United Airlines 10-Q 16 Oct 19 2019 Q3 Quarterly report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Oct. 11, 2019
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2019
Document Transition Report	false
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity File Number	001-06033
Entity Registrant Name	United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000100517
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	36-2675207
Entity Address, Address Line One	233 South Wacker Drive,
Entity Address, City or Town	Chicago,
Entity Address, State or Province	IL
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	60606
City Area Code	(872)
Local Phone Number	825-4000
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock,
Trading Symbol	UAL
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		253,043,650
United Airlines, Inc.
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity File Number	001-10323
Entity Registrant Name	United Airlines, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000319687
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	74-2099724
Entity Address, Address Line One	233 South Wacker Drive,
Entity Address, City or Town	Chicago,
Entity Address, State or Province	IL
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	60606
City Area Code	(872)
Local Phone Number	825-4000
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,000

Statements of Consolidated Oper

Statements of Consolidated Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	$ 11,380	$ 11,003	[1]	$ 32,371	$ 30,812	[1]
Operating expense:
Salaries and related costs	3,063	2,930	[1]	8,993	8,534	[1]
Aircraft fuel	2,296	2,572	[1]	6,704	6,927	[1]
Regional capacity purchase	721	676	[1]	2,124	1,999	[1]
Landing fees and other rent	645	618	[1]	1,893	1,822	[1]
Depreciation and amortization	575	545	[1]	1,682	1,607	[1]
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs	490	455	[1]	1,319	1,333	[1]
Distribution expenses	432	427	[1]	1,234	1,162	[1]
Aircraft rent	67	109	[1]	221	355	[1]
Special charges	27	17	[1]	116	186	[1]
Other operating expenses	1,591	1,467	[1]	4,645	4,293	[1]
Total operating expenses	9,907	9,816	[1]	28,931	28,218	[1]
Operating income	1,473	1,187	[1]	3,440	2,594	[1]
Nonoperating income (expense):
Interest expense	(191)	(172)	[1]	(570)	(497)	[1]
Interest capitalized	22	16	[1]	65	46	[1]
Interest income	36	28	[1]	103	70	[1]
Miscellaneous, net	9	(1)	[1]	32	(118)	[1]
Total nonoperating expense, net	(124)	(129)	[1]	(370)	(499)	[1]
Income before income taxes	1,349	1,058	[1]	3,070	2,095	[1]
Income tax expense	325	225	[1]	702	434	[1]
Net income	$ 1,024	$ 833	[1],[2],[3]	$ 2,368	$ 1,661	[1],[2],[3]
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 4.01	$ 3.06	[1]	$ 9.07	$ 6	[1]
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 3.99	$ 3.05	[1]	$ 9.04	$ 5.98	[1]
United Airlines, Inc.
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	$ 11,380	$ 11,003	[4]	$ 32,371	$ 30,812	[4]
Operating expense:
Salaries and related costs	3,063	2,930	[4]	8,993	8,534	[4]
Aircraft fuel	2,296	2,572	[4]	6,704	6,927	[4]
Regional capacity purchase	721	676	[4]	2,124	1,999	[4]
Landing fees and other rent	645	618	[4]	1,893	1,822	[4]
Depreciation and amortization	575	545	[4]	1,682	1,607	[4]
Aircraft maintenance materials and outside repairs	490	455	[4]	1,319	1,333	[4]
Distribution expenses	432	427	[4]	1,234	1,162	[4]
Aircraft rent	67	109	[4]	221	355	[4]
Special charges	27	17	[4]	116	186	[4]
Other operating expenses	1,590	1,467	[4]	4,643	4,292	[4]
Total operating expenses	9,906	9,816	[4]	28,929	28,217	[4]
Operating income	1,474	1,187	[4]	3,442	2,595	[4]
Nonoperating income (expense):
Interest expense	(191)	(172)	[4]	(570)	(497)	[4]
Interest capitalized	22	16	[4]	65	46	[4]
Interest income	36	28	[4]	103	70	[4]
Miscellaneous, net	9	(1)	[4]	32	(118)	[4]
Total nonoperating expense, net	(124)	(129)	[4]	(370)	(499)	[4]
Income before income taxes	1,350	1,058	[4]	3,072	2,096	[4]
Income tax expense	326	224	[4]	703	434	[4]
Net income	1,024	834	[4],[5]	2,369	1,662	[4],[5],[6]
Passenger revenue
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	10,481	10,120	[1]	29,692	28,150	[1]
Passenger revenue | United Airlines, Inc.
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	10,481	10,120	[4]	29,692	28,150	[4]
Cargo
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	282	296	[1]	863	903	[1]
Cargo | United Airlines, Inc.
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	282	296	[4]	863	903	[4]
Other operating revenue
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	617	587	[1]	1,816	1,759	[1]
Other operating revenue | United Airlines, Inc.
Operating revenue:
Operating revenue	$ 617	$ 587	[4]	$ 1,816	$ 1,759	[4]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[4]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[5]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[6]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Statements of Consolidated Comp

Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Net income	$ 1,024	$ 833	[1],[2],[3]	$ 2,368	$ 1,661	[1],[2],[3]
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Employee benefit plans	304	12	[2]	294	54	[2]
Investments and other	(1)	1	[2]	5	(3)	[2]
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	303	13	[2]	299	51	[2]
Total comprehensive income, net	1,327	846	[2]	2,667	1,712	[2]
United Airlines, Inc.
Net income	1,024	834	[4],[5]	2,369	1,662	[4],[5],[6]
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Employee benefit plans	304	12	[4]	294	54	[4]
Investments and other	(1)	1	[4]	5	(3)	[4]
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	303	13	[4]	299	51	[4]
Total comprehensive income, net	$ 1,327	$ 847	[4]	$ 2,668	$ 1,713	[4]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[4]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[5]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[6]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Un

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,959	$ 1,694	[1]
Short-term investments	2,167	2,256	[1]
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts (2019 — $11; 2018 — $8)	1,617	1,426	[1]
Aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies, less obsolescence allowance (2019 — $403; 2018 — $412)	1,065	985	[1]
Prepaid expenses and other	725	733	[1]
Total current assets	8,533	7,094	[1]
Operating property and equipment:
Flight equipment	34,413	32,599	[1]
Other property and equipment	7,626	6,889	[1]
Purchase deposits for flight equipment	1,446	1,177	[1]
Total operating property and equipment, at cost	43,485	40,665	[1]
Less — Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(14,153)	(13,266)	[1]
Total operating property and equipment, net	29,332	27,399	[1]
Operating lease right-of-use assets	4,937	5,262	[1]
Other assets:
Goodwill	4,523	4,523	[1]
Intangibles, less accumulated amortization (2019 — $1,425; 2018 — $1,380)	3,114	3,159	[1]
Restricted cash	100	105	[1]
Notes receivable, net	529	516	[1]
Investments in affiliates and other, net	1,131	966	[1]
Total other assets	9,397	9,269	[1]
Total assets	52,199	49,024	[1]
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	2,848	2,363	[1]
Accrued salaries and benefits	2,104	2,184	[1]
Current maturities of long-term debt	1,243	1,230	[1]
Current maturities of finance leases	92	123	[1]
Current maturities of operating leases	778	719	[1]
Other	574	553	[1]
Total current liabilities	15,691	13,839	[1]
Long-term debt	12,900	12,215	[1]
Long-term obligations under finance leases	186	224	[1]
Long-term obligations under operating leases	4,941	5,276	[1]
Other liabilities and deferred credits:
Postretirement benefit liability	836	1,295	[1]
Pension liability	1,087	1,576	[1]
Deferred income taxes	1,594	828	[1]
Other	981	1,010	[1]
Total other liabilities and deferred credits	7,180	7,428	[1]
Commitments and contingencies			[1]
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock	0	0	[1]
Common stock at par, $0.01 par value; authorized 1,000,000,000 shares; outstanding 253,624,406 and 269,914,769 shares at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively	3	3	[1]
Additional capital invested	6,111	6,120	[1]
Retained earnings	9,075	6,715	[1]
Stock held in treasury, at cost	(3,384)	(1,993)	[1]
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(504)	(803)	[1]
Total stockholders' equity	11,301	10,042	[1],[2]
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	52,199	49,024	[1]
United Airlines, Inc.
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	2,953	1,688	[3]
Short-term investments	2,167	2,256	[3]
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts (2019 — $11; 2018 — $8)	1,617	1,426	[3]
Aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies, less obsolescence allowance (2019 — $403; 2018 — $412)	1,065	985	[3]
Prepaid expenses and other	725	733	[3]
Total current assets	8,527	7,088	[3]
Operating property and equipment:
Flight equipment	34,413	32,599	[3]
Other property and equipment	7,626	6,889	[3]
Purchase deposits for flight equipment	1,446	1,177	[3]
Total operating property and equipment, at cost	43,485	40,665	[3]
Less — Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(14,153)	(13,266)	[3]
Total operating property and equipment, net	29,332	27,399	[3]
Operating lease right-of-use assets	4,937	5,262	[3]
Other assets:
Goodwill	4,523	4,523	[3]
Intangibles, less accumulated amortization (2019 — $1,425; 2018 — $1,380)	3,114	3,159	[3]
Restricted cash	100	105	[3]
Notes receivable, net	529	516	[3]
Investments in affiliates and other, net	1,131	966	[3]
Total other assets	9,397	9,269	[3]
Total assets	52,193	49,018	[3]
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	2,848	2,363	[3]
Accrued salaries and benefits	2,104	2,184	[3]
Current maturities of long-term debt	1,243	1,230	[3]
Current maturities of finance leases	92	123	[3]
Current maturities of operating leases	778	719	[3]
Other	579	558	[3]
Total current liabilities	15,696	13,844	[3]
Long-term debt	12,900	12,215	[3]
Long-term obligations under finance leases	186	224	[3]
Long-term obligations under operating leases	4,941	5,276	[3]
Other liabilities and deferred credits:
Postretirement benefit liability	836	1,295	[3]
Pension liability	1,087	1,576	[3]
Deferred income taxes	1,622	855	[3]
Other	980	1,010	[3]
Total other liabilities and deferred credits	7,207	7,455	[3]
Commitments and contingencies			[3]
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock at par, $0.01 par value; authorized 1,000,000,000 shares; outstanding 253,624,406 and 269,914,769 shares at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively	0	0	[3]
Additional capital invested	0	598	[3]
Retained earnings	11,909	10,319	[3]
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(504)	(803)	[3]
Receivable from related parties	(142)	(110)	[3]
Total stockholders' equity	11,263	10,004	[3],[4]
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	52,193	49,018	[3]
Advance ticket sales
Current liabilities:
Deferred revenue	5,515	4,381	[1]
Advance ticket sales | United Airlines, Inc.
Current liabilities:
Deferred revenue	5,515	4,381	[3]
Frequent flyer deferred revenue
Current liabilities:
Deferred revenue	2,537	2,286	[1]
Other liabilities and deferred credits:
Deferred revenue	2,682	2,719	[1]
Frequent flyer deferred revenue | United Airlines, Inc.
Current liabilities:
Deferred revenue	2,537	2,286	[3]
Other liabilities and deferred credits:
Deferred revenue	$ 2,682	$ 2,719	[3]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[4]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Consolidated Balance Sheets (_2

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 11	$ 8
Obsolescence allowance for aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies	403	412
Accumulated amortization on intangibles	$ 1,425	$ 1,380
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common shares, authorized (in shares)	1,000,000,000	1,000,000,000
Common shares, outstanding (in shares)	253,624,406	269,914,769
United Airlines, Inc.
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 11	$ 8
Obsolescence allowance for aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies	403	412
Accumulated amortization on intangibles	$ 1,425	$ 1,380
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common shares, authorized (in shares)	1,000	1,000
Common shares, issued (in shares)	1,000	1,000
Common shares, outstanding (in shares)	1,000	1,000

