As submitted confidentially to the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 22, 2020.
This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and all information herein remains strictly confidential.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 4512 | 82-4092570 | ||
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
2005 Cargo Road
Minneapolis, MN 55450
(651) 681-3900
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrants Principal Executive Offices)
Eric Levenhagen, Esq.
General Counsel and Secretary
2005 Cargo Road
Minneapolis, MN 55450
(651) 681-3900
(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)
Copies to:
Brian M. Janson, Esq. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP 1285 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019-6064 (212) 373-3000 |
Eric Levenhagen, Esq. General Counsel and Secretary 2005 Cargo Road Minneapolis, MN 55450 (651) 681-3900 |
Michael Kaplan, Esq. Derek Dostal, Esq. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 450 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10017 (212) 450-4000 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, and emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||
Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Title of each Class of Securities to be Registered |
Amount to be Registered |
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share |
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2) |
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Common stock, par value $0.01 per share |
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(1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |
(2) | Includes offering price of any additional shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase, if any. See Underwriting (Conflict of Interest). |
(3) | To be paid in connection with the initial filing of the registration statement. |
The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. Neither we nor the selling stockholder may sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to completion, dated December 22, 2020
PROSPECTUS
Shares
Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Common Stock
This is the initial public offering of shares of common stock of Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation. We are offering shares of common stock and the selling stockholder identified in this prospectus is offering shares of common stock. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock offered by the selling stockholder.
We expect the public offering price to be between $ and $ per share. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. We intend to apply to list our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) under the symbol SNCY.
SCA Horus Holdings, LLC (the Apollo Stockholder), which is an affiliate of certain investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc., is currently our majority stockholder and is also the selling stockholder in this offering. Following the completion of this offering and related transactions, the Apollo Stockholder will continue to own a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result, we expect to be a controlled company under the corporate governance rules for NYSE-listed companies and will be exempt from certain corporate governance requirements of such rules. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to this Offering and Ownership of our Common Stock, ManagementControlled Company and Principal and Selling Stockholders.
We are also an emerging growth company as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements. Please see Prospectus Summary Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company.
By participating in this offering, you are representing that you are a citizen of the United States, as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(15). See Description of Capital StockLimited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners.
Investing in our common stock involves risks that are described in the Risk Factors section beginning on page 23 of this prospectus.
Per Share | Total | |||||||
Public offering price |
$ | $ | ||||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) |
$ | $ | ||||||
Proceeds to us, before expenses |
$ | $ | ||||||
Proceeds to the selling stockholder, before expenses |
$ | $ |
(1) | See Underwriting (Conflict of Interest) for additional information regarding the underwriters compensation and reimbursement of expenses. |
The underwriters may also exercise their option to purchase up to an additional shares from the selling stockholder at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions, for 30 days after the date of this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock against payment on or about , 2021.
Barclays | Morgan Stanley |
Apollo Global Securities
The date of this prospectus is , 2021
For investors outside the United States: none of us, the selling stockholder or the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus we may provide to you in connection with this offering in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. You are required to inform yourselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus and any such free writing prospectus outside of the United States.
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F-1 |
None of us, the selling stockholder or the underwriters have authorized any other person to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. We, the selling stockholder and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may provide you. We and the selling stockholder are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of the common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Through and including , 2021 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in the common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to a dealers obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.
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TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES, AND SERVICE MARKS
We use various trademarks, trade names and service marks in our business, including Sun Country, Sun Country Airlines, Sun Country Connections, Sun Country Rewards, Sun Country Vacations, The Hometown Airline and UFLY, as well as our signature S logo. This prospectus contains references to our trademarks, trade names and service marks. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATA
We include in this prospectus statements regarding our industry, our competitors and factors that have impacted our and our customers industries. Such statements are statements of belief and are based on industry data and forecasts that we have obtained from industry publications and surveys, including those published by the United States Department of Transportation, as well as internal company sources. Industry publications, surveys and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but there can be no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. In addition, while we believe that the industry information included herein is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise. Certain statements regarding our competitors are based on publicly available information, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and United States Department of Transportation by such competitors, published industry sources and management estimates. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the industry, competitor and market data presented herein, our estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the caption Risk Factors in this prospectus.
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
In this prospectus, unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to the Company, the Issuer, Sun Country, we, us and our refer, prior to our conversion to a corporation, to SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries and, after our conversion to a corporation, to Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. See Prospectus SummaryThe Reorganization Transactions.
On April 11, 2018, MN Airlines, LLC (d/b/a Sun Country Airlines and now known as Sun Country, Inc.) was acquired by certain investment funds (the Apollo Funds) managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, Apollo). As a result of the change of control, the acquisition was accounted for as a business combination using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires, among other things, that our assets and liabilities be recognized on the consolidated balance sheet at their fair value as of the acquisition date. Accordingly, the financial information provided in this prospectus is presented as Predecessor or Successor to indicate whether they relate to the period preceding the acquisition or the period succeeding the acquisition, respectively. Due to the change in the basis of accounting resulting from the acquisition, the consolidated financial statements for the Predecessor and Successor periods, included elsewhere in this prospectus, are not necessarily comparable.
All consolidated financial statements presented in this prospectus have been prepared in U.S. dollars in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP).
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Set forth below is a glossary of certain terms used in this prospectus:
Adjusted CASM means CASM excluding fuel, costs related to our freighter operations, certain commissions and other costs of selling our vacations product and excluding special items and other adjustments as defined for the relevant reporting period that are not representative of the ongoing costs necessary to our airline operations and may improve comparability between periods. We also exclude stock compensation expense when computing Adjusted CASM. Our compensation strategy includes the use of stock-based compensation to attract and retain employees and executives and is principally aimed at aligning their interests with those of our stockholders and at long-term employee retention, rather than to motivate or reward operational performance for any particular period. Thus, stock-based compensation expense varies for reasons that are generally unrelated to operational decisions and performance in any particular period. When Adjusted CASM is referenced or presented for other airlines, it has been adjusted to our average stage length for the period presented.
Aircraft miles means miles flown by all of our aircraft, measured by summing up the miles for each completed flight segment.
Air traffic liability means the value of tickets sold in advance of travel.
ALPA means the Air Line Pilots Association, the union representing our pilots.
Amazon means Amazon.com Services, LLC, together with its affiliates.
Ancillary revenue consists primarily of revenue generated from air travel-related services such as baggage fees, seat selection and upgrade fees, itinerary service fees, on-board sales and sales of trip insurance.
Ancillary services refers to the services that generate ancillary revenue.
ATSA means the Air Transportation Services Agreement, dated as of December 13, 2019, as amended as of June 30, 2020, by and between Sun Country, Inc. and Amazon.com Services, LLC (successor to Amazon.com Services, Inc.), as amended or modified from time to time.
Available seat miles or ASMs means the number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of miles the seats are flown.
Average aircraft means the average number of aircraft used in flight operations, as calculated on a daily basis.
Average daily aircraft utilization means block hours divided by number of days in the period divided by average aircraft.
Average stage length means the average number of statute miles flown per flight segment. Our average stage length for 2019 was 1,187 miles.
Block hours means the number of hours during which the aircraft is in revenue service, measured from the time of gate departure before take-off until the time of gate arrival at the destination.
Cargo service includes our CMI service operations under the ATSA.
CASM or unit costs means operating expenses divided by total ASMs. When CASM is referenced or presented for other airlines, it has been adjusted to our average stage length for the period presented.
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CBA means a collective bargaining agreement.
CBP means the United States Customs and Border Protection.
Charter service means flights operated for specific customers who purchase the entire flight from us and specify the origination and destination.
Citizen of the United States means (A) an individual who is a citizen of the United States; (B) a partnership each of whose partners is an individual who is a citizen of the United States; or (C) a corporation or association organized under the laws of the United States or a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States, of which the president and at least two-thirds of the board of directors and other managing officers are citizens of the United States, which is under the actual control of citizens of the United States, and in which at least 75% of the voting interest is owned and controlled by persons that are citizens of the United States.
CMI service means an arrangement whereby a cargo customer provides us with aircraft, pursuant to a sublease, and we provide crew, maintenance and insurance to operate such aircraft on the customers behalf. Amazon is currently our only CMI service customer.
Completion factor means the percentage of scheduled flights that are completed.
COVID-19 means the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which was first reported in December 2019.
DOT means the United States Department of Transportation.
EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
ETOPS means Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operational Performance Standards.
FAA means the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
Freighters include the aircraft operated under the ATSA, which are configured entirely for cargo operations.
GDS means a Global Distribution System such as Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport, used by travel agencies and corporations to purchase tickets on participating airlines.
IBT means the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing our flight attendants.
LCC means low-cost carrier and includes JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines.
Load factor means the percentage of aircraft seat miles actually occupied on a flight (RPMs divided by ASMs) for scheduled service.
Mainline U.S. passenger airlines includes us, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Travel Company, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.
NMB means the National Mediation Board.
OTAs means online travel agents.
Passengers means the total number of passengers flown on all flight segments.
PRASM means scheduled service revenue divided by ASMs for scheduled service.
Revenue passenger miles or RPMs means the number of miles flown by passengers.
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RLA means the United States Railway Labor Act.
Scheduled service means transportation of passengers on flights we operate in and out of airports on a schedule of routes and flight times we provide for general sale.
Scheduled service revenue consists of base fares, unused and expired passenger credits and other expired travel credits for scheduled service.
Stage-length adjustment refers to an adjustment that can be utilized to compare CASM, PRASM and TRASM across airlines with varying stage lengths. All other things being equal, the same airline will have lower CASM, PRASM and TRASM as stage length increases since fixed and departure related costs are spread over increasingly longer average flight lengths. Therefore, as one method to facilitate comparison of these quantities across airlines (or even across the same airline for two different periods if the airlines average stage length has changed significantly), it is common in the airline industry to settle on a common assumed stage length and then to adjust CASM, PRASM and TRASM appropriately. Stage-length adjusted comparisons are achieved by multiplying base CASM or RASM by a quotient, the numerator of which is the square root of the carriers stage length and the denominator of which is the square root of the common stage length. Stage-length adjustment techniques require judgment and different observers may use different techniques. For stage-length PRASM or TRASM comparisons in this prospectus, the stage length being utilized is the aircraft stage length.
TRASM or unit revenue means total revenue divided by total ASMs. Starting in 2020, we exclude cargo revenue from total revenue as the freighters we operate under the ATSA do not contribute to our ASMs. When TRASM is referenced or presented for other airlines, it has been adjusted to our average stage length for the period presented.
TSA means the United States Transportation Security Administration.
TWU means the Transport Workers Union, the union representing our dispatchers.
ULCC means ultra low-cost carrier and includes Allegiant Travel Company, Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
VFR means visiting friends and relatives.
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The following summary contains selected information about us and about this offering. It does not contain all of the information that is important to you and your investment decision. Before you make an investment decision, you should review this prospectus in its entirety, including matters set forth under Risk Factors, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. Some of the statements in the following summary constitute forward-looking statements. See Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. For definitions of certain industry terms used in this prospectus, see Glossary of Terms beginning on page iii.
Overview
Sun Country Airlines is a new breed of hybrid low-cost air carrier that dynamically deploys shared resources across our synergistic scheduled service, charter and cargo businesses. By doing so, we believe we are able to generate high growth, high margins and strong cash flows with greater resilience than other passenger airlines. We focus on serving leisure and visiting friends and relatives (VFR) passengers, charter customers and providing CMI service to Amazon, with flights throughout the United States and to destinations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Based in Minnesota, we operate an agile network that includes our scheduled service business and our synergistic charter and cargo businesses. We share resources, such as flight crews, across our scheduled service, charter and cargo business lines with the objective of generating higher returns and margins and mitigating the seasonality of our route network. We optimize capacity allocation by market, time of year, day of week and line of business by shifting flying to markets during periods of peak demand and away from markets during periods of low demand with far greater frequency than nearly all other large U.S. passenger airlines. Our flexible business model generates higher returns and margins while also providing greater resiliency to economic and industry downturns than a traditional scheduled service carrier. As a result of our diversified and resilient business model, we believe we have been the best performing mainline U.S. passenger airline in 2020 during the current COVID-19 induced industry downturn as measured by pre-tax and operating income margins.
Our Unique Business Model
Scheduled Service. Our scheduled service business combines low costs with a high quality product to generate higher TRASM than ULCCs while maintaining lower Adjusted CASM than LCCs, resulting in best-in-class unit profitability. Our schedule service business includes many cost characteristics of ultra low-cost carriers, or ULCCs (which include Allegiant Travel Company, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines), such as an unbundled product (which means we offer a base fare and allow customers to purchase ancillary products and services for an additional fee), point-to-point service and a single-family fleet of Boeing 737-NG aircraft, which allow us to maintain a cost base comparable to these ULCCs. However, we offer a high quality product that we believe is superior to ULCCs and consistent with that of low-cost carriers, or LCCs (which include Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways). For example, our product includes more legroom than ULCCs, complimentary beverages, in-flight entertainment and in-seat power, none of which are offered by ULCCs. The combination of our agile peak demand network with our elevated consumer product allows us to generate higher TRASM than ULCCs while maintaining lower Adjusted CASM than LCCs. In addition, low cost, leisure focused carriers, similar to Sun Country, have been more resilient during economic downturns, including the current COVID-19 induced downturn, when compared to business-travel-focused legacy carriers.
Charter. Our charter business, which is one of the largest narrow body charter operations in the United States, is a key component of our strategy both because it provides inherent diversification and downside protection (it is uncorrelated to our scheduled service and cargo businesses, as evidenced by the fact that it recovered faster than our scheduled service business during the COVID-19 pandemic) as well as because it is
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synergistic with our other businesses (for example, we can dynamically deploy aircraft and pilots to their most profitable uses whether they be charter or scheduled service). Our charter business has several favorable characteristics, including large repeat customers, more stable demand than scheduled service flying and the ability to pass through certain costs, including fuel. Our diverse charter customer base includes casino operators, the U.S. Department of Defense, college sports teams and professional sports teams. We are the primary air carrier for the NCAA Division I National Basketball Tournament (known as March Madness), and we flew over 100 college sports teams during 2019. Our charter business includes ad hoc, repeat, short-term and long-term service contracts with pass through fuel arrangements and annual rate escalations. Most of our business is non-cyclical because the U.S. Department of Defense and sports teams still fly during normal economic downturns, and our casino contracts are long-term in nature. Our charter business has proven to be more resilient than our scheduled service business during the COVID-19 induced downturn. Additionally, our charter business complements our seasonal and day-of-week focused scheduled passenger service by allowing us to optimally schedule our aircraft and crews to the most profitable flying opportunities. In general, charter available seat miles are highest in fall months when scheduled service operations are less favorable. From 2017 through 2019, we grew our charter revenue by approximately 32% while providing charter services to 395 destinations in 27 countries across the world. While our charter revenues were down as a result of COVID-19, they have rebounded throughout 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2020, our charter revenues were % lower when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. In comparison, combined U.S. passenger airline revenues were % lower during the fourth quarter of 2020 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
Cargo. On December 13, 2019, we signed a six-year contract (with two, two-year extension options, for a total term of 10 years), which we refer to as the ATSA, with Amazon to provide air cargo services. Flying under the ATSA began in May 2020 and, as of the date of this prospectus, we are flying 12 Boeing 737-800 cargo aircraft for Amazon (having been awarded two additional aircraft in October and November 2020 after the initial contract for 10 aircraft). Our CMI service is asset-light from a Sun Country perspective, as Amazon supplies the aircraft and covers many of the operating expenses, including fuel, and provides all cargo loading and unloading services. We are responsible for flying the aircraft under our air carrier certificate, crew, aircraft line maintenance and insurance, all of which allow us to leverage our existing operational expertise from our scheduled service and charter businesses. Our contract with Amazon has generated consistent, positive cash flows through the COVID-19 induced downturn. The ATSA offers potential future growth opportunities by establishing a long-term partnership with Amazon. Our cargo business also enables us to leverage certain assets, capabilities and fixed costs to enhance profitability and promote growth across our company. For example, we believe that by deploying pilots across each of our business lines, we increase the efficiency of our operations.
Our Transformation
In April 2018, we were acquired by the Apollo Funds. Since the acquisition, our business has been transformed under a new management team of seasoned professionals who have a strong combination of low-cost and legacy network airline experience.
| We redesigned our network to focus our flying on peak demand opportunities by concentrating scheduled service trips during the highest yielding months of the year and days of the week and allocating aircraft to our charter service when it is more profitable to do so. This effectively shifted our focus toward leisure customers. |
| We invested over $200 million in capital projects that included modernizing the cabin experience with new seats, in-seat power and in-flight entertainment. Our investments also facilitated a transition to owning our fleet, rather than leasing, to reduce costs. We implemented a new booking engine, Navitaire, rebranded our product along with our website and invested in improving the customer support experience. We consolidated our corporate headquarters into an on-airport hangar. |
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| We greatly expanded our ancillary products and services, which consist of baggage fees, seat assignment fees and other fees, increasing average ancillary revenue per scheduled service passenger by 148% from 2017 to 2019. |
| We launched and grew our asset light cargo business and fully integrated our pilot base across our scheduled service, charter and cargo businesses. |
| We reduced unit costs by 19% from 2017 to 2019 with several initiatives, including: renegotiating certain key contracts and agreements; increasing the portion of bookings made directly through our website; reducing the cost of our fleet through more efficient aircraft sourcing and financing; staffing efficiencies; and other cost-saving initiatives. |
While the COVID-19 induced industry downturn has impeded our growth in 2020, we believe that these investments have positioned us to profitably grow our business in the long term following a rebound in the U.S. airline industry and that our period of heavy investment in transformative capital spending is behind us for the foreseeable future.
COVID-19 Induced Downturn
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020, 42 U.S. states and territories, encompassing 73% of U.S. counties, issued mandatory stay-at-home orders, with most occurring during the month of April 2020. All major U.S. passenger airlines were negatively impacted by the declining demand environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. While we were not unaffected by this downturn, we believe that our diversified and flexible business model allowed us to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our business better than any other large U.S. passenger airline (which we consider to be the largest 11 U.S. mainline passenger carriers based on 2019 ASMs). Actions we took during 2020 to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 induced downturn preserved more than $152.0 million in liquidity and included: capacity reductions; a company-wide hiring freeze; headcount reductions; voluntary leave programs; reduced advertising expenditures; reduced capital expenditures; deferred vendor payments; and upsizing our asset-based revolving credit facility (the ABL Facility). Further, we received a grant from the United States Department of the Treasury (Treasury) through the CARES Act Payroll Support Program (the Payroll Support Program) and accepted a loan from Treasury through the CARES Act Loan Program (the CARES Act Loan) without issuing any warrants, unlike nearly all other carriers that received government assistance. During 2020, we generated higher operating income margins than any other mainline U.S. passenger airline while being the only mainline U.S. airline to also have positive pre-tax income margins. We have also maintained our pre-COVID-19 corporate credit ratings throughout the downturn. With the expectation that recently authorized COVID-19 vaccines will be widely distributed in 2021, we believe the airline industry will
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rebound in the back half of 2021 and normalize in 2022. We believe we are well-positioned to benefit from this rebound. Given our focus on low-cost domestic leisure travel, we believe we are well-positioned to rebound faster than most other U.S. airlines.
(1) | Sun Country operating income margin is based on operating income of $21.8 million and revenue of $293.7 million. Other airline operating income margin results adjusted to remove identified one-time items such as asset sales, impairment charges and non-cash stock compensation expense. All carriers results include benefits received under the CARES Act. |
Our financial and operating results and business operations for our scheduled service and charter businesses for the year ended December 31, 2020 have been materially and adversely impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which impact is likely to continue during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that our financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2019 are more useful indicators of our scheduled service and charter service operating performance during normal industry conditions. See Risk Factors.
Our Competitive Strengths
We believe that the following key strengths allow us to compete successfully within the U.S. airline industry.
Diversified and Resilient Business Model. Our diversified business model, which includes significant leisure and VFR focused scheduled service, charter and e-commerce related cargo service, is unique in the airline sector and mitigates the impact of economic and industry downturns on our business when compared with other large U.S. passenger airlines. While all scheduled service airlines were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 induced industry downturn, low-cost leisure focused airlines, such as Sun Country Airlines, outperformed business-travel-focused legacy network airlines. Our charter business has rebounded quicker than our scheduled service business as customers such as the U.S. Department of Defense and large university sports teams have continued to fly in 2020, while our casino customers are subject to long-term contracts and began flying again in June 2020. Our cargo business exhibited steady growth in 2020 as flying ramped up and demand remained strong, driven by underlying secular growth in e-commerce. As a result of our diversified and resilient business
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model, we believe we have been the best performing mainline U.S. passenger airline in 2020, being the only airline to generate positive pre-tax income margins and higher operating income margins than any other mainline U.S. passenger airline.
Agile Peak Demand Scheduling Strategy. We flex our capacity by day of the week, month of the year and line of business to capture what we believe are the most profitable flying opportunities available from both our Minneapolis-St. Paul home market, or MSP, and our network of non-MSP markets. As a result, our route network varies widely throughout the year. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the most recent normalized full year before the COVID-19 pandemic, we flew approximately 38% of our ASMs during our top 100 peak demand days of the year as compared to 15% of our ASMs during our bottom 100 demand days of the year. For 2019, our average fare was approximately 29% higher on our top 100 peak demand days as compared to the remaining days of the year. In 2019, only 3% of our routes were daily year-round, compared to 67% for Southwest Airlines, 42% for Spirit Airlines, 8% for Frontier Airlines and 2% for Allegiant Travel Company. Our agile peak demand strategy allows us to generate higher TRASM by focusing on days with stronger demand. Our flexible network has also benefitted us in 2020 during the COVID-19 induced industry downturn where we have been able to quickly shift capacity from low demand markets to high demand markets within the United States as COVID-19 infection rates shifted across regions of the country. The following charts demonstrate that our schedule is highly variable by day of the week and month of the year.
In addition to shifting aircraft across our network by season and day of week, we also shift aircraft between our scheduled service and charter businesses to maximize the return on our assets. We regularly schedule our fleet using what we refer to as Power Patterns, which involves scheduling aircraft and crew on trips that combine scheduled service and charter legs, dynamically replacing what would be lower margin scheduled service flights with charter opportunities. Our agility is supported by our variable cost structure and the cross utilization of our people and assets between our lines of business. Our synergies from cross utilization have increased since we began providing CMI services because our pilots are interchangeably deployed between scheduled service, charter and cargo flights. For example, when demand in our scheduled service business declined in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 induced industry downturn, we allocated more pilot flying hours to our charter and cargo businesses.
Tactical Mid-Life Fleet with Flexible Operations. We maintain low aircraft ownership costs by purchasing mid-life Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which have a lower purchase price, when compared to new Boeing 737 aircraft,
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that more than offsets their moderately higher operating costs. Lower ownership costs allow us to maintain lower unit costs at lower levels of utilization. This allows us to concentrate our flying during periods of peak demand, which generates higher TRASM and also allows us to park aircraft during periods of low demand, such as in 2020, at a lower cost than other airlines. In 2019, we flew our aircraft an average of 9.6 hours per day, which is the lowest among major U.S. airlines, other than Allegiant Travel Company, which operates a similar low utilization model but serves smaller markets. In addition to the benefits of lower all-in ownership costs, we do not have an aircraft order book because we only purchase mid-life aircraft. As a result, unlike many other airlines, we are not locked into large future capital expenditures at above market aircraft prices. Rather, we have the ability to opportunistically take advantage of falling aircraft prices with purchases at the time of our choosing. Our single family aircraft fleet also has operational and cost advantages, such as allowing for optimization of crew scheduling and training and lower maintenance costs. Our fleet is highly reliable, and we have a demonstrated ability to maintain our high completion factor during harsh weather conditions. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we had a completion factor of 99.8% across our system.
Superior Low-Cost Product and Brand. We have invested in numerous projects to create a well-regarded product and brand that we believe is superior to ULCCs while maintaining lower fares than LCCs and larger full service carriers. Some of the reasons that we believe we have a superior brand to ULCCs include:
| Our Cabin Experience. All of our 737-800 aircraft have new state-of-the-art seats that comfortably recline and have full size tray tables. Our seats have an average pitch of approximately 31 inches, giving our customers comparable legroom to Southwest Airlines and greater legroom than all ULCCs in the United States. We also provide seat-back power, complimentary in-flight entertainment and free beverages to improve the overall flying experience for our customers. Such amenities are comparable to those offered by our LCC competitors and are not available on any ULCCs in the United States. |
| Our Digital Experience. We have significantly improved the buying experience for our customers. We overhauled our passenger service system in 2019 and transitioned to Navitaire, the premier passenger service system in the United States. Navitaire has decreased our overall website session length, decreased the percentage of failures to complete a transaction after accessing our website on a mobile device and increased the percentage of visits to our website that result in an airfare purchase. The transition to Navitaire has been one of the most important initiatives in improving the Sun Country customer experience, making our website booking more seamless, allowing us to create a large customer database and supporting ancillary revenue growth. Beyond Navitaire, we have improved the check-in experience for customers by providing access to web-check in across the system and access to kiosks in our main hub location of MSP. Since the Navitaire transition, 68% of our Minneapolis originating passengers have checked in either online or at a kiosk. System wide over 55% of our passengers have checked in electronically. These tools increase the chances that the passenger can skip the check in counter, which we believe improves our customers experience while also reducing costs. |
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In addition to our product, we believe that our brand is well recognized and well regarded in the markets that we serve. In the fourth quarter of 2019, management conducted a study of individuals across a variety of ages, income levels, home regions and home airports (including both MSP and non-MSP travelers), each of whom had traveled for leisure within the prior 24 months. Individuals selected for the survey included Sun Country passengers and a consumer sample provided by a third-party survey panel provider. 468 individuals responded to the study, 275 of whom had flown Sun Country Airlines. Based on the study: 79% of the 29 respondents who expressed a preference between airlines and had flown on both Sun Country Airlines and Allegiant Travel Company said they would rather fly on Sun Country Airlines; 77% of the 71 respondents who expressed a preference between airlines and had flown on both Sun Country Airlines and Frontier Airlines said they would rather fly on Sun Country Airlines; and 81% of the 77 respondents who expressed a preference between airlines and had flown on both Sun Country Airlines and Spirit Airlines said they would rather fly on Sun Country Airlines.
Competitive Low Cost Structure. Our Adjusted CASM declined from 7.80 cents for the year ended December 31, 2017 to 6.31 cents for the year ended December 31, 2019. Our completed and ongoing cost savings efforts include conversion to a focus on owning (versus leasing) aircraft, renegotiation of our component maintenance agreement, fuel savings initiatives, catering cost reductions, renegotiation of distribution contracts, consolidation of staff at headquarters on airport property and various other initiatives. While Adjusted CASM for all U.S. airlines increased in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 induced downturn, we believe that our business model and strategy positions us well to maintain and improve our Adjusted CASM in the future, while maintaining lower utilization rates than many other U.S. passenger airlines.
Strong Position in Our Profitable MSP Home Market. We have been based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since our founding over 35 years ago, where our brand is well-known and well-liked. We are the largest low-cost carrier operating at MSP, which is our largest base, and the second largest airline based on ASMs at MSP after Delta Air Lines, which primarily serves business and connecting traffic customers, while we primarily serve leisure customers. Excluding Delta Air Lines, we have nearly twice the capacity, as measured by ASMs, of any other competitor operating at MSP. Spirit Airlines and Southwest Airlines scaled back from MSP during the COVID-19 induced downturn and focused on their core markets, demonstrating MSP is likely not a strategic market for either airline. However, our current seat share at MSP is still meaningfully lower than Spirit Airlines seat share in Detroit and Frontier Airlines seat share in Denver, and we believe there is significant room for us to grow in MSP through further market stimulation once the U.S. air travel market rebounds. We fly out of
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Terminal 2, which we believe is preferred by many flyers because of its smaller layout, shorter security wait times, close parking relative to check-in and full suite of retail shops. As of the date of this prospectus, we utilize 8 of the 14 gates in Terminal 2. As a result of our focus on flying during seasonal peak periods, our well regarded brand and product and our strong position in Minneapolis, we have historically enjoyed a TRASM premium at MSP. In 2019, the most recent normalized full year before the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe MSP was among the most profitable LCC bases in the United States and we believe we generated higher TRASM in MSP during 2019 than any ULCC in the United States in its primary base.
Seasoned Management Team. Our Chief Executive Officer, Jude Bricker, joined Sun Country Airlines in July 2017 and has over 16 years of experience in the aviation industry, including serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Allegiant Travel Company from 2016 to 2017. Our President and Chief Financial Officer, Dave Davis, joined Sun Country in April 2018 and has over 21 years of experience in the aviation industry, including previously serving as the Chief Financial Officer at Northwest Airlines and US Airways. Other members of our management team have worked at airlines such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.
