity or even a modest decrease in demand could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to various environmental and noise laws and regulations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the protection of the environment and noise, including those relating to emissions to the air, discharges (including storm water discharges) to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water and the use, management, disposal and release of, and exposure to, hazardous substances, oils and waste materials. We are or may be subject to new or proposed laws and regulations that may have a direct effect (or indirect effect through our third-party specialists or airport facilities at which we operate) on our operations. In addition, U.S. airport authorities are exploring ways to limit de-icing fluid discharges. Any such existing, future, new or potential laws and regulations could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Similarly, we are subject to environmental laws and regulations that require us to investigate and remediate soil or groundwater to meet certain remediation standards. Under certain laws, generators of waste materials, and current and former owners or operators of facilities, can be subject to liability for investigation and remediation costs at locations that have been identified as requiring response actions. Liability under these laws may be strict, joint and several, meaning that we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up environmental contamination regardless of fault or the amount of wastes directly attributable to us.
In addition, the International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”) and jurisdictions around the world have adopted noise regulations that require all aircraft to comply with noise levelnoise-level standards, and governmental authorities in several U.S. and foreign cities are considering or have already implemented aircraft noise reduction programs, including the imposition of overnight curfews and limitations on daytime take-offs and landings. Compliance with existing and future environmental laws and regulations, including emissions limitations and more restrictive or widespread noise regulations, that may be applicable to us could require significant expenditures, increase our cost base and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and violations thereof can lead to significant fines and penalties, among other sanctions.
We generallyroutinely participate with other airlines in fuel consortia and fuel committees at our airports, whichairports. The related agreements generally include cost-sharing provisions and environmental indemnities that are generally joint and several among the participating airlines. Any costs (including remediation and spill response costs) incurred by such fuel consortia could also have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including increased regulation of our CO2 emissions, changing consumer preferences and the potential increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure.
Efforts to transition to a low-carbon future have increased the focus by global, regional and national regulators on climate change and greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, including CO2 emissions. In particular, ICAO has adopted rules, including those pertaining to implement the Carbon OffsettingOffset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (“CORSIA”), which will require us to address the growth in CO2 emissions of a significant majority of our
international flights. For more information on CORSIA, see “Business—Government Regulation—Environmental Regulation” in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021.2021 Annual Report.
At this time, the costs of complying with our future obligations under CORSIA are uncertain, primarily because it is difficult to estimate the return of demand for international air travel during and inas the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.pandemic continues. There is also significant uncertainty with respect to the future supply and price of carbon offset credits and sustainable or lower carbonlower-carbon aircraft fuels that could allow us to reduce our emissions of CO2. In addition, we will not directly control our CORSIA compliance costs through 2029 because those obligations are based on the growth in emissions of the global aviation sector and begin to incorporate a factor for individual airline operator emissions growth beginning in 2030. Due to the competitive nature of the airline industry and unpredictability of the market for air travel, we can offer no assurance that we may be able to increase our fares, impose surcharges or otherwise increase revenues or decrease other operating costs sufficiently to offset our costs of meeting obligations under CORSIA.
In the event that CORSIA does not come into force as expected, we and other airlines could become subject to an unpredictable and inconsistent array of national or regional emissions restrictions, creating a patchwork of complex regulatory requirements that could affect global competitors differently without offering meaningful aviation environmental improvements. Concerns over climate change are likely to result in continued attempts by municipal, state, regional and federal agencies to adopt requirements or change business environments related to aviation that, if successful, may result in increased costs to the airline industry and us. In addition, several countries and U.S. states have adopted, or are considering adopting, programs, including new taxes, to regulate domestic GHG emissions. Finally, certain airports have adopted, and others could in the future adopt, GHG emission or climate-related goals that could impact our operations or require us to make changes or investments in our infrastructure.
In addition, in January 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) adopted GHG emission standards for new aircraft engines, which are aligned with the 2017 ICAO aircraft engine GHG emission standards. Like the ICAO standards, the final EPA standards for new aircraft engines would not apply retroactively to engines on in-service aircraft. The final standards have been challenged by several states and environmental groups, and the Biden administration has announced plans to review these final standards along with others issued by the prior administration. On November 15, 2021, EPA announced that it will not rewrite the existing airplane GHG emissions standards but will press for ambitious new airplane GHG emission standards at international negotiations organized by ICAO in 2022. The outcome of the legal challenge and the development of new airplane GHG emissions standards cannot be predicted at this time. U.S. commitments announced during President Biden’s April 2021 Leaders Summit on Climate include working with other countries on a vision toward reducing the aviation sector’s emissions in a manner consistent with the Biden administration’s 2050 net-zero emissions goal, continued participation in CORSIA and development of sustainable aviation fuels. On September 9, 2021, the Biden administration launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge to scale up the production of sustainable aviation fuel, aiming to reduce GHG emissions from aviation by 20% by 2030 and to replace all traditional aviation fuel with sustainable aviation fuel by 2050. Whether these goals will be achieved and the potential effects on our business cannot be predicted at this time.
All such climate change-related regulatory activity and developments may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to purchase specific types of equipment or technologies, purchase carbon offset credits, or otherwise incur additional costs related to our emissions. Such activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs, including fuel costs.
In addition, in January 2021, the EPA finalized GHG emission standards for new aircraft engines designed to implement the ICAO standards on the same timeframe contemplated by ICAO. Like the ICAO standards, the final EPA standards would not apply to engines on in-service aircraft. The final standards have been challenged by
several states and environmental groups, and the Biden administration has announced plans to review these final standards along with others issued by the prior administration. The outcome of the legal challenge and administrative review cannot be predicted at this time.
Growing recognition among consumers of the dangers of climate change may mean some customers choose to fly less frequently or fly on an airline they perceive as operating in a manner that is more sustainable to the climate. Business customers may choose to use alternatives to travel, such as virtual meetings and workspaces. Greater development of high-speed rail in markets now served by short-haul flights could provide passengers with lower-carbon alternatives to flying with us. Our collateral to secure loans, in the form of aircraft, spare parts and airport slots, could lose value as customer demand shifts and economies move to low-carbon alternatives, which may increase our financing cost.
Finally, the potential acute and chronic physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, sea-level rise, excessive heat, longer-term changes in weather patterns and other climate-related events, could affect our operations, infrastructure and financial results. Operational impacts, such as the cancelingcancelling of flights, could result in loss of revenue. We could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate such physical effects of climate change. We are not able to predict accurately the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the physical effects of climate change.
We are highly dependent upon our cash balances and operating cash flows.
As of March 31, 2021,2022, we had $853$727 million of total available liquidity including $429 million ofin cash and cash equivalents, and an additional $424 million available to borrow under the Treasury Loan facility through May 28, 2021. In addition, as of March 31, 2021, we had a $161 million income tax receivable, primarily resulting from our net operating losses generated in 2020, which is classified as a current asset. Furthermore, we have access to a facility to finance a portion of certain aircraft PDPs from which we had drawn $133 million as of March 31, 2021. As of March 31, 2021, our PDP Financing Facility enables us to borrow up to an aggregate of $150 million under a secured, revolving line of credit. In addition, we have a pre-purchased miles facility from which we had drawn $15 million on as of March 31, 2021 and, based on our agreement under the Treasury Loan facility, we are restricted from accessing additional amounts until full repayment and cancellation of the Treasury Loan. Following such date, the amount available under the pre-purchased miles facility will be based on the aggregate amount of fees payable by Barclays to us for pre-purchased miles on a calendar year basis, up to an aggregate maximum amount of $200 million. These facilities are not adequate to finance our operations, and thus weequivalents. We will continue to be dependent on our operating cash flows (if any) and cash balances to fund our operations, provide capital reserves and to make scheduled payments on our aircraft-related fixed obligations, including substantial PDPspre-delivery payments (“PDPs”) related to the aircraft we have on order. In addition, we have sought, and may continue to seek, financing from other available sources to fund our operations in order to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our financial position and operations, including through the payroll support program or loan program with the Treasury.
Subsequent to March 31, 2021, the Treasury provided us with an additional disbursement under the PSP2 Agreement of $21 million, comprised of an additional $15 million toward the PSP2 Grant, and $6 million toward the PSP2 Promissory Note.