Condensed Statements of Consoli

Condensed Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities		$ 5,728	$ 5,035	[1]
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures		(3,336)	(2,496)	[1]
Purchases of short-term and other investments		(2,168)	(1,975)	[1]
Proceeds from sale of short-term and other investments		2,282	1,979	[1]
Investment in affiliates		(36)	(139)	[1]
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment		47	30	[1]
Loans made to affiliates		(10)	(10)	[1]
Other, net		(10)	104	[1]
Net cash used in investing activities		(3,231)	(2,507)	[1]
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt		1,109	1,241	[1]
Payments of long-term debt		(726)	(1,519)	[1]
Repurchases of common stock		(1,431)	(1,010)	[1]
Principal payments under finance leases		(105)	(57)	[1]
Capitalized financing costs		(51)	(31)	[1]
Other, net		(29)	(17)	[1]
Net cash used in financing activities		(1,233)	(1,393)	[1]
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		1,264	1,135	[1]
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of the period		1,799	1,591	[1]
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of the period	[2]	3,063	2,726	[1]
Investing and Financing Activities Not Affecting Cash:
Property and equipment acquired through the issuance of debt		306	125	[1]
Operating lease conversions to finance lease		36	52	[1]
Right-of-use assets acquired through operating leases		344	537	[1]
Property and equipment acquired through finance leases		8	0	[1]
United Airlines, Inc.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities		5,698	5,018	[3]
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures		(3,336)	(2,496)	[3]
Purchases of short-term and other investments		(2,168)	(1,975)	[3]
Proceeds from sale of short-term and other investments		2,282	1,979	[3]
Investment in affiliates		(36)	(139)	[3]
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment		47	30	[3]
Loans made to affiliates		(10)	(10)	[3]
Other, net		(10)	104	[3]
Net cash used in investing activities		(3,231)	(2,507)	[3]
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt		1,109	1,241	[3]
Payments of long-term debt		(726)	(1,519)	[3]
Dividend to UAL		(1,431)	(1,010)	[3]
Principal payments under finance leases		(105)	(57)	[3]
Capitalized financing costs		(51)	(31)	[3]
Other, net		1	0	[3]
Net cash used in financing activities		(1,203)	(1,376)	[3]
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		1,264	1,135	[3]
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of the period		1,793	1,585	[3]
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of the period	[4]	3,057	2,720	[3]
Investing and Financing Activities Not Affecting Cash:
Property and equipment acquired through the issuance of debt		306	125	[3]
Operating lease conversions to finance lease		36	52	[3]
Right-of-use assets acquired through operating leases		344	537	[3]
Property and equipment acquired through finance leases		$ 8	$ 0	[3]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to amounts reported within the consolidated balance sheet: Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,959 $ 2,621 Restricted cash (included in Prepaid expenses and other) 4 — Restricted cash 100 105 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 3,063 $ 2,726
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[4]	The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to amounts reported within the consolidated balance sheet: Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,953 $ 2,615 Restricted cash (included in Prepaid expenses and other) 4 — Restricted cash 100 105 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 3,057 $ 2,720

Condensed Statements of Conso_2

Condensed Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows (Unaudited) (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019		Dec. 31, 2018		Sep. 30, 2018
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,959		$ 1,694	[1]	$ 2,621
Restricted cash (included in Prepaid expenses and other)	4				0
Restricted cash	100		105	[1]	105
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	3,063	[2]	1,799		2,726	[2],[3]
United Airlines, Inc.
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash:
Cash and cash equivalents	2,953		1,688	[4]	2,615
Restricted cash (included in Prepaid expenses and other)	4				0
Restricted cash	100		105	[4]	105
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$ 3,057	[5]	$ 1,793		$ 2,720	[5],[6]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to amounts reported within the consolidated balance sheet: Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,959 $ 2,621 Restricted cash (included in Prepaid expenses and other) 4 — Restricted cash 100 105 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 3,063 $ 2,726
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[4]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[5]	The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to amounts reported within the consolidated balance sheet: Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,953 $ 2,615 Restricted cash (included in Prepaid expenses and other) 4 — Restricted cash 100 105 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 3,057 $ 2,720
[6]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Statements of Consolidated Stoc

Statements of Consolidated Stockholders' Equity - USD ($) $ in Millions		Total		Common Stock		Additional Capital Invested		Treasury Stock		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		United Airlines, Inc.		United Airlines, Inc.Additional Capital Invested		United Airlines, Inc.Retained Earnings		United Airlines, Inc.Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		United Airlines, Inc.Receivable from Related Parties, Net
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017	[1]			287,000,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2017		$ 8,788	[1]	$ 3	[1]	$ 6,098	[1]	$ (769)	[1]	$ 4,603	[1]	$ (1,147)	[1]	$ 8,751	[2]	$ 1,787	[2]	$ 8,201	[2]	$ (1,147)	[2]	$ (90)	[2]
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income		1,661	[1],[3],[4]							1,661	[1]			1,662	[2],[5],[6]			1,662	[2]
Other comprehensive income (loss)		51	[3]									51		51	[6]					51
Dividend to UAL														(1,010)		(1,010)
Stock settled share-based compensation		45				45								45		45
Repurchases of common stock (in shares)				(14,700,000)
Repurchases of common stock		(1,010)						(1,010)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards (in shares)				200,000
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards		(17)				(38)		26		(5)
Other														(19)				(7)		7		(19)
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2018	[1]			272,500,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2018		9,518	[1]	$ 3	[1]	6,105	[1]	(1,753)	[1]	6,252	[1]	(1,089)	[1]	9,480	[2]	822	[2]	9,856	[2]	(1,089)	[2]	(109)	[2]
Balance (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2018	[1]			273,000,000
Balance at Jun. 30, 2018		8,691	[1]	$ 3	[1]	6,091	[1]	(1,720)	[1]	5,419	[1]	(1,102)	[1]	8,653	[2]	841	[2]	9,022	[2]	(1,102)	[2]	(108)	[2]
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income		833	[1],[3],[4]							833	[1]			834	[5],[6]			834
Other comprehensive income (loss)		13	[3]									13		13	[6]					13
Dividend to UAL														(34)		(34)
Stock settled share-based compensation		16				16								16		16
Repurchases of common stock (in shares)				(500,000)
Repurchases of common stock		(34)						(34)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards		(1)				(2)		1
Other														(2)		(1)						(1)
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2018	[1]			272,500,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2018		$ 9,518	[1]	$ 3	[1]	6,105	[1]	(1,753)	[1]	6,252	[1]	(1,089)	[1]	$ 9,480	[2]	822	[2]	9,856	[2]	(1,089)	[2]	(109)	[2]
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018		269,914,769		269,900,000	[1]									1,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2018		$ 10,042	[1],[7]	$ 3	[1]	6,120	[1]	(1,993)	[1]	6,715	[1]	(803)	[1]	$ 10,004	[2],[8]	598	[2]	10,319	[2]	(803)	[2]	(110)	[2]
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income		2,368								2,368				2,369				2,369
Other comprehensive income (loss)		299										299		299						299
Dividend to UAL														(1,426)		(647)		(779)
Stock settled share-based compensation		49				49								49		49
Repurchases of common stock (in shares)				(16,800,000)
Repurchases of common stock		(1,426)						(1,426)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards (in shares)				500,000
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards		$ (31)				(58)		35		(8)
Other														$ (32)								(32)
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019		253,624,406		253,600,000										1,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2019		$ 11,301		$ 3		6,111		(3,384)		9,075		(504)		$ 11,263		0		11,909		(504)		(142)
Balance (in shares) at Jun. 30, 2019				257,700,000
Balance at Jun. 30, 2019		10,320		$ 3		6,096		(3,022)		8,050		(807)		10,282		0		11,230		(807)		(141)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income		1,024								1,024				1,024				1,024
Other comprehensive income (loss)		303										303		303						303
Dividend to UAL														(363)		(18)		(345)
Stock settled share-based compensation		18				18								18		18
Repurchases of common stock (in shares)				(4,100,000)
Repurchases of common stock		(363)						(363)
Net treasury stock issued for share-based awards		$ (1)				(3)		1		1
Other														$ (1)								(1)
Balance (in shares) at Sep. 30, 2019		253,624,406		253,600,000										1,000
Balance at Sep. 30, 2019		$ 11,301		$ 3		$ 6,111		$ (3,384)		$ 9,075		$ (504)		$ 11,263		$ 0		$ 11,909		$ (504)		$ (142)
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[4]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[5]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[6]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[7]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[8]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Recently Issued Accounting Stan

Recently Issued Accounting Standards	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS	RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS The Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases (the "New Lease Standard"), effective January 1, 2019. The Company used the modified retrospective approach for all leases existing at or commencing after January 1, 2017 and elected the package of transition practical expedients for expired or existing contracts, which does not require reassessment of: (1) whether any of our contracts are or contain leases, (2) lease classification and (3) initial direct costs. The New Lease Standard prescribes that an entity should recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases at the commencement date of each lease and recognize expenses on their income statements similar to the prior FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840, Leases ("Topic 840"). The adoption of the New Lease Standard had the same impact on the financial statements of United as it had on the financial statements of UAL. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select accounts and captions of UAL's statement of consolidated operations (in millions, except per share amounts): Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Regional capacity purchase $ 663 $ 13 $ 676 $ 1,963 $ 36 $ 1,999 Landing fees and other rent 596 22 618 1,757 65 1,822 Depreciation and amortization 564 (19 ) 545 1,662 (55 ) 1,607 Interest expense (187 ) 15 (172 ) (540 ) 43 (497 ) Interest capitalized 18 (2 ) 16 51 (5 ) 46 Net income 836 (3 ) 833 1,667 (6 ) 1,661 Earnings per share, basic 3.07 (0.01 ) 3.06 6.02 (0.02 ) 6.00 Earnings per share, diluted 3.06 (0.01 ) 3.05 5.99 (0.01 ) 5.98 The expense for leases under the New Lease Standard will continue to be classified in their historical income statement captions (primarily in Aircraft rent, Landing fees and other rent and Regional capacity purchase in our statements of consolidated operations). The adoption of the New Lease Standard resulted in the recharacterization of certain leases from capital leases under Topic 840 to operating leases under the New Lease Standard. This change resulted in less depreciation and amortization and interest expense associated with capital leases offset by higher lease expense associated with operating leases. The recharacterization is associated with leases of certain airport facilities that were derecognized as part of the build-to-suit transition guidance under the New Lease Standard. The reduction in capitalized interest is also associated with the same airport facilities leases. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on UAL's balance sheet accounts and captions (in millions): December 31, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts $ 1,346 $ 80 $ 1,426 Prepaid expenses and other 913 (180 ) 733 Flight equipment, owned and finance leases (a) 32,636 (37 ) 32,599 Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases (a) 7,930 (1,041 ) 6,889 Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases (a) (13,414 ) 148 (13,266 ) Operating lease right-of-use assets — 5,262 5,262 Current maturities of finance leases (a) 149 (26 ) 123 Current maturities of operating leases — 719 719 Other current liabilities 619 (66 ) 553 Long-term obligations under finance leases (a) 1,134 (910 ) 224 Long-term obligations under operating leases — 5,276 5,276 Deferred income taxes 814 14 828 Other long-term liabilities 1,832 (822 ) 1,010 Retained earnings 6,668 47 6,715 (a) Finance leases, under the New Lease Standard, are the equivalent of capital leases under Topic 840. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select line items of UAL's statement of consolidated cash flows (in millions): Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Net cash provided by operating activities $ 5,080 $ (45 ) $ 5,035 Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Capital expenditures (2,592 ) 96 (2,496 ) Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 1,332 (91 ) 1,241 Principal payments under finance leases (98 ) 41 (57 ) The adoption of the New Lease Standard primarily resulted in the recording of assets and liabilities of our operating leases on our consolidated balance sheets. Certain amounts recorded for prepaid and accrued rent associated with historical operating leases were reclassified to the newly captioned Operating lease right-of-use assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Also, certain leases designated under Topic 840 as owned assets and capital leases are not considered to be assets under the New Lease Standard and have been removed from the consolidated balance sheets, along with the related capital lease liability, due to the leases having variable lease payments. In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses ("ASU 2016-13"). The main objective is to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. The new accounting replaces the incurred loss methodology with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to calculate credit loss estimates. For trade receivables, loans and held-to-maturity debt securities, entities will be required to estimate lifetime expected credit losses. For available-for-sale debt securities, entities will be required to recognize an allowance for credit losses rather than a reduction to the carrying value of the asset. The new accounting is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and early adoption is permitted as of the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2016-13 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Revenue