Our Growth Strategy
Since 2018, we have established the infrastructure to support our significant long-term profitable growth strategy that we plan to continue once the U.S. air travel market rebounds from the COVID-19 induced downturn.
| Network. We launched 64 new markets from 2018 through 2019 and developed a repeatable network growth strategy. Our network strategy is expected to support passenger fleet growth to approximately 50 aircraft by the end of 2023. |
| Fleet. We restructured our fleet with a focus on ownership of Boeing 737-800s with no planned lease redeliveries prior to 2024, allowing us to focus on growth with low capital commitments. We believe the current dislocation in the aircraft market will enable us to access new aircraft at an attractive cost relative to our peers. |
| Customer. We rebranded the airline around a leisure product with a significant ancillary revenue component which we believe will allow us to stimulate demand during the rebound from COVID-19 earlier than airlines focused on business travelers. |
| Culture. We installed a new management team with a cost-conscious ethos, which included moving our headquarters into a hangar at MSP. |
| Operations. We maintained high standards of operational performance, including a 99.8% completion factor for the year ended December 31, 2019. |
We believe our initiatives have provided us with a platform to profitably grow our business. Key elements of our growth strategy include:
Leverage the Expected Rebound in Our Passenger Business. The number of domestic LCC and ULCC passenger enplanements grew at a compound annual growth rate of 7% from 2014 to 2019 due to long-term increasing demand for air travel in the United States. Following the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, passenger levels declined. While we have outperformed other mainline U.S. passenger airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on pre-tax and operating income margins, we believe our scheduled service business is poised for a rapid rebound following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe we are positioned to be among the early beneficiaries of this rebound given our peak demand strategy and focus on leisure and VFR travelers, who are expected to be the first to fly at pre-COVID-19 levels. In previous economic downturns, leisure and VFR travelers have also been the first to return to flying at normalized levels.
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Grow Our Cargo Business. In December 2019, we signed the ATSA with Amazon to provide air cargo transportation services flying 10 aircraft with agreed pricing. Since that time, Amazon requested, and we agreed to fly, two additional aircraft to bring the total number of aircraft we are flying for Amazon as of the date of this prospectus to 12. We believe we are well-positioned to continue growing our cargo business over time, while continuing to leverage ourselves to Amazon and potentially new customers.
Expand our Peak Demand Flying in Minneapolis and Beyond. Following a rebound in U.S. air travel, we intend to continue growing our network profitably both from MSP and on new routes outside of MSP by focusing on seasonal markets and day-of-the-week flying during periods of peak demand. We expanded our network from 46 routes in 2017 to 98 as of the end of 2019, including expanding our routes that neither originate nor terminate in MSP from 5 routes in 2017 to 42 as of the end of 2019. We have identified over 250 new market opportunities as the long-term reduction in our unit costs has expanded the number of markets that we can profitably serve. We have a successful history of opening and closing stations quickly to meet seasonal demand, which we believe will benefit us in re-opening markets we closed during the COVID-19 downturn and in pursuing new market growth opportunities quickly. Our future network plans include growing our network at our hub in Minneapolis to full potential, including adding frequencies on routes we already serve and adding new routes to leverage our large, loyal customer base in the area. Our long-term strategic plans have identified potential growth opportunities at MSP alone of 10 to 12 aircraft.
We had also been rapidly growing outside of MSP prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we expect to do so again once the air travel market rebounds. Our customer-friendly low fares have been well received in the upper Midwest and in large, fragmented markets elsewhere that we can profitably serve on a seasonal and/or day-of-week basis. Our upper Midwest growth is focused on cold to warm weather leisure routes from markets similar to Minneapolis, such as Madison, Wisconsin. Additionally, we have added capacity on large leisure trunk routes on a seasonal basis during periods when demand is high. Examples of such routes include Los Angeles to Honolulu and Dallas to Mexican beach destinations during the summer months. Our business model is ideally suited to seasonally serve these routes, which are highly profitable in normal environments because fares are elevated during the months in which we fly them. Our long-term strategic plans have identified potential growth opportunities outside of MSP of 5 to 8 aircraft, as well as an additional 3 to 4 aircraft to support our charter operations.
Continue to Increase Our Margins and Free Cash Flow. From December 31, 2017 through December 31, 2019, we reduced our Adjusted CASM from 7.80 cents to 6.31 cents, a level comparable to ULCCs. When combined with our TRASM, which remains comparable to LCCs and higher than ULCCs, we generate highly competitive margins. Our period of investment in fleet renewal and transformative capital expenditures is largely behind us, and our focus, following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, will pivot to growth. We intend to continue to improve our leading margin and free cash flow profile through a variety of initiatives and measures. Key initiatives include further conversion to an owned (versus leased) model for aircraft ownership, leveraging our fixed cost base as we continue to grow our passenger aircraft fleet to achieve economies of scale, continuous optimization of our maintenance operations and completion of other ongoing strategic initiatives. As a result, we expect improvements in profit margins and free cash flow, which we define as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures, following a rebound in the U.S. air travel market to support growth in the years ahead.
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Our Route Network
As of December 22, 2020, we served 53 airports throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. During 2020, our focus has been on serving markets out of MSP, particularly core leisure markets (MCO, RSW, PHX, LAS, LAX). The map below represents our network as of December 22, 2020.
Risk Factor Summary
Participating in this offering involves substantial risk. Our ability to execute our strategy also is subject to certain risks. The risks described under the heading Risk Factors immediately following this summary may cause us not to realize the full benefits of our competitive strengths or may cause us to be unable to successfully execute all or part of our strategy. Some of the more significant challenges and risks we face include the following:
| the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, including related travel restrictions, social distancing measures and decreased demand for air travel; |
| we are depending upon a successful COVID-19 vaccine and significant uptake by the general public in order to normalize economic conditions, the airline industry and our business operations and to realize our planned financial and growth plans and business strategy; |
| changes in economic conditions; |
| the price and availability of aircraft fuel and our ability to control other costs; |
| threatened or actual terrorist attacks or security concerns; |
| the ability to operate in an exceedingly competitive industry; |
| factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion, adverse weather, federal government shutdowns, aircraft-type groundings, increased security measures or disease outbreaks; |
| the ability to realize the anticipated strategic and financial benefits of the ATSA with Amazon; |
| any restrictions on or increased taxes applicable to charges for ancillary products and services; or |
| our concentration in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. |
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Our Sponsor
Founded in 1990, Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $433 billion as of September 30, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources.
Upon the closing of this offering, we will be a controlled company within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards because more than 50% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock will be owned by the Apollo Stockholder. For further information on the implications of this distinction, see Risk FactorsRisks Related to this Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock and Management Controlled Company.
Following the closing of this offering, the Apollo Stockholder will continue to have the right, at any time until Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder, no longer beneficially own at least 5% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, to nominate a number of directors comprising a percentage of our board of directors in accordance with their beneficial ownership of the voting power of our outstanding common stock (rounded up to the nearest whole number), except that if Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder, beneficially own more than 50% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, the Apollo Stockholder will have the right to nominate a majority of the directors. See ManagementBoard Composition, Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsStockholders Agreement and Description of Capital StockComposition of Board of Directors; Election and Removal of Directors for more information.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We are an emerging growth company as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, enacted in April 2012. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies. These provisions include, among other things:
| exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting; |
| exemption from new or revised financial accounting standards applicable to public companies until such standards are also applicable to private companies; |
| exemption from compliance with any new requirements adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to our auditors report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and our financial statements; |
| an exemption from the requirement to seek non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation and golden parachute arrangements; and |
| reduced disclosure about executive compensation arrangements. |
We may take advantage of these provisions until the end of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We will cease to be an emerging growth company if we have $1.07 billion or more in total annual gross revenues during our most recently completed fiscal year, if we become a large accelerated filer with the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeding $700 million or more as of the last business day of the second quarter of such fiscal year, or as of any date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt over the three-year period to such date.
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We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of these reduced burdens. For example, we have taken advantage of the reduced reporting requirement with respect to disclosure regarding our executive compensation arrangements and expect to take advantage of the exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, while we have elected to avail ourselves of the exemption to adopt new or revised accounting standards until those standards apply to private companies, we are permitted and have elected to early adopt certain new or revised accounting standards for which the respective standard allows for early adoption. See Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. For as long as we take advantage of the reduced reporting obligations, the information that we provide stockholders may be different from information provided by other public companies.
The Reorganization Transactions
We were formed in December 2017 as a Delaware limited liability company under the name SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC in connection with the acquisition by the Apollo Funds. Following the acquisition by the Apollo Funds in April 2018, one of the Apollo Funds beneficially owned 282,009 outstanding equity interests of SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC, which historically were denominated as shares of common stock that we refer to as SCA common stock, which represented approximately 78.3% of the outstanding SCA common stock, and another Apollo Fund owned a warrant to purchase an additional 2,117,991 shares of SCA common stock at an exercise price of $0.01 per share.
Prior to this offering, the Apollo Funds engaged in a series of transactions to form a new holding company, which is the Apollo Stockholder, that acquired all of the outstanding shares of SCA common stock held by one of the Apollo Funds and acquired and immediately exercised all of the warrants to purchase SCA common stock that were held by another Apollo Fund. As a result, the Apollo Stockholder owned 2,400,000 shares of SCA common stock, which represented approximately 96.9% of the outstanding SCA common stock.
On January 31, 2020, SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC was converted into a Delaware corporation pursuant to a statutory conversion and changed its name to Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. In connection with our conversion to a corporation, all of the outstanding shares of SCA common stock were converted into shares of our common stock, the outstanding warrants held by Amazon to purchase shares of SCA common stock were converted into warrants to purchase shares of our common stock and all of the outstanding options to purchase shares of SCA common stock were converted into options to purchase shares of our common stock. As a result of the conversion, Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. continued to hold all property and assets of SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC and assumed all of the debts and obligations of SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC, the members of the board of directors of SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC became the members of the board of directors of Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. and the officers of SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC became the officers of Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc.
Prior to the completion of this offering, we will effect a for 1 stock split of our common stock (the Stock Split), with exercise prices for our outstanding warrants and options appropriately adjusted. Following the Stock Split but before the completion of this offering, we will have an aggregate of shares of our common stock outstanding, warrants to purchase an aggregate of shares of our common stock outstanding at an exercise price of $ per share, approximately % of which have vested, and options to purchase an aggregate of shares of our common stock outstanding at a weighted average exercise price of $ per share.
In this prospectus, we refer to the transactions described in this section as the Reorganization Transactions. The Reorganization Transactions are intended to simplify our capital structure and to facilitate this offering.
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Corporate Information
We were organized under the laws of the State of Delaware as a limited liability company on December 8, 2017 and converted to a corporation under the laws of the state of Delaware on January 31, 2020. Our principal executive offices are located at 2005 Cargo Road, Minneapolis, MN 55450. Our telephone number is (651) 681-3900. Our website is located at https://www.suncountry.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and are not considered part of, this prospectus. You should not rely on our website or any such information in making your decision whether to purchase shares of our common stock.
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The Offering
By participating in this offering, you are representing that you are a citizen of the United States, as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(15). See Description of Capital StockLimited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners.
Issuer |
Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. | |
Common stock offered by us |
shares. | |
Common stock offered by the selling stockholder |
shares (or shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full as described below). | |
Option to purchase additional shares |
The selling stockholder has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional shares. The underwriters may exercise this option at any time within 30 days from the date of this prospectus. See Underwriting (Conflict of Interest). | |
Common stock outstanding after giving effect to this offering |
shares. | |
2019 Warrants to purchase common stock outstanding after giving effect to this offering |
Amazon will own warrants to purchase an aggregate of shares of common stock at an exercise price of $ per share, approximately % of which have vested. As is the case for investment in our company generally, the exercise of the 2019 Warrants is limited by restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines. See Description of Capital StockWarrants. | |
Use of proceeds |
We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $ million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, based on an assumed initial offering price of $ per share (the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus).
We currently expect to use approximately $ million of such proceeds from this offering to pay fees and expenses in connection with this offering, which include legal and accounting fees, SEC and FINRA registration fees, printing expenses, and other similar fees and expenses. We intend to use any remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes. See Use of Proceeds for additional information.
We will not receive any of the net proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock offered by the selling stockholder. | |
Controlled company |
Upon completion of this offering, the Apollo Stockholder will continue to beneficially own more than 50% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result, we intend to avail ourselves of the controlled company exemptions under the rules of the NYSE, including exemptions from certain of the corporate governance listing requirements. See ManagementControlled Company. |
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Dividend policy |
We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. However, we may, in the future, decide to pay dividends on our common stock. Any declaration and payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, cash flows, capital requirements, levels of indebtedness, restrictions imposed by applicable law, our overall financial condition, restrictions in our debt agreements and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. See Dividend Policy. | |
Listing |
We intend to apply to list our common stock on the NYSE under the symbol SNCY. | |
Risk Factors |
You should read the section titled Risk Factors beginning on page 22 of, and the other information included in, this prospectus for a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our common stock. | |
Conflict of Interest |
Apollo Global Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Apollo, is an underwriter in this offering. Affiliates of Apollo beneficially own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock. As a result, Apollo Global Securities, LLC is deemed to have a conflict of interest under FINRA Rule 5121, and this offering will be conducted in compliance with the requirements of Rule 5121. Pursuant to that rule, the appointment of a qualified independent underwriter is not required in connection with this offering as the members primarily responsible for managing the public offering do not have a conflict of interest, are not affiliates of any member that has a conflict of interest and meet the requirements of paragraph (f)(12)(E) of Rule 5121. Apollo Global Securities, LLC will not confirm sales of the securities to any account over which it exercises discretionary authority without the specific written approval of the account holder. See Underwriting (Conflict of Interest). |
Except as otherwise indicated, all of the information in this prospectus:
| reflects the Reorganization Transactions, including the Stock Split; |
| assumes an initial public offering price of $ per share of common stock, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus; |
| assumes no exercise of the underwriters option to purchase up to additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholder; |
| assumes no exercise of the 2019 Warrants to purchase an aggregate of shares of common stock, approximately % of which have vested. As is the case for investment in our company generally, the exercise of the 2019 Warrants is limited by restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines. See Description of Capital StockLimited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners; |
| does not reflect an additional shares of common stock reserved for future grant under our new equity incentive plan (the Omnibus Equity Plan). See Executive CompensationEquity Compensation Plans2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan; and |
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| does not reflect shares of common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of the consummation of this offering under the SCA Acquisition Holdings, LLC Equity Incentive Plan (the SCA Acquisition Equity Plan). The following table sets forth the outstanding stock options under the SCA Acquisition Equity Plan as of December 31, 2020 (giving effect to the Stock Split): |
Number of Options(1) |
Weighted-Average Exercise Price Per Share |
|||||||
Vested stock options (time-based vesting) |
$ | |||||||
Unvested stock options (time-based vesting) |
$ | |||||||
Unvested stock options (performance-based vesting) |
$ |
(1) | Upon a holders exercise of one option, we will issue to the holder one share of common stock. |
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Summary Consolidated Financial and Operating Information
The following tables present our summary consolidated financial and operating information for the periods indicated. We have derived our summary historical consolidated statement of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2019 and for the periods January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 (Predecessor) and April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 (Successor) from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived our summary historical consolidated statement of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived our summary historical consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2020 from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The significant differences in accounting for the Successor periods as compared to the Predecessor period, which were established as part of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds, are in (1) aircraft rent, due to the over-market liabilities related to unfavorable terms of our existing aircraft leases and maintenance reserve payments, which will be amortized on a straight-line basis as a reduction of aircraft rent over the remaining life of each lease, (2) maintenance expenses, due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) that will offset expenses for maintenance events incurred by the Successor but paid for by the Predecessor and (3) depreciation and amortization, due to the recognition of our property and equipment and other intangible assets at fair value at the time of the acquisition, which will be amortized through depreciation and amortization on a straight-line basis over their respective useful lives. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of our results that may be expected for any future period. The following summary consolidated financial and operating information should be read in conjunction with the section titled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Statement of Operations Data: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating Revenues: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passenger |
$ | 272,299 | $ | 527,327 | $ | 688,833 | $ | 335,824 | $ | 172,897 | ||||||||||||||
Cargo |
17,491 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||
Other |
3,889 | 10,193 | 12,551 | 49,107 | 24,555 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total Operating Revenue |
293,679 | 537,520 | 701,384 | 384,931 | 197,452 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Operating Expenses: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft Fuel |
$ | 69,377 | $ | 127,338 | $ | 165,666 | $ | 119,553 | $ | 45,790 | ||||||||||||||
Salaries, Wages, and Benefits |
106,923 | 105,668 | 140,739 | 90,263 | 36,964 | |||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft Rent(1) |
23,376 | 37,959 | 49,908 | 36,831 | 28,329 | |||||||||||||||||||
Maintenance(2) |
15,242 | 25,041 | 35,286 | 15,491 | 9,508 | |||||||||||||||||||
Sales and Marketing |
13,123 | 27,414 | 35,388 | 17,180 | 10,854 | |||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and Amortization(3) |
35,631 | 25,371 | 34,877 | 14,405 | 2,526 | |||||||||||||||||||
Ground Handling |
15,786 | 31,009 | 41,719 | 23,828 | 8,619 | |||||||||||||||||||
Landing Fees and Airport Rent |
22,377 | 33,730 | 44,400 | 25,977 | 10,481 | |||||||||||||||||||
Special Items, net(4) |
(64,333 | ) | 6,378 | 7,092 | (6,706 | ) | 271 | |||||||||||||||||
Other Operating, net |
34,363 | 51,094 | 68,187 | 40,877 | 17,994 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total Operating Expenses |
271,865 | 471,002 | 623,262 | 377,699 | 171,336 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Operating Income |
21,814 | 66,518 | 78,122 | 7,232 | 26,116 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-operating Income (Expense): |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest Income |
$ | 340 | $ | 618 | $ | 937 | $ | 258 | $ | 96 | ||||||||||||||
Interest Expense |
(16,215 | ) | (12,700 | ) | (17,170 | ) | (6,060 | ) | (339 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Other, net |
(331 | ) | (906 | ) | (1,729 | ) | (1,636 | ) | 37 | |||||||||||||||
|
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Total Non-operating Expense |
(16,206 | ) | (12,988 | ) | (17,962 | ) | (7,438 | ) | (206 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Income (Loss) before Income Tax |
5,608 | 53,530 | 60,160 | (206 | ) | 25,910 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Income Tax Expense |
1,470 | 12,476 | 14,088 | 161 | | |||||||||||||||||||
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Net Income (Loss) |
$ | 4,138 | $ | 41,054 | $ | 46,072 | $ | (367 | ) | $ | 25,910 | |||||||||||||
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Net Income (Loss) per share to common stockholders: |
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Basic |
$ | 1.67 | $ | 16.58 | $ | 18.61 | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | 0.26 | |||||||||||||
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Diluted |
$ | 1.62 | $ | 16.22 | $ | 18.17 | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | 0.26 | |||||||||||||
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Weighted average shares outstanding: |
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Basic |
2,478 | 2,476 | 2,476 | 2,472 | 100,000 | |||||||||||||||||||
Diluted |
2,560 | 2,531 | 2,536 | 2,472 | 100,000 |
(1) | Aircraft Rent expense for the Successor periods is reduced due to amortization of a liability representing lease rates and maintenance reserves which were higher than market terms of similar leases at the time of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds. This liability was recognized at the time of the acquisition and is being amortized into earnings through a reduction of Aircraft Rent on a straight-line basis over the remaining life of each lease. See Note 2 and Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(2) | Maintenance expense for the Successor periods is reduced due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) to represent the Successors obligation to perform planned maintenance events paid for by the Predecessor on leased aircraft at the date of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds. The liability (or contra-asset) is recognized as a reduction to Maintenance expense as reimbursable maintenance events are performed and maintenance expense is incurred. See Note 2 and Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(3) | Depreciation and amortization expense increased in the Successor periods due to higher fair values for certain acquired assets and to the amortization of definite-lived intangible assets. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(4) | See Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements and Note 13 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information on the components of Special items, net. |
As of September 30, 2020 | ||||||||||||
Actual | Pro forma(1) |
Pro forma as adjusted(2) |
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(in thousands) | ||||||||||||
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and equivalents |
$ | 44,288 | $ | $ | ||||||||
Total assets |
1,043,600 | |||||||||||
Long-term debt and finance leases, including current portion |
362,846 | |||||||||||
Total stockholders equity |
290,069 |
(1) | The pro forma consolidated balance sheet data gives effect to the Reorganization Transactions, including the Stock Split. Following this offering, 2019 Warrants to purchase an aggregate of shares of common stock, approximately % of which have vested, will remain outstanding. As is the case for investment in our company generally, the exercise of the 2019 Warrants is limited by restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines. See Description of Capital StockLimited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners. |
18
(2) | The pro forma as adjusted balance sheet data gives further effect to this offering and the application of the net proceeds to us of this offering as of September 30, 2020 as described under Use of Proceeds. |
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
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(in thousands) |
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Non-GAAP Financial Data: |
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Adjusted Net Income (Loss)(1) |
$ | (40,728 | ) | $ | 47,530 | $ | 53,734 | $ | (5,871 | ) | $ | 26,181 | ||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDAR(1) |
22,222 | 137,353 | 171,129 | 49,688 | 57,279 |
(1) | Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR are non-GAAP measures and are included as supplemental disclosures because we believe they are useful indicators of our operating performance. Derivations of net income and EBITDAR are well recognized performance measurements in the airline industry that are frequently used by our management, as well as by investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in comparing the operating performance of companies in our industry. Further, we believe Adjusted EBITDAR is useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to our competitors because its calculation isolates the effects of financing in general, the accounting effects of capital spending and acquisitions (primarily aircraft, which may be acquired directly, directly subject to acquisition debt, by finance lease or by operating lease, each of which is presented differently for accounting purposes), and income taxes, which may vary significantly between periods and for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. |
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR have limitations as analytical tools. Some of the limitations applicable to these measures include: Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR do not reflect the impact of certain cash charges resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations; Adjusted EBITDAR does not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements, for capital expenditures or contractual commitments; Adjusted EBITDAR does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR do not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt; although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDAR does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and other companies in our industry may calculate Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR differently than we do, limiting each measures usefulness as a comparative measure. Because of these limitations Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.
As derivations of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR are not determined in accordance with GAAP, such measures are susceptible to varying calculations and not all companies calculate the measures in the same manner. As a result, derivations of net income, including Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR, as presented may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. In addition, Adjusted EBITDAR should not be viewed as a measure of overall performance since it excludes aircraft rent, which is a normal, recurring cash operating expense that is necessary to operate our business. We have historically incurred substantial rent expense due to our legacy fleet of operating leased aircraft, which are currently being transitioned to owned and finance leased aircraft. As a result of the transition, we believe a metric which is indifferent to aircraft ownership structures enables investors and our management to analyze our financial performance over time and against our competitors. In this regard, Adjusted EBITDAR is a valuable metric to provide comparability in measuring earnings against our competitors as it isolates the effects of variability in aircraft ownership structure across airlines, which is predominately a function of aircraft capital spending and lease structure rather than a contributing factor to operating performance, given that airlines frequently have significant variability in their mix of owned and financed leased aircraft versus operating leased aircraft, which are presented differently for accounting purposes. For the foregoing reasons, each of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR has significant limitations which affect its use as an indicator of our profitability. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this information.
19
The following table presents the reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Net Income (Loss) for the periods presented below.
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
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(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) reconciliation: |
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Net income (Loss) |
$ | 4,138 | $ | 41,054 | $ | 46,072 | $ | (367 | ) | $ | 25,910 | |||||||||||||
Special items, net(a) |
(64,333 | ) | 6,378 | 7,092 | (6,706 | ) | 271 | |||||||||||||||||
Stock compensation expense |
1,253 | 1,543 | 1,888 | 373 | | |||||||||||||||||||
Loss (gain) on asset transactions, net |
381 | 264 | 745 | (811 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||
Other adjustments(b) |
4,431 | 226 | 226 | | | |||||||||||||||||||
Income tax effect of adjusting items, net(c) |
13,402 | (1,935 | ) | (2,289 | ) | 1,640 | | |||||||||||||||||
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Adjusted Net Income (Loss) |
$ | (40,728 | ) | $ | 47,530 | $ | 53,734 | $ | (5,871 | ) | $ | 26,181 | ||||||||||||
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(a) | See Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements and Note 13 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information on the components of Special items, net. |
(b) | Other adjustments for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 include expenses related to a voluntary employee leave program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a portion of which is offset by the CARES Act Payroll Support Program as the benefit of this program is also adjusted as a component of special items. Other adjustments for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and the Successor 2019 period include expenses incurred in terminating work on a planned new crew base. |
(c) | The tax effect of adjusting items, net is calculated at the Companys statutory rate for the applicable period. |
The following table presents the reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDAR for the periods presented below.
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
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(in thousands) |
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Adjusted EBITDAR reconciliation: |
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Net income (loss) |
$ | 4,138 | $ | 41,054 | $ | 46,072 | $ | (367 | ) | $ | 25,910 | |||||||||||||
Special items, net(a) |
(64,333 | ) | 6,378 | 7,092 | (6,706 | ) | 271 | |||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
16,215 | 12,700 | 17,170 | 6,060 | 339 | |||||||||||||||||||
Stock compensation expense |
1,253 | 1,543 | 1,888 | 373 | | |||||||||||||||||||
Loss (gain) on asset transactions, net |
381 | 264 | 745 | (811 | ) | | ||||||||||||||||||
Other adjustments(b) |
4,431 | 226 | 226 | | | |||||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
(340 | ) | (618 | ) | (937 | ) | (258 | ) | (96 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Provision for income taxes. |
1,470 | 12,476 | 14,088 | 161 | | |||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
35,631 | 25,371 | 34,877 | 14,405 | 2,526 | |||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft rent |
23,376 | 37,959 | 49,908 | 36,831 | 28,329 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Adjusted EBITDAR |
$ | 22,222 | $ | 137,353 | $ | 171,129 | $ | 49,688 | $ | 57,279 | ||||||||||||||
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(a) | See Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements and Note 13 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information on the components of Special items, net. |
(b) | Other adjustments for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 include expenses related to a voluntary employee leave program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a portion of which is offset by the CARES Act Payroll Support Program as the benefit of this program is also adjusted as a component of special items. Other adjustments for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and the Successor 2019 period include expenses incurred in terminating work on a planned new crew base. |
20
Key Operating Statistics and Metrics
Nine months ended September 30, 2020 | Fiscal Year 2019 | Fiscal Year 2018 | Fiscal Year 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scheduled Service |
Charter | Cargo | Total | Scheduled Service |
Charter | Total | Scheduled Service |
Charter | Total | Scheduled Service |
Charter | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Departures(1) |
10,546 | 3,480 | 2,231 | 16,396 | 24,392 | 8,935 | 33,567 | 19,772 | 8,254 | 28,194 | 20,357 | 7,981 | 28,469 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Block hours(1) |
34,417 | 7,853 | 6,244 | 48,882 | 80,719 | 19,852 | 101,137 | 68,143 | 17,335 | 85,883 | 68,060 | 16,941 | 85,298 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft miles(1) |
13,971,831 | 2,964,186 | 2,574,421 | 19,616,207 | 32,217,934 | 7,356,628 | 39,738,483 | 27,584,857 | 6,369,866 | 34,095,663 | 27,723,331 | 6,358,418 | 34,181,885 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ASMs (in thousands)(1) |
2,589,606 | 540,284 | | 3,149,188 | 5,747,391 | 1,288,725 | 7,064,563 | 4,433,110 | 1,007,391 | 5,463,229 | 4,255,233 | 979,756 | 5,250,474 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TRASM (in cents)(2) |
* | * | * | 8.77 | * | * | 9.93 | * | * | 10.66 | * | * | 10.65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average aircraft available for service(2) |
* | * | * | 24.3 | * | * | 24.3 | * | * | 24.3 | * | * | 23.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft at end of period(2) |
* | * | 31.0 | * | * | 30.0 | * | * | 26.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average daily aircraft utilization (in hours)(2). |
* | * | * | 5.0 | * | * | 9.6 | * | * | 9.7 | * | * | 9.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers(3) |
1,273,747 | * | * | * | 3,565,939 | * | * | 2,614,929 | * | * | 2,502,082 | * | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RPMs (in thousands)(3) |
1,721,227 | * | * | * | 4,473,347 | * | * | 3,653,007 | * | * | 3,419,527 | * | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PRASM (in cents)(3) |
6.14 | * | * | * | 6.89 | * | * | 8.05 | * | 8.74 | * | * | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Load factor(3) |
66.5 | % | * | * | * | 82.5 | % | * | * | 82.4 | % | * | * | 80.4 | % | * | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average fare(3) |
$ | 124.08 | * | * | * | $ | 111.08 | * | * | $ | 136.42 | * | * | $ | 148.60 | * | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ancillary revenue per passenger(3) |
$ | 41.02 | * | * | * | $ | 33.14 | * | * | $ | 21.70 | * | * | $ | 13.34 | * | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charter revenue per block hour |
* | 7,765 | * | * | * | $ | 8,793 | * | * | $ | 8,767 | * | * | $ | 7,818 | * | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fuel gallons consumed (in thousands) |
26,182 | 5,938 | * | 32,120 | 63,240 | 14,802 | 78,042 | 52,303 | 12,678 | 64,981 | 52,104 | 12,551 | 64,656 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fuel cost per gallon, excl. derivatives |
$ | 1.62 | $ | $ | $ | $ | 2.34 | $ | * | $ | * | $ | 2.34 | $ | * | $ | * | $ | 1.85 | $ | * | $ | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Employees at end of period |
1,632 | * | * | * | 1,532 | * | * | 1,549 | * | * | 1,889 | * | * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CASM (in cents)(4) |
8.63 | 8.82 | * | * | 10.05 | * | * | 10.09 | * | * | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-GAAP Operating Metric: |
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Adjusted CASM |
7.75 | * | * | * | 6.31 | * | * | 7.05 | * | * | 7.80 | * | * |
21
See Glossary of Terms for definitions of terms used in this table.