The ARP, enacted on March 11, 2021, provided for additional assistance to passenger air carriers that received financial relief under PSP2. On April 29, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with the Treasury for approximately $150 million of installment funding under the PSP3 Agreement, comprised of a $135 million grant for the continuation of payroll support through September 30, 2021, and a $15 million unsecured 10-year low interest loan.operations.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, we amended our pre-delivery creditPDP facility (the “PDP Financing Facility”) to provide for a deferral of the fixed charge coverage ratio requirement (the “FCCR Test”) until the firstfourth quarter of 2022.2021. If the FCCR Test is not maintained, we are required to test the loan to collateral ratio for the underlying aircraft in the credit facilityPDP Financing Facility that are subject to financing (the “LTV Test”) and make any pre-payments or post additional collateral required in order to
reduce the loan to value on each aircraft in the credit facilityPDP Financing Facility that are subject to financing below a ratio threshold. The LTV Test is largely dependent on the appraised fair value of the underlying aircraft subject to financing. IfLTV Tests performed subsequent to the LTVdeferral of the FCCR Test was required to be performed, we dohave not expect that there would beresulted in any material required pre-payment of the pre-delivery credit facilityPDP Financing Facility or posting of additional collateral. Additionally, we have also obtained a waiver of relief for the covenant provisions through the second quarter of 20212022 related to one of our credit card processors that represents less than 10% of total revenues, which may require future waivers or an amendment to existing covenants to reflect the downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of March 31, 2021,2022, we were not subject to any credit card holdbacks, although if we fail to maintain certain liquidity and other financial covenants, our credit card processors have the right to hold back credit card remittances to cover our obligations to them, which would result in a reduction of unrestricted cash that could be material. In addition, while we recently have been able to arrange aircraft lease financing that does not require that we maintain a maintenance reserve account, we are required by some of our aircraft leases, and could in the future be required, to fund reserves in cash in advance for scheduled maintenance to act as collateral for the benefit of lessors. In those circumstances, a portion of our cash is therefore unavailable until after we have completed the scheduled maintenance in accordance with the terms of the operating leases. Based on the age of our fleet and our growth strategy, we expect these maintenance deposits to decrease as we enter into operating leases for newly-acquirednewly acquired aircraft that do not require reserves. If we fail to generate sufficient funds from operations to meet our operating cash requirements or do not obtain a line of credit, other borrowing facility or equity financing, we could default on our operating leaseleases and fixed obligations. Our inability to meet our obligations as they become due wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our ability to obtain financing or access capital markets may be limited.
We have significant obligations to purchase aircraft and spare engines that we have on order from Airbus, CFM International, an affiliate of General Electric Company, and Pratt & Whitney. As of March 31, 2021,2022, we had ana firm obligation to purchase 153232 A320neo family aircraft by the end of 2028, one2029, five of which had a committed operating lease. We intend to evaluate financing options for the remaining aircraft.aircraft on order. There are a number of factors that may affect our ability to raise financing or access the capital markets in the future, including our liquidity and credit status, our operating cash flows, market conditions in the airline industry, U.S. and global economic conditions, the general state of the capital markets and the financial position of the major providers of commercial aircraft financing. We cannot assure you that we will be able to source external financing for our planned aircraft acquisitions or for other significant capital needs, and if we are unable to source financing on acceptable terms, or unable to source financing
at all, our business could be materially adversely affected. To the extent we finance our activities with additional debt, we may become subject to financial and other covenants that may restrict our ability to pursue our business strategy or otherwise constrain our growth and operations.
We may be subject to competitive risks due to the long-term nature of our fleet order book and the unproven new engine technology utilized by the aircraft in our order book.
At present,As of March 31, 2022, we havehad existing aircraft purchase commitments through 2028,2029, all of which are for Airbus A320neo family aircraft. Of the 153232 A320neo family aircraft we have committed to purchase by 2028, 192029, seven will be equipped with the LEAP engine manufactured by CFM International, an affiliate of General Electric Company. The remainingCompany, 134 aircraft on our order book will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.Geared Turbo Fan (“GTF”) engines and we are still evaluating engine options for the remaining 91 aircraft on our order book related to the amendment that was entered into with Airbus in the fourth quarter of 2021. The A320neo family includes next generationnext-generation engine technology as well as aerodynamic refinements, large curved sharklets, weight savings, a new aircraft cabin with larger hand luggage spaces and an improved air purification system. While the A320neo family represents the latest step in the modernization of the A320 family of aircraft, the aircraft only entered commercial service in January 2016, and we are one of the first airlines to utilize the A320neo and LEAP engine. As a result, we are subject to those risks commonly associated with the initial introduction of a new aircraft and engine type, including with respect to the A320neo’s actual, sustained fuel efficiency and other projected cost savings, which may not be realized, as well as the reliability and maintenance costs associated with a new aircraft and engine.engine type. In addition, it could take several years to determine whether the reliability and maintenance costs associated with a new aircraft and engine would have a significant impact on our operations. If we are unable to realize the potential competitive advantages we expect to achieve through the implementation of the A320neo aircraft and LEAP or GTF engines
into our fleet or if we experience unexpected costs or delays in our operations as a result of such implementation, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. Furthermore, as technological evolution occurs in our industry, through the use of composites and other innovations, we may be competitively disadvantaged because we have existing extensive fleet commitments that would prohibit us from adopting new technologies on an expedited basis.
In addition, while our operation of a single family of aircraft provides us with several operational and cost advantages, any FAA directive or other mandatory order relating to our aircraft or engines, including the grounding of any of our aircraft for any reason, could potentially apply to all or substantially all of our fleet, which could materially disrupt our operations and negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our maintenance costs will increase over the near term, we will periodically incur substantial maintenance costs due to the maintenance schedules of our aircraft fleet and obligations to the lessors and we could incur significant maintenance expenses outside of such maintenance schedules in the future.
As of March 31, 2021,2022, the operating leases for seven, four, six, four, eight and eighttwenty aircraft in our fleet were scheduled to terminate during the remainder of 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2025,2026, respectively. In certain circumstances, such operating leases may be extended. Prior to such aircraft being returned, we will incur costs to restore these aircraft to the condition required by the terms of the underlying operating leases. The amount and timing of these so-called “return conditions” costs can prove unpredictable due to uncertainty regarding the maintenance status of each particular aircraft at the time it is to be returned and it is not unusual for disagreements to ensue between the airline and the leasing company as to the required maintenance on a given aircraft or engine.
In addition, as of March 31, 2022, we currently have anhad a firm obligation to purchase 153232 A320neo family aircraft by the end of 2028.2029. We expect that these new aircraft will require less maintenance when they are first placed in service (sometimes called a “maintenance holiday”) because the aircraft will benefit from manufacturer warranties and also will be able to operate for a significant period of time, generally measured in years, before the most expensive scheduled maintenance obligations, known as heavy maintenance, are first required. Following these new initial maintenance holiday periods, the new aircraft we have an obligation to acquire will require more maintenance as they age and our maintenance and repair expenses for each newly purchased aircraft will be incurred at approximately the same intervals. Moreover, because a large portion of our future fleet will be acquired over a
relatively short period, significant maintenance to be scheduled on each of these planes may occur concurrently with other aircraft acquired around the same time, meaning we may incur our heavy maintenance obligations across large portions of our fleet around the same time. These more significant maintenance activities result in out-of-service periods during which our aircraft are dedicated to maintenance activities and unavailable to fly revenue service.
Outside of scheduled maintenance, we incur from time to time unscheduled maintenance which is not forecast in our operating plan or financial forecasts, and which can impose material unplanned costs and the loss of flight equipment from revenue service for a significant period of time. For example, a single unplanned engine event can require a shop visit costing several million dollars and cause the engine to be out of service for a number of months.
Furthermore, the terms of some of our lease agreements require us to pay maintenance reserves to the lessor in advance of the performance of major maintenance, resulting in our recording significant prepaid deposits on our condensed consolidated balance sheet. In addition, the terms of any lease agreements that we enter into in the future could also require maintenance reserves in excess of our current requirements. We expect scheduled and unscheduled aircraft maintenance expenses to increase over the next several years. Any significant increase in maintenance and repair expenses wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Estimates—Aircraft Maintenance”Leases—Maintenance Reserves and Aircraft Return Costs” filed in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021.
We have a significant amount of aircraft-related fixed obligations that could impair our liquidity and thereby harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The airline business is capital intensive and, as a result, many airline companies are highly leveraged. As of March 31, 2021,2022, all 107112 aircraft in our fleet were financed under operating leases. For the three months ended March 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, we incurred aircraft rent of $138$128 million and $103$138 million, respectively, and paid maintenance depositscosts of $34 million and $26 million, during both periods.respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, aircraft rent of $138 million included a $19 million unfavorable impact from the payments of deferral arrangements with our lessors due to the COVID-19 pandemic; an additional $12 million inpandemic. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, there were no deferrals or payments, and therefore no impact to aircraft rent deferrals have yet to bewithin the condensed consolidated statements of operations, as we had paid back asthe entire amount of March 31, 2021our aircraft and engine rent deferrals, which will bewere recognized withinas aircraft rent within the condensed consolidated statements of operations as the payments arewere made. As of March 31, 20212022 and December 31, 2020,2021, we had future operating lease obligations of approximately $2,304$2,410 million and $2,264$2,435 million, respectively, and future principal debt obligations of $361$355 million and $357$423 million, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, we made cash payments for interest related to debt of $1$2 million and $2$1 million, respectively. In addition, we have significant obligations for aircraft and spare engines that we have ordered from Airbus as well as CFM International and Pratt & Whitney for delivery over the next several years. Also, in April 2020, we entered into the Payroll Support Program with the Treasury for which we received $211 million in funding, in the form of a grant and a low-interest 10-year note, and in September 2020 we entered into a $574 million secured term loan facility with the Treasury, of which we borrowed $150 million as of March 31, 2021. In January 2021, we entered into a second Payroll Support Program with the Treasury for which we received $140 million in funding through the payroll support program, in the form of a grant and a low-interest 10-year note. Subsequent to March 31, 2021, the Treasury provided us with an additional disbursement under the PSP2 Agreement of $21 million, in the form of a grant and a low-interest 10-year note. Additionally, in April 2021 we entered into a third Payroll Support Program with the Treasury for approximately $150 million, in the form of a grant and a low-interest 10-year note.
