The Company recognizes revenue under the United capacity purchase agreement over time as services are provided. United pays Air Wisconsin a fixed rate for each departure and block hour (measured from takeoff to landing, including taxi time), and a fixed amount per aircraft per day, with incentive payments available, and penalties payable, based on the achievement, or failure to achieve, certain performance criteria. Under the agreement, Air Wisconsin’s performance obligation is met and revenue is recognized over time, which is then reflected in contract revenues. The agreement also provides for the reimbursement to Air Wisconsin of certain direct operating expenses such as hull and liability insurance, property taxes and Canadian navigational fees.
United makes provisional cash payments to Air Wisconsin during each month of service based on projected flight schedules. These provisional cash payments are subsequently reconciled with United based on actual completed flight activity. As of the date of this filing, these payments are reconciled through January 2022. Subject to final reconciliation of the provisional cash payments for the periods after January 31, 2022, as of June 30, 2022,
United owed Air Wisconsin approximately $14,185, which is recorded in accounts receivable, net, on the consolidated balance sheets. United is
disputing that it owes $10,462 of this amount. For additional information regarding the dispute with United, refer to Note 8,
Commitments and Contingencies.
Under the United capacity purchase agreement, Air Wisconsin is eligible to receive incentive payments, or may be required to pay penalties, upon the achievement of, or failure to achieve, certain performance criteria primarily based on flight completion,
on-time
performance, and customer satisfaction ratings. The incentives are defined in the agreement and performance is measured on a monthly basis. At the end of each month during the term of the agreement, Air Wisconsin calculates the incentives achieved, or penalties payable, during that period and recognizes revenue accordingly, subject to the variable constraint guidance under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 606,
Revenue from Contracts with Customers
(Topic 606). Although the final reconciliations have not been completed for all periods, after considering operational performance related to expected incentive and penalty payments, Air Wisconsin has received, or
believes it
is likely to receive, incentive payments, net of penalties, of $2,530 and $1,340 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $3,307 and $3,159 for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. These amounts are recorded in accounts receivable, net, on the consolidated balance sheets.
Under the United capacity purchase agreement, Air Wisconsin is paid a fixed amount per aircraft per day for each month during the term of the agreement. In accordance with GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue related to the fixed payments on a proportional basis taking into account the number of flights actually completed in that period relative to the number of flights expected to be completed in subsequent periods during the remaining term of the agreement. Air Wisconsin deferred fixed revenues between April 2020 and June 2021 due to the significant decrease in its completed flights as a result of the
COVID-19
pandemic. Beginning in July 2021, due to an increase in completed flights and based on projected future completed flight activity, Air Wisconsin began reversing this deferral of fixed revenues, and it anticipates continuing to do so through February 2023, the end of the contract period. Accordingly, during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, Air Wisconsin recognized $12,632 and $17,368, respectively, of fixed revenues that were previously deferred, compared to a deferral of $7,440 and $15,351 of fixed revenues in the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. Air Wisconsin’s deferred revenues related to the fixed portion of revenue under the United capacity purchase agreement will adjust over the remaining contract term based on the number of flights completed in each reporting period relative to the number of flights anticipated to be completed over the remaining contract term. As of June 30, 2022, deferred fixed revenues in the amount of $27,470 were recorded as part of deferred revenues on the consolidated balance sheets.
Consistent with the discussion above, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, Air Wisconsin also recognized increased
non-refundable
upfront fee revenues and increased fulfillment costs, both of which are amortized over the remaining term of the United capacity purchase agreement in proportion to the number of flights actually completed in that period relative to the number of flights expected to be completed in subsequent periods. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, Air Wisconsin recorded $1,316 and $2,383 of revenue from upfront fees and $141 and $256 of fulfillment costs, respectively, compared to $685 and $1,346 in revenue from upfront fees and $73 and $144 of fulfillment costs for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. As of June 30, 2022, deferred upfront fee revenue in the amount of $3,338, is recorded as part of contract liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.
As part of the October 2020 amendment to the United capacity purchase agreement (CPA Amendment), United made a cash settlement payment of $670 and issued a note receivable to Air Wisconsin in the amount of $11,048, of which $4,410 was deferred as of December 31, 2020, with the remaining portion to be recognized in proportion to the number of flights expected to be completed in subsequent periods. In October 2021, in accordance with the CPA Amendment, Air Wisconsin received $294 from United for the opening of a crew base, of which $73 was deferred as of December 31, 2021. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, Air Wisconsin recorded $640 and $1,159 of revenue related to these items, respectively, compared to $324 and $637 of revenue related to these items for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. As of June 30, 2022, deferred CPA Amendment revenue in the amount of $1,623, is recorded as part of contract liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.