* | Certain operating statistics and metrics are not presented as they are not calculable or are not utilized by management. |
(1) | Total System operating statistics for Departures, Block hours, Aircraft miles and ASMs include amounts related to flights operated for maintenance; therefore the Total System amounts are higher than the sum of Scheduled Service and Charter Service amounts. |
(2) | Scheduled service and charter service utilize the same fleet of aircraft. Aircraft counts and utilization metrics are shown on a system basis only. |
(3) | Passenger-related statistics and metrics are shown only for scheduled service. Charter service revenue is driven by flight statistics. |
(4) | CASM is a key airline cost metric. CASM is defined as operating expenses divided by total available seat miles. |
(5) | Adjusted CASM, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, is also a key airline cost metric and excludes fuel costs, costs related to our freighter operations (starting in 2020 when we launched our freighter operation), certain commissions and other costs of selling our vacations product from this measure as these costs are unrelated to our airline operations and improve comparability to our peers. Adjusted CASM is one of the most important measures used by management and by our board of directors in assessing quarterly and annual cost performance. Adjusted CASM is also a measure commonly used by industry analysts and we believe it is an important metric by which they compare our airline to others in the industry, although other airlines may exclude certain other costs in their calculation of Adjusted CASM. The measure is also the subject of frequent questions from investors. Adjusted CASM excludes fuel costs. By excluding volatile fuel expenses that are outside of our control from our unit metrics, we believe that we have better visibility into the results of operations and our non-fuel cost initiatives. Our industry is highly competitive and is characterized by high fixed costs, so even a small reduction in non-fuel operating costs can lead to a significant improvement in operating results. In addition, we believe that all domestic carriers are similarly impacted by changes in jet fuel costs over the long run, so it is important for management and investors to understand the impact and trends in company-specific cost drivers, such as labor rates, aircraft costs and maintenance costs, and productivity, which are more controllable by management. Adjusted CASM also excludes special items and other adjustments, as defined in the relevant reporting period, that are not representative of the ongoing costs necessary to our airline operations and may improve comparability between periods. We also exclude stock compensation expense when computing Adjusted CASM. The Companys compensation strategy includes the use of stock-based compensation to attract and retain employees and executives and is principally aimed at aligning their interests with those of our stockholders and at long-term employee retention, rather than to motivate or reward operational performance for any particular period. Thus, stock-based compensation expense varies for reasons that are generally unrelated to operational decisions and performance in any particular period. As derivations of Adjusted CASM are not determined in accordance with GAAP, such measures are susceptible to varying calculations and not all companies calculate the measures in the same manner. As a result, derivations of Adjusted CASM as presented may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. |
The following table presents the reconciliation of CASM to Adjusted CASM.
For the nine months ended September 30, |
For the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) |
Per ASM (in cents) |
(in thousands) |
Per ASM (in cents) |
(in thousands) |
Per ASM (in cents) |
(in thousands) |
Per ASM (in cents) |
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CASM |
$ | 271,865 | 8.63 | $ | 623,262 | 8.82 | $ | 549,035 | 10.05 | $ | 530,008 | 10.09 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft fuel |
69,377 | 2.20 | 165,666 | 2.35 | 165,343 | 3.03 | 118,382 | 2.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Freighter operations |
16,610 | 0.53 | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sun Country Vacations |
443 | 0.01 | 2,448 | 0.03 | 4,541 | 0.08 | 2,083 | 0.04 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Special items, net |
(64,333 | ) | (2.04 | ) | 7,092 | 0.10 | (6,435 | ) | (0.12 | ) | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stock compensation expense |
1,253 | 0.04 | 1,888 | 0.03 | 373 | 0.01 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other adjustments |
4,431 | 0.14 | 226 | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adjusted CASM |
$ | 244,084 | 7.75 | $ | 445,942 | 6.31 | $ | 385,213 | 7.05 | $ | 409,543 | 7.80 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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22
You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as the other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, before deciding to invest in our common stock. In addition, past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. Any of the following risks could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, in which case the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Industry
The global pandemic resulting from the novel coronavirus has had an adverse impact that has been material to our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, and the duration and spread of the pandemic could result in additional adverse impacts. The outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat in the future could also have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
COVID-19, which was first reported in December 2019, was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (the WHO). On March 13, 2020, the U.S. government declared a national emergency and the U.S. Department of State subsequently issued a global Level 4 do not travel advisory advising U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. The U.S. government, states, cities and other authorities have also implemented enhanced screenings, mandatory quarantine requirements and other travel restrictions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, including restrictions on travel from certain international locations, and many foreign governments and jurisdictions instituted similar measures and declared states of emergency.
Additional governmental and other restrictions and regulations that may be implemented in the future in response to COVID-19 could include additional travel restrictions (including expanded restrictions on domestic air travel within the United States), quarantines of additional populations (including our personnel) and restrictions on our ability to access our facilities or aircraft or requirements to collect additional passenger data. In addition, governments, non-governmental organizations and entities in the private sector have issued and may continue to issue non-binding advisories or recommendations regarding air travel or other physical distancing measures, including limitations on the number of persons that should be present at public gatherings, which may significantly reduce demand. These restrictions and regulations have had, and will continue to have, a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
In the United States and other locations around the world, public events, such as conferences, sporting events and concerts, have been canceled, attractions, including theme parks and museums, have been closed, cruise lines have suspended operations, airlines have dramatically reduced their schedules and schools and businesses are operating with partial or full remote attendance, among other actions.
We began experiencing a significant decline in demand related to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020, and this reduction in demand has continued through the date of this prospectus and is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. The decline in demand caused a material deterioration in our revenues. Our results of operations for fiscal year 2020 have been materially and adversely impacted and future results of operations may also be materially and adversely impacted. In response to decreased demand, we reduced scheduled service capacity relative to 2019 by approximately % in 2020. We plan to proactively manage capacity and costs until there are more meaningful signs of a recovery in demand, which has a negative impact on our revenue. In addition, actual or perceived risk of infection on our flights could have a material adverse effect on the publics demand for and willingness to use air travel, which could harm our reputation and business. Demand for
23
scheduled service business is negatively correlated to case counts in Minnesota and the destinations of our scheduled flights. For example, we experienced a decrease in demand in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter due to spikes in reported COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, historically, unfavorable U.S. economic conditions have driven changes in travel patterns, including significantly and materially reduced spending for both leisure and business travel. Unfavorable economic conditions, when low fares are often used to stimulate traffic, have also historically hampered the ability of airlines to raise fares to counteract any increases in fuel, labor and other costs. Any significant increases in unemployment in the United States would likely continue to have a negative impact on passenger bookings, especially when the customers we serve are paying with their own money, and these effects could exist for an extensive period of time. Even once the pandemic and fears of travel subside, demand for air travel may remain weak for a significant period of time. In addition to scheduled service demand, the U.S. Department of Defense has reduced normal personnel movements while most of our other passenger service customers suspended their operations and demand for commercial passenger charters significantly declined. In addition, some college conferences have canceled or reduced sports and related travel. The continued decline in demand, which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, is expected to have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity. Apart from the decrease in demand, passenger bookings have been on average much closer to the date of service during pandemic than in prior periods, which has reduced our visibility into future revenue.
In addition to the schedule reductions discussed above, we have reduced our planned capital expenditures and reduced operating expenditures for 2020 (including by postponing projects deemed non-critical to our operations), upsized our ABL Facility and temporarily grounded certain of our fleet. We continue to focus on reducing expenses and managing our liquidity and we expect to continue to modify our cost management structure, liquidity-raising efforts and capacity as the timing of demand recovery becomes more certain.
On April 20, 2020, we entered into a Payroll Support Program Agreement (the PSP Agreement) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) with Treasury governing our participation in the Payroll Support Program. Under the Payroll Support Program, Treasury provided us with $62.3 million in grants (the Payroll Support Payment). In addition, on October 26, 2020, we entered into a loan and guarantee agreement (the CARES Act Loan Agreement) with Treasury under the Loan Program of the CARES Act, pursuant to which Treasury agreed to extend loans to us in an aggregate principal amount of $45.0 million, subject to specified terms, which is due to be repaid on the earlier of (i) October 24, 2025 or (ii) six months prior to the expiration date of any material loyalty program securing the loan. The substance and duration of restrictions to which we are subject under the grants and/or loans under the CARES Act, including, but not limited to, those outlined below could materially affect our operations, and we may not be successful in managing these impacts. Further, these restrictions could limit our ability to take actions that we otherwise might have determined to be in the best interest of our company and our stockholders. In particular, limitations on executive compensation may impact our ability to attract and retain senior management or attract other key employees during this critical time. See We are subject to certain restrictions on our business as a result of our participation in governmental programs under the CARES Act.
Further, certain airport and air traffic personnel and ground handlers have tested positive for or been suspected of having COVID-19, which has resulted in facility closures, reduction in available staffing, including for our cargo business, and disruptions to our overall operations. Our operations may be further impacted in the event of additional instances of actual or perceived risk of infection among our employees, suppliers or business partners, and this impact may have a material adverse effect if we are unable to maintain a suitably skilled and sized workforce and address related employee matters. In addition, supply chain disruptions may impede our cargo customers ability to deliver freight to the airports we serve, which could reduce their need for our services and thus have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The industry may also be subject to enhanced health and hygiene requirements in attempts to counteract future outbreaks, which requirements may be costly and take a significant amount of time to implement.
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We may take additional actions to improve our financial position, including measures to improve liquidity, such as the issuance of unsecured and secured debt securities, equity securities and equity-linked securities, the sale of assets and/or the entry into additional bilateral and syndicated secured and/or unsecured credit facilities. There can be no assurance as to the timing of any such issuance, which may be in the near term, or that any such additional financing will be completed on favorable terms, or at all. Any such actions may be material in nature and could result in significant additional borrowing. Our reduction in expenditures, measures to improve liquidity or other strategic actions that we may take in the future in response to COVID-19 may not be effective in offsetting decreased demand, and we will not be permitted to take certain strategic actions as a result of the CARES Act, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition.
The full extent of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 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 discussed above, the duration, spread, severity and recurrence of COVID-19 and related travel advisories and restrictions, the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, the impact of COVID-19 on overall long-term demand for air travel, including after the pandemic subsides, the impact of COVID-19 on the financial health and operations of our business partners, future governmental actions, including their duration and scope, and our access to capital, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.
In addition, an outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or fear of such an event, that affects travel demand, travel behavior, travel restrictions or adversely affects supply chains, which would impact our cargo business, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition. Outbreaks of other diseases could also result in increased government restrictions and regulation, such as those actions described above or otherwise, which could adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.
Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has moderated and the enhanced screenings, quarantine requirements, and travel restrictions have eased, we may continue to experience similar adverse effects to our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity resulting from a recessionary economic environment that may persist, including increases in unemployment, and our business and operating results may not return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels on a timely basis or at all. The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our businesses, operating results, financial condition and liquidity could exacerbate the other risks identified in this prospectus.
We are depending upon a successful COVID-19 vaccine and significant uptake by the general public in order to normalize economic conditions, the airline industry and our business operations and to realize our planned financial and growth plans and business strategy. The failure of a vaccine, significant unplanned adverse reactions to the vaccine, politicization of the vaccine or general public distrust of the vaccine could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Our financial and operating results and business operations for our scheduled service and charter businesses for the year ended December 31, 2020 have been materially and adversely impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which impact is likely to continue during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are depending upon a successful COVID-19 vaccine and significant uptake by the general public in order to normalize economic conditions, the airline industry and our business operations and to realize our financial and growth plans and business strategy. The potential efficacy and availability of a COVID-19 vaccine and the extent to which a vaccine is widely accepted is highly uncertain, and we cannot predict if or when we will be able to resume normal operations. The failure of a vaccine, significant unplanned adverse reactions to the vaccine, politicization of the vaccine or general public distrust of the vaccine could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
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The demand for airline services is highly sensitive to changes in economic conditions, and another recession or similar economic downturn in the United States would weaken demand for our services and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The demand for travel and cargo services is affected by U.S. and global economic conditions. Unfavorable economic conditions have historically reduced aviation spending. For most passengers visiting friends and relatives and cost-conscious leisure travelers (our primary market), travel is a discretionary expense, and during periods of unfavorable economic conditions as a result of such carriers low base fares travelers have often elected to replace air travel at such times with car travel or other forms of ground transportation or have opted not to travel at all. Likewise, during periods of unfavorable economic conditions, businesses have deferred air travel or forgone it altogether. Additionally, retail and thus cargo demand can also decrease. Furthermore, most of our charter revenue is generated from ad hoc or short-term contracts with repeat customers, and these customers may cease using our services or seek to negotiate more aggressive pricing during periods of unfavorable economic conditions. Any reduction in charter or cargo revenue during such periods could also increase our unit costs and thus have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Travelers have also reduced spending by purchasing fewer ancillary services, which can result in a decrease in average revenue per seat. Because airlines typically have relatively high fixed costs as a percentage of total costs, much of which cannot be mitigated during periods of lower demand for air travel or cargo services, the airline business is particularly sensitive to changes in economic conditions. Furthermore, if the COVID-19 pandemic leads to a recession, this could result in further reductions in demand for our services. A reduction in the demand for air travel or cargo services due to unfavorable economic conditions also limits our ability to raise fares or fees for cargo services to counteract increased fuel, labor and other costs. If U.S. or global economic conditions are unfavorable or uncertain for an extended period of time, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business has been and in the future may be materially adversely affected by the price and availability of aircraft fuel. Unexpected increases in the price of aircraft fuel or a shortage or disruption in the supply of aircraft fuel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The cost of aircraft fuel is highly volatile and in recent years has been our largest individual operating expense, accounting for approximately %, 26.6% and 30.1% of our operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. High fuel prices or increases in fuel costs (or in the price of crude oil) could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, including as a result of legacy network airlines and LCCs adapting more rapidly or effectively to higher fuel prices through new-technology aircraft that is more fuel efficient than our aircraft. Over the past several years, the price of aircraft fuel has fluctuated substantially and prices continue to be highly volatile and could increase significantly at any time. In addition, prolonged low fuel prices could limit our ability to differentiate our product and low fares from those of the legacy network airlines and LCCs, as prolonged low fuel prices could enable such carriers to, among other things, substantially decrease their costs, fly longer stages or utilize older aircraft.
Our business is also dependent on the availability of aircraft fuel (or crude oil), which is not predictable. Weather-related events, natural disasters, terrorism, wars, political disruption or instability involving oil-producing countries, changes in governmental or cartel policy concerning crude oil or aircraft fuel production, labor strikes or other events affecting refinery production, transportation, taxes or marketing, environmental concerns, market manipulation, price speculation, changes in currency exchange rates and other unpredictable events may drive actual or perceived fuel supply shortages. Shortages in the availability of, or increases in demand for, crude oil in general, other crude oil-based fuel derivatives and aircraft fuel in particular could result in increased fuel prices and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to increase ticket prices sufficiently to cover increased fuel costs, particularly when fuel prices rise quickly. We sell a significant number of tickets to passengers well in advance of travel, and, as a
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result, fares sold for future travel may not reflect increased fuel costs. In addition, our ability to increase ticket prices to offset an increase in fuel costs is limited by the competitive nature of the airline industry and the price sensitivity associated with air travel, particularly leisure travel, and any increases in fares may reduce the general demand for air travel. Additionally, our cargo and charter customers may choose to refuse fuel pass-through contracts, which could drive down the profitability of those agreements.
From time to time, we may enter into fuel derivative contracts in order to mitigate the risk to our business from future volatility in fuel prices but such contracts may not fully protect us from all related risks. As of December 31, 2020, we had hedges in place for approximately % of our projected fuel requirements for scheduled service operations in 2021, with all of our then existing options expected to be exercised or expire by the end of 2021. Generally speaking, our charter and cargo operations have pass-through provisions for fuel costs, and as such we do not hedge our fuel requirements for that portion of our business. Our hedges in place at the end of 2019 consisted of collars and the underlying commodities consisted of both Gulf Coast Jet Fuel contracts as well as West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil contracts.
Our hedging strategy to date has been designed to protect our liquidity position in the event of a rapid and/or sustained rise in fuel prices that does not allow for immediate response in ticket prices. We may enter into derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting, which can impact our results of operations and increase the volatility of our earnings due to recognizing the mark-to-market impact of our hedge portfolio as a result of changes in the forward markets for oil and/or jet fuel. We cannot assure you our fuel hedging program will be effective or that we will maintain a fuel hedging program. Even if we are able to hedge portions of our future fuel requirements, we cannot guarantee that our hedge contracts will provide an adequate level of protection against increased fuel costs or that the counterparties to our hedge contracts will be able to perform. Additionally, our ability to realize the benefit of declining fuel prices will be limited by the impact of any fuel hedges in place, we may incur additional expenses in connection with entering into derivative contracts and we may record significant losses on fuel hedges during periods of declining prices. A failure of our fuel hedging strategy, potential margin funding requirements, overpaying for fuel through the use of hedging arrangements or our failure to maintain a fuel hedging program could prevent us from adequately mitigating the risk of fuel price increases and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Threatened or actual terrorist attacks or security concerns involving airlines could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Past terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, particularly those against airlines, have caused substantial revenue losses and increased security costs, and any actual or threatened terrorist attack or security breach, even if not directly against an airline, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Security concerns resulting in enhanced passenger screening, increased regulation governing carry-on baggage and cargo and other similar restrictions on passenger travel and cargo may further increase passenger inconvenience and reduce the demand for air travel or increase costs associated with providing cargo service. In addition, increased or enhanced security measures have tended to result in higher governmental fees imposed on airlines, resulting in higher operating costs for airlines, which we may not be able to pass on to customers in the form of higher prices. Terrorist attacks, or the fear of such attacks or other hostilities (including elevated national threat warnings or selective cancellation or redirection of flights due to terror threats), even if not made directly on or involving the airline industry, could have a negative impact on the airline industry and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The airline industry is exceedingly competitive, and we compete against new entrants, LCCs, ULCCs, legacy network airlines and cargo carriers; if we are not able to compete successfully in our markets, our business will be materially adversely affected.
We face significant competition with respect to routes, fares and services. Within the airline industry, we compete with new airlines, ULCCs, LCCs and legacy network airlines for airline passengers traveling on the
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routes we serve, particularly customers traveling in economy or similar classes of service. Competition on most of the routes we presently serve is intense, due to the large number of carriers in those markets. Furthermore, other airlines or new airlines may begin service or increase existing service on routes where we currently face no or little competition. In almost all instances, our competitors are larger than we are and possess significantly greater financial and other resources than we do.
The airline industry is particularly susceptible to price discounting because, once a flight is scheduled, airlines incur only nominal additional costs to provide service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. Increased fare or other price competition could adversely affect our operations. Airlines typically use discount fares and other promotions to stimulate traffic during normally slower travel periods to generate cash flow and to increase revenue per available seat mile. The prevalence of discount fares can be particularly acute when a competitor has excess capacity to sell. Moreover, many other airlines have unbundled their services, at least in part, by charging separately for services such as baggage and advance seat selection, which previously were offered as a component of base fares. This unbundling and other cost-reducing measures could enable competitor airlines to reduce fares on routes that we serve. The availability of low-priced fares coupled with an increase in domestic capacity has led to dramatic changes in pricing behavior in many U.S. markets. Many domestic carriers began matching lower cost airline pricing, either with limited or unlimited inventory.
During economic downturns, including during a health crisis, our competitors may choose to take an aggressive posture toward market share growth on routes where we compete, which would flood a low demand market with additional capacity that drives down fares, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our growth and the success of our high-growth, low-cost business model could stimulate competition in our markets through our competitors development of their own LCC or ULCC strategies, new pricing policies designed to compete with LCCs, ULCCs or new market entrants. Airlines increase or decrease capacity in markets based on perceived profitability. If our competitors increase overall industry capacity, or capacity dedicated to a particular domestic or foreign region, market or route that we serve, it could have a material adverse impact on our business. If a legacy network airline were to successfully develop a low-cost product or if we were to experience increased competition from LCCs, our business could be materially adversely affected. Regardless of cost structure, the domestic airline industry has often been the source of fare wars undertaken to grow market share or for other reasons. Additionally, each of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines has begun to offer a so-called basic economy offering with reduced amenities designed specifically to compete against LCCs and ULCCs, which presents a significant form of competition for us.
A competitor adopting an LCC or ULCC strategy may have greater financial resources and access to lower cost sources of capital than we do, which could enable them to operate their business with a lower cost structure, or enable them to operate with lower marginal revenues without substantial adverse effects, than we can. If these competitors adopt and successfully execute an LCC or ULCC business model, our business could be materially adversely affected.
Similarly, our competitors may choose to commence or expand their existing charter operations, which could adversely impact our ability to obtain or renew charter contracts, especially in periods of low demand. This could result in decreases in our charter services market share and reduced profitability for our charter operations, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our competitors may also choose to commence, or expand their existing, cargo operations. In addition, our competitors could seek to provide cargo services to Amazon, which could adversely impact our ability to maintain or renew the ATSA. This could result in reduced frequencies for our cargo operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
There has been significant consolidation within the airline industry, including, for example, the combinations of American Airlines and US Airways, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, United Airlines
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and Continental Airlines, Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, and Alaska Airlines and Virgin America. In the future, there may be additional consolidation in our industry. Business combinations could significantly alter industry conditions and competition within the airline industry and could permit our competitors to reduce their fares.
The extremely competitive nature of the airline industry could prevent us from attaining the level of passenger traffic or maintaining the level of fares or ancillary revenues required to sustain profitable operations in new and existing markets and could impede our growth strategy, which could harm our operating results. Due to our relatively small size, we are susceptible to a fare war or other competitive activities in one or more of the markets we serve, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Airlines are often affected by factors beyond their control including: air traffic congestion at airports; air traffic control inefficiencies; government shutdowns; FAA grounding of aircraft; major construction or improvements at airports; adverse weather conditions, such as hurricanes or blizzards; increased security measures; new travel-related taxes; or the outbreak of disease, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Like other airlines, our business is affected by factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, air traffic control inefficiencies, major construction or improvements at airports at which we operate, increased security measures, new travel-related taxes and fees, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and the outbreak of disease. Factors that cause flight delays frustrate passengers and increase costs and decrease revenues, which in turn could adversely affect profitability. The federal government controls all U.S. airspace, and airlines are completely dependent on the FAA to operate that airspace in a safe, efficient and affordable manner. The air traffic control system, which is operated by the FAA, faces challenges in managing the growing demand for U.S. air travel. U.S. and foreign air traffic controllers often rely on outdated technologies that routinely overwhelm the system and compel airlines to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays. The federal government also controls airport security. In addition, there are proposals before Congress that would treat a wide range of consumer protection issues, which could increase the costs of doing business. Further, implementation of the Next Generation Air Transport System, or NextGen, by the FAA would result in changes to aircraft routings and flight paths that could lead to increased noise complaints and lawsuits, resulting in increased costs. In addition, federal government shutdowns can affect the availability of federal resources necessary to provide air traffic control and airport security. Furthermore, a federal government grounding of our aircraft type could result in flight cancellations and adversely affect our business.
Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, winter snowstorms or earthquakes, can cause flight cancellations or significant delays, and in the past have led to Congressional demands for investigations. Cancellations or delays due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, air traffic control problems or inefficiencies, breaches in security or other factors may affect us to a greater degree than other, larger airlines that may be able to recover more quickly from these events, and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition to a greater degree than other air carriers. Because of our day of week, limited schedule and optimized utilization and point-to-point network, operational disruptions can have a disproportionate impact on our ability to recover. In addition, many airlines reaccommodate their disrupted passengers on other airlines at prearranged rates under flight interruption manifest agreements. We have been unsuccessful in procuring any of these agreements with our peers, which makes our recovery from disruption more challenging than for larger airlines that have these agreements in place. Similarly, outbreaks of pandemic or contagious diseases, such as ebola, measles, avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), COVID-19, H1N1 (swine) flu, pertussis (whooping cough) and zika virus, could result in significant decreases in passenger traffic and the imposition of government restrictions in service and could have a material adverse impact on the airline industry. Any increases in travel-related taxes could also result in decreases in passenger traffic. Any general reduction in airline passenger traffic could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, U.S. federal government
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shutdowns may cause delays and cancellations or reductions in discretionary travel due to longer security lines, including as a result of furloughed government employees or reductions in staffing levels, including air traffic controllers. U.S. government shutdowns may also impact our ability to take delivery of aircraft and commence operations in new domestic stations. Another extended shutdown like the one in December 2018-January 2019 may have a negative impact on our operations and financial results.
Risks associated with our presence in international markets, including political or economic instability, and failure to adequately comply with existing and changing legal requirements, may materially adversely affect us.
Some of our target growth markets include countries with less developed economies, legal systems, financial markets and business and political environments that are vulnerable to economic and political disruptions, such as significant fluctuations in gross domestic product, interest and currency exchange rates, civil disturbances, government instability, nationalization and expropriation of private assets, trafficking and the imposition of taxes or other charges by governments, as well as health and safety concerns. The occurrence of any of these events in markets served by us now or in the future and the resulting instability may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We emphasize compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in all jurisdictions where we operate and have implemented and continue to implement and refresh policies, procedures and certain ongoing training of our employees, third-party providers and partners with regard to business ethics and key legal requirements; however, we cannot assure you that our employees, third-party providers or partners will adhere to our code of ethics, other policies or other legal requirements. If we fail to enforce our policies and procedures properly or maintain adequate recordkeeping and internal accounting practices to record our transactions accurately, we may be subject to sanctions. In the event we believe or have reason to believe our employees, third-party providers or partners have or may have violated applicable laws or regulations, we may incur investigation costs, potential penalties and other related costs, which in turn may materially adversely affect our reputation and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Increases in insurance costs or reductions in insurance coverage may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If any of our aircraft were to be involved in a significant accident or if our property or operations were to be affected by a significant natural catastrophe or other event, we could be exposed to material liability or loss. If insurance markets harden due to other airline global incidents, general aviation incidents or other economic factors, we could be unable to obtain sufficient insurance (including aviation hull and liability insurance and property and business interruption coverage) to cover such liabilities or losses, our business could be materially adversely affected.
We currently obtain war risk insurance coverage (terrorism insurance) as part of our commercial aviation hull and liability policy, and additional excess third-party war risk insurance through the commercial aviation war risk market. Our current war risk insurance from commercial underwriters excludes nuclear, radiological and certain other events. The global insurance market for aviation-related risks has been faced with significant losses, resulting in substantial tightening in insurance markets with reduced capacity and increased prices. If we are unable to obtain adequate third-party hull and liability or third-party war risk (terrorism) insurance or if an event not covered by the insurance we maintain were to take place, our business could be materially adversely affected.
The airline industry is heavily taxed.