Our ability to pay the fixed costs associated with our contractual obligations will depend on our operating performance, cash flow and our ability to secure adequate financing, which will in turn depend on, among other things, the success of our current business strategy, fuel price volatility, any significant weakening or improvingimprovement in the U.S. economy, availability and cost of financing, as well as general economic and political conditions and other factors that are, to some extent, beyond our control. The amount of our aircraft relatedaircraft-related fixed obligations and our obligations under our other debt arrangements could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and could:
•require a substantial portion of cash flow from operations be used for operating lease and maintenance deposit payments, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes;
•limit our ability to make required PDPs, including those payable to our aircraft and engine manufacturers for our aircraft and spare engines on order;
•limit our ability to obtain additional financing to support our expansion plans and for working capital and other purposes on acceptable terms or at all;
•make it more difficult for us to pay our other obligations as they become due during adverse general economic and market industry conditions because any related decrease in revenues could cause us to not have sufficient cash flows from operations to make our scheduled payments;
•reduce our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the airline industry and, consequently, place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors with lower fixed payment obligations; and
•cause us to lose access to one or more aircraft and forfeit our maintenance and other deposits if we are unable to make our required aircraft lease rental payments and our lessors exercise their remedies under the lease agreement including cross default provisions in certain of our leases.
A failure to pay our operating lease, debt, fixed cost,costs, and other obligations or a breach of our contractual obligations could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including the exercise of remedies by our creditors and lessors. In such a situation, it is unlikely that we would be able to cure our breach, fulfill our obligations, make
required lease payments or otherwise cover our fixed costs, which wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We rely on third-party specialists and other commercial partners to perform functions integral to our operations.
We have historically entered into agreements with third-party specialists to furnish certain facilities and services required for our operations, including ground handling, catering, passenger handling, engineering, maintenance, refueling, reservations and airport facilities, as well as administrative and support services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have increased our reliance on such third-parties. In addition, asthird parties. As the U.S. market beginscontinues to recover from the pandemic, we are likely to enter into similar service agreements in new markets we decide to enter, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the necessary services at acceptable rates. In addition, certain third-party vendors may have difficulty hiring or retaining sufficient talent to meet their obligations to us due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic including, among other things, employee response to any potential vaccine mandates.
Although we seek to monitor the performance of third parties that furnish certain facilities or provide us with our ground handling, catering, passenger handling, engineering, maintenance, refueling, reservations and airport facilities, the efficiency, timeliness and quality of contract performance by third-party specialists are often beyond our control, and any failure by our third-party specialists to perform up to our expectations may have an adverse impact on our business, reputation with customers, our brand and our operations. In addition, we could experience a significant business disruption if we were to change vendors or if an existing provider ceased to be able to serve us. We expect to be dependent on such third-party arrangements for the foreseeable future.
We rely on third-party distribution channels to distribute a portion of our airline tickets.
We rely on third-party distribution channels, including those provided by or through GDSsGlobal Distribution Systems (“GDSs”), conventional travel agents and online travel agents (“OTAs”) to distribute a portion of our airline tickets, and we expect in the future to rely on these channels to collect a portion of our non-fare revenues. These distribution channels are more expensive and at present have less functionality in respect of non-fare revenues than those we operate ourselves, such as our website. Certain of these distribution channels also effectively restrict the manner in which we distribute our products. To remain competitive, we will need to successfully manage our distribution costs and rights, and improve the functionality of third-party distribution channels, while maintaining an industry-competitive cost structure. Negotiations with key GDSs and OTAs designed to manage our costs, increase our distribution flexibility and improve functionality could be contentious, could result in diminished or less favorable distribution of our tickets and may not provide the functionality we require to maximize non-fare revenues. In addition, in the last several years there has been significant consolidation among GDSs and OTAs, including the acquisition by Expedia of both Orbitz and Travelocity, and the acquisition by Amadeus of Navitaire (the reservations system that we use). This consolidation and any further consolidation could affect our ability to manage our distribution costs due to a reduction in competition or other industry factors. Any inability to manage such costs, rights and functionality at a competitive level or any material diminishment in the distribution of our tickets could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position and our results of operations. Moreover, our
ability to compete in the markets we serve may be threatened by changes in technology or other factors that may make our existing third-party sales channels impractical, uncompetitive or obsolete.
We rely heavily on technology and automated systems to operate our business, and any failure of these technologies or systems or any failure on our part to implement any new technologies or systems could materially adversely affect our business.
We are highly dependent on technology and computer systems and networks to operate our business. These technologies and systems include our computerized airline reservation system provided by Navitaire, now a unit of Amadeus, flight operations systems, telecommunications systems, mobile app, airline website, maintenance systems and check-in kiosks. In order for our operations to work efficiently, our website and reservation system must be able to accommodate a high volume of traffic, maintain secure information and deliver flight information. The Navitaire reservations system, which is hosted and maintained under a long-term contract by a third-party specialist, is critical to our ability to issue, track and accept tickets, conduct check-in, board and manage our passengers through the airports we serve and provide us with access to global distribution systems,GDSs, which enlarge our pool of potential passengers. There are many instances in the past where a reservations system malfunctioned, whether due to the
fault of the system provider or the airline, with a highly adverse effect on the airline’s operations, and such a malfunction has in the past, and could in the future, occur on our system, or in connection with any system upgrade or migration in the future. We also rely on third-party specialists to maintain our flight operations systems, and if those systems are not functioning, we could experience service disruptions, which could result in the loss of important data, increase our expenses, decrease our operational performance and temporarily stall our operations.
Any failure of the technologies and systems we use could materially adversely affect our business. In particular, if our reservation system fails or experiences interruptions, and we are unable to book seats for a period of time, we could lose a significant amount of revenue as customers book seats on other airlines, and our reputation could be harmed. In addition, replacement technologies and systems for any service we currently utilize that experiences failures or interruptions may not be readily available on a timely basis, at competitive rates or at all. Furthermore, our current technologies and systems are heavily integrated with our day-to-day operations and any transition to a new technology or system could be complex and time-consuming. In the event that one or more of our primary technology or systems vendors fails to perform, and a replacement system is not available or if we fail to implement a replacement system in a timely and efficient manner, our business could be materially adversely affected.
Unauthorized use, unauthorized incursions or user exploitation of our information technology infrastructure could compromise the personally identifiable information of our passengers, prospective passengers or personnel, and other sensitive information and expose us to liability, damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In the processing of our customer transactions and as part of our ordinary business operations, we and certain of our third-party specialists collect, process, transmit and store a large volume of personally identifiable information of our passengers, prospective passengers or personnel, including email addresses, and home addresses, and financial data such as credit and debit card information and other sensitive information. The security of the systems and network where we and our third-party specialists store this data is a critical element of our business, and these systems and our network may be vulnerable to cyberattacks and other security issues, including threats potentially involving criminal hackers, hacktivists, state-sponsored actors, corporate espionage, employee malfeasance and human or technological error. Threats to cybersecurity have increased with the sophistication of malicious actors, and we must manage those evolving risks. We have been the target of cybersecurity attacks in the past and expect that we will continue to be in the future. Recently, several high-profile consumer-oriented companies have experienced significant data breaches and ransom attacks, which have caused those companies to suffer substantial financial and reputational harm. Failure to appropriately address these issues could also give rise to potentially material legal risks and liabilities.
A significant cybersecurity incident could result in a range of potentially material negative consequences for us, including lost revenue; unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, misuse, loss or destruction of company systems or data; theft of sensitive, regulated or confidential data, such as personal identifying information or our intellectual property; the loss of functionality of critical systems through ransomware, denial of service or other
attacks; and business delays, service or system disruptions, damage to equipment and injury to persons or property. The costs and operational consequences of defending against, preparing for, responding to and remediating an incident may be substantial. As cybersecurity threats become more frequent, intense and sophisticated, costs of proactive defense measures are increasing. Further, we could be exposed to litigation, regulatory enforcement or other legal action as a result of an incident, carrying the potential for damages, fines, sanctions or other penalties, as well as injunctive relief requiring costly compliance measures. A cybersecurity incident could also impact our brand, harm our reputation and adversely impact our relationship with our customers, employees and stockholders. Additionally, any material failure by us or our third-party specialists to maintain compliance with the Payment Card Industry security requirements or to rectify a data security issue may result in fines and restrictions on our ability to accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment. While we have taken precautions to avoid an unauthorized incursion of our computer systems, we cannot assure you that our precautions are either adequate or implemented properly to prevent and detect a data breach or other cybersecurity incident and its adverse financial and reputational consequences to our business.
We are also subject to increasing legislative, regulatory and customer focus on privacy issues and data security in the United States and abroad. The compromise of our technology systems resulting in the loss, disclosure, misappropriation of or access to the personally identifiable information of our passengers, prospective passengers or personnel could result in governmental investigation, civil liability or regulatory penalties under laws protecting the privacy of personal information, any or all of which could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, a number of our commercial partners, including credit card companies, have imposed data security standards on us, and these standards continue to evolve. We will continue our efforts to meet our privacy and data security obligations; however, it is possible that certain new obligations may be difficult to meet and could increase our costs.
We depend on a sole-source supplier for our aircraft and two suppliers for our engines.
