2. Airlines
• Provide air transport services for
passengers or freight’
• Categories of airline services include:
• International
• National
• Regional
• Domestic
3. Major Issues
• Weather
• Fuel Cost -14-16% of an airline's total
costs
• Labor - 40% of an airline's expenses
• Other
• Airport capacity, route structures,
technology, and costs to lease or buy the
physical aircraft
4. Pressures from External Forces
• Threat of new entrants
• Power of suppliers
• Power of buyers
• Availability of substitutes
• Competitive rivalry
5. Key Success Factor
• Attracting customers
• Managing its fleet
• Managing its people
• Managing its finances
6. Industry Profit Pattern
• Cyclical industry
• Four or five years of poor
performance precede five or six
years of improved performance.
• Mature industry consolidation
trend
7. Government Regulations
• Government has extensive regulation for
economic, political, and safety concerns
• Some countries (e.g. US and Australia)
have "deregulated" their airlines.
• The entry barriers for new airlines are
lower in a deregulated market,
• far greater competition
• average fares tend to drop 20% or more.
8. International Regulation
• Groups (e.g. International Civil Aviation
Organization) establish worldwide standards
for safety and other vital concerns.
• Most international air traffic is regulated by
bilateral agreements between countries.
• Bilateral agreements are based on the
"freedoms of the air“
• In the 1990s, "open skies" agreements
became more common
9. Major Risks Faced by Airlines
• Strategic risk
• Business design choices
• Financial risk
• Variability of revenue and costs
• Operational risk
• Tactical aspects of running the business
• Hazard risk
• Safety of physical assets
12. Background
• Public company since 1972 in
Singapore Stock Exchange
• Wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Singapore government through
Temasek Hldgs (Pte)
• Its expanding route network covers
110 cities in 42 countries now.
• Having the fastest and youngest
growing fleets.
16. Singapore Airline Company Structure
• Subsidiaries: SilkAir, Tradewinds Tour
and Travel, SIA Engineering Company,
SIA Cargo, and SATS
• All the companies are in closely related
business
• SIA accounts for about 75% of the
total revenue
23. Employee Stock Option (cont)
At the end of the financial year, options to take up
79,196,566 unissued shares in the Company were
outstanding, which is 6% of the total share
outstanding.
26. Jet Fuel Price Risk (cont)
• A change in price of US$0.01 per
American gallon of jet fuel affects
the Group’s annual fuel costs by
US$14.7 million
Jet fuel price risk management
• Swaps and options contracts hedged
up to 24 months forward
• The group has a 55% jet fuel hedge
ratio at $81 per barrel.
27. Jet Fuel Price Risk (cont.)
• FY2006 operating profit = $1.213B
• FY2005 operating profit = $1.317B
• Dropped $105 million (-7.9%)
• Mainly due to rise in higher jet fuel
price
• From this, one can see the profitability
of the group lies mainly on the hedge
strategy
28. Jet Fuel Price Risk (cont)
• Hedge by Mean of Platts Singapore
(MOPS)
• As of March 31st
2006, the MOPS price USD
$79.54
• Annualized volatility 2005-06 = 26.36%
• Risk free rate = 2.4%
29. Jet Fuel Price Risk (cont)
• On 26 April 2006, the Company announced
an increase of the fuel surcharge on tickets
sold from 15 May 2006
• The adjustments will offer partial relief of
higher operating costs arising from
persistently high price of jet fuel hovering at
US$90 per barrel, as compared to US$80 per
barrel when the surcharge was last revised
in September 2005.
30. • Net fair value gain of $82.2m
Jet Fuel Price Risk (cont)
31. Foreign Currency Risk
• Foreign currency accounts for 65% of total revenue
(2004-05: 68%) and 69% of total operating
expenses (2004-05: 64%)
• The Group’s largest exposures are from USD, Euro,
UK Sterling Pound, Swiss Franc, Australian Dollar,
New Zealand Dollar, Japanese Yen, Indian Rupee,
Hong Kong Dollar, Chinese Yuan, Korean Won and
Malaysian Ringgit.
• The Group generates a surplus in all of these
currencies, with the exception of USD.
• The deficit in USD is attributable to capital
expenditure, fuel costs and aircraft leasing costs –
all conventionally denominated and payable in USD.
32. Foreign Currency Risk Management
• The Group manages its foreign exchange
exposure by a policy of matching, as far as
possible, receipts and payments in each
individual currency.
• The Group also uses forward foreign
currency contracts to hedge a portion of its
future foreign exchange exposure.
• Such contracts provide for the group to sell
currencies at predetermined forward rates,
with settlement dates that range from one
month up to one year.
• The Group uses forward contracts purely as
a hedging tool.
33.