The airline industry is subject to extensive government fees and taxation that negatively impact our revenue and profitability. The U.S. airline industry is one of the most heavily taxed of all industries. These fees and taxes have grown significantly in the past decade for domestic flights, and various U.S. fees and taxes also are assessed
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on international flights. For example, as permitted by federal legislation, most major U.S. airports impose a passenger facility charge per passenger on us. In addition, the governments of foreign countries in which we operate impose on U.S. airlines, including us, various fees and taxes, and these assessments have been increasing in number and amount in recent years. Moreover, we are obligated to collect a federal excise tax, commonly referred to as the ticket tax, on domestic and international air transportation. We collect the excise tax, along with certain other U.S. and foreign taxes and user fees on air transportation (such as passenger security fees), and pass along the collected amounts to the appropriate governmental agencies. Although these taxes and fees are not our operating expenses, they represent an additional cost to our customers, which, because we operate in a highly elastic environment, drives down demand. There are continuing efforts in Congress and in other countries to raise different portions of the various taxes, fees, and charges imposed on airlines and their passengers, including the passenger facility charge, and we may not be able to recover all of these charges from our customers. Increases in such taxes, fees and charges could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Under regulations set forth by the Department of Transportation, or the DOT, all governmental taxes and fees must be included in the prices we quote or advertise to our customers. Due to the competitive revenue environment, many increases in these fees and taxes have been absorbed by the airline industry rather than being passed on to the customer. Further increases in fees and taxes may reduce demand for air travel, and thus our revenues.
Restrictions on or increased taxes applicable to charges for ancillary products and services paid by airline passengers and burdensome consumer protection regulations or laws could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we generated ancillary revenues of approximately $118.2 million and $56.7 million, respectively. Our ancillary revenue consists primarily of revenue generated from air travel-related services such as baggage fees, seat selection and upgrade fees, itinerary service fees, on-board sales and sales of trip insurance. The DOT has rules governing many facets of the airline-consumer relationship, including, for instance, consumer notice requirements, handling of consumer complaints, price advertising, lengthy tarmac delays, oversales and denied boarding process/compensation, ticket refunds, liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage, customer service commitments, contracts of carriage, consumer disclosures and the transportation of passengers with disabilities. The DOT periodically audits airlines to determine whether such airlines have violated any of the DOT rules. If the DOT determines that we are not, or have not been, in compliance with these rules or if we are unable to remain compliant, the DOT may subject us to fines or other enforcement action. The DOT may also impose additional consumer protection requirements, including adding requirements to modify our websites and computer reservations system, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The U.S. Congress and the DOT have examined the increasingly common airline industry practice of unbundling the pricing of certain products and ancillary services, a practice that is a core component of our business strategy. If new laws or regulations are adopted that make unbundling of airline products and services impermissible, or more cumbersome or expensive, or if new taxes are imposed on ancillary revenues, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted. Congressional, Federal agency and other government scrutiny may also change industry practice or the publics willingness to pay for ancillary services. See also We are subject to extensive regulation by the FAA, the DOT, the TSA, CBP and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including increased regulation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Concern about climate change and greenhouse gases has resulted, and is expected to continue to result, in additional regulation or taxation of aircraft emissions in the United States and abroad. In particular, on March 6, 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, an agency of the United Nations established to
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manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, adopted new carbon dioxide, or CO2 certification standards for new aircraft beginning in 2020. The new CO2 standards will apply to new aircraft type designs from 2020, and to aircraft type designs already in production as of 2023. In-production aircraft that do not meet the standard by 2028 will no longer be able to be produced unless their designs are modified to meet the new standards. In August 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, made a final endangerment finding that aircraft engine greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, which obligates the EPA under the Clean Air Act to set GHG emissions standards for aircraft. In August 2020, the EPA issued a proposed rule regulating GHG emissions from aircraft that largely conforms to the March 2017 ICAO standards. However, the incoming presidential administration is expected to promote more aggressive policies with respect to climate change and carbon emissions, including in the aviation sector. Accordingly, the outcome of this rulemaking may result in stricter GHG emissions standards than those contained in the proposed rule. In addition, federal climate legislation, including the Green New Deal resolution, has been introduced in Congress recently, although Congress has yet to pass a bill specifically addressing GHG regulation. Several states are also considering or have adopted initiatives to regulate emissions of GHGs, primarily through the planned development of GHG emissions inventories and/or regional cap-and-trade programs.
In addition, in October 2016, the ICAO adopted the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, which is a global, market-based emissions offset program designed to encourage carbon-neutral growth beyond 2020. Further, in June 2018 the ICAO adopted standards pertaining to the collection and sharing of information on international aviation emissions beginning in 2019. The CORSIA will increase operating costs for us and other U.S. airlines that operate internationally. The CORSIA is being implemented in phases, with information sharing beginning in 2019 and a pilot phase beginning in 2021. Certain details are still being developed and the impact cannot be fully predicted. The potential impact of the CORSIA or other emissions-related requirements on our costs will ultimately depend on a number of factors, including baseline emissions, the price of emission allowances or offsets that we would need to acquire, the efficiency of our fleet and the number of flights subject to these requirements. These costs have not been completely defined and could fluctuate.
In the event that legislation or regulation with respect to GHG emissions associated with aircraft or applicable to the fuel industry is enacted in the United States or other jurisdictions where we operate or where we may operate in the future, or as part of international conventions to which we are subject, it could result in significant costs for us and the airline industry. In addition to direct costs, such regulation may have a greater effect on the airline industry through increases in fuel costs that could result from fuel suppliers passing on increased costs that they incur under such a system.
We face competition from air travel substitutes.
In addition to airline competition from legacy network airlines, LCCs and ULCCs, we also face competition from air travel substitutes. Our business serves primarily leisure travelers, for whom travel is entirely discretionary. On our domestic routes, particularly those with shorter stage lengths, we face competition from some other transportation alternatives, such as bus, train or automobile. In addition, technology advancements may limit the demand for air travel. For example, video teleconferencing and other methods of electronic communication may reduce the need for in-person communication and add a new dimension of competition to the industry as travelers seek lower-cost substitutes for air travel. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated adoption of such technology and customers may be more likely to think it is sufficient for their needs, which could reduce demand for air travel. If we are unable to stimulate demand for air travel with our low base fares or if we are unable to adjust rapidly in the event the basis of competition in our markets changes, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Risks Related to Our Business
If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our business will be materially adversely affected.
Our business strategy includes growth in our aircraft fleet, expansion of markets we serve by building out our MSP hub, growing our seat share at MSP and growing non-MSP point-to-point markets, increasing the seats in each aircraft, expanding our ancillary product offering and growing our charter service. When developing our route network, we focus on gaining market share on routes that have been underserved or are served primarily by higher cost airlines where we have a competitive cost advantage. Effectively implementing our growth strategy is critical for our business to achieve economies of scale and to sustain or increase our profitability. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected our growth plans and business strategy. We face numerous challenges in implementing our growth strategy, including our ability to:
| sustain our relatively low unit costs, continue to realize attractive revenue performance and maintain profitability; stimulate traffic with low fares; |
| maintain an optimal level of aircraft utilization to execute our scheduled, cargo and charter operations; |
| access airports located in our targeted geographic markets; and |
| maintain operational performance necessary to complete all flights. |
If we are unable to obtain and maintain access to a sufficient number of slots, gates or related ground facilities at desirable airports to accommodate our growing fleet, we may be unable to compete in desirable markets, our aircraft utilization rate could decrease, and we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our growth is also dependent upon our ability to maintain a safe and secure operation and will require additional personnel, equipment and facilities as we induct new aircraft and continue to execute our growth plan. In addition, we will require additional third-party personnel for services we do not undertake ourselves. An inability to hire and retain personnel, timely secure the required equipment and facilities in a cost-effective manner, efficiently operate our expanded facilities or obtain the necessary regulatory approvals may adversely affect our ability to achieve our growth strategy, which could harm our business. Furthermore, expansion to new markets may have other risks due to factors specific to those markets. We may be unable to foresee all of the existing risks upon entering certain new markets or respond adequately to these risks, and our growth strategy and our business may suffer as a result. In addition, our competitors may reduce their fares and/or offer special promotions following our entry into a new market and may also offer more attractive frequent flyer programs and/or access to marketing alliances with other airlines, which we do not currently offer. We cannot assure you that we will be able to profitably expand our existing markets or establish new markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has materially disrupted our strategic operating and growth plans in the near-term, and there are risks to our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition associated with executing our strategic operating and growth plans in the long-term.
The COVID-19 pandemic has materially disrupted our strategic operating and growth plans in the near-term, and there are risks to our business, operating results and financial condition associated with executing our strategic operating and growth plans in the long-term. In developing our strategic operating and growth plans, we make certain assumptions, including, but not limited to, those related to customer demand, competition, market consolidation, the availability of aircraft and the global economy. Actual economic, market and other conditions have been and may continue to be different from our assumptions. In 2020, demand has been, and is expected to continue to be, significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has materially disrupted the timely execution of our strategic operating and growth plans, including plans to add capacity in 2020 and expand our routes, markets and number of aircraft. If we do not successfully execute or adjust our strategic operating and growth plans in the long-term, or if actual results continue to vary significantly from our prior assumptions or vary significantly from our future assumptions, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted.
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The anticipated strategic and financial benefits of the ATSA may not be realized.
In December 2019, we entered into the ATSA with Amazon with the expectation that the transactions contemplated thereby would result in various benefits including, among others, growth in revenues, improved cash flows and operating efficiencies. Achieving the anticipated benefits from the ATSA is subject to a number of challenges and uncertainties, such as: unforeseen maintenance and other costs; our ability to hire pilots, crew and other personnel necessary to support our CMI services; interruptions in the operations under the ATSA as a result of unexpected or unforeseen events, whether as a result of factors within the Companys control or outside of the Companys control; and the level of operations and results of operations, including margins, under the ATSA being less than the Companys current expectations and projections. We have not historically had any significant cargo operations, nor have we had main deck cargo operations. Applying our existing business strategies to cargo operations may be costly, complex and time-consuming, and our management will have to devote substantial time and resources to such effort and it may not be successful. We may also experience difficulties or delays in securing gate access and other airport services necessary to operate in the air cargo and express shipping sector. If we are unable to successfully implement our CMI services and achieve our objectives, the expected benefits may be only partially realized or not at all, or may take longer to realize than expected. There can be no assurances that the ATSA or our relationship with Amazon will benefit our financial condition or results of operations, and we will incur costs related to the relationship, including related to the 2019 Warrants, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations if not offset by benefits from the ATSA. In addition, if we fail to perform under the terms and conditions of the contract, we may be required to pay fees or penalties under the ATSA and, in certain cases, Amazon may have the right to terminate the agreement. Amazon may also terminate the ATSA for convenience, subject to certain notice requirements and payment of a termination fee. The ATSA is also subject to two, two-year extension options, which Amazon may choose not to exercise. Importantly, Amazon has not agreed to any minimum flying requirements under the ATSA and could choose not to fly significant volumes with us. If we do not achieve the benefits we expect from the ATSA, we could suffer from a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our cargo business is concentrated with Amazon, and any decrease in volumes or increase in costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition and brand.
Our cargo service is concentrated with Amazon and our business is impacted by economic and business preferences of Amazon and its customers. The ATSA does not require a minimum amount of flying and therefore our cargo business would decrease if Amazons use of our cargo services decreases, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and prospects.
In addition, the profitability of the ATSA is dependent on our ability to manage costs. Our projections of operating costs, crew productivity and maintenance expenses contain key assumptions, including flight hours, aircraft reliability, crewmember productivity, compensation and benefits and maintenance costs. If actual costs are higher than projected or aircraft reliability is less than expected, or aircraft become damaged and are out of revenue service for repair, the profitability of the ATSA and future operating results may be negatively impacted. We rely on flight crews that are unionized. If collective bargaining agreements increase our costs and we cannot recover such increases, our operating results would be negatively impacted. It may be necessary for us to terminate certain customer contracts or curtail planned growth.
The ATSA contains monthly incentive payments for reaching specific on-time arrival performance thresholds. Additionally, there are monetary penalties for on-time arrival performance below certain thresholds. As a result, our operating revenues may vary from period to period depending on the achievement of monthly incentives or the imposition of penalties. Further, we could be found in default of an agreement if it does not maintain minimum thresholds over an extended period of time. If we are placed in default due to the failure to maintain reliability thresholds, Amazon may elect to terminate all or part of the services we provide after a cure period and pursue those rights and remedies available to it at law or in equity, in which case the 2019 Warrants would remain outstanding.
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Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages, and many factors could affect our ability to control our costs.
Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages. However, we have limited control over many of our costs. For example, we have limited control over the price and availability of aircraft fuel, aviation insurance, the acquisition and cost of aircraft, airport and related infrastructure costs, taxes, the cost of meeting changing regulatory requirements, the cost of capable talent at market wages and our cost to access capital or financing. In addition, the compensation and benefit costs applicable to a significant portion of our employees are established by the terms of collective bargaining agreements, substantially all of which are currently open and are being negotiated. See Increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruption may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We cannot guarantee we will be able to maintain our relatively low costs. If our cost structure increases and we are no longer able to maintain a competitive cost structure, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business is significantly tied to and consolidated in our main hub in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and any decrease in traffic in this hub could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, financial condition and brand.
Our service is concentrated around our hub in MSP and our business is impacted by economic and geophysical factors of this region. We maintain a large presence in MSP with approximately 81% of 2019 capacity, as measured by ASMs, having MSP as either their origin or destination. Flight operations in Minneapolis can face extreme weather challenges in all seasons but especially in the winter which at times has resulted in severe disruptions in our operation and the incurrence of material costs as a consequence of such disruptions. Our business could be further harmed by an increase in the amount of direct competition we face in the Minneapolis market or by continued or increased congestion, delays or cancellations. For instance, MSP is also a significant hub for Delta Air Lines. If Delta Air Lines or another legacy network airline were to successfully develop low-cost or low-fare products or if we were to experience increased competition from LCCs or ULCCs in the Minneapolis market, our business, results of operations and prospects could be materially adversely affected.
Our business would also be negatively impacted by any circumstances causing a reduction in demand for air transportation in the Minneapolis area, such as adverse changes in local economic conditions, health concerns, adverse weather conditions, negative public perception of Minneapolis, terrorist attacks or significant price or tax increases linked to increases in airport access costs and fees imposed on passengers.
We have third-party vendors that support our MSP operations and we cannot guarantee that these vendors will operate to our expectations. We currently operate out of Terminal 2 at MSP. Our access to use our existing gates and other facilities in Terminal 2 is not guaranteed. We cannot assure you that our continued use of our facilities at MSP will occur on acceptable terms with respect to operations and cost of operations, or at all, or that our ongoing use of these facilities will not include additional or increased fees.
Our reputation and business could be adversely affected in the event of an accident or similar public incident involving our aircraft or personnel.
We are exposed to potential significant losses and adverse publicity in the event that any of our aircraft or personnel is involved in an accident, terrorist incident or other similar public incident, which could expose us to significant reputational harm and potential legal liability. In addition, we could face significant costs related to repairs or replacement of a damaged aircraft and its temporary or permanent loss from service. Furthermore, our customers, including Amazon, may choose not to use us for their needs following such an incident. We cannot assure you that we will not be affected by such events or that the amount of our insurance coverage will be adequate in the event such circumstances arise and any such event could cause a substantial increase in our
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insurance premiums. In addition, any future accident or similar incident involving our aircraft or personnel, even if fully covered by insurance or even if it does not involve our airline, may create an adverse public perception about our airline or that the equipment we fly is less safe or reliable than other transportation alternatives, or, in the case of our aircraft, could cause us to perform time-consuming and costly inspections on our aircraft or engines, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, any accident involving the Boeing 737-NG or an aircraft similar to the Boeing 737-NG that we operate could result in the curtailment of such aircraft by aviation regulators, manufacturers and other airlines and could create a negative public perception about the safety of our aircraft, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, in 2019, certain global aviation regulators and airlines grounded the Boeing 737 MAX in response to accidents involving aircraft flown by Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. In addition, following a 2018 accident involving the failure of a turbofan on a 737-700 aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has recommended that regulators require Boeing to redesign the engine cowl on 737-NG aircraft and retrofit in service 737-NG aircraft with the redesigned cowl. We cannot predict when the FAA will respond to the NTSB recommendations and if it will require us to replace the engine cowls in our aircraft, which may be time-consuming and costly. The resolution of this matter or similar matters in the future could have an impact on our results of operations, financial condition, business and prospects.
Unauthorized breach of our information technology infrastructure could compromise the personally identifiable information of our passengers, prospective passengers or personnel and expose us to liability, damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In the processing of our customer transactions and as part of our ordinary business operations, we and certain of our third-party providers collect, process, transmit and store a large volume of personally identifiable information, including email addresses and home addresses and financial data such as credit and debit card information. This data is increasingly subject to legislation and regulation, such as the Fair Accurate Credit Transparency Act, Payment Card Industry legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation typically intended to protect the privacy of personal data that is collected, processed, stored and transmitted. The security of the systems and network where we and our third-party providers store this data is a critical element of our business, and these systems and our network may be vulnerable to theft, loss, damage and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including computer viruses, hackers, denial-of-service attacks, employee theft or misuse, natural or man-made disasters, telecommunications failures, power loss and other disruptive sources and events. As the cyber-threat landscape evolves, attacks are growing in frequency, sophistication and intensity, and are becoming increasingly difficult to detect. We may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyber attacks. Attacks may be targeted at us, our customers and our providers, including air navigation service providers, or others who have entrusted us with information, including regulators such as the FAA and DOT. In addition, attacks not targeted at us, but targeted solely at providers, may cause disruption to our computer systems or a breach of the data that we maintain on customers, employees, providers and others. Recently, several high profile consumer-oriented companies have experienced significant data breaches, which have caused those companies to suffer substantial financial and reputational harm. We cannot assure you that the precautions we have taken to avoid an unauthorized incursion of our computer systems are either adequate or implemented properly to prevent a data breach and its adverse financial and reputational consequences to our business. The compromise of our technology systems resulting in the loss, disclosure, misappropriation of or access to the personally identifiable information of our passengers, prospective passengers or personnel could result in governmental investigation, civil liability or regulatory penalties under laws protecting the privacy of personal information, and our reputation could be harmed, any or all of which could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Additionally, any material failure by us or our third-party providers to maintain compliance with the Payment Card Industry security requirements or to rectify a data security issue may result in fines and restrictions on our ability to accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment. Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants, or costs incurred in connection with the notifications to customers, employees, providers or the general public as part of our notification obligations to the various governments that govern our business. In addition, data and security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including breaches by us or by persons with whom we have commercial relationships that result in the unauthorized release of personal or confidential information.
We are subject to increasing legislative, regulatory and customer focus on privacy issues and data security in the United States and abroad. In addition, a number of our commercial partners, including credit card companies, have imposed data security standards on us, and these standards continue to evolve. We will continue our efforts to meet our privacy and data security obligations; however, it is possible that certain new obligations may be difficult to meet and could increase our costs. Additionally, we must manage evolving cybersecurity risks. The loss, disclosure, misappropriation of or access to the information of our customers, personnel or business partners or any failure by us to meet our obligations could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties.
We rely on third-party providers and other commercial partners to perform functions integral to our operations.
We have entered into agreements with third-party providers to furnish certain facilities and services required for our operations, including ground handling, catering, passenger handling, engineering, maintenance, refueling, reservations and airport facilities as well as administrative and support services. We are likely to enter into similar service agreements in new markets we decide to enter, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the necessary services at acceptable rates.
Although we seek to monitor the performance of third parties that furnish certain facilities or provide us with our ground handling, catering, passenger handling, engineering, maintenance, refueling, reservations and airport facilities, the efficiency, timeliness and quality of contract performance by third-party providers are often beyond our control, and any failure by our third-party providers to perform up to our expectations may have an adverse impact on our business, reputation with customers, our brand and our operations. These service agreements are generally subject to termination after notice by the third-party providers. In addition, we could experience a significant business disruption if we were to change vendors or if an existing provider ceased to be able to serve us. We expect to be dependent on such third-party arrangements for the foreseeable future.
We rely on third-party distribution channels to distribute a portion of our airline tickets.
We rely on third-party distribution channels, including those provided by or through global distribution systems, or GDSs, conventional travel agents and online travel agents, or OTAs, to distribute a significant portion of our airline tickets, and we expect in the future to rely on these channels to also collect a portion of our ancillary revenues. These distribution channels are more expensive and at present have less functionality in respect of ancillary revenues than those we operate ourselves, such as our website. Certain of these distribution channels also effectively restrict the manner in which we distribute our products generally. To remain competitive, we will need to successfully manage our distribution costs and rights, and improve the functionality of third-party distribution channels, while maintaining an industry-competitive cost structure. Negotiations with key GDSs and OTAs designed to manage our costs, increase our distribution flexibility, and improve functionality could be contentious, could result in diminished or less favorable distribution of our tickets, and may not provide the functionality we require to maximize ancillary revenues. In addition, in the last several years there has been significant consolidation among GDSs and OTAs. This consolidation and any further consolidation could affect our ability to manage our distribution costs due to a reduction in competition or other
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industry factors. Any inability to manage such costs, rights and functionality at a competitive level or any material diminishment in the distribution of our tickets could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position and our results of operations. Moreover, our ability to compete in the markets we serve may be threatened by changes in technology or other factors that may make our existing third-party sales channels impractical, uncompetitive or obsolete.
We rely heavily on technology and automated systems to operate our business, and any disruptions or failure of these technologies or systems or any failure on our part to implement any new technologies or systems could materially adversely affect our business.
We are highly dependent on technology and computer systems and networks to operate our business. These technologies and systems include our computerized airline reservation system provided by Navitaire, a unit of Amadeus, flight operations systems, telecommunications systems, mobile phone application, airline website and maintenance systems. In order for our operations to work efficiently, our website and reservation system must be able to accommodate a high volume of traffic, maintain secure information and deliver flight information. Our reservations system, which is hosted and maintained under a long-term contract by a third-party provider, is critical to our ability to issue, track and accept electronic tickets, conduct check-in, board and manage our passengers through the airports we serve and provide us with access to GDSs, which enlarge our pool of potential passengers. There are many instances in the past where a reservations system malfunctioned, whether due to the fault of the system provider or the airline, with a highly adverse effect on the airlines operations, and such a malfunction has in the past and could in the future occur on our system, or in connection with any system upgrade or migration in the future. We also rely on third-party providers to maintain our flight operations systems, and if those systems are not functioning, we could experience service disruptions, which could result in the loss of important data, increase our expenses, decrease our operational performance and temporarily stall our operations.
Any failure of the technologies and systems we use could materially adversely affect our business. In particular, if our reservation system fails or experiences interruptions, and we are unable to book seats for a period of time, we could lose a significant amount of revenue as customers book seats on other airlines, and our reputation could be harmed. In addition, replacement technologies and systems for any service we currently utilize that experiences failures or interruptions may not be readily available on a timely basis, at competitive rates or at all. Furthermore, our current technologies and systems are heavily integrated with our day-to-day operations and any transition to a new technology or system could be complex and time-consuming. Our technologies and systems cannot be completely protected against events that are beyond our control, including natural disasters, cyber attacks or telecommunications failures. Substantial or sustained disruptions or system failures could cause service delays or failures and result in our customers purchasing tickets from other airlines. We cannot assure you that any of our security measures, change control procedures or disaster recovery plans that we have implemented are adequate to prevent disruptions or failures. In the event that one or more of our primary technology or systems vendors fails to perform and a replacement system is not available or if we fail to implement a replacement system in a timely and efficient manner, our business could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, in the ordinary course of business, our systems will continue to require modification and refinements to address growth and changing business requirements and to enable us to comply with changing regulatory requirements. Modifications and refinements to our systems have been and are expected to continue to be expensive to implement and can divert managements attention from other matters. Furthermore, our operations could be adversely affected, or we could face impositions of regulatory penalties, if we were unable to timely or effectively modify our systems as necessary or appropriately balance the introduction of new capabilities with the management of existing systems.
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We may not be able to grow or maintain our unit revenues or maintain our ancillary revenues.
A key component of our strategy was establishing Sun Country as a premier high-growth, low-cost carrier in the United States by attracting customers with low fares and garnering repeat business by delivering a high-quality customer experience with additional free amenities than traditionally provided on ULCCs in the United States. We intend to continue to differentiate our brand and product in order to expand our loyal customer base and grow or maintain our unit revenues and maintain our ancillary revenues. Differentiating our brand and product has required and will continue to require significant investment, and we cannot assure you that the initiatives we have implemented will continue to be successful or that the initiatives we intend to implement will be successful. If we are unable to maintain or further differentiate our brand and product from LCCs or ULCCs, our market share could decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We may also not be successful in leveraging our brand and product to stimulate new demand with low base fares or gain market share from the legacy network airlines.
In addition, our business strategy includes maintaining our portfolio of desirable, value-oriented, ancillary products and services. However, we cannot assure you that passengers will continue to perceive value in the ancillary products and services we currently offer and regulatory initiatives could adversely affect ancillary revenue opportunities. Failure to maintain our ancillary revenues would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, if we are unable to maintain our ancillary revenues, we may not be able to execute our strategy to continue to lower base fares in order to stimulate demand for air travel.
We operate a single aircraft type.
A critical cost-saving element of our business strategy is to operate a single-family aircraft fleet; however, our dependence on the Boeing 737-NG aircraft and CFM56 engines for all of our aircraft makes us vulnerable to any design defects or mechanical problems associated with this aircraft type or these engines. In the event of any actual or suspected design defects or mechanical problems with these family aircraft or engines, whether involving our aircraft or that of another airline, we may choose or be required to suspend or restrict the use of our aircraft. For example, several Boeing 737-NG aircraft have recently been grounded by other airlines after inspections revealed cracks in the pickle forks, a component of the structure connecting the wings to the fuselages. Our business could also be materially adversely affected if the public avoids flying on our aircraft due to an adverse perception of the Boeing 737-NG aircraft or CFM56 engines, whether because of safety concerns or other problems, real or perceived, or in the event of an accident involving such aircraft or engines.
Increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruption may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business is labor intensive, with labor costs representing approximately 22.6% and 23.2% of our total operating costs for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 59% of our workforce was represented by labor unions. We cannot assure you that our labor costs going forward will remain competitive or that any new agreements into which we enter will not have terms with higher labor costs or that the negotiations of such labor agreements will not result in any work stoppages. In addition, one or more of our competitors may significantly reduce their labor costs, thereby providing them with a competitive advantage over us. Furthermore, our labor costs may increase in connection with our growth, especially if we needed to hire more pilots in order to grow our cargo business. We cannot guarantee that our cargo business will grow and that hiring of additional pilots will be required. We may also become subject to additional collective bargaining agreements in the future as non-unionized workers may unionize.
Relations between air carriers and labor unions in the United States are governed by the Railway Labor Act, or the RLA. Under the RLA, collective bargaining agreements generally contain amendable dates rather than expiration dates, and the RLA requires that a carrier maintain the existing terms and conditions of employment
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following the amendable date through a multi-stage and usually lengthy series of bargaining processes overseen by the National Mediation Board, or the NMB. This process continues until either the parties have reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, or the parties have been released to self-help by the NMB. In most circumstances, the RLA prohibits strikes; however, after release by the NMB, carriers and unions are free to engage in self-help measures such as lockouts and strikes.
On December 3, 2019 our dispatchers approved a new contract. The amendable date of the collective bargaining agreement is November 14, 2024. Our collective bargaining agreement with our flight attendants is currently amendable. Negotiations with the union representing this group commenced in November of 2019. By mutual consent, the negotiations were paused in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our collective bargaining agreement with our pilots was amendable on October 31, 2020. Neither party chose to serve notice to the other party to make changes by the amendable date, therefore, the new amendable date is October 31, 2021. See also BusinessEmployees. The outcome of our collective bargaining negotiations cannot presently be determined and the terms and conditions of our future collective bargaining agreements may be affected by the results of collective bargaining negotiations at other airlines that may have a greater ability, due to larger scale, greater efficiency or other factors, to bear higher costs than we can. In addition, if we are unable to reach agreement with any of our unionized work groups in current or future negotiations regarding the terms of their collective bargaining agreements, we may be subject to work interruptions, stoppages or shortages. Any such action or other labor dispute with unionized employees could disrupt our operations, reduce our profitability or interfere with the ability of our management to focus on executing our business strategies. As a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected based on the outcome of our negotiations with the unions representing our employees.
Changes in law, regulation and government policy have affected, and may in the future have a material adverse effect on our business.
Changes in, and uncertainty with respect to, law, regulation and government policy at the local, state or federal level have affected, and may in the future significantly impact, our business and the airline industry. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted on December 22, 2017, limits deductions for borrowers for net interest expense on debt. Changes to law, regulations or government policy that could have a material impact on us in the future include, but are not limited to, infrastructure renewal programs; changes to operating and maintenance requirements; foreign and domestic changes in customs, immigration and security policy and requirements that impede travel into or out of the United States; modifications to international trade policy, including withdrawing from trade agreements and imposing tariffs; changes to consumer protection laws; changes to financial legislation, including the partial or full repeal of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or Dodd-Frank Act; public company reporting requirements; environmental regulation and antitrust enforcement. Any such changes could make it more difficult and/or more expensive for us to obtain new aircraft or engines and parts to maintain existing aircraft or engines or make it less profitable or prevent us from flying to or from some of the destinations we currently serve.