A critical cost-saving element of our business strategy is to operate a single-family aircraft fleet; however, our dependence on the Airbus A320 family aircraft for all of our aircraft and on CFM International and Pratt & Whitney for our engines makes us vulnerable to any design defects, mechanical problems or other technical or regulatory issues associated with this aircraft type or these engines. In the event of any actual or suspected design defects or mechanical problems with the Airbus A320 family aircraft or CFM International or Pratt & Whitney engines, whether involving our aircraft or that of another airline, we may choose, or be required, to suspend or restrict the use of our aircraft. Our business could also be materially adversely affected if the public avoids flying on our aircraft due to an adverse perception of the Airbus A320 family aircraft or CFM International or Pratt & Whitney engines, whether because of safety concerns or other problems, real or perceived, or in the event of an accident involving such aircraft or engines. Separately, if any of Airbus, CFM International or Pratt & Whitney becomes unable to perform its contractual obligations and we must lease or purchase aircraft or engines from another supplier, we would incur substantial transition costs, including expenses related to acquiring new aircraft, engines, spare parts, maintenance facilities and training activities, and we would lose the cost benefits from our current single-fleet composition, any of which wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. These risks may be exacerbated by the long-term nature of our fleet and order book and the unproven new engine technology to be utilized by the aircraft in our order book. See also “—We may be subject to competitive risks due to the long-term nature of our fleet order book and the unproven new engine technology utilized by the aircraft in our order book.”
Although we have significantly reconfigured our network since 2013, our business remains dependent on the Denver marketselect large markets and increases in competition or congestion or a reduction in demand for air travel in this market would harm our business.
We are highly dependent on the Denver marketselect markets where we maintain a large presence, with 33%27% and 22% of our flights during the three months ended March 31, 20212022 having Orlando International Airport and Denver International Airport as either their origin or destination.destination, respectively. We operate at Orlando International Airport under an operating lease which expires in 2024 and we primarily operate out of Concourse A at Denver International Airport under an operating lease thatwhich expires in December 20212022 with two one yearadditional one-year extension options.option,
and in May 2022, we entered into an additional 10-year airport use and lease agreement with the City and County of Denver which includes a new ground-level boarding facility and 14 accompanying gates. We have experienced an increase in flight delays and cancellations at this airportthese airports due to airport congestion, which has adversely affected our operating performance and results of operations. We have also experienced increased competition at Denver International Airport since 2017 from carriers adding flights to and from Denver. Also,Additionally, flight operations in both Orlando and Denver can face extreme weather challenges in the winter, which, at times, has resulted in severe disruptions in our operation and the occurrence of material costs as a consequence of such disruptions.
Our business could be further harmed by an increase in the amount of direct competition we face in the Denver marketselect markets we operate in or by continued or increased congestion, delays or cancellations. Our business would also be harmed by any circumstances causing a reduction in demand for air transportation in the Denver area,select markets we operate in, such as adverse changes in local economic conditions, health concerns, adverse weather conditions, negative public perception of Denver,those markets, terrorist attacks or significant price or tax increases linked to increases in airport access costs and fees imposed on passengers.
We are subject to extensive regulation by the Federal Aviation Administration,FAA, the Department of Transportation, Transportation Security Administration,DOT, TSA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. and foreign
governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Airlines are subject to extensive regulatory and legal compliance requirements, both domestically and internationally, that involve significant costs. In the last several years, the U.S. Congress has passed laws and the FAA, the DOT and TSA have issued regulations, orders, rulings and guidance relating to the operation, safety and security of airlines and consumer protections that have required significant expenditures. We expect to continue to incur expenses in connection with complying with such laws and government regulations, orders, rulings and guidance. Additional laws, regulations, taxes and increased airport rates and charges have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce the demand for air travel. If adopted, these measures could have the effect of raising ticket prices, reducing revenue and increasing costs. For example, the DOT has broad authority over airlines and their consumer and competitive practices, and has used this authority to issue numerous regulations and pursue enforcement actions, including rules and fines relating to the handling of unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition including undisclosed display bias, lengthy tarmac delays, chronically delayed flights, consumer notice and disclosure requirements, consumer complaints, priceairline advertising and airline advertising,marketing practices, codeshare disclosure, oversales and involuntary denied boarding process and compensation, ticket refunds, liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage, customer service commitments, contracts of carriage, customer service commitments and the transportation of passengers with disabilities. Among these is the series of Enhanced Airline Passenger Protection rules issued by the DOT. In addition, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, signed into law on October 5, 2018, provided for several new requirements and rulemakings related to airlines, including but not limited to: (i) prohibition on voice communication cell phone use during certain flights, (ii) insecticide use disclosures, (iii) new training policy best practices for training regarding racial, ethnic, and religious non-discrimination, (iv) training on human trafficking for certain staff, (v) departure gate stroller check-in, (vi) the protection of pets on airplanes and service animal standards, (vii) requirements to refund promptly to passengers any ancillary fees paid for services not received, (viii) consumer complaint process improvements, (ix) pregnant passenger assistance, (x) restrictions on the ability to deny a revenue passenger permission to board or involuntarily remove such passenger from the aircraft, (xi) minimum customer service standards for large ticket agents, (xii) information publishing requirements for widespread disruptions and passenger rights, (xiii) submission of plans pertaining to employee and contractor training consistent with the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, (xiv) ensuring assistance for passengers with disabilities, (xv) flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements, including submission of a fatigue risk management plan, (xvi) submission of policypolicies concerning passenger sexual misconduct, (xvii) development of an Employee Assault Prevention and Response Plan related to the customer service agents, (xviii) increased penalties available related to harm to passengers with disabilities or damage to wheelchairs or mobility aids, and (xix) minimum dimensions for passenger seats. Furthermore, in 2019, the FAA published an Advance Noticeadvance notice of Proposed Rulemakingproposed rulemaking regarding flight attendant duty periodduty-period limitations and rest requirements. The DOT also published a Noticenotice of Proposed Rulemakingproposed rulemaking in January 2020 regarding for example, the accessibility features of lavatories and onboard wheelchair requirements on certain single-aisle aircraft with an FAA certificated maximum capacity of 125 seats or more, training flight
attendants to proficiency on an annual basis to provide assistance in transporting qualified individuals with disabilities to and from the lavatory from the aircraft seat, and providing certain information on request to qualified individuals with a disability or persons inquiring on their behalf, on the carrier’s website and in printed or electronic form on the aircraft, concerning the accessibility of aircraft lavatories. In July 2021, the DOT issued a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring airlines to refund checked bag fees for delayed bags if they are not delivered to the passenger within a specified number of hours and refunding ancillary fees for services related to air travel that passengers did not receive. The DOT also recently published Final Rulesfinal rules regarding traveling by air with service animals, and defining unfair or deceptive practices. The DOT also recently published a Final Rulepractices, clarifying that the maximum amount of denied boarding compensation that a carrier may provide to a passenger denied boarding involuntarily is not limited, prohibiting airlines from involuntarily denying boarding to a passenger after the passenger’s boarding pass has been collected or scanned and the passenger has boarded (subject to safety and security exceptions), raising the liability limits for denied boarding compensation and raising the liability limit for mishandled baggage in domestic air transportation. In addition, the FAA issued its final regulations governing pilot rest periods and work hours for all passenger airlines certificated under Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The rule known as FAR Part 117, which became effective January 4, 2014, impacts the required amount and timing of rest periods for pilots between work assignments and modifies duty and rest requirements based on the time of day, number of scheduled segments, time zones and other factors. In addition, the U.S. Congress enacted a law and the FAA issued regulations requiring U.S. airline pilots to have a minimum number of hours as a pilot in order to qualify for an Air Transport Pilot certificate, which all pilots on U.S. airlines must obtain. Compliance with these rules may increase our costs, while failure to remain in full compliance with these rules may subject us to fines or other enforcement action. FAR Part 117 and the
minimum pilot hour requirements may also reduce our ability to meet flight crew staffing requirements. We cannot assure you that compliance with these and other laws, regulations, orders, rulings and guidance will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, the TSA mandates the federalization of certain airport security procedures and imposes additional security requirements on airports and airlines, some of which is funded by a security fee imposed on passengers and collected by airlines. We cannot forecast what additional security and safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
Our ability to operate as an airline is dependent on our obtaining and maintaining authorizations issued to us by the DOT and the FAA. The FAA from time to time issues directives and other mandatory orders relating to, among other things, operating aircraft, the grounding of aircraft, maintenance and inspection of aircraft, installation of new safety-related items, and removal and replacement of aircraft parts that have failed or may fail in the future. These requirements can be issued with little or no notice, can impact our ability to efficiently or fully utilize our aircraft, and could result in the temporary grounding of aircraft types altogether, such as the March 2019 grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet. A decision by the FAA to ground, or require time-consuming inspections of or maintenance on, our aircraft, for any reason, could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Federal law requires that air carriers operating scheduled service be continuously “fit, willing and able” to provide the services for which they are licensed. Our “fitness” is monitored by the DOT, which considers managerial competence, operations, finances and compliance record. In addition, under federal law, we must be a U.S. citizen (as determined under applicable law). Please see “Business—Foreign Ownership” in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021.2021 Annual Report. While the DOT has seldom revoked a carrier’s certification for lack of fitness, such an occurrence would render it impossible for us to continue operating as an airline. The DOT may also institute investigations or administrative proceedings against airlines for violations of regulations. For instance, in 2017 we were fined $0.4 million by the DOT for certain infractions relating to oversales, rules related to passengers with disabilities and customer service plan rules, $40,000 for certain infractions relating to oversales disclosure and notice requirements, the domestic baggage liability limit rule and customer service plan rules; and $1.5 million by the DOT relating to lengthy tarmac delays, which was offset by a $0.9 million credit for compensation provided to passengers on the affected flights and other delayed flights. In addition, on March 12, 2021, the DOT advised us that it was in receipt of information indicating that the Companywe had failed to comply with certain DOT consumer protection requirements relating to our consumer refund and credit practices and requested that we provide certain information to the DOT. The original DOT request for information and subsequent correspondence and requests have been focused on our refund practices on Company-initiated flight cancellations and/or significant schedule changes in flights as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fully cooperating with the DOT request.request and the review of this matter is still in process.