34. Interest Rate Risk
• Interest rate risk
• Changes in interest rates impact
interest income and expense from
short-term deposits and other
interest-bearing financial assets and
liabilities
35. Interest Rate Risk (cont)
• Long-Term liabilities
• The company’s finance lease
commitments are charged at a margin
above the LIBOR. These ranged from
3.19% to 5.18% (2004-05: 1.56% to
2.31%) per annum.
• SIA Cargo’s finance lease commitments
are charged at a margin above the LIBOR.
These ranged from 2.88% to 4.74%
(2004-05: 1.15% to 2.65%) per annum.
36.
37. Interest Rate Risk (cont)
• Long-Term Assets
• Non-equity investments of $382.4 million (2005:
$389.8 million) for the Group and the Company
relate to interest-bearing investments with an
effective annual interest rate of 3.97% (2004-05:
1.71%).
• During the financial year, the Group and the
Company recorded an impairment loss in the
profit and loss account of$1.0 million (2004-05:
$0.1 million) pertaining to unquoted equity
investments.
• The Group’s loan receivable within one year of
$42.0 million is unsecured and bears interest
between 3.19% to 5.05% (2004-05: 1.56% to
3.19%) per annum.
38.
39. Interest Rate Risk (cont)
• As at 31 March 2006, the composition of cash and bank
balances held in foreign currencies by the Group is as follows:
USD – 21.8% (2005: 21.7%), EUR – 13.6% (2005: 21.1%)
and JPY – 13.2% (2005: 13.3%).
• Cash at bank earns interest at floating rates based on daily
bank deposit rates ranging from 1.38% to 4.71% (2004-05:
0.28% to 2.20%) per annum.
• Short-term deposits are made for varying periods of between
one day and three months depending on the immediate cash
requirements of the Group,
• earn interests at the short-term deposit rates. The weighted
average effective interest rate of short-term deposits is 3.6%
40.
41. Market Price Risk
• Potential loss resulting from a decrease
in market prices
• Such as lower airfares
• The Group owned $412.2 million
(2005: $41.6 million) in quoted equity
and non-equity investments at 31
March 2006.
42. Counterparty Risk
• Surplus funds are invested in interest-
bearing bank deposits and other high quality
short-term liquid investments.
• Counterparty risks are managed by limiting
aggregated exposure on all outstanding
financial instruments to any counterparty,
taking into account its credit rating. Such
counterparty exposures are regularly
reviewed, and adjusted necessary.
• This mitigates the risk of material loss
arising in the event of non-performance by
counterparties.
43. Liquidity Risk
• At 31 March 2006, the Group had cash and short-
term deposits amounting to $3,151.6 million (2005:
$2,840.2 million). In addition, the Group had
available short-term credit facilities of about
$1,449.1 million (2005: $1,417.1 million).
• The Group also has Medium Term Note Programmes
under which it may issue notes up to $1,500 million
(2005: $1,500 million).
• Under these Programmes, notes issued by the Company
may have maturities as may be agreed with the relevant
financial institutions, and notes issued by one of its
subsidiary companies may have maturities between one
month and ten years.
44. Liquidity Risk Management
• The Group’s holdings of cash and short-term
deposits are expected to be sufficient to cover the
cost of all firm aircraft deliveries due in the next
financial year.
• any shortfall would be met by bank borrowings or
public market funding.
• Due to the necessity to plan aircraft orders well in
advance of delivery
• it is not economical for the Group to have committed
funding in place at present for all outstanding orders.
• The Group’s policies in this regard are in line with
the funding policies of other major airlines.
45. Other Possible Risks
• Risk management committee’s of the
different subsidiaries and associated
companies create the ability to react to
unforeseen events such as
• 9-11
• SARS
• Iraq war
• Bali bombing
46. Risk Management Governance
SIA Board of Directors
Board Audit and Risk
Committee
SIA Group
Risk Management
Committee
SIA SIAEC
SATS
Group
SilkAir
SIA
Cargo
Other
Subsidiary
RMC RMC RMC RMC RMC RMC
47. Statement on Risk Management
• 1) Enhancement to Risk Framework
• Intro of strategic risks framework
• Identify and report strategic risks and other
long-term issues for senior management
attention.
• Review of Risks to Singapore Airlines
Reputation
• Review of Regulatory Compliance
48. • 2) Simulations and Tests of Risk
Control
• Conducted throughout the year to test the
effectiveness of risk controls and handling
of business continuity
• The exercise tested recall responses,
communications systems, functional
preparedness and management decision-
making under simulated “crisis scenarios”.
