Information technology security breaches, hardware or software failures, or other information technology infrastructure disruptions may negatively impact Air Wisconsin’s business, operations and financial condition.
The performance and reliability of Air Wisconsin’s technology, the technology of United, and the technology of our third-party service providers, are critical to Air Wisconsin’s ability to compete effectively. Any internal technological error or failure or large-scale external interruption in the technological infrastructure we depend on, such as power, telecommunications or the internet, may disrupt Air Wisconsin’s internal network. Any individual, sustained or repeated failure of Air Wisconsin’s technology, or that of United or our third-party service providers, could impact Air Wisconsin’s ability to conduct its business, lower the utilization of Air Wisconsin’s aircraft and result in increased costs and penalties. Air Wisconsin’s technological systems, software and related data, those of United, and those supplied by our third party service providers, may be vulnerable to a variety of sources of interruption or exploitation due to events beyond our control, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, hackers and other security issues.
In addition, as a part of Air Wisconsin’s ordinary business operations, it collects and stores sensitive data, including personal information of its employees and information of United. Air Wisconsin’s information systems are subject to an increasing threat of evolving cybersecurity attacks. Unauthorized parties may attempt to gain access to Air Wisconsin’s systems or information through fraud or other means of deception. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems are constantly evolving and may be difficult to anticipate or to detect for long periods of time. Air Wisconsin may not be able to prevent all data security breaches or misuse of data. The compromise of Air Wisconsin’s technology systems resulting in the loss, disclosure, misappropriation of, or access to, employees’, passengers’ or business partners’ information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties under laws protecting the privacy of personal information and disruption to its operations, any or all of which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Industry
The
COVID-19
pandemic, and the outbreak of any other disease or similar public health threat that we may face in the future, could result in additional adverse effects on the business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity of Air Wisconsin and United.
United, Air Wisconsin’s sole airline partner, began experiencing a significant decline in domestic and international demand related to the
COVID-19
pandemic during the first quarter of 2020. United has stated that it expects demand will remain below
pre-pandemic
levels throughout 2022. As a result of lowered demand, United significantly reduced the number of Air Wisconsin’s scheduled departures and block hours relative to 2019 levels. In the year ended December 31, 2021, Air Wisconsin’s scheduled departures and block hours were approximately 81,755 and 121,409, respectively, as compared to scheduled departures and block hours of approximately 106,840 and 170,708, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2019. Air Wisconsin’s monthly departures and scheduled block hours generally increased from June 2020 until October 2021, but rarely reached
pre-pandemic
levels and have declined slightly since October 2021, mostly as a result of pilot shortages. There can be no assurance as to whether departures and scheduled block hours will return to
pre-pandemic
levels. United has stated publicly that it does not expect recovery from
COVID-19
to follow a linear path and, as such, the actual number of flights United schedules under the United capacity purchase agreement in any particular period may be significantly different from the number of flights we initially anticipated, or which United initially communicated for the period.
The magnitude and scope of the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic on our business and future results of operations are highly uncertain and subject to change. The full extent of the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic on our longer-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, many of which are outside of our control, including the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies employed by United, the duration and spread of
COVID-19,
the impact of
COVID-19
on long-term demand for air travel, the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic on our financial health and operations and those of United, United’s compliance with the United capacity purchase agreement, and future governmental actions, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. In addition, a further outbreak of
COVID-19,
including spread of new variants that may be more contagious or virulent than prior versions or that may be resistant to currently approved vaccines, an outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or any other event that would affect consumer demand for air travel or impose travel restrictions, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, and those of United.