International routes are regulated by air transport agreements and related agreements between the United States and foreign governments. Our ability to operate international routes is subject to change, as the applicable agreements between the United States and foreign governments may be amended from time to time. Our access to new international markets may be limited by the applicable air transport agreements between the U.S. and foreign governments and our ability to obtain the necessary authority from the U.S. and foreign governments to fly the international routes. In addition, our operations in foreign countries are subject to regulation by foreign governments and our business may be affected by changes in law and future actions taken by such governments, including granting or withdrawal of government approvals, airport slots and restrictions on competitive practices. We are subject to numerous foreign regulations in the countries outside the United States where we currently provide service. If we are not able to comply with this complex regulatory regime, our business could be significantly harmed. Please see “Business—Government Regulation” in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021.2021 Annual Report.
Changes in legislation, regulation and government policy have affected, and may in the future have a material adverse effect on, our business.business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Changes in, and uncertainty with respect to, legislation, regulation and government policy at the local, state or federal level have affected, and may in the future significantly impact, our business and the airline industry. Specific legislative and regulatory proposals that could have a material impact on us in the future include, but are not limited to, infrastructure renewal programs; changes to operating and maintenance requirements and immigration and security policy and requirements; modifications to international trade policy, including withdrawing from trade agreements and imposing tariffs; changes to consumer protection laws; public company reporting requirements;
environmental regulation; tax legislation and antitrust enforcement. Any such changes may make it more difficult and/or more expensive for us to obtain new aircraft or engines and parts to maintain existing aircraft or engines or make it less profitable or prevent us from flying to or from some of the destinations we currently serve. To the extent that any such changes have a negative impact on us or the airline industry in general, including as a result of related uncertainty, these changes may materially impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and cash flows.financial condition.
Any tariffs imposed on commercial aircraft and related parts imported from outside the United StatesNew U.S. tax legislation may have a material adverse effect onadversely affect our fleet, business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
CertainThe U.S. government may enact significant changes to the taxation of business entities including, among others, an increase in the products and services that we purchase, including our aircraft and related parts, are sourced from suppliers located in foreign countries, andcorporate income tax rate, the imposition of new tariffs,minimum taxes or any increase in existing tariffs, bysurtaxes on certain types of income, significant changes to the U.S. governmenttaxation of income derived from international operations and an addition of further limitations on the importationdeductibility of business interest. While certain draft legislation was publicly released in 2021, the likelihood of these changes being enacted or implemented is unclear. If such productschanges are enacted or services could materially increase the amounts we pay for them. In early October 2019, the World Trade Organization ruled that the United States could impose $7.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to illegal European Union subsidies to Airbus. On October 18, 2019, the United States imposed these tariffs on certain imports from the European Union, including a 10% tariff on new commercial aircraft. In February 2020, the United States announced an increase to this tariff from 10% to 15%. These tariffs apply to aircraft thatimplemented, we are already contractually obligatedcurrently unable to purchase. On March 5, 2021,predict the United Statesultimate impact on our business and the European Union announced an agreement to suspend for four month the imposition of the foregoing tariffs on commercial aircraft. The commercial aircraft tariffs, when effective, are under continuing review and at any time could be increased, decreased, eliminated or applied to a broader range of products we use. While we have recently accepted deliveries of Airbus aircraft principally from the Airbus Mobile, Alabama facility, which has enabled us to avoid the imposition of tariffs on such aircraft,therefore there can be no assurance that we will continue to be able to do so in the event the suspension described above is lifted or expires without other action. Any imposition of these tariffs could substantially increase the cost of, among other things, imported new Airbus aircraft and parts required to service our Airbus fleet, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business financial condition and/or results of operations. We may also seek to postpone or cancel delivery of certain aircraft currently scheduled for delivery, and we may choosewill not to purchase as many aircraft as we intended in the future. Any such action could have a material adverse effect on the size of our fleet, business, results of operations and financial condition.be adversely affected.
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel at reasonable costs or fail to maintain our company culture, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Our business is labor intensive. We require large numbers of pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and other personnel. We compete against other U.S. airlines for pilots, mechanics and other skilled labor and certain U.S. airlines offer wage and benefit packages exceeding ours. The airline industry has from time to time experienced a shortage of qualified personnel. In particular, as more pilots in the industry approach mandatory retirement age, the U.S. airline industry is being affected by a pilot shortage. As is common with most of our competitors, we have faced considerable turnover of our employees. These factors have caused us recently to maintain a larger workforce than is immediately necessary for our planned operations in order to maintain network reliability and support planned growth in light of the challenges of hiring and retaining employees under current economic conditions. As a result of the foregoing, there can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain qualified personnel orand we may be required to increase wages and/or benefits in order to do so. In addition, we may lose personnel due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic including, among other things, employee response to the related health and safety initiatives or to a return to office. Legally required vaccine mandates have been imposed and have resulted in
multiple unresolved court challenges, some of which remain ongoing. We cannot predict what policies we may elect to or be required, to implement in the future, or the effect thereof on air travel andour business, including whether the imposition of a mandatory vaccination requirement could cause us to lose, or experience difficulties hiring, qualified personnel. Further, we may lose executives as a result of compensation restrictions imposed under the CARES Act. Such restrictions may present retention challenges in the case of executives presented with alternative, non-airline opportunities or with opportunities from airlines that are not subject to such restrictions because they never entered into such Treasury loansdid not participate in the CARES Act Programs or because the restrictions have repaid their Treasury loans prior to us.lifted through time or repayments of the loan programs. If we are unable to hire, train and retain qualified employees, our business could be harmed and we may be unable to implement our growth plans.
In addition, as we hire more people and grow, we believe it may be increasingly challenging to continue to hire people who will maintain our company culture. Our company culture, which we believe is one of our competitive strengths, is important to providing dependable customer service and having a productive, accountable workforce that helps keep our costs low. As we continue to grow, we may be unable to identify, hire or retain enough people who meet the above criteria, including those in management or other key positions. Our company culture could otherwise be adversely affected by our growing operations and geographic diversity. If we fail to maintain the
strength of our company culture, our competitive ability and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a corporation is generally allowed a deduction for net operating losses (“NOLs”) carried over from prior taxable years. As of December 31, 2021 we had approximately $30 million of federal NOLs available to reduce future federal taxable income. Under current tax law, our federal NOL carryforwards do not expire, but the deductibility of such NOL carryforwards is limited to 80% of our taxable income for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021. We also had approximately $10 million of NOL carryforwards to reduce future state taxable income as of December 31, 2021, which will expire, if not utilized, from two years to having no expiration depending on the state the NOL is attributed to, and $7 million of foreign net operating losses, which expire in nine years. As a result of our assessment over the future realizability of these NOLs as of December 31, 2021, we recorded a $7 million valuation allowance related to our foreign NOL and a $1 million valuation allowance related to our state NOLs as these are more likely than not to not be realized given the short expiry periods in foreign and certain state jurisdictions.
Realization of these NOL carryforwards depends on our future taxable income and there is a risk that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic factors, our existing NOL carryforwards could expire before we can generate sufficient taxable income to use them. If our NOL carryforwards expire unused (to the extent subject to expiration) and are unavailable to offset future taxable income, this could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership by significant stockholders or groups of stockholders over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change NOL carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change taxable income or income tax liabilities may be limited. We may experience ownership changes in the future because of, among other things, shifts in our stock ownership, many of which are outside of our control. If we were to experience an ownership change for purposes of Section 382 of the Code, our ability to use our NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future U.S. federal taxable income or income tax liabilities may become subject to limitations, which could result in increased future tax liability to us. Similar rules and limitations may apply under state and foreign tax laws.
Any tariffs imposed on commercial aircraft and related parts imported from outside the United States may have a material adverse effect on our fleet, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Certain of the products and services that we purchase, including our aircraft and related parts, are sourced from suppliers located in foreign countries, and the imposition of new tariffs, or any increase in existing tariffs, by the
U.S. government on the importation of such products or services could materially increase the amounts we pay for them. In early October 2019, the World Trade Organization ruled that the United States could impose $7.5 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to illegal European Union subsidies to Airbus. On October 18, 2019, the United States imposed these tariffs on certain imports from the European Union, including a 10% tariff on new commercial aircraft. In February 2020, the United States announced an increase to this tariff from 10% to 15%. These tariffs apply to aircraft that we are already contractually obligated to purchase. In June 2021, the United States and the European Union announced an agreement to suspend the imposition of the foregoing tariffs on commercial aircraft and related parts for five years. Any reimposition of these tariffs could substantially increase the cost of, among other things, imported new Airbus aircraft and parts required to service our Airbus fleet which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business could be materially adversely affected if we lose the services of our key personnel.