Revenue	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]
REVENUE	REVENUE Revenue by Geography. The following table presents operating revenue by geographic region (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Domestic (U.S. and Canada) $ 7,094 $ 6,762 $ 20,056 $ 18,927 Atlantic 2,103 2,073 5,627 5,427 Pacific 1,280 1,339 3,867 3,855 Latin America 903 829 2,821 2,603 Total $ 11,380 $ 11,003 $ 32,371 $ 30,812 Advance Ticket Sales. All tickets sold at any given point of time have travel dates extending up to 12 months. The Company defers amounts related to future travel in its Advance ticket sales liability account. As a result, the balance of the Company's Advance ticket sales liability represents activity that will be recognized in the next 12 months. In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recognized approximately $4.1 billion and $3.4 billion , respectively, and in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , the Company recognized approximately $4.1 billion and $3.0 billion , respectively, of passenger revenue for tickets that were included in Advance ticket sales at the beginning of those periods. Ancillary Fees. The Company charges fees, separately from ticket sales, for certain ancillary services that are directly related to passengers' travel, such as ticket change fees, baggage fees, inflight amenities fees, and other ticket-related fees. These ancillary fees are part of the travel performance obligation and, as such, are recognized as passenger revenue when the travel occurs. The Company recorded $645 million and $1.9 billion of ancillary fees within passenger revenue in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , respectively. The Company recorded $572 million and $1.6 billion of ancillary fees within passenger revenue in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , respectively. Frequent Flyer Accounting. The table below presents a roll forward of Frequent flyer deferred revenue (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - beginning balance $ 5,198 $ 4,989 $ 5,005 $ 4,783 Miles awarded 662 616 1,951 1,826 Travel miles redeemed (Passenger revenue) (607 ) (580 ) (1,634 ) (1,508 ) Non-travel miles redeemed (Other operating revenue) (34 ) (38 ) (103 ) (114 ) Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - ending balance $ 5,219 $ 4,987 $ 5,219 $ 4,987 In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recognized, in Other operating revenue, $489 million and $1.5 billion , respectively, related to the marketing, advertising, non-travel miles redeemed (net of related costs) and other travel-related benefits of the mileage revenue associated with our various partner agreements including, but not limited to, our Chase co-brand agreement. The Company recognized $480 million and $1.5 billion , respectively, in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , related to those revenues. The portion related to the MileagePlus miles awarded of the total amounts received from our various partner agreements is deferred and presented in the table above as an increase to the frequent flyer liability.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
EARNINGS PER SHARE	EARNINGS PER SHARE The computations of UAL's basic and diluted earnings per share are set forth below (in millions, except per share amounts): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Earnings available to common stockholders $ 1,024 $ 833 $ 2,368 $ 1,661 Basic weighted-average shares outstanding 255.3 272.4 261.0 277.0 Effect of employee stock awards 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.0 Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding 256.4 273.6 262.0 278.0 Earnings per share, basic $ 4.01 $ 3.06 $ 9.07 $ 6.00 Earnings per share, diluted $ 3.99 $ 3.05 $ 9.04 $ 5.98 In the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , UAL repurchased approximately 4.1 million and 16.8 million shares, respectively, of UAL common stock in open market transactions for $0.4 billion and $1.4 billion , respectively. On July 15, 2019, UAL's Board of Directors authorized a new $3.0 billion share repurchase program to acquire UAL's common stock. As of September 30, 2019 , the Company had approximately $3.3 billion remaining to purchase shares under its December 2017 and July 2019 share repurchase programs. UAL may repurchase shares through the open market, privately negotiated transactions, block trades or accelerated share repurchase transactions from time to time in accordance with applicable securities laws. UAL will repurchase shares of UAL common stock subject to prevailing market conditions, and may discontinue such repurchases at any time. See Part II, Item 2, Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds of this report for additional information.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Equity [Abstract]
ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)	ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) The tables below present the components of the Company's accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax ("AOCI") (in millions): UAL Pension and Other Postretirement Liabilities Investments and Other Deferred Taxes Total Balance at June 30, 2019 $ (675 ) $ 3 $ (135 ) $ (807 ) Changes in value 394 — (87 ) 307 Amounts reclassified to earnings (4 ) (a) (1 ) 1 (4 ) Balance at September 30, 2019 $ (285 ) $ 2 $ (221 ) $ (504 ) Balance at December 31, 2018 $ (663 ) $ (4 ) $ (136 ) $ (803 ) Changes in value 370 7 (83 ) 294 Amounts reclassified to earnings 8 (a) (1 ) (2 ) 5 Balance at September 30, 2019 $ (285 ) $ 2 $ (221 ) $ (504 ) Balance at June 30, 2018 $ (1,048 ) $ (2 ) $ (52 ) $ (1,102 ) Changes in value — 1 — 1 Amounts reclassified to earnings 15 (a) — (3 ) 12 Balance at September 30, 2018 $ (1,033 ) $ (1 ) $ (55 ) $ (1,089 ) Balance at December 31, 2017 $ (1,102 ) $ (6 ) $ (39 ) $ (1,147 ) Changes in value 24 (2 ) (6 ) 16 Amounts reclassified to earnings 45 (a) — (10 ) 35 Amounts reclassified to retained earnings — 7 — 7 Balance at September 30, 2018 $ (1,033 ) $ (1 ) $ (55 ) $ (1,089 ) (a) This AOCI component is included in the computation of net periodic pension and other postretirement costs (See Note 6 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 for additional information).

Income Taxes

Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
INCOME TAXES	INCOME TAXES The Company's effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 was 24.1% and 22.9% , respectively. The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 was 21.3% and 20.7% , respectively. The effective tax rate represents a blend of federal, state and foreign taxes and includes the impact of certain nondeductible items and the impact of a change in the Company's mix of domestic and foreign earnings.

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Employee-related Liabilities [Abstract]
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS	EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans. The Company's net periodic benefit cost includes the following components for the three months ended September 30 (in millions): Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits Affected Line Item 2019 2018 2019 2018 Service cost $ 46 $ 57 $ 2 $ 3 Salaries and related costs Interest cost 56 54 10 16 Miscellaneous, net Expected return on plan assets (73 ) (73 ) — (1 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss 29 32 (12 ) (8 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of prior service credit — — (23 ) (9 ) Miscellaneous, net Settlement loss 2 — — — Miscellaneous, net Total $ 60 $ 70 $ (23 ) $ 1 The Company's net periodic benefit cost includes the following components for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions): Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits Affected Line Item 2019 2018 2019 2018 Service cost $ 138 $ 171 $ 7 $ 9 Salaries and related costs Interest cost 170 162 39 46 Miscellaneous, net Expected return on plan assets (218 ) (219 ) (1 ) (1 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss 87 97 (42 ) (24 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of prior service credit — — (42 ) (28 ) Miscellaneous, net Settlement loss 5 — — Miscellaneous, net Total $ 182 $ 211 $ (39 ) $ 2 During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company contributed $335 million and $635 million , respectively, to its U.S. domestic tax-qualified defined benefit pension plans. During the third quarter of 2019, United notified participants of a refresh to the plan options offered under its retiree medical benefit program. Current non-HMO (health maintenance organization) medical plan options for post-Medicare retirees will be converted to fully-insured Medicare Advantage plans. The plan design changes will impact all current and future eligible post-Medicare retirees, through updates in plan design and/or premium rate/contribution setting refinements. Benefit levels have not been reduced as a result of this change, and in many cases the refresh will result in reduced retiree contributions. As a result of this modification to its retiree medical plan options, the Company remeasured retiree medical benefit program liabilities using a discount rate of 3.39% . The projected benefit obligation of the retiree medical benefit program decreased by $421 million with an offset to Accumulated other comprehensive loss ( $597 million in prior service credits, partially offset by $176 million in actuarial losses), which will be amortized over the average years of future service to full eligibility for the participants in the retiree medical benefit program (approximately seven years ). Share-Based Compensation. In the nine months ended September 30, 2019 , UAL granted share-based compensation awards pursuant to the United Continental Holdings, Inc. 2017 Incentive Compensation Plan. These share-based compensation awards include 1.1 million restricted stock units ("RSUs"), consisting of 0.8 million time-vested RSUs and 0.3 million performance-based RSUs. The time-vested RSUs vest pro-rata, on February 28th of each year, over a period of three years from the date of grant. The amount of performance-based RSUs vest based on the Company's relative improvement in pre-tax margin, as compared to a group of industry peers, for the three years ending December 31, 2021 . RSUs are generally equity awards settled in stock for domestic employees and liability awards settled in cash for international employees. The cash payments are based on the 20 -day average closing price of UAL common stock immediately prior to the vesting date. The table below presents information related to share-based compensation (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Share-based compensation expense $ 33 $ 29 $ 70 $ 73 September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Unrecognized share-based compensation $ 90 $ 68

BRW Term Loan

BRW Term Loan	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Receivables [Abstract]
BRW TERM LOAN	BRW TERM LOAN In November 2018, United, as lender, entered into a Term Loan Agreement (the "BRW Loan Agreement") with, among others, BRW Aviation Holding LLC and BRW Aviation LLC ("BRW"), as guarantor and borrower, respectively, affiliates of Synergy Aerospace Corporation ("Synergy"), the majority shareholder of Avianca Holdings S.A. ("AVH"). Pursuant to the BRW Loan Agreement, United provided a $456 million term loan to BRW (the "BRW Term Loan"), secured by a pledge of BRW's equity, as well as BRW's 516 million shares of common stock of AVH (having an implied value equivalent to 64.5 million American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), the class of AVH securities that trades on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE")). BRW is currently in default under the BRW Loan Agreement. On May 13, 2019, S&P Global Ratings downgraded its AVH issuer level credit ratings from B to CCC+, together with accompanying downgrades for AVH's frequent flyer subsidiary LifeMiles Ltd. ("LifeMiles") and for certain outstanding debt of both AVH and LifeMiles. Following these downgrades, and in order to protect the value of its collateral, on May 24, 2019, United began to exercise remedies available to it under the terms of the BRW Loan Agreement and related documents. In connection with the delivery by United of a notice of default to BRW, Kingsland Holdings Limited ("Kingsland"), AVH's largest minority shareholder, was granted, in accordance with the agreements related to the BRW Loan Agreement, independent authority to manage BRW, which remains the majority shareholder of AVH. In addition, Kingsland is pursuing a foreclosure process which is expected to result in a judicially supervised sale of the collateral, following the grant of summary judgment by a NY court on September 26, 2019. United evaluated the $494 million carrying value of the BRW Term Loan as of September 30, 2019 using the fair value of the collateral (and taking into consideration the secured convertible loan commitment disclosed in Note 10) and determined that the value of the collateral is sufficient to recover the carrying value of the loan. As a result, the Company concluded that the BRW Term Loan is not impaired. The carrying value of the BRW Term Loan represents the original loan amount plus accrued and unpaid interest and certain expenses associated with the loan origination. The fair market value of AVH equity was estimated using an income approach and a market approach with equal weight applied to each approach. Under the income approach, the value was estimated by discounting expected future cash flows at a weighted average cost of capital to a single present value amount. Under the market approach, the value was estimated by reference to multiples of enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent ("EBITDAR") for a group of publicly-traded market comparable companies, along with AVH's own EBITDAR levels.

Financial Instruments and Fair

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS	FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS The table below presents disclosures about the financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis in UAL's financial statements (in millions): September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,959 $ 2,959 $ — $ — $ 1,694 $ 1,694 $ — $ — Short-term investments: Corporate debt 1,016 — 1,016 — 1,023 — 1,023 — Asset-backed securities 706 — 706 — 746 — 746 — U.S. government and agency notes 131 — 131 — 108 — 108 — Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service ("CDARS") 42 — 42 — 75 — 75 — Other fixed-income securities 80 — 80 — 116 — 116 — Other investments measured at net asset value ("NAV") 192 — — — 188 — — — Restricted cash 104 104 — — 105 105 — — Long-term investments: Equity securities 322 322 — — 249 249 — — AVH Derivative Assets (defined below) 6 — — 6 11 — — 11 Available-for-sale investment maturities - The short-term investments shown in the table above are classified as available-for-sale, with the exception of investments measured at NAV. As of September 30, 2019 , asset-backed securities have remaining maturities of less than one year to approximately 15 years , corporate debt securities have remaining maturities of three years or less and CDARS have maturities of less than one year . U.S. government and agency notes have maturities of approximately three years or less and other fixed-income securities have maturities of two years or less. Restricted cash - Restricted cash primarily includes collateral for letters of credit and collateral associated with facility leases and other insurance-related obligations. Equity securities - Equity securities represent United's investment in Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S.A. ("Azul"), consisting of a preferred equity stake of approximately 8% (approximately 2% of the total capital stock of Azul). The Company recognizes changes to the fair market value of its equity investment in Azul in Nonoperating income (expense): Miscellaneous, net in its statements of consolidated operations. AVH Derivative Assets - As part of the BRW Loan Agreement and related agreements with Kingsland, United obtained AVH share call options, AVH share appreciation rights, and an AVH share-based upside sharing agreement (collectively, the "AVH Derivative Assets"). The AVH Derivative Assets are recorded at fair value as Other assets on the Company's balance sheet and are included in the table above. Changes in the fair value of the AVH Derivative Assets are recorded as part of Nonoperating income (expense): Miscellaneous, net on the Company's statements of consolidated operations. Investments presented in the table above have the same fair value as their carrying value. The table below presents the carrying values and estimated fair values of financial instruments not presented in the tables above (in millions): September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Carrying Amount Fair Value Carrying Amount Fair Value Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Long-term debt $ 14,143 $ 14,832 $ — $ 11,131 $ 3,701 $ 13,445 $ 13,450 $ — $ 9,525 $ 3,925 Fair value of the financial instruments included in the tables above was determined as follows: Description Fair Value Methodology Cash and cash equivalents The carrying amounts approximate fair value because of the short-term maturity of these assets. Short-term investments, Equity securities and Restricted cash Fair value is based on (a) the trading prices of the investment or similar instruments, (b) an income approach, which uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts into a single present amount based on current market expectations about those future amounts when observable trading prices are not available, or (c) broker quotes obtained by third-party valuation services. Other investments measured at NAV In accordance with the relevant accounting standards, certain investments that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in the table above are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the statement of financial position. The investments measured using NAV are shares of mutual funds that invest in fixed-income instruments including bonds, debt securities, and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities. The Company can redeem its shares at any time at NAV subject to a three-day settlement period. Long-term debt Fair values were based on either market prices or the discounted amount of future cash flows using our current incremental rate of borrowing for similar liabilities or assets. AVH Derivative Assets Fair values are calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. Unobservable inputs include expected volatility, expected dividend yield and control and acquisition premiums.