To the extent that any such changes have a negative impact on us or the airline industry, including as a result of related uncertainty, these changes may materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We rely on efficient daily aircraft utilization to address peak demand days of the week and months of the year, which makes us vulnerable to flight delays, flight cancellations or aircraft unavailability.
We aim to optimize our daily aircraft utilization rate by tailoring service to customer demand patterns, which are seasonal and vary by day of the week. Our average daily aircraft utilization was 9.6 hours and 9.7 hours for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Aircraft utilization is the average amount of time per day that our aircraft spend carrying passengers. Part of our business strategy is to efficiently deploy our aircraft, which is achieved in part by higher utilization during the most profitable seasonal periods and days
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of the week and more limited usage of less expensive aircraft during weak demand periods. During peak demand periods, we may utilize all of our aircraft, and in the event we experience delays and cancellations from various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports or other air traffic control problems or outages, adverse weather conditions, increased security measures or breaches in security, international or domestic conflicts, terrorist activity, or other changes in business conditions, because we do not have reaccomodation arrangements with other airlines like legacy network airlines do and cannot reaccommodate passengers on our aircraft because of our limited schedule, we may incur additional costs in completing customer journeys. Due to the relatively small size of our fleet and the limited and changing nature of our scheduled service and our point-to-point network, the unexpected unavailability of one or more aircraft and resulting reduced capacity could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, we frequently use all of our freighters in support of our cargo business. In the event we experience a series of aircraft out of service, we would experience a decline in revenue. Furthermore, in the event we are unable to procure aircraft at the price-point necessary to allow for lower utilization during weak demand periods, our costs will be higher and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The cost of aircraft repairs and unexpected delays in the time required to complete aircraft maintenance could negatively affect our operating results.
We provide flight services throughout the world and could be operating in remote regions. Our aircraft may experience maintenance events in locations that do not have the necessary repair capabilities or are difficult to reach. As a result, we may incur additional expenses and lose billable revenues that we would have otherwise earned. Under certain customer agreements, we are required to provide a spare aircraft while scheduled maintenance is completed. If delays occur in the completion of aircraft maintenance, we may incur additional expense to provide airlift capacity and forgo revenues.
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel at reasonable costs or fail to maintain our company culture, our business could be harmed.
Our business is labor intensive. We require large numbers of pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and other personnel. We compete against other U.S. airlines for pilots, mechanics and other skilled labor and certain U.S. airlines offer wage and benefit packages exceeding ours. The airline industry has from time to time experienced a shortage of qualified personnel. In particular, as more pilots in the industry approach mandatory retirement age, the U.S. airline industry may be affected by a pilot shortage. We and other airlines may also face shortages of qualified aircraft mechanics and dispatchers. As is common with most of our competitors, we have faced considerable turnover of our employees. As a result of the foregoing, we may not be able to attract or retain qualified personnel or may be required to increase wages and/or benefits in order to do so. In addition, we may lose employees due to the impact of COVID-19 on aviation or as a result of restrictions imposed under the CARES Act. If we are unable to hire, train and retain qualified employees, our business could be harmed and we may be unable to implement our growth plans.
In addition, as we hire more people and grow, we believe it may be increasingly challenging to continue to hire people who will maintain our company culture. Our company culture, which we believe is one of our competitive strengths, is important to providing dependable customer service and having a productive, accountable workforce that helps keep our costs low. As we continue to grow, we may be unable to identify, hire or retain enough people who meet the above criteria, including those in management or other key positions. Our company culture could otherwise be adversely affected by our growing operations and geographic diversity. If we fail to maintain the strength of our company culture, our competitive ability and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
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Our inability to expand or operate reliably or efficiently out of airports where we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and brand.
Our results of operations may be affected by actions taken by governmental or other agencies or authorities having jurisdiction over our operations at these airports, including, but not limited to:
| increases in airport rates and charges; |
| limitations on take-off and landing slots, airport gate capacity or other use of airport facilities; |
| termination of our airport use agreements, some of which can be terminated by airport authorities with little notice to us; |
| increases in airport capacity that could facilitate increased competition; |
| international travel regulations such as customs and immigration; |
| increases in taxes; |
| changes in law, regulations and government policies that affect the services that can be offered by airlines, in general, and in particular markets and at particular airports; |
| restrictions on competitive practices; |
| the adoption of statutes or regulations that impact or impose additional customer service standards and requirements, including operating and security standards and requirements; and |
| the adoption of more restrictive locally imposed noise regulations or curfews. |
Our business is highly dependent on the availability and cost of airport services at the airports where we operate. Any changes in airport operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
It has only been a limited period since our current business and operating strategy has been implemented.
Following the implementation of our current business and operating strategy in late 2017 and our acquisition by the Apollo Funds in 2018, we recorded net income of approximately $46.1 million, a net loss of approximately $367 thousand and net income of approximately $25.9 million for the Successor 2019 period, Successor 2018 period and Predecessor 2018 period, respectively, which are better operating results than we had previously achieved. While we recorded an annual profit for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we cannot assure you that we will be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or an annual basis. In turn, this may materially adversely affect our business.
We are subject to various environmental and noise laws and regulations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the protection of the environment and noise, including those relating to emissions to the air (including air emissions associated with the operation of our aircraft), discharges (including storm water discharges) to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water and the use, management, disposal and release of, and exposure to, hazardous substances, oils and waste materials. We are or may be subject to new or amended laws and regulations that may have a direct effect (or indirect effect through our third-party providers, including the petroleum industry, or airport facilities at which we operate) on our operations. In addition, U.S. airport authorities are exploring ways to limit de-icing fluid discharges. Any such existing, future, new or potential laws and regulations could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Similarly, we are subject to environmental laws and regulations that require us to investigate and remediate soil or groundwater to meet certain remediation standards. Under certain laws current and former owners or operators of facilities, as well as generators of waste materials disposed of at such facilities, can be subject to liability for investigation and remediation costs at facilities that have been identified as requiring response actions. Liability under these laws may be strict, joint and several, meaning that we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up environmental contamination regardless of fault or compliance with applicable law when the disposal occurred or the amount of wastes directly attributable to us.
In addition, the ICAO and jurisdictions around the world have adopted noise regulations that require all aircraft to comply with noise level standards, and governmental authorities in several U.S. and foreign cities are considering or have already implemented aircraft noise reduction programs, including the imposition of overnight curfews and limitations on daytime take-offs and landings. Compliance with existing and future environmental laws and regulations, including emissions limitations and more restrictive or widespread noise regulations, that may be applicable to us could require significant expenditures, increase our cost base and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and violations thereof can lead to significant fines and penalties, among other sanctions.
We participate with other airlines in fuel consortia and fuel committees at our airports where economically beneficial, which agreements generally include cost-sharing provisions and environmental indemnities that are generally joint and several among the participating airlines. Any costs (including remediation and spill response costs) incurred by such fuel consortia could also have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our intellectual property rights, particularly our branding rights, are valuable, and any inability to protect them may adversely affect our business and financial results.
We consider our intellectual property rights, particularly our branding rights such as our trademarks applicable to our airline and Sun Country Rewards program, to be a significant and valuable aspect of our business. We aim to protect our intellectual property rights through a combination of trademark, copyright and other forms of legal protection, contractual agreements and policing of third-party misuses of our intellectual property, but cannot guarantee that such efforts will be successful. Our failure to obtain or adequately protect our intellectual property or any change in law that lessens or removes the current legal protections of our intellectual property may diminish our competitiveness and adversely affect our business and financial results. Any litigation or disputes regarding intellectual property may be costly and time-consuming and may divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations, either of which may adversely affect our business and financial results.
Negative publicity regarding our customer service could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business strategy includes the differentiation of our brand and product from the other U.S. airlines, including LCCs and ULCCs, in order to increase customer loyalty and drive future ticket sales. We intend to accomplish this by continuing to offer passengers dependable customer service. However, in the past, we have experienced customer complaints related to, among other things, product and pricing changes related to our business strategy and customer service. In particular, we have generally experienced a higher volume of complaints when we implemented changes to our unbundling policies, such as charging for seats and baggage. These complaints, together with reports of lost baggage, delayed and cancelled flights, and other service issues, are reported to the public by the DOT. In addition, we could become subject to complaints about our booking practices. Finally, we have experienced a significant number of complaints, including letters from lawmakers and attorneys general, concerning non-refundable tickets during the COVID-19 pandemic. If we do not meet our customers expectations with respect to reliability and service, our brand and product could be negatively impacted, which could result in customers deciding not to fly with us and adversely affect our business and
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reputation. We recently entered into agreements for bus service to transport passengers to our MSP hub. If these operators suffer a service problem, safety failure or accident, our brand would be negatively impacted.
Our reputation and brand could be harmed if we were to experience significant negative publicity, including through social media.
We operate in a public-facing industry with significant exposure to social media. Negative publicity, whether or not justified, can spread rapidly through social media. To the extent that we are unable to respond timely and appropriately to negative publicity, our reputation and brand can be harmed. Damage to our overall reputation and brand could have a negative impact on our financial results.
We are highly dependent upon our cash balances, operating cash flows and availability under our ABL Facility.
As of September 30, 2020, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and equivalents of approximately $44.3 million and availability under our ABL Facility of approximately $24.7 million. In addition, we had restricted cash of approximately $6.2 million as of September 30, 2020. Restricted cash includes cash received as prepayment for chartered flights that is maintained in separate escrow accounts, from which the restrictions are released once transportation is provided. Our ABL Facility is not adequate to finance our operations, and thus we will continue to be dependent on our operating cash flows and cash balances to fund our operations, provide capital reserves and make scheduled payments on our aircraft-related fixed obligations. If we fail to generate sufficient funds from operations to meet our operating cash requirements or do not have access to availability under the ABL Facility, or other sources of borrowings or equity financing, we could default on our operating leases and fixed obligations. Our inability to meet our obligations as they become due would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our liquidity would be adversely impacted, potentially materially, in the event one or more of our credit card processors were to impose holdback restrictions for payments due to us from credit card transactions.
We currently have agreements with organizations that process credit card transactions arising from purchases of air travel tickets by our customers. Credit card processors may have financial risk associated with tickets purchased for travel which can occur several weeks after the purchase. As of September 30, 2020, we were not subject to any credit card holdbacks under our credit card processing agreements, although if we fail to meet certain liquidity and other financial covenants, our credit card processors have the right to hold back credit card remittances to cover our obligations to them. If our credit card processors were to impose holdback restrictions on us, the negative impact on our liquidity could be significant which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our ability to obtain financing or access capital markets may be limited.
We have significant obligations related to leases and debt financing for our aircraft fleet and may incur additional obligations as we grow our operations, and our current strategy is to rely on lessors or access to capital markets to provide financing for our aircraft acquisition needs. There are a number of factors that may affect our ability to raise financing or access the capital markets in the future, including our liquidity and credit status, our operating cash flows, market conditions in the airline industry, U.S. and global economic conditions, the general state of the capital markets and the financial position of the major providers of commercial aircraft financing. We cannot assure you that we will be able to source external financing for our planned aircraft acquisitions or for other significant capital needs, and if we are unable to source financing on acceptable terms, or unable to source financing at all, our business could be materially adversely affected. To the extent we finance our activities with additional debt, we may become subject to financial and other covenants that may restrict our ability to pursue our business strategy or otherwise constrain our growth and operations.
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Our maintenance costs will fluctuate over time, we will periodically incur substantial maintenance costs due to the maintenance schedules of our aircraft fleet and obligations to the lessors and we could incur significant maintenance expenses outside of such maintenance schedules in the future.
We have substantial maintenance expense obligations, including with respect to our aircraft operating leases. Prior to an aircraft being returned in connection with an operating lease, we will incur costs to restore these aircraft to the condition required by the terms of the underlying operating leases. The amount and timing of these so-called return conditions costs can prove unpredictable due to uncertainty regarding the maintenance status of each particular aircraft at the time it is to be returned and it is not unusual for disagreements to ensue between the airline and the leasing company as to the required redelivery conditions on a given aircraft or engine.
Outside of scheduled maintenance, we incur from time to time unscheduled maintenance which is not forecast in our operating plan or financial forecasts, and which can impose material unplanned costs and the loss of flight equipment from revenue service for a significant period of time. For example, a single unplanned engine event can require a shop visit costing several million dollars and cause the engine to be out of service for a number of weeks.
Furthermore, the terms of our lease agreements require us to pay maintenance reserves to the lessor in advance of the performance of major maintenance, resulting in our recording significant prepaid deposits on our balance sheet, and there are restrictions on the extent to which such maintenance reserves are available for reimbursement. In addition, the terms of any lease agreements that we enter into in the future could also require maintenance reserves in excess of our current requirements. Any significant increase in maintenance and repair expenses would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Please see Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsCritical Accounting Policies and EstimatesAircraft Maintenance.
We have a significant amount of aircraft-related fixed obligations that could impair our liquidity and thereby harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The airline business is capital intensive. As of December 31, 2019, our 31 aircraft fleet consisted of 16 aircraft financed under operating leases (including two seasonal leases), 10 aircraft financed under finance leases and five aircraft financed under secured debt arrangements. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we incurred a total of $81.9 million and $65.0 million, respectively, for aircraft lease payments and cash interest and principal payments related to aircraft debt. Additionally, we paid maintenance deposits of $38.2 million and $34.6 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, we had future aircraft operating lease obligations of approximately $175.6 million and future principal debt obligations of $89.9 million, and we had future finance lease obligations of approximately $238.0 million. Our ability to pay the fixed costs associated with our contractual obligations will depend on our operating performance, cash flow, availability under our ABL Facility and our ability to secure adequate future financing, which will in turn depend on, among other things, the success of our current business strategy and our future financial and operating performance, competitive conditions, fuel price volatility, any significant weakening or improving in the U.S. economy, availability and cost of financing, as well as general economic and political conditions and other factors that are, to some extent, beyond our control. The amount of our aircraft-related fixed obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and could:
| require a substantial portion of cash flow from operations be used for operating lease and maintenance deposit payments and interest expense, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes; |
| limit our ability to obtain additional financing to support our expansion plans and for working capital and other purposes on acceptable terms or at all; |
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| make it more difficult for us to pay our other obligations as they become due during adverse general economic and market industry conditions because any related decrease in revenues could cause us to not have sufficient cash flows from operations to make our scheduled payments; |
| reduce our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the airline industry and, consequently, place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors with lower fixed payment obligations; and |
| cause us to lose access to one or more aircraft and forfeit our maintenance and other deposits if we are unable to make our required aircraft lease rental payments and our lessors exercise their remedies under the lease agreement, including cross-default provisions in certain of our leases. |
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain sufficient funds to enable us to repay or refinance our debt obligations on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. A failure to pay our operating lease, debt and other fixed cost obligations or a breach of our contractual obligations, including our ABL Facility, could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including the exercise of remedies by our creditors and lessors. In such a situation, it is unlikely that we would be able to cure our breach, fulfill our obligations, make required lease payments or otherwise cover our fixed costs and our secured lenders could foreclose against the assets securing the indebtedness owing to them, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We depend on a sole-source supplier for the majority of our aircraft parts and any supply disruption could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We have entered into a contract with Delta Air Lines, Inc., or Delta, one of our competitors that is also the largest airline operating at MSP, for the vast majority of our aircraft parts. We are vulnerable to any problems associated with the performance of Deltas obligations to supply our aircraft parts, including design defects, mechanical problems and regulatory issues associated with engines and other parts. If Delta experiences a
significant business challenge, disruption or failure due to issues such as financial difficulties or bankruptcy, regulatory or quality compliance issues, or other financial, legal, regulatory or reputational issues, ceases to produce our aircraft parts, is unable to effectively deliver our aircraft parts on timelines and at the prices we have negotiated, or terminates the contract, we would incur substantial transition costs and we would lose the cost benefits from our current arrangement with Delta, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Reduction in demand for air transportation, or governmental reduction or limitation of operating capacity, in the domestic United States, Mexico, Caribbean or Canada markets, or a reduction in demand for our charter or cargo operations, could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A significant portion of our operations are conducted to and from the domestic United States, Mexico, Caribbean or Canada markets. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed if we lose our authority to fly to these markets, by any circumstances causing a reduction in demand for air transportation, or by governmental reduction or limitation of operating capacity, in these markets, such as adverse changes in local economic or political conditions, negative public perception of these destinations, unfavorable weather conditions, public health concerns, civil unrest, violence or terrorist-related activities. Furthermore, our business could be harmed if jurisdictions that currently limit competition allow additional airlines to compete on routes we serve. In addition, a reduction in demand from our charter customers, including as a result of decreased U.S. Department of Defense troop movements or fewer sports events and related travel, or from Amazon under the ATSA could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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We are subject to extensive regulation by the FAA, the DOT, the TSA, CBP and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Airlines are subject to extensive regulatory and legal compliance requirements, both domestically and internationally, that impose significant costs. In the last several years, Congress has passed laws and the FAA, DOT and TSA have issued regulations, orders, rulings and guidance relating to consumer protections and to the operation, safety, and security of airlines that have required significant expenditures. We expect to continue to incur expenses in connection with complying with such laws and government regulations, orders, rulings and guidance. Additional laws, regulations, taxes and increased airport rates and charges have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce the demand for air travel. For example, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 directed the FAA to issue rules establishing minimum dimensions for passenger seats, including seat pitch, width and length. If adopted, these measures could have the effect of raising ticket prices, reducing revenue, and increasing costs.
For example, the DOT has broad authority over airlines and their consumer and competitive practices, and has used this authority to issue numerous regulations and pursue enforcement actions, including rules and fines relating to the handling of lengthy tarmac delays, consumer notice requirements, consumer complaints, price and airline advertising, distribution, oversales and involuntary denied boarding process and compensation, ticket refunds, liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage, customer service commitments, contracts of carriage and the transportation of passengers with disabilities. Among these is the series of Enhanced Airline Passenger Protection rules issued by the DOT. In addition, the adoption of FAR Part 117 in 2014 modified required pilot rest periods and work hours and Congress has enacted a law and the FAA issued regulations requiring U.S. airline pilots to have a minimum number of hours as a pilot in order to qualify for an Air Transport Pilot certificate which all pilots on U.S. airlines must obtain. Furthermore, in October 2018, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which extends FAA funds through fiscal year 2023. The legislation contains provisions which could have effects on our results of operations and financial condition. Among other provisions, the new law requires the DOT to clarify that, with respect to a passenger who is involuntarily denied boarding as a result of an oversold flight, there is no maximum level of compensation an air carrier may pay to such passenger and the compensation levels set forth in the regulations are the minimum levels of compensation an air carrier must pay to such a passenger, and to create new requirements for the treatment of disabled passengers. In addition it provides that the maximum civil penalty amount for damage to wheelchairs and other mobility aids or for injuring a disabled passenger may be trebled. The FAA must issue rules establishing minimum dimensions for passenger seats, including seat pitch, width and length. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 also establishes new rest requirements for flight attendants and requires, within one year, that the FAA issue an order requiring installation of a secondary cockpit barrier on each new aircraft. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 also provides for several other new requirements and rulemakings related to airlines, including but not limited to: (i) prohibition on voice communication cell phone use during certain flights, (ii) insecticide use disclosures, (iii) new training policy best practices for training regarding racial, ethnic, and religious non-discrimination, (iv) training on human trafficking for certain staff, (v) departure gate stroller check-in, (vi) the protection of pets on airplanes and service animal standards, (vii) requirements to refund promptly to passengers any ancillary fees paid for services not received, (viii) consumer complaint process improvements, (ix) pregnant passenger assistance, (x) restrictions on the ability to deny a revenue passenger permission to board or involuntarily remove such passenger from the aircraft, (xi) minimum customer service standards for large ticket agents, (xii) information publishing requirements for widespread disruptions and passenger rights, (xiii) submission of plans pertaining to employee and contractor training consistent with the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, (xiv) ensuring assistance for passengers with disabilities, (xv) flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements, including submission of a fatigue risk management plan, (xvi) submission of policy concerning passenger sexual misconduct and (xvii) development of Employee Assault Prevention and Response Plan related to the customer service agents. Furthermore, in September 2019, the FAA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements. The DOT also published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in January 2020 regarding, for example, the accessibility
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features of lavatories and onboard wheelchair requirements on certain single-aisle aircraft with an FAA certificated maximum capacity of 125 seats or more, training flight attendants to proficiency on an annual basis to provide assistance in transporting qualified individuals with disabilities to and from the lavatory from the aircraft seat, and providing certain information on request to qualified individuals with a disability or persons inquiring on their behalf, on the carriers website, and in printed or electronic form on the aircraft concerning the accessibility of aircraft lavatories. The DOT also recently published Final Rules regarding traveling by air with service animals and defining unfair or deceptive practices. Failure to remain in full compliance with these rules may subject us to fines or other enforcement action. FAR Part 117 and the minimum pilot hour requirements may also reduce our ability to meet flight crew staffing requirements.
We cannot assure you that compliance with these and other laws, regulations, orders, rulings and guidance will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Compliance with the laws, regulations, orders, rulings and guidance applicable to the airline industry may increase our costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, if our current standards do not meet the FAAs rules regarding minimum dimensions for passenger seats, the number of seats on our aircraft would be reduced and our operating costs would increase.
In addition, the TSA imposes security procedures and requirements on U.S. airports and airlines serving U.S. airports, some of which are funded by a security fee imposed on passengers and collected by airlines, which impedes our ability to stimulate demand through low fares. We cannot forecast what additional security and safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.
Our ability to operate as an airline is dependent on our obtaining and maintaining authorizations issued to us by the DOT and the FAA. The FAA has the authority to issue mandatory orders relating to, among other things, operating aircraft, the grounding of aircraft, maintenance and inspection of aircraft, installation of new safety-related items, and removal and replacement of aircraft parts that have failed or may fail in the future. A decision by the FAA to ground, or require time-consuming inspections of or maintenance on, our aircraft, for any reason, could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Federal law requires that air carriers operating scheduled service be continuously fit, willing and able to provide the services for which they are licensed. Our fitness is monitored by the DOT, which considers managerial competence, operations, finances, and compliance record. In addition, under federal law, we must be a U.S. citizen (as determined under applicable law). Please see BusinessForeign Ownership. While the DOT has seldom revoked a carriers certification for lack of fitness, such an occurrence would render it impossible for us to continue operating as an airline. The DOT may also institute investigations or administrative proceedings against airlines for violations of regulations.
International routes are regulated by air transport agreements and related agreements between the United States and foreign governments. Our ability to operate international routes is subject to change because the applicable agreements between the United States and foreign governments may be amended from time to time. Our access to new international markets may be limited by the applicable air transport agreements between the United States and foreign governments and our ability to obtain the necessary authority from the United States and foreign governments to fly the international routes. In addition, our operations in foreign countries are subject to regulation by foreign governments and our business may be affected by changes in law and future actions taken by such governments, including granting or withdrawal of government approvals and airport slots and restrictions on competitive practices. We are subject to numerous foreign regulations in the countries outside the United States where we currently provide service. If we are not able to comply with this complex regulatory regime, our business could be significantly harmed. Please see BusinessGovernment Regulation.
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Our business could be materially adversely affected if we lose the services of our key personnel.
Our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management team and key financial and operating personnel. In particular, we depend on the services of our senior management team, particularly Jude Bricker, our Chief Executive Officer, and Dave Davis, our President and Chief Financial Officer. Competition for highly qualified personnel is intense, and the loss of any executive officer, senior manager, or other key employee without adequate replacement or the inability to attract new qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key-man life insurance on our management team.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert managements attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members or executive officers.
As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements and maintaining liability insurance for our directors and officers, which have increased in recent years. We also have incurred and will incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, related rules implemented or to be implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and the listing rules of the NYSE. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. These laws and regulations could also make it more costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or our board committees or as our executive officers and may divert managements attention. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, our common stock could be delisted, and we could be subject to fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
Our quarterly results of operations fluctuate due to a number of factors, including seasonality.
We expect our quarterly results of operations to continue to fluctuate due to a number of factors, including our seasonal operations, competitive responses in key locations or routes, price changes in aircraft fuel and the timing and amount of maintenance expenses. As a result of these and other factors, quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our results of operations and month-to-month comparisons of our key operating statistics may not be reliable indicators of our future performance. Seasonality may cause our quarterly and monthly results to fluctuate since historically our passengers tend to fly more during the winter months and less in the summer and fall months. We cannot assure you that we will find profitable markets in which to operate during the off-peak season. Lower demand for air travel during the fall and other off-peak months could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not realize any or all of our estimated cost savings, which would have a negative effect on our results of operations.
As part of our business strategy, we expect to implement certain operational improvements and cost savings initiatives. Any cost savings that we realize from such efforts may differ materially from our estimates. The estimates contained herein are the current estimates of the Company, but they involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such estimates. In addition, any cost savings that we realize may be offset, in whole or in part, by reductions in revenues, or through increases in other expenses. Any one-time costs incurred to achieve our cost savings going
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forward may be more than we expect and, to achieve additional cost savings, we may need to incur additional one-time costs. Our operational improvements and cost savings plans are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may change at any time. We cannot assure you that our initiatives will be completed as anticipated or that the benefits we expect will be achieved on a timely basis or at all. The future performance of the Company may differ significantly from the anticipated performance of the Company set forth herein.
We may become involved in litigation that may materially adversely affect us.
From time to time, we may become involved in various legal proceedings relating to matters incidental to the ordinary course of our business, including commercial, employment, class action, whistleblower, patent, product liability and other litigation and claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. In particular, in recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States and abroad involving airline consumer complaints. We have in the past faced, and may face in the future, claims by third parties that we have violated a passengers rights. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert managements attention and resources, cause us to incur significant expenses or liability and/or require us to change our business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses and uncertainties of litigation, we may, from time to time, settle disputes, even where we believe that we have meritorious claims or defenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, we cannot assure you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
Our ABL Facility contains restrictions that limit our flexibility.
Our ABL Facility contains, and any future indebtedness of ours could also contain, a number of covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions on our and our subsidiaries ability to, among other things:
| incur additional debt, guarantee indebtedness, or issue certain preferred equity interests; |
| pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, our capital stock, or make other restricted payments; |
| prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt; |
| make loans or certain investments; |
| sell certain assets; |
| create liens on certain assets; |
| consolidate, merge, sell, or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets; |
| enter into certain transactions with our affiliates; |
| alter the businesses we conduct; |
| enter into agreements restricting our subsidiaries ability to pay dividends; and |
| designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries. |
As a result of these covenants, we will be limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs. These restrictive covenants may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. The failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of a substantial amount of our indebtedness.
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We are subject to certain restrictions on our business as a result of our participation in governmental programs under the CARES Act.
On April 20, 2020, we entered into the PSP Agreement under the CARES Act with Treasury governing our participation in the Payroll Support Program. Under the Payroll Support Program, Treasury provided us a $62.3 million Payroll Support Payment. Additionally, on October 26, 2020, we entered into the CARES Act Loan Agreement with Treasury under the Loan Program of the CARES Act. Pursuant to the CARES Act Loan Agreement, Treasury agreed to extend loans to us in an aggregate principal amount of $45.0 million, subject to specified terms, which is due to be repaid on the earlier of (i) October 24, 2025 or (ii) six months prior to the expiration date of any material loyalty program securing the loan. See Note 3 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included herein for more information.
In accordance with any grants and/or loans received under the CARES Act, we are required to comply with the relevant provisions of the CARES Act which, among other things, includes the following: the requirement to use the Payroll Support Payment exclusively for the continuation of payment of crewmember and employee wages, salaries and benefits; the requirement that certain levels of commercial air service be maintained until March 1, 2022; the prohibitions on share repurchases and the payment of common stock dividends until one year following repayment of the loan; and restrictions on the payment of certain executive compensation until the later of March 24, 2022 and one year following repayment of the loan.
Further, the CARES Act Loan Agreement includes affirmative and negative covenants that restrict our ability to, among other things, merge, consolidate, sell or otherwise dispose of certain assets, create liens on certain assets, make certain investments or pay certain dividends and make certain other restricted payments. In addition, we are required to maintain aggregate liquidity of not less than $10.0 million, measured at the close of every business day. In addition, the DOT could reinstate airline route obligations, requiring us to serve certain destinations where demand is low.
The substance and duration of restrictions to which we are subject under the grants and/or loans under the CARES Act, including, but not limited to, those outlined above, will materially affect our operations, and we may not be successful in managing these impacts. Further, these restrictions could limit our ability to take actions that we otherwise might have determined to be in the best interests of our company and our stockholders. In particular, limitations on executive compensation may impact our ability to retain senior management or other key employees during this critical time.