Our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management team and key financial and operating personnel. In particular, we depend on the services of our senior management team, particularly Barry L. Biffle, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and James G. Dempsey, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Competition for highly qualified personnel is intense, and the loss of any executive officer, senior manager, or other key employee without an adequate replacement, or the inability to attract new qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key-man life insurance on our management team.
We rely on our private equity sponsor.
Our majority stockholder is presently an investment fund managed by Indigo, an affiliate of Indigo Partners, a private equity fund with significant expertise in the ultra low-cost airline business. This expertise has been available to us through the representatives Indigo has on our board of directors and through a Professional Services Agreement that was put in place in connection with the 2013 acquisition from Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. and pursuant to which we payare charged a fee by Indigo Partners a fee of approximately $375,000 per quarter, plus expenses. Several members of our board of directors are also affiliated with Indigo Partners and we pay each of them an annual fee as compensation. Our engagement of Indigo Partners pursuant to the Professional Services Agreement will continue until the date that Indigo Partners and its affiliates own less than 10% of the 197.6approximately 19.8 million shares of our common stock acquired by an affiliate of Indigo Partners in December 2013.stock. Indigo Partners may nonetheless elect to reduce its ownership in our company or reduce its involvement on our board of directors, which could reduce or eliminate the benefits we have historically achieved through our relationship with Indigo Partners, such as management expertise, industry knowledge and volume purchasing. For a further description of our Professional Services Agreement, please see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Management Services” in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021. See also “—Risks Related to Owning Our Common Stock—Indigo’s current control of the Company severely limits the ability of our stockholders to influence matters requiring stockholder approval and could adversely affect our other stockholders and the interests of Indigo could conflict with the interests of other stockholders.”
Our quarterly results of operations fluctuate due to a number of factors, including seasonality.
We expect our quarterly results of operations to continue to fluctuate due to a number of factors, including actions by our competitors, price changes in aircraft fuel and the timing and amount of maintenance expenses, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of these and other factors, quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our results of operations and month-to-month comparisons of our key operating statistics may not be reliable indicators of our future performance. In addition, seasonality may cause our quarterly and monthly results to fluctuate since passengers tend to fly more during the summer months and less in the winter months, apart from the holiday season. We cannot assure you that we will find profitable markets in which to operate during the winter
season. Such periods of low demand for air travel during the winter months could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our lack of membership in a marketing alliance or codeshare arrangements (other than with Volaris) could harm our business and competitive position.
Many airlines, including the domestic legacy network airlines (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United)United Airlines), have marketing alliances with other airlines, under which they market and advertise their status as marketing alliance partners. These alliances, such as oneworld,Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance, generally provide for codesharing, frequent flyer program reciprocity, coordinated scheduling of flights to permit convenient connections and other joint marketing activities. In addition, certain of these alliances involve highly integrated antitrust immunized joint ventures. Such arrangements permit an airline to market flights operated by other alliance members as its own. This increases the destinations, connections and frequencies offered by the airline and provides an opportunity to increase traffic on
that airline’s segment of flights connecting with alliance partners. We currently do not have any marketing alliances or codeshare arrangements with U.S. or foreign airlines, other than the codeshare arrangement we entered into with Volaris in 2018. Our lack of membership in any other marketing alliances and codeshare arrangements puts us at a competitive disadvantage to traditional network carriers who are able to attract passengers through more widespread alliances, particularly on international routes, and that disadvantage may result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Owning Our Common Stock
The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could cause the value of an investment in our stock to decline.
The market price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
•announcements concerning our competitors, the airline industry or the economy in general;
•developments with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, and government restrictions and mandates related thereto;
•strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;
•media reports and publications about the safety of our aircraft or the type of aircraft type we operate;
•new regulatory pronouncements and changes in regulatory guidelines;
•changes in the price or availability of aircraft fuel;
•announcements concerning the availability of the type of aircraft we use;operate;
•general and industry-specific economic conditions;
•changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts or failure to meet analysts’ performance expectations;
•sales of our common stock or other actions by investors with significant shareholdings, including sales by our principal stockholders;
•trading strategies related to changes in fuel or oil prices; and
•general market, political and other economic conditions.
The stock markets in general have experienced substantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. Broad market fluctuations may materially adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
In the past, stockholders have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. Any similar litigation against us could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities and industry analysts may publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which may cause the trading price of our common stock and the trading volume of our common stock to decline.
The issuance or sale of shares of our common stock, or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, or the exercise of the PSP Warrants,warrants, PSP2 Warrants,warrants, PSP3 Warrantswarrants or Treasury WarrantsLoan warrants issued to the Treasury, could depress the trading price of our common stock.
We may conduct future offerings of our common stock, preferred stock or other securities that are convertible into, or exercisable for, our common stock to finance our operations or fund acquisitions, or for other purposes. In connection with our participation in the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3, we issued warrants to the Treasury which are exercisable for up to 522,576 sharesan aggregate of our common stock. Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2021 we issued additional warrants to the Treasury in connection with our participation in the PSP2 based on the $140 million funding, with the warrants exercisable for up to 103,208759,850 shares of our common stock.
In April 2021, the Treasury provided us with an additional disbursement under the PSP2 Agreement of $21 million, comprised of an additional $15 million toward the PSP2 Grant, and $6 million toward the PSP2 Promissory Note. In conjunction with this additional funding, we granted the Treasury warrants to purchase up to 54,105 additional shares of common stock of FGHI.
On April 29, 2021, we entered into the PSP3 Agreement with the Treasury for approximately $150 million of installment funding, comprised of $135 million pursuant to the PSP3 Grant and $15 million pursuant to the PSP3 Promissory Note. In conjunction with funding from PSP3, the Company agreed to issue the Treasury warrants to purchase up to 79,961 additional shares of common stock of FGHI.
In connection with the initial $150 million borrowing from the secured loan provided under theTreasury Loan, and Guarantee Agreement (the “Treasury Loan Agreement”) we entered into with the Treasury pursuant to the CARES Act,which was repaid in full on February 2, 2022, we issued warrants to the Treasury which are exercisable for up to approximately 2,358,090 shares of our common stock. Moreover, we may issue additional warrants to the Treasury exercisable for up to 6,665,580 shares of our common stock, assuming we draw the full $424 million remaining under the Treasury Loan Agreement. See “—We have agreed to certain restrictions on our business by accepting financing under the CARES Act.” Further, we reserve shares of our common stock for future issuance under our equity incentive plans, which shares are eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various agreements and, to the extent held by affiliates, the volume and manner of sale restrictions of Rule 144. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, into the public market, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, if any of our existing stockholders sellssell a substantial amount of our common stock, or if the market perceives that such issuances or sales may occur, then the trading price of our common stock maycould significantly decline. In addition, ourthe issuance of additional shares of common stock willwould dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders.
The value of our common stock may be materially adversely affected by additional issuances of common stock or preferred stock by us or sales by our principal stockholder.
Any future issuances or sales of our common stock by us will be dilutive to our existing common stockholders. We had 200,416,799217,499,881 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2021.2022. All of the shares of common stock sold will bein our initial public offering are freely tradable without restrictions or further registration under the Securities Act. The holders of substantially all of the outstanding shares of our common stock have signed lock-up agreements with the underwriters of the initial offering, under which they have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of our common stock, enter into a transaction which would have the same effect, without the prior written consent of certain of the underwriters, for a period of 180 days after the date of our Prospectus filed on April 2, 2021. An investment fund managed by Indigo, the holder of approximately 197.6178.8 million shares of our common stock as of March 31, 2021, was2022, is entitled to rights with respect to registration of 183.3 millionall such shares under the Securities Act pursuant to a registration rights agreement. Please see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Registration Rights” in our Prospectus filed April 2, 2021. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public or private market, a perception in the market that
such sales could occur, or the issuance of securities exercisable or convertible into our common stock, could adversely affect the prevailing price of our common stock.
Indigo’s current control of the Company severely limits the ability of our stockholders to influence matters requiring stockholder approval and could adversely affect our other stockholders and the interests of Indigo could conflict with the interests of other stockholders.
As of the date of this report, an investment fund managed by Indigo beneficially owns approximately 83.0%82.2% of our outstanding common stock.
As a result, Indigo will be able to exert a significant degree of influence or actual control over our management and affairs and over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, a merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets and other significant business or corporate transactions.
Until such time as Indigo and its affiliates beneficially own shares of our common stock representing less than a majority of the voting rights of our common stock, Indigo will have the ability to take stockholder action by written consent without calling a stockholder meeting and to approve amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and to take other actions without the vote of any other stockholder. As a result, Indigo will have the ability to control all such matters affecting us, including:
•the composition of our board of directors and, through our board of directors, any determination with respect to our business plans and policies;
•the compensation of our named executive officers;
•our acquisition or disposition of assets;
•our financing activities, including the issuance of additional equity securities;
•any determinations with respect to mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations;
•corporate opportunities that may be suitable for us and Indigo;
•the payment of dividends on our common stock; and
•the number of shares available for issuance under our stock plans for our existing and prospective employees.
This concentrated control will limit the ability of other stockholders to influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take actions that our other stockholders do not view as beneficial. Indigo’s voting control may also discourage or block transactions involving a change of control of the Company, including transactions in which you, as a stockholder, might otherwise receive a premium for your shares over the then-current market price. For example, this concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which in turn could cause the market price of our common stock to decline or prevent our stockholders from realizing a premium over the market price for their common stock. Moreover, Indigo is not prohibited from selling a controlling interest in us to a third party and may do so without your approval and without providing for a purchase of your shares of common stock. Accordingly, your shares of common stock may be worth less than they would be if Indigo did not maintain voting control over us.