Leases

Leases	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
LEASES	LEASES United leases aircraft, airport passenger terminal space, aircraft hangars and related maintenance facilities, cargo terminals, other airport facilities, other commercial real estate, office and computer equipment and vehicles, among other items. Certain of these leases include provisions for variable lease payments which are based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relative leased square footage, available seat miles, enplaned passengers, passenger facility charges, terminal equipment usage fees, departures, and airports' annual operating budgets. Due to the variable nature of the rates, these leases are not recorded on our balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and lease liability. For leases with terms greater than 12 months, we record the related right-of-use asset and lease liability at the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less with purchase options or extension options that are not reasonably certain to be exercised are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. We combine lease and non-lease components, such as common area maintenance costs, in calculating the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for all asset groups except for our capacity purchase agreements ("CPAs"), which contain embedded leases for regional aircraft. In addition to the lease component cost for regional aircraft, our CPAs also include non-lease components primarily related to the regional carriers' operating costs incurred in providing regional aircraft services. We allocate consideration for the lease components and non-lease components of each CPA based on their relative standalone values. Lease Cost . The Company's lease cost for the three and nine months ended September 30 included the following components (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Operating lease cost $ 255 $ 302 $ 786 $ 940 Variable and short-term lease cost 643 664 1,910 1,944 Amortization of finance lease assets 15 17 51 57 Interest on finance lease liabilities 27 17 86 26 Sublease income (8 ) (9 ) (25 ) (30 ) Total lease cost $ 932 $ 991 $ 2,808 $ 2,937 Lease terms and commitments . United's leases include aircraft leases for aircraft that are directly leased by United and aircraft that are operated by regional carriers on United's behalf under CPAs (but excluding aircraft owned by United) and non-aircraft leases. Aircraft operating leases relate to leases of 117 mainline and 325 regional aircraft while finance leases relate to leases of 26 mainline and 28 regional aircraft. United's aircraft leases have remaining lease terms of one month to 10 years with expiration dates ranging from 2019 through 2029 . Under the terms of most aircraft leases, United has the right to purchase the aircraft at the end of the lease term, in some cases at fair market value, and in others, at a percentage of cost. Non-aircraft leases have remaining lease terms of one month to 34 years , with expiration dates ranging from 2019 through 2053 . The table below summarizes the Company's scheduled future minimum lease payments under operating and finance leases, recorded on the balance sheet, as of September 30, 2019 (in millions): Operating Leases Finance Leases Last three months of 2019 $ 195 $ 80 2020 1,004 58 2021 788 54 2022 660 44 2023 647 33 After 2023 4,611 70 Minimum lease payments 7,905 339 Imputed interest (2,186 ) (61 ) Present value of minimum lease payments 5,719 278 Less: current maturities of lease obligations (778 ) (92 ) Long-term lease obligations $ 4,941 $ 186 As of September 30, 2019 , we have additional leases of approximately $915 million for several mainline aircraft, regional jets under a CPA and a maintenance facility that have not yet commenced. These leases will commence between 2019 and 2020 with lease terms of up to 34 years . To the extent a lease agreement includes an extension option that is reasonably certain to be exercised, we have recognized those amounts as part of our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. Our lease agreements do not provide a readily determinable implicit rate nor is it available to us from our lessors. Instead, we estimate United's incremental borrowing rate based on information available at lease commencement in order to discount lease payments to present value. The table below presents additional information related to our leases as of September 30 : 2019 2018 Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases 11 years 11 years Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases 5 years 5 years Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases 5.3 % 5.2 % Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases 44.8 % (a) 39.5 % (a) (a) During the third quarter of 2018, United entered into an agreement with the lessor of 54 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft to purchase those aircraft in 2019. The provisions of these lease agreements resulted in a change in accounting classification of these leases from operating leases to finance leases up until the purchase date. The discount rates used for these leases were adjusted so that the present value of lease payments did not exceed the fair value of the asset being recognized. The table below presents supplemental cash flow information related to leases during the nine months ended September 30 (in millions): 2019 2018 Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities: Operating cash flows for operating leases $ 743 $ 842 Operating cash flows for finance leases 63 30 Financing cash flows for finance leases 105 57
LEASES	LEASES United leases aircraft, airport passenger terminal space, aircraft hangars and related maintenance facilities, cargo terminals, other airport facilities, other commercial real estate, office and computer equipment and vehicles, among other items. Certain of these leases include provisions for variable lease payments which are based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relative leased square footage, available seat miles, enplaned passengers, passenger facility charges, terminal equipment usage fees, departures, and airports' annual operating budgets. Due to the variable nature of the rates, these leases are not recorded on our balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and lease liability. For leases with terms greater than 12 months, we record the related right-of-use asset and lease liability at the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less with purchase options or extension options that are not reasonably certain to be exercised are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. We combine lease and non-lease components, such as common area maintenance costs, in calculating the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for all asset groups except for our capacity purchase agreements ("CPAs"), which contain embedded leases for regional aircraft. In addition to the lease component cost for regional aircraft, our CPAs also include non-lease components primarily related to the regional carriers' operating costs incurred in providing regional aircraft services. We allocate consideration for the lease components and non-lease components of each CPA based on their relative standalone values. Lease Cost . The Company's lease cost for the three and nine months ended September 30 included the following components (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Operating lease cost $ 255 $ 302 $ 786 $ 940 Variable and short-term lease cost 643 664 1,910 1,944 Amortization of finance lease assets 15 17 51 57 Interest on finance lease liabilities 27 17 86 26 Sublease income (8 ) (9 ) (25 ) (30 ) Total lease cost $ 932 $ 991 $ 2,808 $ 2,937 Lease terms and commitments . United's leases include aircraft leases for aircraft that are directly leased by United and aircraft that are operated by regional carriers on United's behalf under CPAs (but excluding aircraft owned by United) and non-aircraft leases. Aircraft operating leases relate to leases of 117 mainline and 325 regional aircraft while finance leases relate to leases of 26 mainline and 28 regional aircraft. United's aircraft leases have remaining lease terms of one month to 10 years with expiration dates ranging from 2019 through 2029 . Under the terms of most aircraft leases, United has the right to purchase the aircraft at the end of the lease term, in some cases at fair market value, and in others, at a percentage of cost. Non-aircraft leases have remaining lease terms of one month to 34 years , with expiration dates ranging from 2019 through 2053 . The table below summarizes the Company's scheduled future minimum lease payments under operating and finance leases, recorded on the balance sheet, as of September 30, 2019 (in millions): Operating Leases Finance Leases Last three months of 2019 $ 195 $ 80 2020 1,004 58 2021 788 54 2022 660 44 2023 647 33 After 2023 4,611 70 Minimum lease payments 7,905 339 Imputed interest (2,186 ) (61 ) Present value of minimum lease payments 5,719 278 Less: current maturities of lease obligations (778 ) (92 ) Long-term lease obligations $ 4,941 $ 186 As of September 30, 2019 , we have additional leases of approximately $915 million for several mainline aircraft, regional jets under a CPA and a maintenance facility that have not yet commenced. These leases will commence between 2019 and 2020 with lease terms of up to 34 years . To the extent a lease agreement includes an extension option that is reasonably certain to be exercised, we have recognized those amounts as part of our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. Our lease agreements do not provide a readily determinable implicit rate nor is it available to us from our lessors. Instead, we estimate United's incremental borrowing rate based on information available at lease commencement in order to discount lease payments to present value. The table below presents additional information related to our leases as of September 30 : 2019 2018 Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases 11 years 11 years Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases 5 years 5 years Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases 5.3 % 5.2 % Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases 44.8 % (a) 39.5 % (a) (a) During the third quarter of 2018, United entered into an agreement with the lessor of 54 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft to purchase those aircraft in 2019. The provisions of these lease agreements resulted in a change in accounting classification of these leases from operating leases to finance leases up until the purchase date. The discount rates used for these leases were adjusted so that the present value of lease payments did not exceed the fair value of the asset being recognized. The table below presents supplemental cash flow information related to leases during the nine months ended September 30 (in millions): 2019 2018 Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities: Operating cash flows for operating leases $ 743 $ 842 Operating cash flows for finance leases 63 30 Financing cash flows for finance leases 105 57

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Commitments. As of September 30, 2019 , United had firm commitments and options to purchase aircraft from The Boeing Company ("Boeing"), Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") and Embraer S.A. ("Embraer") presented in the table below: Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries Aircraft Type Number of Firm Last Three Months of 2019 2020 After 2020 Airbus A350 45 — — 45 Boeing 737 MAX 171 16 28 127 Boeing 777-300ER 4 2 2 — Boeing 787 18 2 15 1 Embraer E175 29 9 20 — (a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft. The aircraft listed in the table above are scheduled for delivery through 2027 . To the extent the Company and the aircraft manufacturers with whom the Company has existing orders for new aircraft agree to modify the contracts governing those orders, the amount and timing of the Company's future capital commitments could change. United also has agreements to purchase 20 used Airbus A319 aircraft with expected delivery dates through 2022 and 20 used Boeing 737-700 aircraft with expected delivery dates in 2019 through 2021 . On March 13, 2019 , the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order prohibiting the operation of Boeing 737 MAX series airplanes by U.S. certificated operators (the "FAA Order"). As a result, the Company grounded all 14 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet. Prior to the grounding, the Company operated approximately 50 flights a day on these aircraft, and expected, given the anticipated delivery schedule, to operate approximately 110 flights a day by the end of the year. The FAA Order also resulted in Boeing suspending delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft. The extent of the delay to the scheduled deliveries of the 737 MAX aircraft included in the table above is expected to be impacted by the length of time the FAA Order remains in place, Boeing's production rate and the pace at which Boeing can deliver aircraft following the lifting of the FAA Order, among other factors. During the third quarter of 2018, United entered into an agreement with the lessor of 54 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft to purchase those aircraft in 2019. As of September 30, 2019 , United had purchased 36 of those aircraft. The table below summarizes United's commitments as of September 30, 2019 , which include aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and all non-aircraft capital commitments (in billions): Last three months of 2019 $ 1.5 2020 (a) 6.1 2021 3.8 2022 2.9 2023 2.3 After 2023 7.0 $ 23.6 (a) Commitments for 2020 are expected to be higher than other years displayed in the table above due to the large number of wide-body aircraft deliveries ( 17 new aircraft) scheduled in that year. Amounts are not adjusted for any potential changes in the delivery schedule of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Regional CPAs. The table below summarizes the Company's expected future payments through the end of the terms of our CPAs, excluding aircraft ownership costs and variable pass-through costs such as fuel and landing fees, among others (in billions): Last three months of 2019 $ 0.6 2020 2.2 2021 2.1 2022 1.8 2023 1.1 After 2023 4.5 $ 12.3 Guarantees. As of September 30, 2019 , United is the guarantor of approximately $1.9 billion in aggregate principal amount of tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds and interest thereon. These bonds, issued by various airport municipalities, are payable solely from rentals paid under long-term agreements with the respective governing bodies. The leasing arrangements associated with these obligations are accounted for as operating leases recognized on the Company's balance sheet with the associated expense recorded on a straight-line basis resulting in ratable accrual of the lease obligation over the expected lease term. The obligations associated with these tax-exempt special facilities revenue bonds are included in our lease commitments disclosed in Note 9 of this report. All of these bonds are due between 2020 and 2038 . In connection with funding the BRW Loan Agreement, the Company entered into an agreement with Kingsland, pursuant to which, in return for Kingsland's pledge of its 144.8 million shares of AVH common stock (having an implied value equivalent to 18.1 million ADRs) and its consent to Synergy's pledge of its AVH common stock to United under the BRW Loan Agreement and related agreements, United (1) granted to Kingsland the right to put its shares of AVH common stock to United at market price on the fifth anniversary of the BRW Loan Agreement, and (2) guaranteed Synergy's obligation to pay Kingsland the difference (which amount, if paid by United, will increase United's secured loan to Synergy by such amount) if the market price of AVH common stock on the fifth anniversary is less than $12 per ADR on the NYSE, for an aggregate maximum possible combined put payment and guarantee amount on the fifth anniversary of $217 million . In 2018, the Company recorded a liability of $31 million for the fair value of its guarantee to loan additional funds to Synergy if required. Any such additional loans to Synergy would be collateralized by BRW's shares of AVH stock and other collateral. A completed foreclosure of that collateral, as described in Note 7 of this report, might accelerate the exercise of the put option described above. On October 4, 2019, United and Kingsland delivered to AVH a commitment to provide AVH at least a $250 million senior secured convertible loan (of which United’s portion would be a maximum of $150 million ), which $250 million will become fully binding on United and Kingsland subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the successful completion of AVH's debt restructuring plan. Increased Cost Provisions. In United's financing transactions that include loans in which United is the borrower, United typically agrees to reimburse lenders for any reduced returns with respect to the loans due to any change in capital requirements and, in the case of loans with respect to which the interest rate is based on the London Interbank Offered Rate, for certain other increased costs that the lenders incur in carrying these loans as a result of any change in law, subject, in most cases, to obligations of the lenders to take certain limited steps to mitigate the requirement for, or the amount of, such increased costs. At September 30, 2019 , the Company had $3.4 billion of floating rate debt with remaining terms of up to 11 years that are subject to these increased cost provisions. In several financing transactions involving loans or leases from non-U.S. entities, with remaining terms of up to 11 years and an aggregate balance of $3.1 billion , the Company bears the risk of any change in tax laws that would subject loan or lease payments thereunder to non-U.S. entities to withholding taxes, subject to customary exclusions. As of September 30, 2019 , United is the guarantor of $136 million of aircraft mortgage debt issued by one of United's regional carriers. The aircraft mortgage debt is subject to similar increased cost provisions as described above for the Company's debt, and the Company would potentially be responsible for those costs under the guarantees. Labor Negotiations. As of September 30, 2019 , the Company had approximately 95,000 employees, of whom approximately 84% were represented by various U.S. labor organizations. On February 1, 2019, the collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association ("ALPA"), the labor union representing United's pilots, became amendable. The Company and ALPA are in negotiations for an amended agreement. The Company and UNITE HERE, the labor union representing United's Catering Operations employees, started negotiations for a first collective bargaining agreement in March 2019.