We cannot predict whether the assistance under any of these programs will be adequate to support our business for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or whether additional assistance will be required or available in the future.
Risks Related to this Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our stock price may fluctuate significantly and purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.
The market price of our common stock could vary significantly as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. In the event of a drop in the market price of our common stock, you could lose a substantial part or all of your investment in our common stock. The following factors could affect our stock price:
| our operating and financial performance and prospects; |
| quarterly variations in the rate of growth (if any) of our financial or operational indicators, such as earnings per share, net income, revenues, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDAR and Adjusted CASM; |
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| the public reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC; |
| strategic actions by our competitors; |
| changes in operating performance and the stock market valuations of other companies; |
| announcements related to litigation; |
| our failure to meet revenue or earnings estimates made by research analysts or other investors; |
| changes in revenue or earnings estimates, or changes in recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage, by equity research analysts; |
| speculation in the press or investment community; |
| sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders, or the perception that such sales may occur; |
| changes in accounting principles, policies, guidance, interpretations, or standards; |
| additions or departures of key management personnel; |
| actions by our stockholders; |
| general economic and market conditions; |
| the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects; |
| domestic and international economic, legal and regulatory factors unrelated to our performance; |
| material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting; and |
| the realization of any risks described under this Risk Factors section, or other risks that may materialize in the future. |
The stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. Securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a companys securities. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in very substantial costs, divert our managements attention and resources and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are an emerging growth company, and will be able take advantage of reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, which could make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, and, for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies but not to emerging growth companies. These exemptions include not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues exceed $1.07 billion, (ii) the date that we become a large accelerated filer as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, (iii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of this offering, and (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of any choices to reduce future disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may decline or become more volatile and it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital if and when we need it.
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We will incur significant costs and devote substantial management time as a result of operating as a public company, particularly after we are no longer an emerging growth company.
As a public company, we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. For example, we will be required to comply with the requirements of Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as rules and regulations subsequently implemented by the SEC and heightened auditing standards, and the NYSE, our stock exchange, including the establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and changes in corporate governance practices. The rules governing managements assessment of our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation. We expect that compliance with these requirements will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time consuming and costly. In addition, we expect that our management and other personnel will need to divert attention from operational and other business matters to devote substantial time to these public company requirements. In particular, we expect to continue incurring significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In that regard, we may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. Furthermore, if we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements and fail in meeting our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the NYSE, regulatory investigations, civil or criminal sanctions and litigation, any of which would have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
However, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies.
After we are no longer an emerging growth company, we expect to incur additional management time and cost to comply with the more stringent reporting requirements applicable to companies that are deemed accelerated filers or large accelerated filers, including complying with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur as a result of becoming a public company or the timing and materiality of such costs.
We are continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting.
Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to audit the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, which at the latest would be the end of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering. At such time, our internal control over financial reporting may be insufficiently documented, designed or operating, which may cause our independent registered public accounting firm to issue a report that is adverse.
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Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include provisions limiting ownership and voting by non-U.S. citizens.
To comply with restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws will restrict ownership and control of shares of our common stock by non-U.S. citizens. The restrictions imposed by federal law and DOT policy require that we be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, that no more than 25% of our voting stock be owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities who are not U.S. citizens, as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(15), that no more than 49% of our stock be owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities who are not U.S. citizens and are from countries that have entered into open skies air transport agreements with the United States, that our president and at least two-thirds of the members of our board of directors and other managing officers be U.S. citizens and that we be under the actual control of U.S. citizens. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws will provide that the failure of non-U.S. citizens to register their shares on a separate stock record, which we refer to as the foreign stock record, would result in a loss of their voting rights in the event and to the extent that the aggregate foreign ownership of the outstanding common stock exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. Our bylaws will further provide that no shares of our common stock will be registered on the foreign stock record if the amount so registered would exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law. If it is determined that the amount registered in the foreign stock record exceeds the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law, shares will be removed from the foreign stock record, resulting in the loss of voting rights, in reverse chronological order based on the date of registration therein, until the number of shares registered therein does not exceed the foreign ownership restrictions imposed by federal law.
In addition, only U.S. citizens may purchase shares in this offering. By participating in this offering, you will be deemed to represent that you are a citizen of the United States, as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(15). The restrictions on ownership and control of shares of our common stock could materially limit your ability to resell any shares you purchase in this offering and could adversely impact the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.
We continue to be controlled by the Apollo Stockholder, and Apollos interests may conflict with our interests and the interests of other stockholders.
Following this offering, the Apollo Stockholder will beneficially own approximately % of the voting power of our outstanding common equity (or approximately % if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). As a result, the Apollo Stockholder will have the power to elect a majority of our directors. Therefore, individuals affiliated with Apollo will have effective control over the outcome of votes on all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, entering into significant corporate transactions such as mergers, tender offers, and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets and issuance of additional debt or equity. The interests of Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Funds and the Apollo Stockholder, could conflict with or differ from our interests or the interests of our other stockholders. For example, the concentration of ownership held by the Apollo Stockholder could delay, defer, or prevent a change in control of our company or impede a merger, takeover, or other business combination which may otherwise be favorable for us. Additionally, Apollo and its affiliates are in the business of making investments in companies and may, from time to time, acquire and hold interests in or provide advice to businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us, or are suppliers or customers of ours. Apollo and its affiliates may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. Any such investment may increase the potential for the conflicts of interest discussed in this risk factor. So long as the Apollo Stockholder continues to directly or indirectly beneficially own a significant amount of our equity, even if such amount is less than 50%, the Apollo Stockholder will continue to be able to substantially influence or effectively control our ability to enter into corporate transactions. The Apollo Stockholder also has a right to nominate a number of directors comprising a percentage of our board of directors in accordance with Apollo and its affiliates beneficial ownership of the
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voting power of our outstanding common stock (rounded up to the nearest whole number), except that if Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder, beneficially own more than 50% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, the Apollo Stockholder will have the right to nominate a majority of the directors. In addition, we have an executive committee that serves at the discretion of our Board and is composed of two members nominated by the Apollo Stockholder and our CEO, who are authorized to take actions (subject to certain exceptions) that they reasonably determine are appropriate. See ManagementBoard CommitteesExecutive Committee for a further discussion.
We are a controlled company within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, qualify for and intend to rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Following this offering, the Apollo Stockholder will continue to control a majority of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock and, as a result, we will be a controlled company within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by another person or group of persons acting together is a controlled company and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors; |
| the nominating and corporate governance committee be composed entirely of independent directors; |
| the compensation committee be composed entirely of independent directors; and |
| there be an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees. |
We intend to utilize these exemptions as long as we remain a controlled company. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
Our organizational documents may impede or discourage a takeover, which could deprive our investors of the opportunity to receive a premium on their shares.
Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may make it more difficult for, or prevent a third-party from, acquiring control of us without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions include:
| providing that our board of directors will be divided into three classes, with each class of directors serving staggered three-year terms; |
| prohibiting cumulative voting in the election of directors; |
| providing for the removal of directors only for cause and only upon the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the Company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, if less than 50.1% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder; |
| empowering only the board of directors to fill any vacancy on our board of directors (other than in respect of an Apollo Director or an Amazon Director, if any (each as defined below)), whether such vacancy occurs as a result of an increase in the number of directors or otherwise; |
| authorizing the issuance of blank check preferred stock without any need for action by stockholders; |
| prohibiting stockholders from acting by written consent if less than 50.1% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder; |
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| to the extent permitted by law, prohibiting stockholders from calling a special meeting of stockholders if less than 50.1% of the voting power of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder; and |
| establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings. |
Additionally, our certificate of incorporation provides that we are not governed by Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL), which, in the absence of such provisions, would have imposed additional requirements regarding mergers and other business combinations. However, our certificate of incorporation will include a provision that restricts us from engaging in any business combination with an interested stockholder for three years following the date that person becomes an interested stockholder, but such restrictions shall not apply to any business combination between Apollo and any affiliate thereof or their direct and indirect transferees, on the one hand, and us, on the other, or certain other situations as described below in Description of Capital StockCertain Corporate Anti-takeover ProvisionsDelaware Takeover Statute.
Any issuance by us of preferred stock could delay or prevent a change in control of us. Our board of directors will have the authority to cause us to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, in one or more series, to designate the number of shares constituting any series, and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption, redemption price or prices, and liquidation preferences of such series. The issuance of shares of our preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control without further action by the stockholders, even where stockholders are offered a premium for their shares.
In addition, as long as the Apollo Stockholder beneficially owns a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, the Apollo Stockholder will be able to control all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation and certain corporate transactions. Our Stockholders Agreement will also require the approval of the Apollo Stockholder for certain important matters, including material acquisitions and dispositions other than certain transactions in the ordinary course of business, certain issuances of equity securities and incurrence of debt, and mergers, consolidations and transfers of all or substantially all of our assets, until the first time that Apollo and its affiliates, including the Apollo Stockholder, cease to beneficially own at least 25% of our common stock. See Description of Capital StockCertain Corporate Anti-takeover ProvisionsCertain Matters that Require Consent of Our Stockholders.
Together, the provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Stockholders Agreement and statutory provisions could make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock. Furthermore, the existence of the foregoing provisions, as well as the significant common stock beneficially owned by the Apollo Stockholder and its right to nominate a specified number of directors in certain circumstances, could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of us, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition. For a further discussion of these and other such anti-takeover provisions, see Description of Capital StockCertain Corporate Anti-takeover Provisions.
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action
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asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or of our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim related to or involving the Company that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that the exclusive forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, or to any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction. Our certificate of incorporation further provides that the federal district courts of the United States shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any action, suit or proceeding asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. We recognize that the forum selection clause in our certificate of incorporation may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware. Additionally, the forum selection clause in our certificate of incorporation may limit our stockholders ability to bring a claim in a forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to have consented to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation described above. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholders ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. However, the enforceability of similar forum provisions in other companies certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our certificate of incorporation will contain a provision renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities.
Under our certificate of incorporation, none of Apollo, its affiliated funds, the portfolio companies owned by such funds, the Apollo Stockholder, any other affiliates of Apollo or any of their respective officers, directors, principals, partners, members, managers, employees, agents or other representatives, will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities, similar business activities, or lines of business in which we operate. In addition, our certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no officer or director of ours who is also an officer, director, principal, partner, member, manager, employee, agent or other representative of Apollo or its affiliates will be liable to us or our stockholders for breach of any fiduciary duty by reason of the fact that any such individual directs a corporate opportunity to Apollo or its affiliates, instead of us, or does not communicate information regarding a corporate opportunity to us that the officer, director, employee, managing director, or other affiliate has directed to Apollo or its affiliates and representatives. For instance, a director of our company who also serves as a director, officer, principal, partner, member, manager, employee, agent or other representative of Apollo or any of its portfolio companies, funds or other affiliates may pursue certain acquisitions or other opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, such acquisition or other opportunities may not be available to us. Upon consummation of this offering, our board of directors will consist of ten members, of whom will be Apollo Directors. These potential conflicts of interest could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects if attractive corporate opportunities are allocated by Apollo to itself or its affiliated funds, the portfolio companies owned by such funds, the Apollo Stockholder or any other affiliates of Apollo instead of to us. A description of our obligations related to corporate opportunities under our certificate of incorporation are more fully described in Description of Capital StockCorporate Opportunity.
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We are a holding company and rely on dividends, distributions, and other payments, advances, and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations.
We are a holding company that does not conduct any business operations of our own. As a result, we are largely dependent upon cash dividends and distributions and other transfers, including for payments in respect of our indebtedness, from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations. The agreements governing the indebtedness of our subsidiaries impose restrictions on our subsidiaries ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us. See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsLiquidity and Capital Resources. Each of our subsidiaries is a distinct legal entity, and under certain circumstances legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from them and we may be limited in our ability to cause any future joint ventures to distribute their earnings to us. The deterioration of the earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries for any reason could also limit or impair their ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us.
Investors in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution.
Based on our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2019 and an initial public offering price of $ per share, we expect that purchasers of our common stock in this offering will experience an immediate and substantial dilution of $ per share, representing the difference between our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share and the initial public offering price. This dilution is due in large part to earlier investors having paid substantially less than the initial public offering price when they purchased their shares. See Dilution.
Our future earnings and earnings per share, as reported under GAAP, could be adversely impacted by the warrants granted to Amazon. If Amazon exercises its right to acquire shares of our common stock pursuant to the 2019 Warrants, this will dilute the ownership interests of our then-existing stockholders and could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
The warrants granted to Amazon increase the number of diluted shares reported, which has an effect on our fully diluted earnings per share. Further, the 2019 Warrants are presented as liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet and are subject to fair value measurement adjustments during the periods that they are outstanding. Accordingly, future fluctuations in the fair value of the 2019 Warrants could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, the majority of the 2019 Warrants will vest incrementally based on aggregate global payments by Amazon to the Company or its affiliates pursuant to the ATSA, or in certain circumstances, including upon a change of control (as defined in the 2019 Warrant) or certain transfers of 30% or more of the voting power in the Company to a new person or group (other than this offering or any follow-on equity offering by the Company or the Apollo Stockholder pursuant to an effective registration statement so long as no person or group (within the meaning of the Exchange Act) acquires more than 50% of the voting power of the Company in such offering), immediately. If additional 2019 Warrants vest and Amazon exercises its right to acquire shares of our common stock pursuant to the 2019 Warrants, it will dilute the ownership interests of our then-existing stockholders and reduce our earnings per share. In addition, to the extent the common stock issued upon exercise of the 2019 Warrants is transferred to non-U.S. citizens, it will further limit the amount of our common stock that may be owned or controlled by other non-U.S. citizens. Furthermore, any sales in the public market of any common stock issuable upon the exercise of the 2019 Warrants could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock.
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You may be diluted by the future issuance of additional common stock or convertible securities in connection with our incentive plans, acquisitions or otherwise, which could adversely affect our stock price.
After the completion of this offering, we will have shares of common stock authorized but unissued. Our certificate of incorporation will authorize us to issue these shares of common stock and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to common stock for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our board of directors in its sole discretion, whether in connection with acquisitions or otherwise. At the closing of this offering, we will have approximately options outstanding, which are exercisable into approximately shares of common stock, and the 2019 Warrants outstanding, which are exercisable for approximately shares of common stock, subject to vesting requirements. Of the 2019 Warrants, approximately % have vested and the remainder will vest incrementally based on aggregate global payments by Amazon to the Company or its affiliates pursuant to the ATSA. We have reserved approximately shares for future grant under our Omnibus Equity Plan. See Executive CompensationEquity Compensation Plans2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan. Any common stock that we issue, including under our Omnibus Equity Plan or other equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future, as well as under outstanding options or warrants would dilute the percentage ownership held by the investors who purchase common stock in this offering.
From time to time in the future, we may also issue additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into common stock pursuant to a variety of transactions, including acquisitions. Our issuance of additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into our common stock would dilute your ownership of us and the sale of a significant amount of such shares in the public market could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock.
Future sales of our common stock in the public market, or the perception in the public market that such sales may occur, could reduce our stock price.
After the completion of this offering and the use of proceeds therefrom, we will have shares of common stock outstanding, warrants to purchase shares of common stock outstanding and options to purchase shares of common stock outstanding. The number of outstanding shares of common stock includes shares beneficially owned by the Apollo Stockholder and certain of our employees, which are restricted securities, as defined under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and eligible for sale in the public market subject to the requirements of Rule 144. We, the selling stockholder, each of our officers and directors and all of our other existing stockholders have agreed that (subject to certain exceptions), for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of certain underwriters, dispose of any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock, subject to certain exceptions. See Underwriting (Conflict of Interest). Following the expiration of the applicable lock-up period, all of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock will be eligible for future sale, subject to the applicable volume, manner of sale, holding periods, and other limitations of Rule 144. The underwriters may, in their sole discretion, release all or any portion of the shares subject to lock-up agreements at any time and for any reason. In addition, the Apollo Stockholder, certain of our existing stockholders and Amazon have certain rights to require us to register the sale of common stock held by them including in connection with underwritten offerings. Sales of significant amounts of stock in the public market upon expiration of lock-up agreements, the perception that such sales may occur, or early release of any lock-up agreements, could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock or make it more difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate. See Shares Eligible for Future Sale for a discussion of the shares of common stock that may be sold into the public market in the future.
We will have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds to us from this offering and may not use them effectively.
We will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds to us from this offering and you will not have the opportunity as part of your investment decision to assess whether the net proceeds are being used
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appropriately. Our management may not apply the net proceeds in ways that increase the value of your investment in our common stock. Investors will need to rely upon the judgment of our management with respect to the use of proceeds. Pending use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities, such as money market accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government that may not generate a high yield for our stockholders. If we do not use the net proceeds that we receive in this offering effectively, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be harmed, and the market price of our common stock could decline.
There has been no prior public market for our common stock and there can be no assurances that a viable public market for our common stock will develop or be sustained.
Prior to this offering, our common stock was not traded on any market. An active, liquid and orderly trading market for our common stock may not develop or be maintained after this offering. Active, liquid and orderly trading markets usually result in less price volatility and more efficiency in carrying out investors purchase and sale orders. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our common stock will lead to the development of an active trading market on the NYSE or otherwise or how liquid that market might become. The initial public offering price for the common stock will be determined by negotiations between us, the selling stockholder and the representatives of the underwriters and may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering. See Underwriting (Conflict of Interest). If an active public market for our common stock does not develop, or is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares at a price that is attractive to you or at all.
The initial public offering price of our common stock may not be indicative of the market price of our common stock after this offering.
The initial public offering price was determined by negotiations between us, the selling stockholder and representatives of the underwriters, based on numerous factors which we discuss in Underwriting (Conflict of Interest), and may not be indicative of the market price of our common stock after this offering. If you purchase our common stock, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the initial public offering price.
We do not anticipate paying dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
We do not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future on our common stock. We intend to retain all future earnings for the operation and expansion of our business and the repayment of outstanding debt. Our ABL Facility and the CARES Act Loan Agreement contain, and any future indebtedness likely will contain, restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us, including restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and make other restricted payments. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock may be your major source of gain for the foreseeable future. While we may change this policy at some point in the future, we cannot assure you that we will make such a change. See Dividend Policy.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports, our stock price could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if one or more of the analysts who cover our company downgrades our common stock, publishes unfavorable research about our business or if our operating results do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.
We may issue preferred securities, the terms of which could adversely affect the voting power or value of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation will authorize us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred securities having such designations, preferences, limitations, and relative
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rights, including preferences over our common stock respecting dividends and distributions, as our board of directors may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred securities could adversely impact the voting power or value of our common stock. For example, we might grant holders of preferred securities the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we might assign to holders of preferred securities could affect the residual value of the common stock.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intend, likely, may, plan, possible, potential, predict, project, should, target, will, would and, in each case, their negative or other various or comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management, and expected market growth are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled Prospectus Summary, Risk Factors, Use of Proceeds, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and Business and include, among other things, statements relating to:
| our strategy, outlook and growth prospects; |
| our operational and financial targets and dividend policy; |
| general economic trends and trends in the industry and markets; and |
| the competitive environment in which we operate. |
These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our results to vary from expectations include, but are not limited to:
| the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects including related travel restrictions, social distancing measures and decreased demand for air travel; |
| the impact of worldwide economic conditions; |
| changes in our fuel cost; |
| threatened or actual terrorist attacks, global instability and potential U.S. military actions or activities; |
| the competitive environment in our industry; |
| factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion, weather, security measures, travel-related taxes and outbreak of disease; |
| our presence in international markets; |
| insurance costs; |
| changes in restrictions on, or increased taxes applicable to charges for, ancillary products and services; |
| air travel substitutes; |
| our ability to implement our business strategy successfully; |
| our ability to keep costs low; |
| our reliance on the Minneapolis/St. Paul market; |
| our reputation and business being adversely affected in the event of an emergency, accident or similar public incident involving our aircraft or personnel; |
| our reliance on third-party providers and other commercial partners to perform functions integral to our operations; |
| operational disruptions; |
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| our ability to grow or maintain our unit revenues or maintain our ancillary revenues; |
| increased labor costs, union disputes, employee strikes and other labor-related disruptions; |
| governmental regulation; |
| our inability to maintain an optimal daily aircraft utilization rate; |
| our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; |
| our inability to expand or operate reliably and efficiently out of airports where we maintain a large presence; |
| environmental and noise laws and regulations; |
| negative publicity regarding our customer service; |
| our liquidity and dependence on cash balances and operating cash flows; |
| our ability to maintain our liquidity in the event one or more of our credit card processors were to impose holdback restrictions; |
| our ability to obtain financing or access capital markets; |
| aircraft-related fixed obligations that could impair our liquidity; |
| our maintenance obligations; |
| our sole-source supplier for our aircraft and engines; |
| loss of key personnel; and |
| other risk factors included under Risk Factors in this prospectus. |
These forward-looking statements reflect our views with respect to future events as of the date of this prospectus and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this prospectus and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this prospectus. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. You should read this prospectus and the documents filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, merger, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments we may undertake. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
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We expect to receive approximately $ million of net proceeds (based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) from the sale of the common stock offered by us, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the public offering would increase (decrease) our net proceeds by approximately $ million.
We currently expect to use approximately $ million of the net proceeds to us from this offering to pay fees and expenses in connection with this offering, which include legal and accounting fees, SEC and FINRA registration fees, printing expenses, and other similar fees and expenses. We intend to use any remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes. While we currently have no specific plan for the use of the remaining net proceeds to us of this offering, we anticipate using a significant portion of these proceeds to implement our growth strategies and generate funds for working capital. Our management team will retain broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds of this offering. The precise amounts and timing of our use of any remaining net proceeds will depend upon market conditions, among other factors.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock offered by the selling stockholder.
64
We currently do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. However, we may, in the future, decide to pay dividends on our common stock. Any declaration and payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, cash flows, capital requirements, levels of indebtedness, restrictions imposed by applicable law, our overall financial condition, restrictions in our debt agreements and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors.
As a holding company, our ability to pay dividends depends on our receipt of cash dividends from our operating subsidiaries. Our ability to pay dividends will therefore be restricted as a result of restrictions on their ability to pay dividends to us under our ABL Facility and the CARES Act Loan Agreement and under other current and future indebtedness that we or they may incur. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to this Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsLiquidity and Capital Resources.
65
The following table sets forth our cash and equivalents and our capitalization as of December 31, 2020 on:
| an actual basis; |
| a pro forma basis to give effect to the Stock Split; and |
| a pro forma as adjusted basis to give further effect to this offering and the application of the net proceeds to us of this offering as described under Use of Proceeds. |
You should read this table together with the information included elsewhere in this prospectus, including Prospectus SummarySummary Consolidated Financial and Operating Information, Selected Historical Consolidated Financial Data, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto.
As of December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
Actual | Pro forma | Pro forma as adjusted |
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(in thousands, except share data) | ||||||||||||
Cash and equivalents |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
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|
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Total debt |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Stockholders Equity: |
||||||||||||
Common stock$0.01 par value; shares authorized, shares issued and outstanding (actual); shares authorized, shares issued and outstanding (pro forma); shares authorized, shares issued and outstanding (pro forma as adjusted)(1) |
| |||||||||||
Preferred stock$0.01 par value; shares authorized, no shares |
| | | |||||||||
Loans to SCA common stockholders |
| | ||||||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
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Retained earnings |
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Total stockholders equity |
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|
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Total capitalization |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
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(1) | Following this offering, 2019 Warrants to purchase an aggregate of shares of common stock, approximately % of which have vested, will remain outstanding. As is the case for investment in our company generally, the exercise of the 2019 Warrants is limited by restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines. See Description of Capital StockLimited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners. |
66
Purchasers of the common stock in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering.
Our pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 2020 was $ , or $ per share of our common stock. Pro forma net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets (total assets less goodwill and deferred offering costs) less total liabilities divided by the number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020, after giving effect to the Stock Split.
Our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of December 31, 2020 was $ , or $ per share of our common stock. Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share represents our pro forma net tangible book value after giving effect to the sale of shares of common stock by us in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share (the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and the application of the net proceeds to us from this offering.
The following table illustrates the dilution per share of our common stock:
Assumed initial public offering price per share |
$ | |||||||
Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2020 |
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Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share |
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Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after |
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|
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Dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering |
$ | |||||||
|
|
Dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering is determined by subtracting pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering from the initial public offering price per share of common stock.
The dilution information discussed above is illustrative only and may change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering. A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share of common stock, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by $ per share and increase (decrease) the dilution to new investors by $ per share, in each case assuming the number of shares of common stock offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. Similarly, each increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares of common stock offered by us would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $ per share and decrease (increase) the dilution to new investors by approximately $ per share, in each case assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share of common stock remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.
The following table summarizes, as of December 31, 2020, on a pro forma as adjusted basis as described above, the total number of shares of common stock owned by existing stockholders and to be owned by new investors, the total consideration paid, and the average price per share paid by our existing stockholders and to be
67
paid by new investors in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, calculated before deduction of estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Shares Purchased | Total Consideration |
Average Price per Share |
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Number | Percent | Amount | Percent | |||||||||||||||||
Existing stockholders |
% | $ | % | $ | ||||||||||||||||
Investors in the offering |
% | % | ||||||||||||||||||
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Total |
100 | % | $ | 100 | % | $ |
A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price would increase (decrease) total consideration paid by new investors, total consideration paid by all stockholders and average price per share paid by new investors by $ , $ and $ per share, respectively.
If the underwriters were to fully exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock, the percentage of common stock held by existing investors would be %, and the percentage of shares of common stock held by new investors would be %.
The foregoing tables and calculations, except as otherwise indicated:
| reflect the Reorganization Transactions, including the Stock Split; |
| assume an initial public offering price of $ per share of common stock, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus; |
| assume no exercise of the underwriters option to purchase additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholder; |
| assume no exercise of the 2019 Warrants to purchase an aggregate of shares of common stock, approximately % of which have vested. As is the case for investment in our company generally, the exercise of the 2019 Warrants is limited by restrictions imposed by federal law on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines. See Description of Capital StockLimited Ownership and Voting by Foreign Owners; |
| do not reflect an additional shares of our common stock reserved for future grant under the Omnibus Equity Plan. See Executive CompensationEquity Compensation Plans2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan; and |
| do not reflect shares of common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of the consummation of this offering under the SCA Acquisition Equity Plan. The following table sets forth the outstanding stock options under the SCA Acquisition Equity Plan as of December 31, 2020 (after giving effect to the Stock Split): |
Number of Options(1) |
Weighted-Average Exercise Price Per Share |
|||||||
Vested stock options (time-based vesting) |
$ | |||||||
Unvested stock options (time-based vesting) |
$ | |||||||
Unvested stock options (performance-based vesting) |
$ |
(1) | Upon a holders exercise of one option, we will issue to the holder one share of common stock. |
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We may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of such securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders. To the extent that any outstanding options or warrants to purchase our common stock are exercised, or new awards are granted under our equity compensation plans, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering.