Statement on Risk Management
49. • 3) Other Risk Process and Program
• Annual Risk Management Review
• Whistle Blowing Program
• All “wrong-doings” can be reported and investigate to an
independent investigation unit
• “Wrong-doings” can include fraud, theft, abuse of
authority, breach of regulations or non-compliance with
corporate policy such as improper banking or financial
transactions.
• Banking Transaction Procedures
• Lenders to Singapore Airlines must be properly
authorized
• All group companies/divisions has its own approved
limits and procedures that must be followed
Statement on Risk Management
50. • Board of directors after reviewing the
risk management practices and
activities of Singapore Airlines has not
found anything to suggest that risks
are not being satisfactory managed.
Statement on Risk Management
52. Company profile
• Southwest Airlines was founded in 1967 and
is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
• Southwest Airlines Co. provides scheduled
air transportation services in the United
States.
• As of December 31, 2006, the company
operated 481 Boeing 737 aircrafts and
provided service to 63 cities in 32 states.
• It also sells credit to business partners,
including credit card companies, hotels,
telecommunication companies, and car
rental agencies.
53. Executives
• Chairman – HERBERT D. KELLEHER
• CEO – GARY C. KELLY
• President and director – COLLEEN C.
BARRETT
• CFO – LAURA WRIGHT
57. Competitive Strength
Low Cost Leadership
• Productivity is the key
• High asset utilization
• Point-to-point system
• More direct nonstop routings
• Employee Proficiency
• 71 employees per aircraft
• Lowest ratio since 1972
63. Risk Factor
• From company’s Annual Report:
• Southwest's business is labor-intensive
• Southwest relies on technology to operate its business and
any failure of these system could harm the Company’s
business
• Insurance cost increases or reductions in insurance coverage
may adversely impact the Company’s operation and financial
results.
• Disruptions to operations due to factors beyond Southwest’s
control could adversely affect the Company.
• Southwest’s low cost structure is one of its primary
competitive advantages and many factors could affect the
Company’s ability to control its costs.
64. Risk Factor
• Jet Fuel
• Unpredictable price movement
• Unable to increase fares when fuel price
rise
• Changes in hedging strategy and the
effectiveness of hedging arrangement
have significant impact on operating
results
65. Risk Factor: Jet Fuel
• Anticipating higher jet fuel prices
• Not as strong hedge position and higher
market price in 2006
• Lower hedge ratio and prices of hedges in
place are higher
66. Purpose of Hedging
• Airline operators are inherently
dependent upon jet fuel to operate,
and therefore, impacted by change in
jet fuel prices
• Jet fuel and oil consumed in 2005, 2004,
and 2003 represented approximately
19.8%, 16.7%, and 15.2% of operating
expenses respectively
• The company endeavours to acquire
jet fuel at the lowest possible cost
68. Hedging Strategy: Jet Fuel
• Hedge ratio:
• 70% for 2006 at $36/barrel
• 60% for 2007 at $39/barrel
• 35% for 2008 at $38/barrel
• 30% for 2009 at $39/barrel
• Near term hedge positions are in the
form of option contracts
• Limit the cost of rising fuel price and
benefit the company of declining fuel price
69. Value of Hedge Contracts
• As of December 31, 2005, the
company has $1.1 billion derivative
instruments
• $640 million of that was classified as
“Fuel hedge contracts”
• Fair value was determined by the use of
present value methods or standard option
value model with assumptions about the
commodity prices based on those
observed in underlying markets
71. Performance of Hedging
• Gains from hedging:
• $890 million unrealized gain, as of
December 31, 2005
• Of that amount, $327 million are expected
to be realized in 2006
73. Cost Structure
Fuel and oi l
20%
Mai nt enance
6%
Ai r cr af t
r ent al s
2%
Landi ng f ees
7%
Depr eci at i on
and amr t
7%
Ot her
18%
Sal ar i es
40%
Operating Cost per Available Seat Mile (ASM)
74. Cost Control
• To absorb the increasing in Jet Fuel cost, Southwest maintain
its low cost characteristic through reduction in other operating
expenses.
• Reduction in non-fuel unit costs of 1.5%
• Downsized work force and renegotiated collective
bargaining and vendor agreements
• Headcount per aircraft decreased from 74 at Dec 2004 to
71 at Dec 2005
76. Employee Stock Option
• Options granted at
or above the FMV of
the common stock
• 6-12 years terms
• Neither Executive
officers nor
members of the
company’s board of
directors are eligible
to participate
• Options granted at
the money
• 10 years terms
• Fully exercisable
over 3, 5, or 10
years of continued
employment
ESO subject to bargaining
agreements
Other Employee plans
77. • The Company accounts for stock-based compensation
utilizing the intrinsic value method in accordance with the
provisions of Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25
(APB 25)
• No compensation expense is recognized for fixed option
plans because the exercise prices of Employee stock
options equal or exceed the market prices of the underlying
stock on the dates of grant. Compensation expense for
other stock options is not material.