In addition, the interests of Indigo could conflict with the interests of other stockholders. According to a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC in February 2021,As of March 31, 2022, investment funds managed by Indigo Partners hold approximately 18% of the total outstanding Common Stockcommon stock shares of Volaris, and two of our directors, William A. Franke and Brian H. Franke, are members of the board of directors of Volaris, with Brian H. Franke serving as chair since April 2020. We entered into a codeshare arrangement with Volaris in January 2018. As of March 31, 2021,2022, we did not compete directly with Volaris on any of our routes other than one route that we currently operate during different months of the year.routes. However, there can be no assurances that we will not compete directly with Volaris in the future. Furthermore, neither Indigo Partners, its portfolio companies, funds or other affiliates, nor any of their officers, directors, agents, stockholders, members or current or future partners will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities, similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. See “—Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains a provision renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities.”
For additional information about our relationship with Indigo and Indigo Partners, please see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and “Principal and Selling Stockholders” in the Prospectus filed on April 2, 2021.
Our anti-takeover provisions may delay or prevent a change of control, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may make it difficult to remove our board of directors and management and may discourage or delay “change of control” transactions, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock. These provisions include, among others:
•our board of directors is divided into three classes, with each class serving for a staggered three-year term, which prevents stockholders from electing an entirely new board of directors at an annual meeting;
•no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which prevents the minority stockholders from electing director candidates;
•the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;
•from and after such time as Indigo and its affiliates no longer hold a majority of the voting rights of our common stock, actions to be taken by our stockholders may only be affected at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders and not by written consent;
•from and after such time as Indigo and its affiliates no longer hold a majority of the voting rights of our common stock, special meetings of our stockholders canmay be called only by the Chairman of the Board or by our corporate secretary at the direction of our board of directors;
•advance notice procedures that stockholders, other than Indigo for so long as it and its affiliates hold a majority of the voting rights of our common stock, must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors and propose matters to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company;
•from and after such time as Indigo and its affiliates hold less than a majority of the voting rights of our common stock, a majority stockholder vote is required for removal of a director only for cause (and a director may only be removed for cause), and a 66 2⁄3% stockholder vote is required for the amendment, repeal or modification of certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws; and
•our board of directors may, without stockholder approval, issue series of preferred stock, or rights to acquire preferred stock, that could dilute the interest of, or impair the voting power of, holders of our common stock or could also be used as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control.
Certain anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law also apply to our company.us. While we have elected not to be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCLDelaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, such certificate of incorporation will provideprovides that in the event Indigo Partners and its affiliates cease to beneficially own at least 15% of the then outstandingthen-outstanding shares of our voting common stock, we will automatically become subject to Section 203 of the DGCL to the extent applicable. Under Section 203, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its voting stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the board of directors has approved the transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide for an exclusive forum in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware for certain disputes between us and our stockholders, and that the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act of 1933.Act.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that: (i) unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, the federal district court of the State of Delaware) will,
to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for: (A) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, of the company, (B) any action asserting a claim for or based on a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer,directors, officers, other employee, agentemployees, agents or stockholderstockholders to the companyus or our stockholders, including without limitation a claim alleging the aiding and abetting of such a breach of fiduciary duty, (C) any action asserting a claim against the companyus or any of our current or former director, officer, employee, agentdirectors, officers, employees, agents or stockholderstockholders arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation LawDGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or as to which the Delaware General Corporation LawDGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (D) any action asserting a claim related to or involving the companyus that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; (ii) unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action arising under the Securities Act, of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant to such complaint; (iii) any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in our shares of capital stock of the company will be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions; and (iv) failure to enforce the foregoing provisions would cause us irreparable harm, and we will be entitled to equitable relief, including injunctive relief and specific
performance, to enforce the foregoing provisions. This provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors, the underwriters to any offering giving rise to such complaint and any other professional entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering. This exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Nothing in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws precludes stockholders that assert claims under the Exchange Act from bringing such claims in federal court to the extent that the Exchange Act confers exclusive federal jurisdiction over such claims, subject to applicable law.
We believe these provisions may benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal securities laws by chancellors and judges, as applicable, particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision that is contained in our current certificate of incorporation or bylaws or will be contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a forum selection provision as written in connection with claims arising under the Securities Act.
The choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our current or former director, officer,directors, officers, other employee, agent,employees, agents, or stockholder to the company,stockholders, which may discourage such claims against us or any of our current or former director, officer, other employee, agent, or stockholder to the company and result in increased costs for investors to bringor discourage a claim.stockholder from bringing such claims.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains a provision renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for the allocation of certain corporate opportunities between us and Indigo. Under these provisions, neither Indigo, its portfolio companies, funds or other affiliates, nor any of their agents, stockholders, members, partners, officers, directors and employees will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities, similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. For instance, a director of our company who also serves as a stockholder, member, partner, officer, director or employee of Indigo or any of its portfolio companies, funds or other affiliates may pursue certain acquisitions or other opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result,
such acquisitions or other opportunities may not be available to us. These potential conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition, if attractive corporate opportunities are allocated by Indigo to itself or its portfolio companies, funds or other affiliates instead of to us. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we shall indemnify each the aforementioned parties in the event of any claims for breach of fiduciary or other duties brought in connection with such other opportunities. The terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation are more fully described in the “DescriptionDescription of Capital Stock” sectionthe Registrant’s Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which is filed as Exhibit 4.1 to our Prospectus filed on April 2, 2021.
2021 Annual Report.
Our corporate charteramended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include provisions limiting ownership, control and voting by non-U.S. citizens.
To comply with restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws restrict ownership, voting and control of shares of our common stock by non-U.S. citizens. The restrictions imposed by federal law and DOT policy require that we must be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, that no more than 25.0% of our voting stock be owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities who are not U.S. citizens, as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(15), that our president and at least two-thirds of the members of our board of directors and other
managing officers be U.S. citizens, and that we be under the actual control of U.S. citizens. In addition, and subject to the limitation that no more than 49.0%25.0% of our voting stock be owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities who are not U.S. citizens, andup to 49% of our outstanding stock may be owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities who are not U.S. citizens but only if those non-U.S. citizens are from countries that have entered into “open skies” air transport agreements with the U.S., that our president which allow unrestricted access between the United States and at least two-thirds of the members of our board of directorsapplicable foreign country and other managing officers be U.S. citizens, and that we be underto points beyond the actual control of U.S. citizens.foreign country on flights serving the foreign country. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that the failure of non-U.S. citizens to register their shares on a separate stock record, which we refer to as the “foreign stock record,” would result in a loss of their voting rights in the event and to the extent that the aggregate foreign ownership of the outstanding common stock exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that no shares of our common stock will be registered on the foreign stock record if the amount so registered would exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. If it is determined that the amount registered in the foreign stock record exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law, shares will be removed from the foreign stock record, resulting in the loss of voting rights, in reverse chronological order based on the date of registration therein, until the number of shares registered therein does not exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. We believe we are currently in compliance with these ownership restrictions. See “Business—Foreign Ownership” and “Description of Capital Stock—Anti-Takeover Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws—Limited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners” in our Prospectus2021 Annual Report and the Description of the Registrant’s Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which is filed April 2, 2021.as Exhibit 4.1 to our 2021 Annual Report.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market rules, and, as a result, qualify for, and rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. Our stockholders do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
As of the date of this report, Indigo controls approximately 83.0%82.2% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market rules and exempt from the obligation to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that a majority of our board of directors consists of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, and that we have a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee that are composed entirely of independent directors. These exemptions do not modify the requirement for a fully independent audit committee, which is permitted to be phased-in as follows: (1)(i) one independent committee member at the time of our initial public offering; (2)(ii) a majority of independent committee members within 90 days of our initial public offering; and (3)(iii) all independent committee members within one year of our initial public offering. Similarly, once we are no longer a “controlled company,” we must comply with the independent board committee requirements as they relate to the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee, on the same phase-in schedule as set forth above, with the trigger date being the date we are no longer a “controlled company” as opposed to our initial public offering date. Additionally, we will have 12 months from the date we cease to be a “controlled company” to have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors.
If we utilize the “controlled company” exemption, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Stock
Market. Our status as a controlled company could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise adversely affect its trading price.
We are a holding company and rely on dividends, distributions, and other payments, advances, and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations.
We are a holding company that does not conduct any business operations of our own. As a result, we are largely dependent upon cash dividends and distributions and other transfers, including for payments in respect of indebtedness, at the holding company level from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations. The agreements governing the indebtedness of our subsidiaries, including the CARES Act, impose restrictions on our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividend distributions or other transfers to us. Each of our subsidiaries is a distinct legal entity, and under certain circumstances legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from them. The deterioration of
the earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries for any reason could also limit or impair their ability to pay dividends or other distributions to usus.