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SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
The following tables present our selected consolidated financial data for the periods indicated. We have derived our selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2019 and for the periods January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 (Predecessor) and April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 (Successor) from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived our selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2017 from our consolidated financial statements not included in this prospectus. We have derived our selected historical consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived our selected historical consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2017 from our consolidated financial statements not included in this prospectus. We have derived the selected historical consolidated statement of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived our selected historical consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2020 from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The significant differences in accounting for the Successor periods as compared to the Predecessor period, which were established as part of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds, are in (1) aircraft rent, due to the over-market liabilities related to unfavorable terms of our existing aircraft leases and maintenance reserve payments, which will be amortized on a straight-line basis as a reduction of aircraft rent over the remaining life of each lease, (2) maintenance expenses, due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) that will offset expenses for maintenance events incurred by the Successor but paid for by the Predecessor and (3) depreciation and amortization, due to the recognition of our property and equipment and other intangible assets at fair value at the time of the acquisition, which will be amortized through depreciation and amortization on a straight-line basis over their respective useful lives. Please see our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with the section titled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
For the year ended December 31, 2017 |
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(in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Statement of Operations Data: |
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Operating Revenues: |
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Passenger |
$ | 272,299 | $ | 527,327 | $ | 688,833 | $ | 335,824 | $ | 172,897 | $ | 502,081 | ||||||||||||||||
Cargo |
17,491 | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Other |
3,889 | 10,193 | 12,551 | 49,107 | 24,555 | 57,595 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total Operating Revenue |
293,679 | 537,520 | 701,384 | 384,931 | 197,452 | 559,676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operating Expenses: |
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Aircraft Fuel |
$ | 69,377 | $ | 127,338 | $ | 165,666 | $ | 119,553 | $ | 45,790 | $ | 118,382 | ||||||||||||||||
Salaries, Wages, and Benefits |
106,923 | 105,668 | 140,739 | 90,263 | 36,964 | 124,446 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Aircraft Rent(1) |
23,376 | 37,959 | 49,908 | 36,831 | 28,329 | 81,141 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Maintenance(2) |
15,242 | 25,041 | 35,286 | 15,491 | 9,508 | 35,371 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales and Marketing |
13,123 | 27,414 | 35,388 | 17,180 | 10,854 | 36,320 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and Amortization(3) |
35,631 | 25,371 | 34,877 | 14,405 | 2,526 | 10,301 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Ground Handling |
15,786 | 31,009 | 41,719 | 23,828 | 8,619 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Landing Fees and Airport Rent |
22,377 | 33,730 | 44,400 | 25,977 | 10,481 | | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Special Items, net(4) |
(64,333 | ) | 6,378 | 7,092 | (6,706 | ) | 271 | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other Operating, net |
34,363 | 51,094 | 68,187 | 40,877 | 17,994 | 124,047 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Total Operating Expenses |
271,865 | 471,002 | 623,262 | 377,699 | 171,336 | 530,008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operating Income |
21,814 | 66,518 | 78,122 | 7,232 | 26,116 | 29,668 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
For the year ended December 31, 2017 |
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(in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-operating Income (Expense): |
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Interest Income |
$ | 340 | $ | 618 | $ | 937 | $ | 258 | $ | 96 | $ | 418 | ||||||||||||||||
Interest Expense |
(16,215 | ) | (12,700 | ) | (17,170 | ) | (6,060 | ) | (339 | ) | (1,134 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Other, net |
(331 | ) | (906 | ) | (1,729 | ) | (1,636 | ) | 37 | (506 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
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Total Non-operating Expense |
(16,206 | ) | (12,988 | ) | (17,962 | ) | (7,438 | ) | (206 | ) | (1,222 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Income (Loss) before Income Tax |
5,608 | 53,530 | 60,160 | (206 | ) | 25,910 | 28,446 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Income Tax Expense |
1,470 | 12,476 | 14,088 | 161 | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Net Income (Loss) |
$ | 4,138 | $ | 41,054 | $ | 46,072 | $ | (367 | ) | $ | 25,910 | $ | 28,446 | |||||||||||||||
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Net Income (Loss) per share to common stockholders: |
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Basic |
$ | 1.67 | $ | 16.58 | $ | 18.61 | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | 0.26 | |||||||||||||||||
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Diluted |
$ | 1.62 | $ | 16.22 | $ | 18.17 | $ | (0.15 | ) | $ | 0.26 | |||||||||||||||||
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Weighted average shares outstanding: |
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Basic |
2,478 | 2,476 | 2,476 | 2,472 | 100,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Diluted |
2,560 | 2,531 | 2,536 | 2,472 | 100,000 |
(1) | Aircraft Rent expense for the Successor periods is reduced due to amortization of a liability representing lease rates and maintenance reserves which were higher than market terms of similar leases at the time of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds. This liability was recognized at the time of the acquisition and is being amortized into earnings through a reduction of Aircraft Rent on a straight-line basis over the remaining life of each lease. See Note 2 and Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(2) | Maintenance expense for the Successor periods is reduced due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) to represent the Successors obligation to perform planned maintenance events paid for by the Predecessor on leased aircraft at the date of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds. The liability (or contra-asset) is recognized as a reduction to Maintenance expense as reimbursable maintenance events are performed and maintenance expense is incurred. See Note 2 and Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(3) | Depreciation and amortization expense increased in the Successor periods due to higher fair values for certain acquired assets and to the amortization of definite-lived intangible assets. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(4) | See Note 15 to our audited consolidated financial statements and Note 13 to our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information on the components of Special items, net. |
As of September 30, |
As of December 31, | |||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and equivalents |
$ | 44,288 | $ | 51,006 | $ | 29,600 | $ | 4,276 | ||||||||
Total assets |
1,043,600 | 1,007,876 | 675,832 | 216,828 | ||||||||||||
Long-term debt and finance lease obligations, including current portion(1) |
362,846 | 284,272 | 150,246 | 11,271 | ||||||||||||
Stockholders equity |
290,069 | 283,724 | 235,647 | 34,442 |
(1) | Finance lease obligations were formerly referred to as capital lease obligations prior to our adoption of Accounting Standards Codification 842: Lease Accounting (ASC 842) on January 1, 2019. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
71
MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risk, assumptions and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and forecasts. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section of this prospectus titled Risk Factors and elsewhere in this prospectus. You should carefully read the Risk Factors to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see the section of this prospectus titled Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.
Overview
Sun Country Airlines is a new breed of hybrid low-cost air carrier that dynamically deploys shared resources across our synergistic scheduled service, charter and cargo businesses. By doing so, we believe we are able to generate high growth, high margins and strong cash flows with greater resilience that other passenger airlines. We focus on serving leisure and VFR passengers, charter customers and providing CMI services to Amazon, with flights throughout the United States and to destinations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Based in Minnesota, we operate an agile network that includes our scheduled service business and our synergistic charter and cargo businesses. We share resources, such as flight crews, across our scheduled service, charter and cargo business lines with the objective of generating higher returns and margins and mitigating the seasonality of our route network. We optimize capacity allocation by market, time of year, day of week and line of business by shifting flying to markets during periods of peak demand and away from markets during periods of low demand with far greater frequency than nearly all other large U.S. passenger airlines. Our flexible business model generates higher returns and margins while also providing greater resiliency to economic and industry downturns than a traditional scheduled service carrier. As a result of our diversified and resilient business model, we believe we have been the best performing mainline U.S. passenger airline in 2020 during the current COVID-19 induced industry downturn as measured by pre-tax and operating income margins.
Our scheduled service business combines low costs with a high quality product to generate higher TRASM than ULCCs while maintaining lower Adjusted CASM than LLCs, resulting in best-in-class unit profitability. Our business includes many cost characteristics of ULCCs (which include Allegiant Travel Company, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines), such as an unbundled product (which means we offer a base fare and allow customers to purchase ancillary products and services for an additional fee), point-to-point service and a single-family fleet of Boeing 737-NG aircraft, which allow us to maintain a cost base comparable to these ULCCs. However, we offer a high quality product that we believe is superior to ULCCs and consistent with that of LCCs (which include Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways). For example, our product includes more legroom than ULCCs, complimentary beverages, in-flight entertainment and in-seat power, none of which are offered by ULCCs. The combination of our agile peak demand network with our elevated consumer product allows us to generate higher TRASM than ULCCs while maintaining lower Adjusted CASM than LCCs. In addition, low cost, leisure focused carriers, similar to Sun Country, have been more resilient during economic downturns, including the current COVID-19 induced downturn, when compared to business-travel-focused legacy carriers.
Our charter business, which is one of the largest narrow body charter operations in the United States, is a key component of our strategy both because it provides inherent diversification and downside protection (it is uncorrelated to our scheduled service and cargo businesses, as evidenced by the fact that it recovered faster than our scheduled service business during the COVID-19 pandemic) as well as because it is synergistic with our other businesses (for example, we can dynamically deploy aircraft and pilots to their most profitable uses whether they be charter or scheduled service). Our charter business has several favorable characteristics including large repeat customers, more stable demand than scheduled service flying and the ability to pass
72
through certain costs, including fuel. Our diverse charter customer base includes casino operators, the U.S. Department of Defense, college sports teams and professional sports teams. We are the primary air carrier for the NCAA Division I National Basketball Tournament (known as March Madness), and we flew over 100 college sports teams during 2019. Our charter business includes ad hoc, repeat, short-term and long-term service contracts with pass through fuel arrangements and annual rate escalations. Most of our business is non-cyclical because the U.S. Department of Defense and sports teams still fly during normal economic downturns, and our casino contracts are long-term in nature. Our charter business has proven to be more resilient than our scheduled service business during the COVID-19 induced downturn. Additionally, our charter business complements our seasonal and day-of-week focused scheduled passenger service by allowing us to optimally schedule our aircraft and crews to the most profitable flying opportunities. In general, charter available seat miles are highest in fall months when scheduled service operations are less favorable. From 2017 through 2019, we grew our charter revenue by approximately 32% while providing charter services to 395 destinations in 27 countries across the world. While our charter revenues were down as a result of COVID-19, they have rebounded throughout 2020.
On December 13, 2019, we signed the ATSA with Amazon to provide air cargo services. Flying under the ATSA began in May 2020 and, as of the date of this prospectus, we are flying 12 Boeing 737-800 cargo aircraft for Amazon (having been awarded two additional aircraft in October and November 2020 after the initial contract for 10 aircraft). Our CMI service is asset-light from a Sun Country perspective as Amazon supplies the aircraft and covers many of the operating expenses, including fuel, and provides all cargo loading and unloading services. We are responsible for flying the aircraft under our air carrier certificate, crew, aircraft line maintenance and insurance, all of which allow us to leverage our existing operational expertise from our scheduled service and charter businesses. Our contract with Amazon has generated consistent, positive cash flows through the COVID-19 induced downturn. During October and November 2020, our cargo business generated $5.8 million and $6.4 million in revenue, respectively. In October 2020, we had 10 aircraft in operation for the majority of the month and received our eleventh aircraft on October 29, 2020. In November 2020, we had 11 aircraft in operation for the majority of the month and received our twelfth aircraft on November 17, 2020. The ATSA has annual rate escalations, and the first rate increase occurred on December 13, 2020. The ATSA offers potential future growth opportunities by establishing a long-term partnership with Amazon. Our cargo business also enables us to leverage certain assets, capabilities and fixed costs to enhance profitability and promote growth across our company. For example, we believe that by deploying pilots across each of our business lines, we increase the efficiency of our operations.
Basis of Presentation
On April 11, 2018, MN Airlines, LLC was acquired by the Apollo Funds. As a result of the change of control, the acquisition was accounted for as a business combination using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires, among other things, that our assets and liabilities be recognized on the consolidated balance sheet at their fair value as of the acquisition date. Accordingly, the financial information provided in this prospectus is presented as Predecessor or Successor to indicate whether they relate to the period preceding the acquisition or the period succeeding the acquisition, respectively. Additionally, in May 2019, we converted the operating entity of the airline from MN Airlines, LLC d/b/a Sun Country Airlines to Sun Country, Inc. d/b/a Sun Country Airlines.
The comparability of the Successor 2019 period to the Successor 2018 and Predecessor 2018 period may be impacted due to the recognition of assets and liabilities at their fair value at the acquisition date. The significant differences in accounting for the Successor periods as compared to the Predecessor period, which were established as part of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds, are in (1) aircraft rent, due to the over-market liabilities related to unfavorable terms of our existing aircraft leases and maintenance reserve payments, which will be amortized on a straight-line basis as a reduction of aircraft rent over the remaining life of each lease, (2) maintenance expenses, due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) that will offset expenses for maintenance events incurred by the Successor but paid for by the predecessor and (3) depreciation and amortization, due to the recognition of our property and equipment and other intangible assets at fair value at the
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time of the acquisition, which will be amortized through depreciation and amortization on a straight-line basis over their respective useful lives. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information.
The financial information, accounting policies and activities of the Successor and Predecessor are referred to those of the Company. The Successor adopted the Predecessors accounting policies. See Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information.
Years in Review
We believe a key component of our success is establishing Sun Country as a high growth, low-cost carrier in the United States by attracting customers with low fares and garnering repeat business by delivering a high quality passenger experience, offering state-of-the-art interiors, free streaming in-flight entertainment to passenger devices, seat recline and seat-back power in all of our aircraft, none of which are offered by ULCCs.
From late 2017 through 2019, we transformed our business by implementing our strategy of providing a high quality travel experience at affordable fares. We redesigned our network to focus our flying on peak demand opportunities at both our MSP hub and our growing network of non-MSP point-to-point markets, which supported a 43% increase in passengers from 2017 to 2019. During those years, we invested significantly in mid-life Boeing 737-800 aircraft, new aircraft interiors and seat densification and other growth-oriented and cost-saving initiatives. During 2019, we reconfigured the seat density of substantially all our aircraft to 183 seats, and subsequently further increased the seat density of our fleet to 186 seats. At 186 seats, we offer two different seat categories: Best and Standard. The Best category includes preferred boarding, one complimentary alcoholic beverage, four inches of extra legroom and 150% extra recline. Additionally, we meaningfully expanded our ancillary product offerings by introducing carry-on and checked bag fees and increasing our buy-on-board options, stimulating passenger demand for our product through low base fares and enabling passengers to identify, select and pay for the products and services they want to use. Average ancillary revenue per scheduled service passenger increased by 148% from 2017 to 2019. These efforts were further complemented by the implementation of a robust and scalable reservation and distribution system and new website in 2019, the redesign of our loyalty program in 2018 to be simple and family friendly, and improved flexibility of our cancellation policy.
Our revenue grew from $560 million in 2017 to $701 million in 2019 primarily as a result of our increased capacity following the expansion of our network. Our ASMs increased from 5.3 billion in 2017 to 7.1 billion in 2019, driven primarily by an increase in average seat density of our aircraft and an increase in the number of flights and block hours. Our scheduled service revenue grew from $372 million in 2017 to $396 million in 2019. We have focused on the expansion of our network of point-to-point travel outside of MSP to leverage seasonal demand where other airlines are unable to respond effectively to the needs of the market. Since implementing our non-MSP route strategy in early 2018, we grew this service to 10% of scheduled service block hours in 2018 and further increased non-MSP service to 20% of scheduled service block hours in 2019. Our charter service revenue grew from $132 million in 2017 to $175 million in 2019 primarily due to an increase in the number of charter flights for our casino and sports customers and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Our transformation reduced operating costs during this same time period, resulting in a decrease in Adjusted CASM from 7.80 cents in 2017 to 6.31 cents in 2019, which allowed us to offer highly competitive low-cost fares to our customers and reduce our average fare per scheduled service passenger from $148.60 in 2017 to $111.08 in 2019. The primary drivers of our cost savings were renegotiating our component maintenance agreement, fuel savings initiatives, catering cost reductions, renegotiation of distribution contracts and various other initiatives. In December 2019, we arranged for the financing or refinancing of 13 used aircraft in a EETC structure, which we completed in June 2020, further reducing costs in 2020 and beyond. Our cost structure has resulted in our ability to maintain low costs at lower utilizations, which enables us to tailor schedules to peak periods of demand. These efforts improved our operating margin from 5.3% in 2017 to 11.1% in 2019. While the COVID-19 induced industry downturn has delayed our growth in 2020, we believe that these investments have positioned us to profitably grow our business in the long term following a rebound in the U.S. airline industry
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and that our period of heavy investment in transformative capital spending is behind us for the foreseeable future.
In May 2020, we began providing air cargo transportation services under the ATSA. In June 2020, we entered into an amendment to the ATSA that added two additional aircraft to the agreement, which were delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020, bringing the total number of aircraft we fly for Amazon to 12. In August 2020, we entered into a contract with Major League Soccer to provide charter flights for professional soccer teams.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic decline in passenger demand across the U.S. airline industry. While we were not unaffected by this downturn, our diversified and flexible business model allowed us to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our business. Actions we took during 2020 to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 induced downturn include: capacity reductions; a company-wide hiring freeze; headcount reductions; voluntary leave programs; reduced capital expenditures; deferred vendor payments; and upsizing of our ABL Facility. In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, we received a CARES Act grant of $62.3 million and a loan of $45.0 million. While Adjusted CASM for all U.S. airlines increased in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 induced downturn, we believe that our business model and strategy positions us well to maintain and improve our Adjusted CASM in the future, while maintaining lower utilization rates than most of our peers.
Fleet Plan
During 2019, we completed the transition of our fleet to substantially all mid-life Boeing 737-800s, a Boeing 737-NG variant, and as of the date of this prospectus, we operate a fleet of 43 aircraft, including 31 passenger and 12 cargo aircraft. The use of a single aircraft variant allows for additional cost efficiencies as a result of simplified scheduling, maintenance, flight operations and training. The transition to 737-800s also resulted in an increase in seat density on substantially all of our passenger aircraft to 183 seats in 2019, which will provide for greater fuel efficiency per ASM. We further increased the seat density of our fleet to 186 seats as a result of additional seat reconfiguration which was completed in 2020.
We currently have plans to grow our operating capacity as we take delivery of additional aircraft and make changes to our network:
| We took delivery of an additional two Boeing 737-800 aircraft provided by Amazon, and all 12 aircraft are in service as of the date of this prospectus. |
| We have identified commercial opportunities to add between three and five additional aircraft to our fleet in 2021. |
| We then plan to grow the passenger fleet to an estimated 50 aircraft by the end of 2023. |
We expect to finance all of our additional passenger aircraft through debt or finance leases, though we also may enter into new operating leases on an opportunistic basis. Additionally, we may buy out a certain portion of our existing aircraft currently financed under operating lease agreements over the next several years, using either mortgage based financings or enhanced equipment trust certificates (EETC). EETC structures are issued through pass-through trusts, which are structured to provide for certain credit enhancements that reduce the risks to the purchasers of the trust certificates and, as a result, reduce the cost of our aircraft financing. As of September 2020, 13 of our aircraft were structured under the 2019-1 EETC. These aircraft consisted of a portion of previously leased aircraft (operating and finance leases), previously owned aircraft which were refinanced with favorable terms under the EETC, and aircraft new to the fleet. The EETC has and will continue to significantly reduce our financing costs in 2020 and beyond.
Our strategy is to target mid-life aircraft due to the lower ownership costs relative to new aircraft and the flexibility associated with a liquid market for mid-life aircraft. This allows us to adjust the composition of our fleet with limited forward commitments. The average age of the passenger aircraft in our fleet as of September 30, 2020 was approximately 15 years, and we do not expect this to change in the near future. We view aircraft ownership as preferable to leasing due to:
| Increased level of control to optimize and utilize maintenance value; |
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| Competitive financing costs at investment grade rates; and |
| Flexibility to sell or retire aircraft at any time. |
Trends and Uncertainties Affecting Our Business
COVID-19 Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place directives have greatly impacted our operating results for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and will continue to do so into the future. Air traffic demand is down substantially, and base air fares are down as well. We cannot predict when air travel will return to customary levels or at what pace. In the meantime, our revenues will be adversely affected. We believe that demand in the foreseeable future will continue to fluctuate in response to fluctuations in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths, treatment efficacy and the availability of a vaccine. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a reduction in our flight schedule. It is likely that reduced schedules will continue into the future. We currently allow customers to cancel their flights for travel credits that they are able to use within 12 months of the original booking date, and record as revenue when such credits expire unused or when passenger flights occur. A significant amount of outstanding passenger credits from reservations made in early 2020 are expiring within the next year, and as passengers use such credits to book flights, our cash receipts in 2021 are expected to be adversely impacted. We are closely monitoring bookings and making decisions on schedule changes as necessary based on demand. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented our business with several risks. See Risk Factors, including Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our IndustryThe global pandemic resulting from the novel coronavirus has had an adverse impact that has been material to our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, and the duration and spread of the pandemic could result in additional adverse impacts. The outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat in the future could also have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity and Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our BusinessThe COVID-19 pandemic has materially disrupted our strategic operating and growth plans in the near-term, and there are risks to our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition associated with executing our strategic operating and growth plans in the long-term.
Additional factors impacting our business: We believe our operating performance is driven by additional factors that typically affect airlines and their markets, including trends which affect the broader travel industry, as well as trends which affect the specific markets and customer base that we target. The following key factors may affect our future performance:
Competition. The airline industry is highly competitive. The principal competitive factors in the airline industry are the fare, flight schedules, number of routes served from a city, frequent flyer programs, product and passenger amenities, customer service, fleet type and reputation. Price competition occurs on a market-by-market basis through price discounts, changes in pricing structures, fare matching, target promotions and frequent flyer initiatives. The airline industry is particularly susceptible to price discounting because once a flight is scheduled, airlines incur only nominal incremental costs to provide service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. Airlines typically use discounted fares and other promotions to stimulate traffic during normally slower travel periods to generate cash flow and to increase PRASM.
The availability of low-priced fares coupled with an increase in domestic capacity has led to dramatic changes in pricing behavior in many U.S. markets. Legacy network airlines have also begun matching LCC and ULCC pricing on portions of their marginal unsold capacity, which we expect to continue for the foreseeable future. Many domestic carriers have also begun matching lower cost airline pricing, either with limited or unlimited inventory. Moreover, many other airlines have unbundled their services, at least in part, by charging separately for services such as baggage and advance seat selection, which previously were offered as a component of their base fares. This unbundling and other cost-reducing measures could enable competitor airlines to reduce fares on routes that we serve, which could materially adversely affect our business. Refer to Risk Factors included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information.
Aircraft Fuel. Fuel expense generally represents our single largest operating expense. Jet fuel prices and availability are subject to market fluctuations, refining capacity, periods of market surplus and shortage and
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demand for heating oil, gasoline and other petroleum products, as well as meteorological, economic and political factors and events occurring throughout the world, which we can neither control nor accurately predict. The future cost and availability of jet fuel cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2019, approximately 64% and 58%, respectively, of our fuel was purchased from two vendors. This concentration is largely driven by our substantial operations in MSP. We currently participate in fuel consortia at multiple airports. These agreements generally include cost-sharing provisions and environmental indemnities that are generally joint and several among the participating airlines.
To hedge the economic risk associated with volatile aircraft fuel prices, we periodically enter into fuel collars, which allow us to reduce the overall cost of hedging, but may prevent us from participating in the benefit of downward price movements. In the past, we have also entered into fuel option and swap contracts. We have hedges in place for approximately 78% of our projected fuel requirements for scheduled service operations in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 37% in 2021, with all of our existing options expected to be exercised or expire by the end of 2021. Generally, our charter operations have pass-through provisions for fuel costs, and therefore we do not hedge our fuel requirements for that component of our business.
Our fuel hedging strategy is dependent upon many factors, including our assessment of market conditions for fuel, our access to the capital necessary to support margin requirements, the pricing of hedges and other derivative products in the market and our overall appetite for risk. We believe our strategy economically hedges against unexpected price volatility. However, we cannot be assured that our hedging strategy will be effective or that we will continue our strategy in the future.
We do not apply hedge accounting on our fuel derivative contracts, and as a result, changes in the fair value of our fuel derivative contracts are recorded within the period as a component of aircraft fuel expense. See Note 11 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for further discussion of our hedging activity.
Seasonality and Volatility. The airline industry is affected by economic cycles and trends, where unfavorable economic conditions have historically reduced airline travel spending. For most VFR travel, and cost-conscious leisure travelers, travel is a discretionary expense, and although we believe low-cost airlines are best suited to attract travelers during periods of unfavorable economic conditions as a result of such carriers low base fares, travelers have often elected to replace air travel at such times with car travel or other forms of ground transportation or have opted not to travel at all.
Our operations are highly seasonal as we manage our route network and aircraft fleet to match demand. As a result, our results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of those for the entire year. We generally expect demand to be greater in the winter season due to our customers propensity to travel to warm leisure destinations from MSP, and in the summer season due to increased demand for VFR and leisure travel. We continually work to meet the need of both VFR and leisure travelers. Accordingly, our network of destinations includes those popular year-round, as well as those that are highly seasonal, and we adapt our flight schedule according to expected patterns of demand throughout the year. Understanding the purpose of our customers travel and our ability to adjust capacity accordingly helps us optimize destinations, strengthen our network and increase unit revenues. We will look to incorporate new destinations with seasonality that complements our current mix of customers and destinations to mitigate the overall impact of seasonality on our business. Part of our network strategy includes expanding our presence outside of MSP to leverage seasonal demands peaks where other airlines are unable to effectively respond to the needs of the market. For example, we expect to continue to target cold-to-warm leisure markets in the upper Midwest, where we believe we have a competitive advantage due to our cold weather operational expertise and strong brand recognition, as well as other large, fragmented markets. Furthermore, our charter operations complement our network strategy by maintaining aircraft and crew utilization in periods when scheduled service would be less profitable.
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Labor. The airline industry is heavily unionized and our business is labor intensive. The wages, benefits and work rules of unionized airline industry employees are determined by CBAs. Relations between air carriers and labor unions in the United States are governed by the RLA. Under the RLA, CBAs generally contain amendable dates rather than expiration dates and the RLA requires that a carrier maintain the existing terms and conditions of employment following the amendable date through a multi-stage and usually lengthy series of bargaining processes overseen by the NMB. This process continues until either the parties have reached agreement on a new CBA or the parties have been released to self-help by the NMB. In most circumstances the RLA prohibits strikes, however, after the release by the NMB, carriers and unions are free to engage in self-help measures such as lockouts and strikes.
On December 3, 2019 our dispatchers approved a new contract. The amendable date of the collective bargaining agreement is November 14, 2024. Our collective bargaining agreement with our flight attendants is currently amendable. Negotiations with the union representing this group commenced in November 2019. By mutual consent, the negotiations were paused in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our collective bargaining agreement with our pilots was amendable on October 31, 2020. Neither party chose to serve notice to the other party to make changes by the amendable date; therefore, the new amendable date is October 31, 2021. If we are unable to reach an agreement with the respective unions in current or future negotiations regarding the terms of their CBAs, we may be subject to operational slowdowns or stoppages, which is likely to adversely affect our ability to conduct business. Any agreement we do reach could increase our labor and related expenses.
Aircraft Maintenance. The amount of total maintenance costs and related depreciation of significant maintenance expense is subject to variables such as estimated utilization rates, average stage length, the interval between significant maintenance events, the size, age and makeup of our fleet, maintenance holidays, government regulations and the level of unscheduled maintenance events and their actual costs.
Maintenance expense has increased mainly as a result of a growing fleet, a trend that we expect to continue for the next several years as we take delivery of additional aircraft.
The terms of our aircraft lease agreements generally provide that we pay maintenance reserves, also known as supplemental rent, monthly to our lessors to be held as collateral in advance of significant maintenance activities required to be performed by us, resulting in our recording significant lessor maintenance deposits on our consolidated balance sheet. Some portions of the maintenance reserve payments are fixed contractual amounts, while others are based on a utilization measure, such as actual flight hours or cycles, and vary by agreement. As a result, for leases requiring maintenance reserves, the cash costs of scheduled significant maintenance events are paid in advance of the recognition of the maintenance expense in our results of operations. For more information, refer to Critical Accounting Policies and EstimatesAircraft Maintenance.
Components of Operations
Operating Revenues
Scheduled service. Scheduled service revenue consists of base fares, unused and expired passenger credits and expired travel credits.
Ancillary. Ancillary revenue consists of revenue generated from air travel-related services such as baggage fees, seat selection and upgrade fees, itinerary service fees, on-board sales and sales of trip insurance.
Charter service. Charter service revenue consists of revenue earned from our charter operations, primarily generated through our service to the U.S. Department of Defense, collegiate and professional sports teams and casinos.
Cargo. Cargo revenue consists of air cargo transportation services under the ATSA primarily related to e-commerce delivery services.
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Other. Other revenue consists primarily of revenue from services in connection with our Sun Country Vacations products, including organizing ground services, such as hotel, car and transfers. Other revenue also includes services not directly related to providing passenger services such as the advertising, marketing and brand elements resulting from our co-branded credit card program. This component of our revenues also includes revenue from mail on regularly scheduled passenger aircraft.
Operating Expenses
Aircraft Fuel. Aircraft fuel expense includes jet fuel, federal and state taxes, other fees and the mark-to-market gains and losses associated with our fuel derivative contracts as we do not apply hedge accounting. Aircraft fuel expense can be volatile, even between quarters, due to price changes and mark-to-market gains and losses in the value of the underlying derivative instruments as crude oil prices and refining margins increase or decrease.
Salaries, Wages, and Benefits. Salaries, wages, and benefits expense includes salaries, hourly wages, bonuses, equity-based compensation and profit sharing paid to employees for their services, as well as related expenses associated with medical benefits, employee benefit plans, employer payroll taxes and other employee related costs.
Aircraft Rent. Aircraft rent expense consists of monthly lease charges for aircraft and spare engines under the terms of the related operating leases and is recognized on a straight-line basis. Aircraft rent expense also includes supplemental rent, which consists of maintenance reserves paid to aircraft lessors in advance of the performance of significant maintenance activities that are not probable of being reimbursed to us by the lessor during the lease term, as well as lease return costs, which consist of all costs that would be incurred at the return of the aircraft, including costs incurred to return the airframe and engines to the condition required by the lease. Aircraft rent expense is partially offset by the amortization of over-market liabilities related to unfavorable terms of our operating leases and maintenance reserves which existed as of the date of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds, which were established as part of the acquisition. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for further information on the over-market liabilities.