Debt

Debt	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
DEBT	DEBT As of September 30, 2019 , United had its entire capacity of $2.0 billion available under the revolving credit facility of the Amended and Restated Credit and Guaranty Agreement. As of September 30, 2019 , UAL and United were in compliance with their respective debt covenants. EETCs . In February and September 2019, United created new enhanced equipment trust certificates ("EETC") pass-through trusts, each of which issued pass-through certificates. The proceeds from the issuance of the pass-through certificates are used to purchase equipment notes issued by United and secured by its aircraft financed with the proceeds of such notes. The Company records the debt obligation upon issuance of the equipment notes rather than upon the initial issuance of the pass-through certificates. The pass-through certificates represent fractional undivided interests in the respective pass-through trusts and are not obligations of United. The payment obligations under the equipment notes are those of United. Proceeds received from the sale of pass-through certificates are initially held by a depositary in escrow for the benefit of the certificate holders until United issues equipment notes to the trust, which purchases such notes with a portion of the escrowed funds. These escrowed funds are not guaranteed by United and are not reported as debt on our consolidated balance sheet because the proceeds held by the depositary are not United's assets. Certain details of the pass-through trusts with proceeds received from issuance of debt in 2019 are as follows (in millions, except stated interest rate): EETC Issuance Date Class Face Amount Final expected distribution date Stated interest rate Total proceeds received from issuance of debt during 2019 and recorded as debt as of September 30, 2019 Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods September 2019 AA $ 702 May 2032 2.70% $ 76 $ 626 September 2019 A 287 May 2028 2.90% 31 256 September 2019 B 232 May 2028 3.50% 25 207 February 2019 AA 717 August 2031 4.15% 651 66 February 2019 A 296 August 2031 4.55% 269 27 $ 2,234 $ 1,052 $ 1,182 Approximately $93 million of the proceeds from the issuance of the February 2019 pass-through certificates (such certificates, the "2019-1 Pass Through Certificates") were expected to be used to purchase equipment notes issued by United and secured by three Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which aircraft were scheduled for delivery by Boeing in March, April and May of 2019. However, as a result of the FAA Order, United has not yet taken delivery of these three aircraft. If United is not in a position to take delivery of such 737 MAX aircraft on or prior to November 30, 2019, any funds remaining with the depositary in escrow at such time, together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon but without premium, will be distributed to the holders of the 2019-1 Pass Through Certificates. 4.875% Senior Note due 2025 . In May 2019, UAL issued $350 million aggregate principal amount of 4.875% Senior Notes due January 15, 2025 (the " 4.875% Senior Notes due 2025 "), which are fully and unconditionally guaranteed and recorded by United on its balance sheet. The indenture for the 4.875% Senior Notes due 2025 requires that, if certain changes of control of UAL occur, UAL offer to repurchase the 4.875% Senior Notes due 2025 for cash at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of such notes repurchased plus accrued and unpaid interest. The table below presents the Company's contractual principal payments (not including debt discount or debt issuance costs) at September 30, 2019 under then-outstanding long-term debt agreements (in millions): Last three months of 2019 $ 511 2020 1,363 2021 1,355 2022 1,708 2023 758 After 2023 8,629 $ 14,324

Special Charges and Mark-to-Mar

Special Charges and Mark-to-Market ("MTM") Adjustments	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]
SPECIAL CHARGES AND MARK-TO-MARKET (MTM) ADJUSTMENTS	SPECIAL CHARGES AND MARK-TO-MARKET ("MTM") ADJUSTMENTS For the three and nine months ended September 30, special charges and MTM adjustments consisted of the following (in millions): Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 2019 2018 Severance and benefit costs $ 2 $ 9 $ 14 $ 34 Impairment of assets — 11 69 145 (Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges 25 (3 ) 33 7 Total operating special charges 27 17 116 186 Nonoperating MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments (21 ) (29 ) (72 ) 61 Total special charges and MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments 6 (12 ) 44 247 Income tax expense (benefit) (2 ) 3 (10 ) (55 ) Total special charges and MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments, net of income tax $ 4 $ (9 ) $ 34 $ 192 2019 During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded management severance of $2 million and $12 million , respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded $2 million of severance and benefit costs related to a voluntary early-out program for its technicians and related employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. In the first quarter of 2017 , approximately 1,000 technicians and related employees elected to voluntarily separate from the Company and received a severance payment, with a maximum value of $100,000 per participant, based on years of service, with retirement dates through early 2019. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded a $47 million impairment for aircraft engines removed from operations, an $8 million f air value adjustment for aircraft purchased off lease, a $6 million charge for the early termination of several regional aircraft finance leases and $8 million in other miscellaneous impairments. During the three months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded charges of $18 million for the settlement of certain legal matters and $15 million related to a contract termination, along with an $8 million gain primarily related to the sale and disposition of certain assets. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded $8 million of losses on the sale of assets. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded gains of $25 million and $77 million , respectively, for the change in market value of certain of its equity investments, primarily Azul. Also, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 , the Company recorded losses of $4 million and $5 million , respectively, for the change in fair value of the AVH Derivative Assets. 2018 During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , the Company recorded $5 million and $19 million , respectively, of severance and benefit costs related to the early-out program described above and management severance of $4 million and $15 million , respectively. In May 2018, the Brazil–United States open skies agreement was ratified, which provides air carriers with unrestricted access between the United States and Brazil. The Company determined that the approval of the open skies agreement impaired the entire value of its Brazil route authorities because the agreement removed all limitations or reciprocity requirements for flights between the United States and Brazil. Accordingly, the Company recorded a $105 million special charge to write off the entire value of the intangible asset associated with its Brazil routes. Also, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , the Company recorded $11 million and $40 million , respectively, of fair value adjustments for aircraft purchased off lease, write-off of unexercised aircraft purchase options and other impairments related to certain fleet types and international slots no longer in use. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , the Company recorded $3 million of gains primarily related to the sale of aircraft engines and $7 million of losses primarily related to contract termination of regional aircraft operations in Guam, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 , the Company recorded gains of $29 million and losses of $61 million

Recently Issued Accounting St_2

Recently Issued Accounting Standards (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
Recently Issued Accounting Standards	The Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases (the "New Lease Standard"), effective January 1, 2019. The Company used the modified retrospective approach for all leases existing at or commencing after January 1, 2017 and elected the package of transition practical expedients for expired or existing contracts, which does not require reassessment of: (1) whether any of our contracts are or contain leases, (2) lease classification and (3) initial direct costs. The New Lease Standard prescribes that an entity should recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases at the commencement date of each lease and recognize expenses on their income statements similar to the prior FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840, Leases ("Topic 840"). The adoption of the New Lease Standard had the same impact on the financial statements of United as it had on the financial statements of UAL. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select accounts and captions of UAL's statement of consolidated operations (in millions, except per share amounts): Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Regional capacity purchase $ 663 $ 13 $ 676 $ 1,963 $ 36 $ 1,999 Landing fees and other rent 596 22 618 1,757 65 1,822 Depreciation and amortization 564 (19 ) 545 1,662 (55 ) 1,607 Interest expense (187 ) 15 (172 ) (540 ) 43 (497 ) Interest capitalized 18 (2 ) 16 51 (5 ) 46 Net income 836 (3 ) 833 1,667 (6 ) 1,661 Earnings per share, basic 3.07 (0.01 ) 3.06 6.02 (0.02 ) 6.00 Earnings per share, diluted 3.06 (0.01 ) 3.05 5.99 (0.01 ) 5.98 The expense for leases under the New Lease Standard will continue to be classified in their historical income statement captions (primarily in Aircraft rent, Landing fees and other rent and Regional capacity purchase in our statements of consolidated operations). The adoption of the New Lease Standard resulted in the recharacterization of certain leases from capital leases under Topic 840 to operating leases under the New Lease Standard. This change resulted in less depreciation and amortization and interest expense associated with capital leases offset by higher lease expense associated with operating leases. The recharacterization is associated with leases of certain airport facilities that were derecognized as part of the build-to-suit transition guidance under the New Lease Standard. The reduction in capitalized interest is also associated with the same airport facilities leases. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on UAL's balance sheet accounts and captions (in millions): December 31, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts $ 1,346 $ 80 $ 1,426 Prepaid expenses and other 913 (180 ) 733 Flight equipment, owned and finance leases (a) 32,636 (37 ) 32,599 Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases (a) 7,930 (1,041 ) 6,889 Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases (a) (13,414 ) 148 (13,266 ) Operating lease right-of-use assets — 5,262 5,262 Current maturities of finance leases (a) 149 (26 ) 123 Current maturities of operating leases — 719 719 Other current liabilities 619 (66 ) 553 Long-term obligations under finance leases (a) 1,134 (910 ) 224 Long-term obligations under operating leases — 5,276 5,276 Deferred income taxes 814 14 828 Other long-term liabilities 1,832 (822 ) 1,010 Retained earnings 6,668 47 6,715 (a) Finance leases, under the New Lease Standard, are the equivalent of capital leases under Topic 840. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select line items of UAL's statement of consolidated cash flows (in millions): Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Net cash provided by operating activities $ 5,080 $ (45 ) $ 5,035 Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Capital expenditures (2,592 ) 96 (2,496 ) Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 1,332 (91 ) 1,241 Principal payments under finance leases (98 ) 41 (57 ) The adoption of the New Lease Standard primarily resulted in the recording of assets and liabilities of our operating leases on our consolidated balance sheets. Certain amounts recorded for prepaid and accrued rent associated with historical operating leases were reclassified to the newly captioned Operating lease right-of-use assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Also, certain leases designated under Topic 840 as owned assets and capital leases are not considered to be assets under the New Lease Standard and have been removed from the consolidated balance sheets, along with the related capital lease liability, due to the leases having variable lease payments. In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses ("ASU 2016-13"). The main objective is to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. The new accounting replaces the incurred loss methodology with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to calculate credit loss estimates. For trade receivables, loans and held-to-maturity debt securities, entities will be required to estimate lifetime expected credit losses. For available-for-sale debt securities, entities will be required to recognize an allowance for credit losses rather than a reduction to the carrying value of the asset. The new accounting is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and early adoption is permitted as of the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2016-13 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair value of the financial instruments included in the tables above was determined as follows: Description Fair Value Methodology Cash and cash equivalents The carrying amounts approximate fair value because of the short-term maturity of these assets. Short-term investments, Equity securities and Restricted cash Fair value is based on (a) the trading prices of the investment or similar instruments, (b) an income approach, which uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts into a single present amount based on current market expectations about those future amounts when observable trading prices are not available, or (c) broker quotes obtained by third-party valuation services. Other investments measured at NAV In accordance with the relevant accounting standards, certain investments that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in the table above are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the statement of financial position. The investments measured using NAV are shares of mutual funds that invest in fixed-income instruments including bonds, debt securities, and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities. The Company can redeem its shares at any time at NAV subject to a three-day settlement period. Long-term debt Fair values were based on either market prices or the discounted amount of future cash flows using our current incremental rate of borrowing for similar liabilities or assets. AVH Derivative Assets Fair values are calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. Unobservable inputs include expected volatility, expected dividend yield and control and acquisition premiums.
Leases	United leases aircraft, airport passenger terminal space, aircraft hangars and related maintenance facilities, cargo terminals, other airport facilities, other commercial real estate, office and computer equipment and vehicles, among other items. Certain of these leases include provisions for variable lease payments which are based on several factors, including, but not limited to, relative leased square footage, available seat miles, enplaned passengers, passenger facility charges, terminal equipment usage fees, departures, and airports' annual operating budgets. Due to the variable nature of the rates, these leases are not recorded on our balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and lease liability. For leases with terms greater than 12 months, we record the related right-of-use asset and lease liability at the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less with purchase options or extension options that are not reasonably certain to be exercised are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. We combine lease and non-lease components, such as common area maintenance costs, in calculating the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for all asset groups except for our capacity purchase agreements ("CPAs"), which contain embedded leases for regional aircraft. In addition to the lease component cost for regional aircraft, our CPAs also include non-lease components primarily related to the regional carriers' operating costs incurred in providing regional aircraft services. We allocate consideration for the lease components and non-lease components of each CPA based on their relative standalone values.