As of the date of this filing, we are prohibited from making repurchases of our common stock and paying dividends on our common stock by operation of restrictions imposed by the CARES Act and the PSP Extension Law. Following the end of those restrictions, we cannot guarantee that we will repurchase shares of our common stock or pay dividends on our common stock, or that our capital deployment program will enhance long-term stockholder value. Our capital deployment program could increase the volatility of the price of our common stock and diminish our cash reserves.
In connection with our receipt of payroll support under the PSP, PSP2 and PSP3 and acceptance of the Treasury Loan Agreement, we agreed not to repurchase shares of our common stock until the later of September 30, 2022 or one year after the Treasury Loan facility loan is repaid. In addition, we are prohibited from payingpay out dividends on common stock until the later of September 30, 2022 or one year after the Treasury Loan facility loan is repaid.February 2, 2023. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, restrictions contained in current or future financing instruments, business prospects and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant.
General Risk Factors
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members or executive officers.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also have incurred and will incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, related rules implemented or to be implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)SEC and the listing rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. In recent years, the expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. These laws and regulations could also make it more costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or our board committees or as our executive officers and may divert management’s attention. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, our common stock could be delisted, which could restrict our access to capital, and we could be subject to fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
We will be required to assess our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis, and any future adverse findings from such assessment could result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports,
result in significant expenses to remediate any internal control deficiencies and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022, our management will be required to report on, and our independent registered public accounting firm to attest to, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The rules governing management’s assessment of our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation. We are currently in the process of reviewing, documenting and testing our internal control over financial reporting. We may encounter problems or delays in completing the implementation of any changes necessary to make a favorable assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. In connection with the attestation process by our independent registered public accounting firm, we may encounter problems or delays in implementing any requested improvements and receiving a favorable attestation. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we will not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial
reporting in accordance with Section 404. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our condensed consolidated financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market, regulatory investigations, civil or criminal sanctions and litigation, any of which wouldcould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may become involved in litigation that maycould have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future become, involved in private actions, class actions, investigations and various other legal proceedings, including from employees, commercial partners, customers, competitors and government agencies, among others. Such claims could involve discrimination (for example, based on gender, age, race or religious affiliation), sexual harassment, privacy, patent, commercial, product liability, whistleblower and other litigation and claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings.
Further, from time to time, our employees may bring lawsuits against us regarding discrimination, sexual harassment, labor, ERISA, disability claims and employment and other claims. For example, we currently face gender discrimination claims brought by certain of our employees. In recent years, companies have experienced ana general increase in the number of discrimination and harassment claims generally.claims. Coupled with the expansion of social media platforms that allow individuals with access to a broad audience, these claims have had a significant negative impact on some businesses.
Also, in recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States and abroad involving patents and other intellectual property rights. We have in the past faced, and may face in the future, claims by third parties that we infringe upon their intellectual property rights.
Any claims asserted against us or our management, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, could be harmful to our reputation and brand and have an adverse impact on our relationships with our customers, commercial partners and other third parties and could lead to additional related claims. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources, cause us to incur significant expenses or liability and/or require us to change our business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses and uncertainties of litigation, we may, from time to time, settle disputes, even where we believe that we have meritorious claims or defenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, we cannot assure you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
Plan-Related Issuances
In the first quarter of 2021, we granted to our directors, officers and employees an aggregate of 695,742 restricted stock units to be settled in shares of our common stock under the 2014 Plan.
The offers, sales and issuances of the securities described above were deemed to be exempt from registration under Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as transactions under compensatory benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation, or under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering. The recipients of such securities were our directors, officers and employees and received the securities under our equity incentive plans.
Warrants
In the first quarter of 2021, in conjunction with PSP2, we issued warrants (the “PSP2 Warrants”) to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to acquire up to 103,208 shares of common stock of FGHI at an exercise price of $11.65 per share, which warrants have a five-year term and are exercisable either through net share settlement or in cash, at our option.
The PSP2 Warrants were issued pursuant to an exemption from registration provided for under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as transactions not involving a public offering. Any issuance of Common Stock upon exercise of the PSP2 Warrants will be exempt as an exchange by the Company exclusively with its security holders eligible for exemption under Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act.None.
Use of Proceeds
On March 31, 2021, our registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-254004), as amended, (the “Registration Statement”), was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. On April 6, 2021, we completed our initial public offering (“IPO”), in which we issued and sold 15 million shares of common stock at a price to the public of $19.00 per share. We received net proceeds of $265 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $14 million and estimated offering expenses of $6 million. Additionally, certain existing stockholders sold an aggregate of 19.5 million shares at the same price, including 4.5 million shares sold in connection with the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares, resulting in net proceeds to the selling stockholders of $352 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $18 million. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Evercore Group L.L.C. acted as representatives of the underwriters. The offering terminated after the sale of all securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement. A portion of the proceeds will be used to pay fees and expensesSEC in connection with our IPO. No payments for such expenses will be made directly or indirectly to (i) anyAs of our officers or directors or their associates, (ii) any persons owning 10% or more of any class of our equity securities or (iii) any of our affiliates. A substantial portionMarch 31, 2022, $151 million of the expenses incurredproceeds from the IPO have been used to voluntarily repay in connection withfull our IPO had not yet been paid atoutstanding borrowings of approximately $150 million, plus accrued interest and associated fees, under the endLoan and Guarantee Agreement, dated as of September 28, 2020, as amended, among us, Frontier Airlines, Inc., as the borrower, the guarantors party thereto from time to time, the United States Department of the first quarterTreasury, and the Bank of 2021.
There has been no material change in the expected useNew York Mellon, as administrative agent. All of the netremaining proceeds from ourthe IPO have been applied as described in our Prospectusfinal prospectus filed April 2, 2021,with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act and pending use as described therein, we intend to investother periodic reports previously filed with the net proceeds in interest-bearing, investment-grade securities, certificates of deposit or government securities.SEC.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The Company doesWe do not have a share repurchase program and no shares were repurchased during the first quarter of 2021.2022. Under the CARES Act, we are restricted from conducting certain share repurchases through the laterFebruary 2, 2023. Please refer to “Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements — 2. Impact of September 30, 2022 and one year following the repayment of the Treasury Loan facility.
See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—COVID-19 Relief Funding” included in Part I, Item 2 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-QCOVID-19” for a summary of the dividend restrictions imposed by the CARES Act and related legislation and agreements applicable to the Company.
us.
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None
None.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable
applicable.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
NoneNone.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
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| | | Incorporated by Reference | |
Exhibit Number | | Exhibit Description | Form | Date | Number | Filed Herewith |
3.1 | | | 8-K | 4/6/2021 | 3.1 | |
| | | | | | |
3.2 | | | 8-K | 4/6/2021 | 3.2 | |
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4.1 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 4.2 | |
| | | | | | |
4.2 | | | 8-K | 4/6/2021 | 4.1 | |
| | | | | | |
4.3 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.43 | |
| | | | | | |
4.4 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.44 | |
| | | | | | |
4.5 | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
4.6 | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
10.1 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.1 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
10.2(a)# | | | S-1/A | 3/23/2021 | 10.3(a) | |
| | | | | | |
10.2(b)# | | | S-1/A | 3/19/2021 | 10.3(b) | |
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10.2(c)# | | | S-1/A | 3/19/2021 | 10.3(c) | |
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| | | Incorporated by Reference | |
Exhibit Number | | Exhibit Description | Form | Date | Number | Filed Herewith |
2.1 | | | 8-K | 2/7/2022 | 2.1 | |
| | | | | | |
3.1 | | | 8-K | 4/6/2021 | 3.1 | |
| | | | | | |
3.2 | | | 8-K | 4/6/2021 | 3.2 | |
| | | | | | |
4.1 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 4.2 | |
| | | | | | |
4.2 | | | 8-K | 4/6/2021 | 4.1 | |
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4.3† | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.35 | |
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4.4 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.36 | |
| | | | | | |
4.5 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.38 | |
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4.6 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.39 | |
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4.7 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.43 | |
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4.8 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.44 | |
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10.2(d)# | | | S-1/A | 3/19/2021 | 10.3(d) | |
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10.3# | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.4 | |
| | | | | | |
10.4# | | | S-1/A | 3/23/2021 | 10.47 | |
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10.5 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.40 | |
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10.6 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.41 | |
| | | | | | |
10.7 | | | S-1 | 3/8/2021 | 10.42 | |
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10.8 | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
10.9 | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
31.1 | | | | | | X |
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31.2 | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
32.1* | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
32.2* | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101. INS | | Inline XBRL Instance Document – The instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document. | | | | X |
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101.SCH | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101.CAL | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101.DEF | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
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101.LAB | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
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101.PRE | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
# Indicates management contract or compensatory plan. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
4.9 | | | 10-Q | 5/13/2021 | 4.5 | |
| | | | | | |
4.10 | | | 10-Q | 5/13/2021 | 4.6 | |
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10.1† | | | | | | X |
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31.1 | | | | | | X |
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31.2 | | | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
32.1* | | | | | | X |
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32.2* | | | | | | X |
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101. INS | | Inline XBRL Instance Document – The instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document. | | | | X |
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101.SCH | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101.CAL | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101.DEF | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101.LAB | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
101.PRE | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. | | | | X |
| | | | | | |
104 | | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | | | | X |
* The certifications furnished in Exhibits 32.1 and 32.2 hereto are deemed to accompany this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and are not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall they be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.
† Certain portions of this document that constitute confidential information have been redacted in accordance with Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(10).
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.