Maintenance. Maintenance expense includes the cost of all parts, materials and fees for repairs performed by us and our third-party vendors to maintain our fleet. It excludes direct labor cost related to our own mechanics, which are included in salaries, wages and benefits expense. It also excludes maintenance expenses, which are deferred based on the built-in overhaul method for owned aircraft and subsequently amortized as a component of depreciation and amortization expense. Our maintenance expense is reduced due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) that offsets expenses for maintenance events incurred by the Successor but paid for by the Predecessor, established as part of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds for aircraft in our fleet as of the date of the acquisition. For more information on these accounting methods, refer to Critical Accounting Policies and EstimatesAircraft Maintenance.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expense includes credit card processing fees, travel agent commissions and related global distribution systems fees, advertising, sponsorship and distribution costs, such as the costs of our call centers, and costs associated with our frequent flier program. It excludes related salary and wages of personnel, which are included in salaries, wages and benefits expense.
Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense includes depreciation of fixed assets we own and leasehold improvements, amortization of finance leased assets, as well as the amortization of finite-lived intangible assets. It also includes the depreciation of significant maintenance expenses we deferred under the built-in overhaul method for owned aircraft.
Ground Handling. Ground handling includes ground activities including baggage handling, ticket counter and other ground services.
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Landing Fees and Airport Rent. Landing fees and airport rent includes aircraft landing fees and charges for the use of airport facilities.
Special Items, net. Special items, net reflects expenses, or credits to expense, that are not representative of our ongoing costs for the period presented and may vary from period to period in nature, frequency and amount.
Other Operating. Other operating expenses include crew and other employee travel, interrupted trip expenses, information technology, property taxes and insurance, including hull-liability insurance, supplies, legal and other professional fees, facilities and all other administrative and operational overhead expenses.
Non-operating Income (Expense)
Interest Income. Interest income includes interest on our cash and equivalent and investment balances. Interest income is generally immaterial to our results of operations, reflecting the current low interest rate environment and our unrestricted cash balances.
Interest Expense. Interest expense includes interest related to our outstanding debt and our finance/capital leases, as well as the amortization of debt financing costs.
Other, net. Other expenses include activities not classified in any other area of the consolidated statements of operations, such as gain or loss on sale or retirement of assets and certain consulting expenses.
Income Taxes
During the Predecessor period, we were taxed as a limited liability company as our prior owners had elected to be treated as a partnership under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), whereby our income or loss was reported by the partners on their individual tax returns. Therefore, no provision for income tax expense was included on the consolidated statements of operations during the Predecessor 2018 period.
At the acquisition date, we elected to be treated as a corporation for income tax purposes. Therefore, within the Successor periods we account for income taxes using the asset and liability method. We record a valuation allowance to reduce the deferred tax assets reported if, based on the weight of the evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We record deferred taxes based on differences between the financial statement basis and tax basis of assets and liabilities and available tax loss and credit carryforwards. In assessing our ability to utilize our deferred tax assets, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. We consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, in determining future taxable income on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis.
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Results of Operations
Nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019
Successor | ||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
|||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Operating revenues: |
||||||||
Passenger |
$ | 272,299 | $ | 527,327 | ||||
Cargo |
17,491 | | ||||||
Other |
3,889 | 10,193 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total operating revenue |
293,679 | 537,520 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||
Aircraft fuel |
69,377 | 127,338 | ||||||
Salaries, wages, and benefits |
106,923 | 105,668 | ||||||
Aircraft rent |
23,376 | 37,959 | ||||||
Maintenance |
15,242 | 25,041 | ||||||
Sales and marketing |
13,123 | 27,414 | ||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
35,631 | 25,371 | ||||||
Ground handling |
15,786 | 31,009 | ||||||
Landing fees and airport rent |
22,377 | 33,730 | ||||||
Special items, net |
(64,333 | ) | 6,378 | |||||
Other operating, net |
34,363 | 51,094 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total operating expenses |
271,865 | 471,002 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Operating income |
21,814 | 66,518 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-operating income/(expense): |
||||||||
Interest income |
340 | 618 | ||||||
Interest expense |
(16,215 | ) | (12,700 | ) | ||||
Other, net |
(331 | ) | (906 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total non-operating expense, net |
(16,206 | ) | (12,988 | ) | ||||
Income before income tax |
5,608 | 53,530 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Income tax expense |
1,470 | 12,476 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net income |
$ | 4,138 | $ | 41,054 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-GAAP Financial Data: |
||||||||
Adjusted Net Income (Loss)(1) |
$ | (40,728 | ) | $ | 47,530 | |||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Adjusted EBITDAR(1) |
$ | 22,222 | $ | 137,353 | ||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | See Non-GAAP Financial Measures for definitions of these measures and reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP metric. |
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Operating Revenues
Successor | ||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
|||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Scheduled service |
$ | 159,063 | $ | 312,493 | ||||
Charter service |
60,983 | 125,715 | ||||||
Ancillary |
52,253 | 89,119 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Passenger |
272,299 | 527,327 | ||||||
Cargo |
17,491 | | ||||||
Other |
3,889 | 10,193 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total operating revenue |
$ | 293,679 | $ | 537,520 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Total operating revenues decreased by $243.8 million, or 45%, to $293.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 from $537.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
Scheduled Service. Scheduled service revenue decreased by $153.4 million, or 49%, to $159.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 from $312.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease in scheduled service revenue was driven by a dramatic decline in passenger demand due to government travel restrictions and quarantine requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the number of scheduled service passengers was 1.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2020, down from 2.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019. This drove a 35% decrease in departures and a 17 percentage point decrease in load factor. The decrease in load factor resulted in a decrease in PRASM of 13% to $6.14 from $7.03. Further, our scheduled service capacity, as measured by ASMs, decreased by 42%.
Charter Service. Charter service revenue decreased by $64.7 million, or 51%, to $61.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 from $125.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic also drove a decrease in our charter service revenue due to a decrease in the number of charter flights for our casino, sports customers and the U.S. Department of Defense. Our charter service revenue began to rebound as charter customers such as the U.S. Department of Defense and large university sports teams continued to fly throughout the nine months ended September 30, 2020 while our casino customers subject to long term contracts began flying again in June 2020. In addition, we entered into a contract with Major League Soccer to provide charter flights for professional soccer teams which commenced in August 2020.
Ancillary. Ancillary revenue decreased by $36.9 million, or 41%, to $52.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 from $89.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decline in passenger demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic drove a decrease in ancillary revenue. The decline in the number of scheduled service passengers in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 resulted in lower demand for air travel-related services such as baggage fees, seat selection and upgrade fees, and on-board sales. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in ancillary revenue on a per passenger basis which is largely related to increased itinerary service fees. Specifically, ancillary revenue was $41.02 per passenger in the nine months ended September 30, 2020, up from $32.73 per passenger in the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
Cargo. Revenue from cargo service was $17.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, with no comparative revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The majority of our 2020 cargo service revenue related to the commencement of air cargo transportation services under the ATSA with Amazon in May 2020. In June 2020, we entered into an amendment to the ATSA with Amazon that added two additional aircraft to the agreement, which were delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020, bringing the total number of aircraft we fly for Amazon to 12.
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Other. Other revenue decreased by $6.3 million, or 62%, to $3.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 from $10.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease in our other revenue was driven by lower bookings for our Sun Country Vacations products due to a decline in demand for leisure travel related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operating Expenses
Successor | ||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
|||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||
Aircraft fuel |
$ | 69,377 | $ | 127,338 | ||||
Salaries, wages and benefits |
106,923 | 105,668 | ||||||
Aircraft rent |
23,376 | 37,959 | ||||||
Maintenance |
15,242 | 25,041 | ||||||
Sales and marketing |
13,123 | 27,414 | ||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
35,631 | 25,371 | ||||||
Ground handling |
15,786 | 31,009 | ||||||
Landing fees and airport rent |
22,377 | 33,730 | ||||||
Special items, net |
(64,333 | ) | 6,378 | |||||
Other operating, net |
34,363 | 51,094 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total operating expenses |
$ | 271,865 | $ | 471,002 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Aircraft Fuel. Aircraft Fuel expense decreased by $58.0 million, or 46%, to $69.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $127.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease was primarily driven by a 46% decrease in fuel gallons consumed due to fewer ASMs and aircraft departures in response to the reduced demand relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further contributing to the decrease in aircraft fuel expense was a 28% decline in average price per gallon of fuel which was driven by lower worldwide demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These decreases were partially offset by mark-to-market losses of $15.8 million from our fuel derivative contracts associated with our economic fuel hedges.
Salaries, Wages and Benefits. Salaries, wages and benefits expense increased by $1.3 million, or 1%, to $106.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $105.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The increase was primarily due to increased headcount, primarily related to insourcing certain operations and to the addition of cargo aircraft. The CARES Act Payroll Support Program restricted the Company through September 30, 2020 from taking measures to reduce headcount in response to the decline in departures.
Aircraft Rent. Aircraft rent expense decreased by $14.6 million, or 38%, to $23.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 compared to $38.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Aircraft rent expense decreased primarily due to the composition of our aircraft fleet shifting from aircraft under operating leases (for which rent expense is recorded within aircraft rent) to owned aircraft and aircraft under finance leases (for which depreciation and amortization expense is recorded within depreciation and amortization). Specifically, in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 we purchased two aircraft previously under operating lease and leased two fewer seasonal aircraft. Additionally, a 43% decrease in block hours resulted in a decrease in supplemental rent. The decrease in aircraft rent expense was partially offset by a reduction in the amortization of over-market liabilities recorded as a result of acquisition accounting for the acquisition by the Apollo Funds for six aircraft, of which three were returned at the end of their lease terms
83
during 2019, and three were financed following their lease maturity during the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
Maintenance. Maintenance materials and repair expense decreased by $9.8 million, or 39%, to $15.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 compared to $25.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease was driven primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused reduced aircraft utilization and a 43% decrease in block hours. These factors ultimately resulted in fewer maintenance events and lower major and routine maintenance costs. The decrease in maintenance expense was partially offset by line maintenance on the additional aircraft under the ATSA.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expense decreased by $14.3 million, or 52%, to $13.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $27.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to an $8.9 million reduction in credit card processing fees which is directly related to lower sales. Additionally, there was a $1.7 million decrease in advertising costs and a $1.7 million decrease in travel agent commissions and related global distribution systems fees associated with the decrease in scheduled service and SCV bookings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $10.3 million, or 40%, to $35.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $25.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The increase was primarily due to the impact of a change in the composition of our aircraft fleet to an increased number of owned aircraft in connection with our 2019-1 EETC and aircraft under finance leases (for which depreciation and amortization expense is recorded within depreciation and amortization). Specifically, the increase is due to the incremental depreciation related to one aircraft under an operating lease, which was amended and converted into a finance lease in December 2019, one incremental aircraft obtained through a new finance lease, one aircraft we purchased in December 2019, two aircraft we purchased in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 which were previously under operating leases and two aircraft we purchased in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 which were new additions to the fleet.
Ground Handling. Ground handling expense decreased by $15.2 million, or 49%, to $15.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $31.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to the 35% decline in departures. Additionally, we insourced our MSP operations in April 2020, contributing to a reduction of $3.0 million in ground handling expenses, but resulting in higher salaries, wages and benefits.
Landing Fees and Airport Rent. Landing fees and airport rent decreased by $11.4 million, or 34%, to $22.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $33.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease was driven by the 35% reduction in departures during the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
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Special Items, net. Special items, net was an income of $64.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and an expense of $6.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Special items, net includes a $62.3 million credit related to funds received under the CARES Act Payroll Support Program, to be used exclusively for the continuation of payments for salaries, wages, and benefits, and $2.0 million in refundable tax credits related to employee retention under the CARES Act. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, Special items, net includes a charge of $7.6 million related to contractual obligations for retired technology. In connection with implementing our new reservations systems, we incurred obligations under the contracts for our existing systems that were being phased out ahead of their scheduled contract terms, creating an expense that is not reflective of the normal operations of the company. This expense was partially offset by $1.2 million of proceeds from the sale of unused airport slot rights. We are not in the business of buying and selling operating rights and we do not hold any other remaining airport slot rights, therefore this gain does not reflect our core business operations.
Other Operating, net. Other operating, net expense decreased by $16.7 million, or 33%, to $34.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $51.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. This decrease was primarily driven by our lower level of operations related to the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in reduced crew and other employee travel costs, interrupted trip expenses, and other operational overhead costs.
Non-operating Income (Expense)
Successor | ||||||||
(in thousands) | For the nine months ended September 30, 2020 |
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 |
||||||
Non-operating income/(expense): |
||||||||
Interest income |
$ | 340 | $ | 618 | ||||
Interest expense |
(16,215 | ) | (12,700 | ) | ||||
Other, net |
(331 | ) | (906 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total non-operating expense, net |
$ | (16,206 | ) | $ | (12,988 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Income before income tax |
$ | 5,608 | $ | 53,530 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Income tax expense |
1,470 | 12,476 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net income |
$ | 4,138 | $ | 41,054 | ||||
|
|
|
|
Interest Income. Interest income decreased in the nine months ended September 30, 2020 related to lower average cash balances.
Interest Expense. Interest expense increased by $3.5 million, or 28%, to $16.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $12.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The increase was primarily due to debt issued for the acquisition of new aircraft and spare engines, including new debt incurred in connection with the 2019-1 EETC.
Other, net. Other, net expense decreased $0.6 million, or 63%, to $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to $0.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. The decrease is mainly due to early out payments and other expenses incurred in connection with outsourcing certain ground operations during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
Income Taxes. Our effective tax rate was 26.2% for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, as compared to 23.3% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Our tax rate can vary depending on the amount of income we earn in each state and the state tax rate applicable to such income.
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Successor 2019 period and Successor and Predecessor 2018 periods
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
Operating revenues: |
||||||||||||||
Passenger |
$ | 688,833 | $ | 335,824 | $ | 172,897 | ||||||||
Other |
12,551 | 49,107 | 24,555 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total operating revenue |
701,384 | 384,931 | 197,452 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||||||||
Aircraft fuel |
165,666 | 119,553 | 45,790 | |||||||||||
Salaries, wages, and benefits |
140,739 | 90,263 | 36,964 | |||||||||||
Aircraft rent(1) |
49,908 | 36,831 | 28,329 | |||||||||||
Maintenance(2) |
35,286 | 15,491 | 9,508 | |||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
35,388 | 17,180 | 10,854 | |||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization(3) |
34,877 | 14,405 | 2,526 | |||||||||||
Ground handling |
41,719 | 23,828 | 8,619 | |||||||||||
Landing fees and airport rent |
44,400 | 25,977 | 10,481 | |||||||||||
Special items, net |
7,092 | (6,706 | ) | 271 | ||||||||||
Other operating, net |
68,187 | 40,877 | 17,994 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total operating expenses |
623,262 | 377,699 | 171,336 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Operating income |
78,122 | 7,232 | 26,116 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Non-operating income/(expense): |
||||||||||||||
Interest income |
937 | 258 | 96 | |||||||||||
Interest expense |
(17,170 | ) | (6,060 | ) | (339 | ) | ||||||||
Other, net |
(1,729 | ) | (1,636 | ) | 37 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total non-operating expense, net |
(17,962 | ) | (7,438 | ) | (206 | ) | ||||||||
Income / (loss) before income tax |
60,160 | (206 | ) | 25,910 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Income tax expense |
14,088 | 161 | | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net income / (loss) |
$ | 46,072 | $ | (367 | ) | $ | 25,910 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Non-GAAP Financial Data: |
||||||||||||||
Adjusted Net Income (Loss)(4) |
$ | 53,734 | $ | (5,871 | ) | $ | 26,181 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Adjusted EBITDAR(4) |
$ | 171,129 | $ | 49,688 | $ | 57,279 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) | Aircraft Rent expense for the Successor periods is reduced due to amortization of a liability representing lease rates and maintenance reserves which were higher than market terms of similar leases at the time of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds. This liability was recognized at the time of the acquisition and is being amortized into earnings through a reduction of Aircraft Rent on a straight-line basis over the remaining life of each lease. See Note 2 and Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(2) | Maintenance expense for the Successor periods is reduced due to recognizing a liability (or contra-asset) to represent the Successors obligation to perform planned maintenance events paid for by the Predecessor on leased aircraft at the date of our acquisition by the Apollo Funds. The liability (or contra-asset) is recognized as a reduction to Maintenance expense as reimbursable maintenance events are performed and maintenance expense is incurred. See Note 2 and Note 3 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
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(3) | Depreciation and amortization expense increased in the Successor periods due to higher fair value for certain acquired assets and to the amortization of definite-lived intangible assets. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information. |
(4) | See Non-GAAP Financial Measures for definitions of these measures and reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP metric. |
Operating Revenues
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
Operating revenues: |
||||||||||||||||
Scheduled service |
$ | 396,113 | $ | 224,507 | $ | 132,234 | ||||||||||
Charter service |
174,562 | 111,317 | 40,663 | |||||||||||||
Ancillary(1) |
118,158 | | | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Passenger |
688,833 | 335,824 | 172,897 | |||||||||||||
Ancillary(1) |
| 41,065 | 15,670 | |||||||||||||
Other |
12,551 | 8,042 | 8,885 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total operating revenues |
$ | 701,384 | $ | 384,931 | $ | 197,452 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) | The classification of Ancillary changed as a result of the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification: Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606). Certain ancillary revenue was included in Other revenue prior to the adoption of this standard, but is included in Passenger revenue with the adoption of this standard. |
Total operating revenues were $701.4 million for the Successor 2019 period, $384.9 million for the Successor 2018 period and $197.5 million for the Predecessor 2018 period.
Scheduled Service. Scheduled service revenue was $396.1 million for the Successor 2019 period, $224.5 million for the Successor 2018 period and $132.2 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase in scheduled service revenue was primarily related to increases in our capacity and departures along with a slight increase in load factor. Our scheduled service capacity, as measured by ASMs, increased by 29% as a result of additional aircraft in service and increases in the number of seats on board. In the Successor 2019 period, we completed the reconfiguration of substantially all of our fleet to a high-density seating configuration of 183 seats. The increase in capacity led to an increase in our number of scheduled service passengers to 3.6 million from 2.6 million. The increase in scheduled service revenue was partially offset by a 19% decrease in average scheduled passenger fare to $111.08 from $136.42 and a decrease in PRASM of 1.16 cents, or 14%, largely driven by our low-fare pricing strategy.
Charter Service. Charter service revenue was $174.6 million for the Successor 2019 period, $111.3 million for the Successor 2018 period and $40.7 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase in our charter service revenue was primarily due to an increase in the number of charter flights for our casino and sports customers and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Ancillary. Ancillary revenue was $118.2 million for the Successor 2019 period, $41.1 million for the Successor 2018 period and $15.7 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase in ancillary revenue was driven by the unbundling of our services to improve our product segmentation in January 2018, which previously were offered as a component of the base fares. Our focus on ancillary services has driven an increase in ancillary revenue on a per passenger basis of $11.74, or 53%.
Other. Other revenue was $12.6 million for the Successor 2019 period, $8.0 million for the Successor 2018 period and $8.9 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The decrease in our other revenue was primarily due to
87
a temporary delay in implementing our Sun Country Vacations products in our new booking system in June 2019.
Operating Expenses
Successor | Predecessor | |||||||||||||||
(in thousands) |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
|||||||||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Aircraft fuel |
$ | 165,666 | $ | 119,553 | $ | 45,790 | ||||||||||
Salaries, wages and benefits |
140,739 | 90,263 | 36,964 | |||||||||||||
Aircraft rent |
49,908 | 36,831 | 28,329 | |||||||||||||
Maintenance |
35,286 | 15,491 | 9,508 | |||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
35,388 | 17,180 | 10,854 | |||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
34,877 | 14,405 | 2,526 | |||||||||||||
Ground handling |
41,719 | 23,828 | 8,619 | |||||||||||||
Landing fees and airport rent |
44,400 | 25,977 | 10,481 | |||||||||||||
Special items, net |
7,092 | (6,706 | ) | 271 | ||||||||||||
Other operating |
68,187 | 40,877 | 17,994 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Total operating expenses |
$ | 623,262 | $ | 377,699 |
|
|
|
$ | 171,336 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aircraft Fuel. Aircraft fuel expense was $165.7 million for the Successor 2019 period, $119.6 million for the Successor 2018 period and $45.8 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The change in aircraft fuel expense was primarily due to an increase in fuel gallons consumed of 20% due to our increased level of operations, as measured by an increase of 18% in block hours, partially offset by a decrease in average price per gallon of fuel of 3%. Aircraft fuel expense also includes mark-to-market gains or losses from fuel derivative contracts associated with our economic fuel hedges. We recognized a mark-to-market gain of $10.8 million in the Successor 2019 period compared to a loss of $12.0 million in the Successor 2018 period, and none for the Predecessor 2018 period.
Salaries, Wages and Benefits. Salaries, wages and benefits expense was $140.7 million for the Successor 2019 period, $90.3 million for the Successor 2018 period and $37.0 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was primarily due to higher costs and increased headcount for our pilots and flight attendants resulting from contractual rate increases and expanded operations, and higher general and administration staffing along with the full year impact of the management bonus and stock compensation plans introduced in November 2018. These increases were partially offset by a reduction in ground handling personnel as a result of the outsourcing of MSP ground operations in May 2018, which are reflected as an increase in ground handling expenses.
Aircraft Rent. Aircraft rent expense was $50.0 million for the Successor 2019 period, $36.8 million for the Successor 2018 period and $28.3 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. Aircraft rent expense decreased primarily due to a change in the composition of our aircraft fleet between aircraft under operating lease (for which rent expense is recorded within aircraft rent) and owned aircraft and aircraft under finance lease (for which depreciation and amortization expense is recorded within depreciation and amortization). The decrease was primarily a result of purchasing one aircraft previously on an operating lease, returning three leased 737-700 aircraft during the Successor 2019 period, and reducing seasonal aircraft by one. Aircraft rent expense for the Successor 2019 period and Successor 2018 period was further decreased by the amortization of over-market liabilities recorded as a result of acquisition accounting for the acquisition by the Apollo Funds.
Maintenance. Maintenance materials and repair expense was $35.3 million for the Successor 2019 period, $15.5 million for the Successor 2018 period and $9.5 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was
88
primarily due to the timing and number of maintenance events, including two additional engine overhauls and four additional heavy checks in the Successor 2019 period. The overall increase in maintenance materials expense was partially offset by reduced expenses under our outsourced parts supply agreement and by top-off credits received from lessors for repairs performed by us but related to utilization by the prior lessee. The increase in maintenance expense was also partially offset in the Successor 2019 period and the Successor 2018 period by the reduction of the maintenance liability (or contra-asset) that was recorded as a result of acquisition accounting for the acquisition by the Apollo Funds. The maintenance liability (or contra-asset) is reduced as reimbursable maintenance events are performed and maintenance expense is incurred.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expense was $35.4 million for the Successor 2019 period, $17.2 million for the Successor 2018 period and $10.9 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was primarily due to higher sales that directly drove higher credit card fees, partially offset by a decrease in booking fees as a result of a higher proportion of bookings on our redesigned website, as our website is our lowest cost distribution channel, and more favorable terms in renegotiated contracts with third-party distribution channels.
Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense was $34.9 million for the Successor 2019 period, $14.4 million for the Successor 2018 period and $2.5 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was primarily due to the impact of a change in the composition of the fleet from primarily operating leased aircraft to an increased number of owned aircraft and aircraft under finance leases, and the impact of acquisition accounting and the resulting increase to the book value of our assets. We added four aircraft to our fleet under finance leases, purchased one aircraft previously on an operating lease, converted one operating lease to a finance lease and purchased one incremental aircraft and we returned three leased 737-700 aircraft during the Successor 2019 period. In addition, depreciation and amortization increased due to the recognition of a definite lived intangible asset recorded as a result of acquisition accounting for the acquisition by the Apollo Funds. The definite lived intangible asset is amortized on a straight-line basis over a useful life of 12 years.
Ground Handling. Ground handling expense was $41.7 million for the Successor 2019 period, $23.8 million for the Successor 2018 period and $8.6 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was due to the increase in departures and additional airports in our route network for both our scheduled service and charter operations. We outsourced MSP ground handling services in May 2018, contributing to a reduction in salaries, wages and benefits but resulting in higher ground handling expenses.
Landing Fees and Airport Rent. Landing fees and airport rent was $44.4 million for the Successor 2019 period, $26.0 million for the Successor 2018 period and $10.5 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was due to the increase in departures and additional airports in our route network.
Special Items, net. Special items, net was an expense of $7.1 million for the Successor 2019 period, income of $6.7 million for the Successor 2018 period and an expense of $0.3 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. Special items, net for the Successor 2019 period include a charge of $7.6 million related to contractual obligations for retired technology. In connection with implementing our new reservations systems, we incurred obligations under the contracts for our existing systems that were being phased out ahead of their scheduled contract terms, creating an expense that is not reflective of the normal operations of the company. This expense was partially offset by $1.2 million of proceeds from the sale of unused airport slot rights. We are not in the business of buying and selling operating rights and we do not hold any other remaining airport slot rights, therefore this gain does not reflect our core business operations. Special items, net recognized in the Successor 2018 period include the impact of changes to the terms of our rewards program implemented in the fourth quarter of 2018. The program changes included a net reduction in expenses of $8.5 million due to the earlier expiration of outstanding points, partially offset by an increase in expense as a result of improved terms for members redemption of points. We also recognized an expense of $1.7 million for the Successor 2018 period and $0.3 million for the Predecessor 2018 period related to early-out and employee separation expenses incurred in connection with outsourcing certain operations and other employee initiatives. These efforts were primarily related to airport station, flight attendants and ground handling employees.
89
Other Operating, net. Other operating, net expense was $68.2 million for the Successor 2019 period, $40.9 million for the Successor 2018 period and $18.0 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was primarily due to our higher level of operations.
Non-operating Income (Expense)
Successor |
|
Predecessor | ||||||||||||||
(in thousands) |
For the year ended December 31, 2019 |
For the period April 11, 2018 through December 31, 2018 |
|
For the period January 1, 2018 through April 10, 2018 |
||||||||||||
Non-operating income (expense): |
||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
$ | 937 | $ | 258 | $ | 96 | ||||||||||
Interest expense |
(17,170 | ) | (6,060 | ) | (339 | ) | ||||||||||
Other, net |
(1,729 | ) | (1,636 | ) | 37 | |||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total non-operating expense, net |
(17,962 | ) | (7,438 | ) | (206 | ) | ||||||||||
Income (loss) before income tax |
60,160 | (206 | ) | 25,910 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Income tax expense |
14,088 | 161 | | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 46,072 | $ | (367 | ) | $ | 25,910 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest Income. Interest income increased in the Successor 2018 and Successor 2019 periods related to higher average cash balances.
Interest Expense. Interest expense was $17.2 million for the Successor 2019 period, $6.1 million for the Successor 2018 period and $0.3 million for the Predecessor 2018 period. The increase was primarily due to new finance leases and debt issued for the acquisition of new aircraft and spare engines during the Successor 2019 period and the Successor 2018 period, including new debt incurred in connection with the 2019-1 EETC.
Other, net. Other, net was an expense of $1.7 million for the Successor 2019 period, expense of $1.6 million in the Successor 2018 period and income of $37 thousand for the Predecessor 2018 period. For the Successor 2019 period, the expense was primarily related to professional fees related to our planned offering that cannot be capitalized. For the Successor 2018 period, the expense was primarily related to severance payments to various executives in connection with our transformation initiatives.
Income Taxes. In the Successor 2019 period, our effective tax rate was 23.5%. In the Successor 2018 period, our effective tax rate was (77.9%) due to the impact of certain nondeductible items. Our tax rate can vary depending on the amount of income we earn in each state and the state tax rate applicable to such income. We were taxed as a limited liability company during the 2018 Predecessor period, and therefore, no provision for income tax expense was included on the consolidated statements of operations for that period.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We sometimes use information that is derived from the consolidated financial statements, but that is not presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe these non-GAAP measures provide a meaningful comparison of our results to others in the airline industry and our prior year results. Investors should consider these non-GAAP financial measures in addition to, and not as a substitute for, our financial performance measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Further, our non-GAAP information may be different from the non-GAAP information provided by other companies. We believe certain charges included in our operating expenses on a GAAP basis make it difficult to compare our current period results to prior periods as well as future periods and guidance. The tables below show a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures used in this prospectus to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.
90
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDAR are included as supplemental disclosures because we believe they are useful indicators of our operating performance. Derivations of net income and EBITDAR are well recognized performance measurements in the airline industry that are