Recently Issued Accounting St_3

Recently Issued Accounting Standards (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
Impact of the Adoption of the New Lease Standard	The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on UAL's balance sheet accounts and captions (in millions): December 31, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts $ 1,346 $ 80 $ 1,426 Prepaid expenses and other 913 (180 ) 733 Flight equipment, owned and finance leases (a) 32,636 (37 ) 32,599 Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases (a) 7,930 (1,041 ) 6,889 Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases (a) (13,414 ) 148 (13,266 ) Operating lease right-of-use assets — 5,262 5,262 Current maturities of finance leases (a) 149 (26 ) 123 Current maturities of operating leases — 719 719 Other current liabilities 619 (66 ) 553 Long-term obligations under finance leases (a) 1,134 (910 ) 224 Long-term obligations under operating leases — 5,276 5,276 Deferred income taxes 814 14 828 Other long-term liabilities 1,832 (822 ) 1,010 Retained earnings 6,668 47 6,715 (a) Finance leases, under the New Lease Standard, are the equivalent of capital leases under Topic 840. The table below presents the impact of the adoption of the New Lease Standard on select line items of UAL's statement of consolidated cash flows (in millions): Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Net cash provided by operating activities $ 5,080 $ (45 ) $ 5,035 Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Capital expenditures (2,592 ) 96 (2,496 ) Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 1,332 (91 ) 1,241 Principal payments under finance leases (98 ) 41 (57 ) Three Months Ended September 30, 2018 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted As Reported New Lease Standard Adjustments As Adjusted Regional capacity purchase $ 663 $ 13 $ 676 $ 1,963 $ 36 $ 1,999 Landing fees and other rent 596 22 618 1,757 65 1,822 Depreciation and amortization 564 (19 ) 545 1,662 (55 ) 1,607 Interest expense (187 ) 15 (172 ) (540 ) 43 (497 ) Interest capitalized 18 (2 ) 16 51 (5 ) 46 Net income 836 (3 ) 833 1,667 (6 ) 1,661 Earnings per share, basic 3.07 (0.01 ) 3.06 6.02 (0.02 ) 6.00 Earnings per share, diluted 3.06 (0.01 ) 3.05 5.99 (0.01 ) 5.98

Revenue (Tables)

Revenue (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]
Operating Revenue by Geographic Region	The following table presents operating revenue by geographic region (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Domestic (U.S. and Canada) $ 7,094 $ 6,762 $ 20,056 $ 18,927 Atlantic 2,103 2,073 5,627 5,427 Pacific 1,280 1,339 3,867 3,855 Latin America 903 829 2,821 2,603 Total $ 11,380 $ 11,003 $ 32,371 $ 30,812
Roll Forward of Frequent Flyer Deferred Revenue	The table below presents a roll forward of Frequent flyer deferred revenue (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - beginning balance $ 5,198 $ 4,989 $ 5,005 $ 4,783 Miles awarded 662 616 1,951 1,826 Travel miles redeemed (Passenger revenue) (607 ) (580 ) (1,634 ) (1,508 ) Non-travel miles redeemed (Other operating revenue) (34 ) (38 ) (103 ) (114 ) Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - ending balance $ 5,219 $ 4,987 $ 5,219 $ 4,987

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share	The computations of UAL's basic and diluted earnings per share are set forth below (in millions, except per share amounts): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Earnings available to common stockholders $ 1,024 $ 833 $ 2,368 $ 1,661 Basic weighted-average shares outstanding 255.3 272.4 261.0 277.0 Effect of employee stock awards 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.0 Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding 256.4 273.6 262.0 278.0 Earnings per share, basic $ 4.01 $ 3.06 $ 9.07 $ 6.00 Earnings per share, diluted $ 3.99 $ 3.05 $ 9.04 $ 5.98

Accumulated Other Comprehensi_2

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Equity [Abstract]
Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, Net of Tax	The tables below present the components of the Company's accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax ("AOCI") (in millions): UAL Pension and Other Postretirement Liabilities Investments and Other Deferred Taxes Total Balance at June 30, 2019 $ (675 ) $ 3 $ (135 ) $ (807 ) Changes in value 394 — (87 ) 307 Amounts reclassified to earnings (4 ) (a) (1 ) 1 (4 ) Balance at September 30, 2019 $ (285 ) $ 2 $ (221 ) $ (504 ) Balance at December 31, 2018 $ (663 ) $ (4 ) $ (136 ) $ (803 ) Changes in value 370 7 (83 ) 294 Amounts reclassified to earnings 8 (a) (1 ) (2 ) 5 Balance at September 30, 2019 $ (285 ) $ 2 $ (221 ) $ (504 ) Balance at June 30, 2018 $ (1,048 ) $ (2 ) $ (52 ) $ (1,102 ) Changes in value — 1 — 1 Amounts reclassified to earnings 15 (a) — (3 ) 12 Balance at September 30, 2018 $ (1,033 ) $ (1 ) $ (55 ) $ (1,089 ) Balance at December 31, 2017 $ (1,102 ) $ (6 ) $ (39 ) $ (1,147 ) Changes in value 24 (2 ) (6 ) 16 Amounts reclassified to earnings 45 (a) — (10 ) 35 Amounts reclassified to retained earnings — 7 — 7 Balance at September 30, 2018 $ (1,033 ) $ (1 ) $ (55 ) $ (1,089 ) (a) This AOCI component is included in the computation of net periodic pension and other postretirement costs (See Note 6 to the financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 for additional information).

Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)

Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Employee-related Liabilities [Abstract]
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost	The Company's net periodic benefit cost includes the following components for the three months ended September 30 (in millions): Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits Affected Line Item 2019 2018 2019 2018 Service cost $ 46 $ 57 $ 2 $ 3 Salaries and related costs Interest cost 56 54 10 16 Miscellaneous, net Expected return on plan assets (73 ) (73 ) — (1 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss 29 32 (12 ) (8 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of prior service credit — — (23 ) (9 ) Miscellaneous, net Settlement loss 2 — — — Miscellaneous, net Total $ 60 $ 70 $ (23 ) $ 1 The Company's net periodic benefit cost includes the following components for the nine months ended September 30 (in millions): Pension Benefits Other Postretirement Benefits Affected Line Item 2019 2018 2019 2018 Service cost $ 138 $ 171 $ 7 $ 9 Salaries and related costs Interest cost 170 162 39 46 Miscellaneous, net Expected return on plan assets (218 ) (219 ) (1 ) (1 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss 87 97 (42 ) (24 ) Miscellaneous, net Amortization of prior service credit — — (42 ) (28 ) Miscellaneous, net Settlement loss 5 — — Miscellaneous, net Total $ 182 $ 211 $ (39 ) $ 2
Information Related to Share-Based Compensation	The table below presents information related to share-based compensation (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Share-based compensation expense $ 33 $ 29 $ 70 $ 73 September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Unrecognized share-based compensation $ 90 $ 68

Financial Instruments and Fai_2

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis	The table below presents disclosures about the financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis in UAL's financial statements (in millions): September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,959 $ 2,959 $ — $ — $ 1,694 $ 1,694 $ — $ — Short-term investments: Corporate debt 1,016 — 1,016 — 1,023 — 1,023 — Asset-backed securities 706 — 706 — 746 — 746 — U.S. government and agency notes 131 — 131 — 108 — 108 — Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service ("CDARS") 42 — 42 — 75 — 75 — Other fixed-income securities 80 — 80 — 116 — 116 — Other investments measured at net asset value ("NAV") 192 — — — 188 — — — Restricted cash 104 104 — — 105 105 — — Long-term investments: Equity securities 322 322 — — 249 249 — — AVH Derivative Assets (defined below) 6 — — 6 11 — — 11
Carrying Values and Estimated Fair Values of Financial Instruments	The table below presents the carrying values and estimated fair values of financial instruments not presented in the tables above (in millions): September 30, 2019 December 31, 2018 Carrying Amount Fair Value Carrying Amount Fair Value Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Long-term debt $ 14,143 $ 14,832 $ — $ 11,131 $ 3,701 $ 13,445 $ 13,450 $ — $ 9,525 $ 3,925

Leases (Tables)

Leases (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Components of Lease Cost	The Company's lease cost for the three and nine months ended September 30 included the following components (in millions): Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 2018 2019 2018 Operating lease cost $ 255 $ 302 $ 786 $ 940 Variable and short-term lease cost 643 664 1,910 1,944 Amortization of finance lease assets 15 17 51 57 Interest on finance lease liabilities 27 17 86 26 Sublease income (8 ) (9 ) (25 ) (30 ) Total lease cost $ 932 $ 991 $ 2,808 $ 2,937
Summary of Scheduled Future Minimum Lease Payments under Operating Leases	The table below summarizes the Company's scheduled future minimum lease payments under operating and finance leases, recorded on the balance sheet, as of September 30, 2019 (in millions): Operating Leases Finance Leases Last three months of 2019 $ 195 $ 80 2020 1,004 58 2021 788 54 2022 660 44 2023 647 33 After 2023 4,611 70 Minimum lease payments 7,905 339 Imputed interest (2,186 ) (61 ) Present value of minimum lease payments 5,719 278 Less: current maturities of lease obligations (778 ) (92 ) Long-term lease obligations $ 4,941 $ 186
Summary of Scheduled Future Minimum Lease Payments under Finance Leases	The table below summarizes the Company's scheduled future minimum lease payments under operating and finance leases, recorded on the balance sheet, as of September 30, 2019 (in millions): Operating Leases Finance Leases Last three months of 2019 $ 195 $ 80 2020 1,004 58 2021 788 54 2022 660 44 2023 647 33 After 2023 4,611 70 Minimum lease payments 7,905 339 Imputed interest (2,186 ) (61 ) Present value of minimum lease payments 5,719 278 Less: current maturities of lease obligations (778 ) (92 ) Long-term lease obligations $ 4,941 $ 186
Additional Information Related to Leases	The table below presents additional information related to our leases as of September 30 : 2019 2018 Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases 11 years 11 years Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases 5 years 5 years Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases 5.3 % 5.2 % Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases 44.8 % (a) 39.5 % (a) (a) During the third quarter of 2018, United entered into an agreement with the lessor of 54 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft to purchase those aircraft in 2019. The provisions of these lease agreements resulted in a change in accounting classification of these leases from operating leases to finance leases up until the purchase date. The discount rates used for these leases were adjusted so that the present value of lease payments did not exceed the fair value of the asset being recognized.
Supplemental Cash Flow Information Related to Leases	The table below presents supplemental cash flow information related to leases during the nine months ended September 30 (in millions): 2019 2018 Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities: Operating cash flows for operating leases $ 743 $ 842 Operating cash flows for finance leases 63 30 Financing cash flows for finance leases 105 57

Commitments and Contingencies (

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Firm Commitments and Options to Purchase Aircraft and Summary of Commitments	As of September 30, 2019 , United had firm commitments and options to purchase aircraft from The Boeing Company ("Boeing"), Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") and Embraer S.A. ("Embraer") presented in the table below: Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries Aircraft Type Number of Firm Last Three Months of 2019 2020 After 2020 Airbus A350 45 — — 45 Boeing 737 MAX 171 16 28 127 Boeing 777-300ER 4 2 2 — Boeing 787 18 2 15 1 Embraer E175 29 9 20 — (a) United also has options and purchase rights for additional aircraft. The table below summarizes United's commitments as of September 30, 2019 , which include aircraft and related spare engines, aircraft improvements and all non-aircraft capital commitments (in billions): Last three months of 2019 $ 1.5 2020 (a) 6.1 2021 3.8 2022 2.9 2023 2.3 After 2023 7.0 $ 23.6 (a) Commitments for 2020 are expected to be higher than other years displayed in the table above due to the large number of wide-body aircraft deliveries ( 17 new aircraft) scheduled in that year. Amounts are not adjusted for any potential changes in the delivery schedule of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Summary of the Expected Future Payments Through the End of the Terms of CPAs	The table below summarizes the Company's expected future payments through the end of the terms of our CPAs, excluding aircraft ownership costs and variable pass-through costs such as fuel and landing fees, among others (in billions): Last three months of 2019 $ 0.6 2020 2.2 2021 2.1 2022 1.8 2023 1.1 After 2023 4.5 $ 12.3

Debt (Tables)

