v3.26.1
Leases, Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Leases, Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies  
Leases, Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies

(7) Leases, Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies

The Company leases property and equipment under operating leases. For leases with durations longer than 12 months, the Company recorded the related operating lease right-of-use asset and operating lease liability at the present value of lease payments over the term. The Company used its incremental borrowing rate to discount the lease payments based on information available at lease commencement.

Aircraft

As of March 31, 2026, excluding aircraft financed by the Company’s major airline partners that the Company operates for them under contract, the Company leased eight aircraft under long-term lease agreements with remaining terms ranging from three to four years. The Company is subleasing these eight aircraft to a third party.

Airport facilities

The Company has operating leases for facility space including airport terminals, office space, cargo warehouses and maintenance facilities. The Company generally leases this space from government agencies that control the use of the various airports. The remaining lease terms for facility space vary from one month to 30 years. The Company’s operating leases with lease rates that are variable based on airport operating costs, use of the facilities or other variable factors are excluded from the Company’s right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities in accordance with accounting guidance.

Leases

As of March 31, 2026, the Company’s right-of-use assets were $82.9 million, the Company’s current maturities of operating lease liabilities were $20.8 million, and the Company’s noncurrent lease liabilities were $62.1 million. During the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company paid $11.9 million under operating leases reflected as a reduction from operating cash flows.

The table below presents lease related terms and discount rates as of March 31, 2026:

Weighted-average remaining lease term for operating leases

10.0 years

Weighted-average discount rate for operating leases

6.2%

The Company’s lease costs for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 included the following components (in thousands):

For the three months ended March 31,

  ​ ​ ​

2026

  ​ ​ ​

2025

Operating lease cost

$

10,862

$

8,250

Variable and short-term lease cost

 

505

 

489

Sublease income

(940)

(1,115)

Total lease cost

$

10,427

$

7,624

As of March 31, 2026, the Company leased aircraft, airport facilities, office space and other property and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases, which are generally under long-term agreements pursuant to which the Company pays taxes, maintenance, insurance and certain other operating expenses applicable to the leased property. The Company expects that, in the normal course of business, such operating leases that expire will be renewed or replaced by other leases.

As of March 31, 2026, the Company had a firm purchase commitment for 68 E175 aircraft from Embraer with anticipated delivery dates through 2032. Under this commitment, the Company expects to purchase and place into service eight E175 aircraft with United and 16 E175 aircraft with Delta. Additionally, the Company secured delivery positions for 44 additional E175 aircraft between 2028 and 2032.

The following table summarizes the Company’s commitments and obligations for future minimum rental payments required under operating leases that had initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms as of March 31, 2026, firm aircraft and spare engine commitments, interest commitments and principal maturities on long-term debt as noted for each of the next five years and thereafter (in thousands):

  ​ ​ ​

Total

  ​ ​ ​

Apr - Dec 2026

  ​ ​ ​

2027

  ​ ​ ​

2028

  ​ ​ ​

2029

  ​ ​ ​

2030

  ​ ​ ​

Thereafter

Operating lease payments for aircraft and facility obligations

$

119,358

$

16,250

$

21,112

$

15,467

$

13,093

$

6,297

$

47,139

Firm aircraft and spare engine commitments

 

2,240,083

375,433

323,580

330,370

316,363

336,020

558,317

Interest commitments

 

360,708

73,092

77,090

58,069

43,420

31,104

77,933

Principal maturities on long-term debt

 

2,409,467

449,933

530,036

362,288

261,068

288,097

518,045

Total commitments and obligations

$

5,129,616

$

914,708

$

951,818

$

766,194

$

633,944

$

661,518

$

1,201,434

In addition to the table above, in 2024, the Company entered into a master equipment purchase agreement with another airline to acquire certain airframes and engines and lease the assets back to the airline under a five-year term. The Company accounted for the transaction as a failed sale-leaseback in accordance with ASC 842 as the criteria for a sale were not met. At March 31, 2026, the Company estimated the remaining financing obligation under the agreement will be between $20.0 million and $25.0 million and anticipated closing on the remaining financings during 2026.

Guarantees

In 2022, the Company agreed to guarantee $19.8 million of debt for a 14 CFR Part 135 air carrier. The debt is secured by the Part 135 air carrier’s aircraft and engines and has a five-year term. In exchange for providing the guarantee, the Company received 6.5% of the guaranteed amount as consideration, payable in the estimated value of common stock of the Part 135 air carrier, all of which was sold in 2023. The purpose of this guarantee is to help reduce the financing costs of aircraft for the third party in an effort to increase the potential number of commercial pilots in the Company’s hiring pipeline. The balance of the debt under the guarantee was $12.2 million as of March 31, 2026.

The Company recorded the estimated credit loss associated with the guarantees based on publicly available historical default rates issued by a third party for companies with similar credit ratings, factoring the collateral and guarantee term.