Debt (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Details of Pass Through Trusts	Certain details of the pass-through trusts with proceeds received from issuance of debt in 2019 are as follows (in millions, except stated interest rate): EETC Issuance Date Class Face Amount Final expected distribution date Stated interest rate Total proceeds received from issuance of debt during 2019 and recorded as debt as of September 30, 2019 Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods September 2019 AA $ 702 May 2032 2.70% $ 76 $ 626 September 2019 A 287 May 2028 2.90% 31 256 September 2019 B 232 May 2028 3.50% 25 207 February 2019 AA 717 August 2031 4.15% 651 66 February 2019 A 296 August 2031 4.55% 269 27 $ 2,234 $ 1,052 $ 1,182
Contractual Principal Payments under Long-Term Debt Agreements	The table below presents the Company's contractual principal payments (not including debt discount or debt issuance costs) at September 30, 2019 under then-outstanding long-term debt agreements (in millions): Last three months of 2019 $ 511 2020 1,363 2021 1,355 2022 1,708 2023 758 After 2023 8,629 $ 14,324

Special Charges and Mark-to-M_2

Special Charges and Mark-to-Market ("MTM") Adjustments (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]
Components of Special Charges	For the three and nine months ended September 30, special charges and MTM adjustments consisted of the following (in millions): Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended 2019 2018 2019 2018 Severance and benefit costs $ 2 $ 9 $ 14 $ 34 Impairment of assets — 11 69 145 (Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges 25 (3 ) 33 7 Total operating special charges 27 17 116 186 Nonoperating MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments (21 ) (29 ) (72 ) 61 Total special charges and MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments 6 (12 ) 44 247 Income tax expense (benefit) (2 ) 3 (10 ) (55 ) Total special charges and MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments, net of income tax $ 4 $ (9 ) $ 34 $ 192

Recently Issued Accounting St_4

Recently Issued Accounting Standards - Impact of the Adoption of the New Lease Standard on the Statement of Consolidated Operations (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Regional capacity purchase	$ 721	$ 676	[1]	$ 2,124	$ 1,999	[1]
Landing fees and other rent	645	618	[1]	1,893	1,822	[1]
Depreciation and amortization	575	545	[1]	1,682	1,607	[1]
Interest expense	(191)	(172)	[1]	(570)	(497)	[1]
Interest capitalized	22	16	[1]	65	46	[1]
Net income	$ 1,024	$ 833	[1],[2],[3]	$ 2,368	$ 1,661	[1],[2],[3]
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 4.01	$ 3.06	[1]	$ 9.07	$ 6	[1]
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 3.99	$ 3.05	[1]	$ 9.04	$ 5.98	[1]
As Reported
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Regional capacity purchase		$ 663			$ 1,963
Landing fees and other rent		596			1,757
Depreciation and amortization		564			1,662
Interest expense		(187)			(540)
Interest capitalized		18			51
Net income		$ 836			$ 1,667
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)		$ 3.07			$ 6.02
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)		$ 3.06			$ 5.99
New Lease Standard | Adjustments
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Regional capacity purchase		$ 13			$ 36
Landing fees and other rent		22			65
Depreciation and amortization		(19)			(55)
Interest expense		15			43
Interest capitalized		(2)			(5)
Net income		$ (3)			$ (6)
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)		$ (0.01)			$ (0.02)
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)		$ (0.01)			$ (0.01)
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[3]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Recently Issued Accounting St_5

Recently Issued Accounting Standards - Impact of the Adoption of the New Lease Standard on the Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 1,617	$ 1,426	[1]
Prepaid expenses and other	725	733	[1]
Flight equipment, owned and finance leases	34,413	32,599	[1]
Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases	7,626	6,889	[1]
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases	(14,153)	(13,266)	[1]
Operating lease right-of-use assets	4,937	5,262	[1]
Current maturities of finance leases	92	123	[1]
Current maturities of operating leases	778	719	[1]
Other current liabilities	574	553	[1]
Long-term obligations under finance leases	186	224	[1]
Long-term obligations under operating leases	4,941	5,276	[1]
Deferred income taxes	1,594	828	[1]
Other long-term liabilities	981	1,010	[1]
Retained earnings	$ 9,075	6,715	[1]
As Reported
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts		1,346
Prepaid expenses and other		913
Flight equipment, owned and finance leases		32,636
Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases		7,930
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases		(13,414)
Operating lease right-of-use assets		0
Current maturities of finance leases		149
Current maturities of operating leases		0
Other current liabilities		619
Long-term obligations under finance leases		1,134
Long-term obligations under operating leases		0
Deferred income taxes		814
Other long-term liabilities		1,832
Retained earnings		6,668
New Lease Standard | Adjustments
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Receivables, less allowance for doubtful accounts		80
Prepaid expenses and other		(180)
Flight equipment, owned and finance leases		(37)
Other property and equipment, owned and finance leases		(1,041)
Accumulated depreciation and amortization, owned and finance leases		148
Operating lease right-of-use assets		5,262
Current maturities of finance leases		(26)
Current maturities of operating leases		719
Other current liabilities		(66)
Long-term obligations under finance leases		(910)
Long-term obligations under operating leases		5,276
Deferred income taxes		14
Other long-term liabilities		(822)
Retained earnings		$ 47
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Recently Issued Accounting St_6

Recently Issued Accounting Standards - Impact of the Adoption of the New Lease Standard on the Statement of Cash Flows (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities	$ 5,728	$ 5,035	[1]
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures	(3,336)	(2,496)	[1]
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	1,109	1,241	[1]
Principal payments under finance leases	$ (105)	(57)	[1]
As Reported
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities		5,080
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures		(2,592)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt		1,332
Principal payments under finance leases		(98)
New Lease Standard | Adjustments
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities		(45)
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures		96
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt		(91)
Principal payments under finance leases		$ 41
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Revenue - Operating Revenue by

Revenue - Operating Revenue by Geographic Region (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Operating revenue	$ 11,380	$ 11,003	[1]	$ 32,371	$ 30,812	[1]
Domestic (U.S. and Canada)
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Operating revenue	7,094	6,762		20,056	18,927
Atlantic
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Operating revenue	2,103	2,073		5,627	5,427
Pacific
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Operating revenue	1,280	1,339		3,867	3,855
Latin America
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Operating revenue	$ 903	$ 829		$ 2,821	$ 2,603
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Revenue - Narrative (Details)

Revenue - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Revenue From Contract With Customer [Line Items]
Operating revenue	$ 11,380	$ 11,003	[1]	$ 32,371	$ 30,812	[1]
Advance Ticket Sales
Revenue From Contract With Customer [Line Items]
Revenue recognized	4,100	4,100		3,400	3,000
Ancillary Fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer [Line Items]
Operating revenue	645	572		1,900	1,600
Frequent Flyer
Revenue From Contract With Customer [Line Items]
Operating revenue	$ 489	$ 480		$ 1,500	$ 1,500
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Revenue - Roll Forward of Frequ

Revenue - Roll Forward of Frequent Flyer Deferred Revenue (Details) - Frequent Flyer - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Frequent Flyer Deferred Revenue [Roll Forward]
Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - beginning balance	$ 5,198	$ 4,989	$ 5,005	$ 4,783
Miles awarded	662	616	1,951	1,826
Travel miles redeemed (Passenger revenue)	(607)	(580)	(1,634)	(1,508)
Non-travel miles redeemed (Other operating revenue)	(34)	(38)	(103)	(114)
Total Frequent flyer deferred revenue - ending balance	$ 5,219	$ 4,987	$ 5,219	$ 4,987

Earnings Per Share - Computatio

Earnings Per Share - Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings available to common stockholders	$ 1,024	$ 833		$ 2,368	$ 1,661
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding (in shares)	255.3	272.4		261	277
Effect of employee stock awards (in shares)	1.1	1.2		1	1
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding (in shares)	256.4	273.6		262	278
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 4.01	$ 3.06	[1]	$ 9.07	$ 6	[1]
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 3.99	$ 3.05	[1]	$ 9.04	$ 5.98	[1]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Earnings Per Share - Narrative

Earnings Per Share - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) shares in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Jul. 15, 2019
Earnings Loss Per Share [Line Items]
Repurchases of common stock	$ 363,000,000	$ 34,000,000	$ 1,426,000,000	$ 1,010,000,000
Amount remaining under repurchase programs	$ 3,300,000,000		$ 3,300,000,000
Open Market Repurchase Program
Earnings Loss Per Share [Line Items]
Number of shares repurchased (in shares)	4.1		16.8
Repurchases of common stock	$ 400,000,000		$ 1,400,000,000
July 2019 Share Repurchase Program
Earnings Loss Per Share [Line Items]
Authorized amount under share repurchase program					$ 3,000,000,000

Accumulated Other Comprehensi_3

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) - Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, Net of Tax (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019		Sep. 30, 2018
Deferred Tax
Balance	$ (135)	$ (52)		$ (136)		$ (39)
Changes in value	(87)	0		(83)		(6)
Amounts reclassified to earnings	1	(3)		(2)		(10)
Amounts reclassified to retained earnings						0
Balance	(221)	(55)		(221)		(55)
Net of Tax
Balance	10,320	8,691	[1]	10,042	[1],[2]	8,788	[1]
Changes in value	307	1		294		16
Amounts reclassified to earnings	(4)	12		5		35
Amounts reclassified to retained earnings						7
Balance	11,301	9,518	[1]	11,301		9,518	[1]
Pension and Other Postretirement Liabilities
Before Tax
Balance	(675)	(1,048)		(663)		(1,102)
Changes in value	394	0		370		24
Amounts reclassified to earnings	(4)	15		8		45
Amounts reclassified to retained earnings						0
Balance	(285)	(1,033)		(285)		(1,033)
Investments and Other
Before Tax
Balance	3	(2)		(4)		(6)
Changes in value	0	1		7		(2)
Amounts reclassified to earnings	(1)	0		(1)		0
Amounts reclassified to retained earnings						7
Balance	2	(1)		2		(1)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Net of Tax
Balance	(807)	(1,102)	[1]	(803)	[1]	(1,147)	[1]
Balance	$ (504)	$ (1,089)	[1]	$ (504)		$ (1,089)	[1]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Income Taxes (Details)

Income Taxes (Details)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Effective income tax rate	24.10%	21.30%	22.90%	20.70%

Employee Benefit Plans - Compon

Employee Benefit Plans - Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Pension Benefits
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Service cost	$ 46	$ 57	$ 138	$ 171
Interest cost	56	54	170	162
Expected return on plan assets	(73)	(73)	(218)	(219)
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss	29	32	87	97
Amortization of prior service credit	0	0	0	0
Settlement loss	2	0	5	0
Total	60	70	182	211
Other Postretirement Benefits
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Service cost	2	3	7	9
Interest cost	10	16	39	46
Expected return on plan assets	0	(1)	(1)	(1)
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss	(12)	(8)	(42)	(24)
Amortization of prior service credit	(23)	(9)	(42)	(28)
Settlement loss	0	0		0
Total	$ (23)	$ 1	$ (39)	$ 2

Employee Benefit Plans - Narrat

Employee Benefit Plans - Narrative (Details) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)shares
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Number of days used to compute performance period average closing price of restricted stock units		20 days
RSUs
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Awards granted (in shares) | shares		1.1
Vesting period		3 years
Time-Vested RSUs
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Awards granted (in shares) | shares		0.8
Performance-Based RSUs
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Awards granted (in shares) | shares		0.3
Pension Benefits
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Employer contribution to tax-qualified defined benefit pension plans	$ 335	$ 635
Retiree Medical Benefits
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Discount rate	3.39%	3.39%
Decrease in projected benefit obligation due to plan amendment and remeasurement	$ 421
Offset to other comprehensive loss related to prior service credits	597
Actuarial loss	$ 176
Amortization period	7 years

Employee Benefit Plans - Inform

Employee Benefit Plans - Information Related to Share-Based Compensation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018
Employee-related Liabilities [Abstract]
Share-based compensation expense	$ 33	$ 29	$ 70	$ 73
Unrecognized share-based compensation	$ 90		$ 90		$ 68

BRW Term Loan (Details)

BRW Term Loan (Details) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Nov. 30, 2018
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Carrying amount of loan receivable	$ 494
BRW
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Loan amount		$ 456
Number of shares pledged as collateral (in shares)		516
Implied value equivalent of shares pledged as collateral (in ADRs)		64.5

Financial Instruments and Fai_3

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements - Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis (Details) - Measured on a Recurring Basis - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,959	$ 1,694
Restricted cash	104	105
Equity securities	322	249
AVH Derivative Assets	6	11
Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	2,959	1,694
Restricted cash	104	105
Equity securities	322	249
AVH Derivative Assets	0	0
Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Restricted cash	0	0
Equity securities	0	0
AVH Derivative Assets	0	0
Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Restricted cash	0	0
Equity securities	0	0
AVH Derivative Assets	6	11
Corporate debt
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	1,016	1,023
Corporate debt | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Corporate debt | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	1,016	1,023
Corporate debt | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Asset-backed securities
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	706	746
Asset-backed securities | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Asset-backed securities | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	706	746
Asset-backed securities | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
U.S. government and agency notes
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	131	108
U.S. government and agency notes | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
U.S. government and agency notes | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	131	108
U.S. government and agency notes | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service (CDARS)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	42	75
Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service (CDARS) | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service (CDARS) | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	42	75
Certificates of deposit placed through an account registry service (CDARS) | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Other fixed-income securities
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	80	116
Other fixed-income securities | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Other fixed-income securities | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	80	116
Other fixed-income securities | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Other investments measured at net asset value (NAV)
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	192	188
Other investments measured at net asset value (NAV) | Level 1
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Other investments measured at net asset value (NAV) | Level 2
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	0	0
Other investments measured at net asset value (NAV) | Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	$ 0	$ 0

Financial Instruments and Fai_4

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements - Narrative (Details)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019
Fair Value [Line Items]
Equity stake in Azul	2.00%
Preferred Stock
Fair Value [Line Items]
Equity stake in Azul	8.00%
Asset-Backed Securities | Minimum
Fair Value [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities remaining maturities	1 year
Asset-Backed Securities | Maximum
Fair Value [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities remaining maturities	15 years
Corporate Debt | Maximum
Fair Value [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities remaining maturities	3 years
CDARS | Maximum
Fair Value [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities remaining maturities	1 year
U.S. Government and Agency Notes | Minimum
Fair Value [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities remaining maturities	3 years
Other Fixed-Income Securities | Maximum
Fair Value [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities remaining maturities	2 years

Financial Instruments and Fai_5

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements - Carrying Values and Estimated Fair Values of Financial Instruments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Carrying Amount
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 14,143	$ 13,445
Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	14,832	13,450
Level 1 | Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	0	0
Level 2 | Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	11,131	9,525
Level 3 | Fair Value
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 3,701	$ 3,925

Leases - Components of Lease Co

Leases - Components of Lease Cost (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Leases [Abstract]
Operating lease cost	$ 255	$ 302	$ 786	$ 940
Variable and short-term lease cost	643	664	1,910	1,944
Amortization of finance lease assets	15	17	51	57
Interest on finance lease liabilities	27	17	86	26
Sublease income	(8)	(9)	(25)	(30)
Total lease cost	$ 932	$ 991	$ 2,808	$ 2,937

Leases - Narrative (Details)

Leases - Narrative (Details) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)aircraft
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Additional leases that have not yet commenced | $	$ 915
Maximum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Lease terms of additional leases that have not yet commenced (up to)	34 years
Mainline Aircraft
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Number of aircraft subject to operating leases	117
Number of aircraft subject to finance leases	26
Mainline Aircraft | Minimum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Initial term of operating leases	1 month
Mainline Aircraft | Maximum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Initial term of operating leases	10 years
Regional Aircraft
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Number of aircraft subject to operating leases	325
Number of aircraft subject to finance leases	28
Non-Aircraft | Minimum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Initial term of operating leases	1 month
Non-Aircraft | Maximum
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Initial term of operating leases	34 years

Leases - Summary of Scheduled F

Leases - Summary of Scheduled Future Minimum Lease Payments under Operating and Finance Leases (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	[1]
Operating Leases
Last three months of 2019	$ 195
2020	1,004
2021	788
2022	660
2023	647
After 2023	4,611
Minimum lease payments	7,905
Imputed interest	(2,186)
Present value of minimum lease payments	5,719
Less: current maturities of lease obligations	(778)	$ (719)
Long-term lease obligations	4,941	5,276
Finance Leases
Last three months of 2019	80
2020	58
2021	54
2022	44
2023	33
After 2023	70
Minimum lease payments	339
Imputed interest	(61)
Present value of minimum lease payments	278
Less: current maturities of lease obligations	(92)	(123)
Long-term lease obligations	$ 186	$ 224
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Leases - Additional Information

Leases - Additional Information Related to Leases (Details) - aircraft	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases	11 years	11 years
Weighted-average remaining lease term - finance leases	5 years	5 years
Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases	5.30%	5.20%
Weighted-average discount rate - finance leases	44.80%	39.50%
Embraer ERJ 145
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Number of leased aircraft		54

Leases - Supplemental Cash Flow

Leases - Supplemental Cash Flow Information Related to Leases (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows for operating leases	$ 743	$ 842
Operating cash flows for finance leases	63	30
Financing cash flows for finance leases	$ 105	$ 57	[1]
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Commitments and Contingencies -

Commitments and Contingencies - Firm Commitments and Options to Purchase Aircraft (Details)	Sep. 30, 2019commitmentAircraft
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
2020 | Aircraft	17
Airbus A350
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Number of firm commitments	45
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Last Three Months of 2019	0
2020	0
After 2020	45
Boeing 737 MAX
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Number of firm commitments	171
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Last Three Months of 2019	16
2020	28
After 2020	127
Boeing 777-300ER
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Number of firm commitments	4
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Last Three Months of 2019	2
2020	2
After 2020	0
Boeing 787
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Number of firm commitments	18
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Last Three Months of 2019	2
2020	15
After 2020	1
Embraer E175
Long-term Purchase Commitment [Line Items]
Number of firm commitments	29
Scheduled Aircraft Deliveries
Last Three Months of 2019	9
2020	20
After 2020	0

Commitments and Contingencies_2

Commitments and Contingencies - Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, employee in Thousands, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)employeecommitmentaircraft	Dec. 31, 2019flight	Oct. 04, 2019USD ($)	Mar. 13, 2019aircraft	Mar. 12, 2019flight	Dec. 31, 2018USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2018USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Sep. 30, 2018aircraft
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Remaining term of debt	11 years
Aggregate balance	$ 12,300
United Airlines, Inc.
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of employees | employee	95
Percentage of employees represented by various U.S. labor organizations	84.00%
AVH Senior Secured Convertible Loan | Subsequent Event
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Commitment amount (at least)			$ 150
AVH Senior Secured Convertible Loan | United Airline Holdings and Kingsland Holdings Limited | Subsequent Event
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Commitment amount (at least)			$ 250
Kingsland
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of shares that may be put to United (in shares) | shares							144.8
Number of ADRs that may be put into United (in shares) | shares							18.1
Market price of common stock at fifth anniversary (in dollars per share) | $ / shares							$ 12
Aggregate maximum possible combined put payment and guarantee amount							$ 217
Liability for the fair value of guarantees						$ 31
Tax-Exempt Special Facilities Revenue Bonds
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount of guarantee	$ 1,900
Floating Rate Debt
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Debt	$ 3,400
Loans and Leases from Non-U.S. Entities
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Remaining term of debt	11 years
Aggregate balance	$ 3,100
Aircraft Mortgage Debt
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount of guarantee	$ 136
Airbus A319
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of aircraft committed to purchase | aircraft	20
Boeing 737-700
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of aircraft committed to purchase | aircraft	20
Boeing 737 MAX
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of aircraft committed to purchase | commitment	171
Number of aircraft grounded under emergency order | aircraft				14
Number of flights operated using grounded aircraft | flight					50
Boeing 737 MAX | Forecast
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of expected flights operating per day prior to grounding order | flight		110
Embraer E175
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of aircraft committed to purchase | commitment	29
Embraer ERJ 145
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of leased aircraft | aircraft								54
Number of aircraft purchased | aircraft	36

Commitments and Contingencies_3

Commitments and Contingencies - Summary of Commitments (Details) $ in Billions	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)Aircraft
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Last three months of 2019	$ 1.5
2020	6.1
2021	3.8
2022	2.9
2023	2.3
After 2023	7
Total commitments	$ 23.6
Number of aircrafts expected to be delivered in 2020 | Aircraft	17

Commitments and Contingencies_4

Commitments and Contingencies - Summary of the Expected Future Payments Through the End of the Terms of CPAs (Details) $ in Billions	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Last three months of 2019	$ 0.6
2020	2.2
2021	2.1
2022	1.8
2023	1.1
After 2023	4.5
Total	$ 12.3

Debt - Narrative (Details)

Debt - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	1 Months Ended
	May 31, 2019	Feb. 28, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019
United Airlines, Inc. | Pass-Through Certificates
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount			$ 2,234,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility | United Airlines, Inc. | Secured Debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Available under revolving credit facility			$ 2,000,000,000
2019-1 Pass Through Certificates | United Airlines, Inc. | Pass-Through Certificates
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from issuance of debt		$ 93,000,000
4.875% Senior Notes due 2025 | Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	$ 350,000,000
Interest rate	4.875%
Redemption price rate	101.00%

Debt - Details of Pass Through

Debt - Details of Pass Through Trusts (Details) - USD ($)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	$ 1,109,000,000	$ 1,241,000,000	[1]
United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	1,109,000,000	$ 1,241,000,000	[2]
Pass-Through Certificates | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face Amount	2,234,000,000
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	1,052,000,000
Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods	1,182,000,000
Pass-Through Certificates | Class AA Pass-Through Certificates Issued September 2019 | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face Amount	$ 702,000,000
Stated interest rate	2.70%
Total debt recorded	$ 76,000,000
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	76,000,000
Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods	626,000,000
Pass-Through Certificates | Class A Pass-Through Certificates Issued September 2019 | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face Amount	$ 287,000,000
Stated interest rate	2.90%
Total debt recorded	$ 31,000,000
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	31,000,000
Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods	256,000,000
Pass-Through Certificates | Class B Pass-Through Certificates Issued September 2019 | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face Amount	$ 232,000,000
Stated interest rate	3.50%
Total debt recorded	$ 25,000,000
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	25,000,000
Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods	207,000,000
Pass-Through Certificates | Class AA Pass-Through Certificates Issued February 2019 | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face Amount	$ 717,000,000
Stated interest rate	4.15%
Total debt recorded	$ 651,000,000
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	651,000,000
Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods	66,000,000
Pass-Through Certificates | Class A Pass-Through Certificates Issued February 2019 | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face Amount	$ 296,000,000
Stated interest rate	4.55%
Total debt recorded	$ 269,000,000
Proceeds received from issuance of debt	269,000,000
Remaining proceeds from issuance of certificates to be received in future periods	27,000,000
Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificate [Member] | United Airlines, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total debt recorded	$ 1,052,000,000
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.
[2]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Debt - Contractual Principal Pa

Debt - Contractual Principal Payments (Details) - UAL And United $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Last three months of 2019	$ 511
2020	1,363
2021	1,355
2022	1,708
2023	758
After 2023	8,629
Long-term debt	$ 14,324

Special Charges and Mark-to-M_3

Special Charges and Mark-to-Market ("MTM") Adjustments - Components of Special Charges (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018		Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]
Severance and benefit costs	$ 2	$ 9		$ 14	$ 34
Impairment of assets	0	11		69	145
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges	25	(3)		33	7
Total operating special charges	27	17	[1]	116	186	[1]
Nonoperating MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments	(21)	(29)		(72)	61
Total special charges and MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments	6	(12)		44	247
Income tax expense (benefit)	(2)	3		(10)	(55)
Total special charges and MTM (gains) losses on financial instruments, net of income tax	$ 4	$ (9)		$ 34	$ 192
[1]	Amounts adjusted due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). See Note 1 to the financial statements contained in Part I, Item 1 of this report for additional information.

Special Charges and Mark-to-M_4

Special Charges and Mark-to-Market ("MTM") Adjustments - Narrative (Details) Employee in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	May 31, 2018USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)Employee	Sep. 30, 2019USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018USD ($)
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Early lease termination charge		$ 6,000,000
Other miscellaneous impairments		8,000,000
Fair value adjustment for aircraft purchased off lease and impairments related to certain fleet types and certain international slots no longer in use			$ 11,000,000		$ 8,000,000	$ 40,000,000
Severance and benefit costs		2,000,000	9,000,000		14,000,000	34,000,000
(Gains) losses on sale of assets and other special charges		(25,000,000)	3,000,000		(33,000,000)	(7,000,000)
Charge for the settlement of certain legal matters		18,000,000
Charge related to a contract termination		15,000,000
Gain (loss) on the sale and disposition of assets		8,000,000			(8,000,000)
Loss recorded for the change in fair value of certain derivative assets		4,000,000			5,000,000
Use Rights
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Write off of intangible asset	$ 105,000,000
Azul
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Gain (loss) for the change in fair value of equity investments		25,000,000	29,000,000		77,000,000	(61,000,000)
Management
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Severance and benefit costs		2,000,000	4,000,000		12,000,000	15,000,000
International Brotherhood of Teamsters | Voluntary Early-Out Program
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Severance and benefit costs			$ 5,000,000		$ 2,000,000	$ 19,000,000
Number of technicians and related employees electing to voluntarily separate from the Company | Employee				1
Severance payment per participant (up to)				$ 100,000
Aircraft Engines
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Impairment of assets removed from operations		$ 47,000,000

Uncategorized Items - ual093019

Label	Element	Value
AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member]
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	$ 7,000,000
Retained Earnings [Member]
Cumulative Effect of New Accounting Principle in Period of Adoption	us-gaap_CumulativeEffectOfNewAccountingPrincipleInPeriodOfAdoption	$ (7,000,000)