• Under the new accounting regulation SFAS 123R : Expected
2006 salary increase is approximately $20 million
Employee Stock Option
80. Employee Stock Option
An option’s exercise price may be paid
(i) in cash,
(ii) in shares of Common Stock,
(iii) through a cashless exercise, or
(iv) in any other manner permitted by the committee.
81. Executive Stock Option
• Option Exercises in Last Fiscal Year
The following table provides information regarding stock options exercised, and the
value realized upon exercise, by the named executive officers during 2006.
82. Interest Rate risk
Ot her
Pur chase
Ai r cr af t
Pur chase
l ong t er m
debt
Capi t al
Lease
I nt er est
Commi t men
t s
Oper at i ng
Lease
83. Interest Rate Hedging
• Interest rate swap
• Take advantage of short term rate significantly
lower than fixed long term rate
• Objective is to reduce the volatility of net
interest income by better matching the
reprising of assets and liabilities
• “A hypothetical ten percent change in market interest rates
as of December 31, 2005, would not have a material effect
on the fair value of the Company's fixed rate debt
instruments.”
84. Interest Rate Swap
Security Pay Floating rate Receive
Fixed rate
$385 million
6.5% senior
unsecured notes
due 2012
(LIBOR) plus a margin
every six months
Estimated to be
6.46%
6.5%
$375 million
5.496% Class
A-2 due 2006
(LIBOR) plus a margin
every six months
Estimated to be
6.73%
5.496
%
$350 million
5.25% senior
unsecured notes
due 2014.
(LIBOR) plus a margin
every six months
average floating rate
In 2005 is 3.82%
5.25%
85. Interest Rate Hedging
• Investments
• The Company also has some risk associated with changing interest
rates due to the short-term nature of its invested cash
• ST invested cash $2.3 billion
• ST investment $251 million
• “a hypothetical ten percent change in those rates would
correspondingly change the Company's net earnings and cash
flows less than $2 million”
The returns earned parallel closely with short-term floating
interest rates
• Net effect on interest rate
• Increase in interest rate: net +tv effect on earnings and CF
• Decrease in interest rate: net –tv effect on earnings and CF
• FV of interest rate swap as of Dec 31, 05 is:
• was a liability of approximately $31 million
86. Credit risk
• The Company does not expect any of the counterparties to
fail to meet their obligations
• To manage credit risk:
• selects and periodically reviews counterparties based on credit
ratings
• limits its exposure to a single counterparty
• and monitors the market position of the program and its
relative market position with each counterparty
• The Company had agreements with seven counterparties
containing early termination rights and/or bilateral
collateral provisions whereby security is required if market
risk exposure exceeds a specified threshold amount or
credit ratings fall below certain levels.
• held $950 million in fuel hedge related cash collateral deposits
under these bilateral collateral provisions
• decrease, but not totally eliminate, the credit risk associated
with the Company's hedging program
87. Insurance
• Purpose of Insurance:
• protect the Company and its property
• comply both with federal regulations and the
Company’s credit and lease agreements.
• General Coverage:
• public and passenger liability, property damage,
cargo and baggage liability, loss or damage to
aircraft, engines, and spare parts, and workers’
compensation.
• Increasing insurance cost after 9-11
Hazard Include weather, terrorism, workers compensation, safety and security
BACKGROUND The Company (SIA) was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore government through Temasek Hldgs (Pte) Ltd on 28 January 1972 as a public company. SIA is one of the world's most successful airlines. It has an expanding route network coverage of 100 cities in 42 countries, and it is one of the companies that the youngest and fastest growing fleets in the world.
This is the most updated route map of Singapore Airlines. The dots on the maps are cities that Singapore Airline has flights to. As we can see, its coverage is concentrated in Europe and Asia.
One is the biggest competitive advantage for Singapore airline is Fleet Age. Fleet age is the length of time that an airplane has been flying for. While the industry average of fleet age is around 150 months or more than 12 years, the fleet age of Singapore Airline is around 80 months or 6 to 7 years. This graph shows that the fleet age of Singapore Airline is only about half of industry average. It can be expected that airplanes of Singapore Airline are generally newer, better, safer and will last longer. That is a big competitive advantage for SIA because airplanes are critically important assets for the airline companies.
This graph here shows the 5 year profitability of Singapore Airline. Due the SARS, Singapore Airline had very low profit in the year of 03-04. But the company had large improvement in the year of 04-05. Even though the profit in the latest year has dropped a little bit, but compare to the previous years, the profit is still at a high level.
As I said a few minutes ago, SIA is wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore government through Temasek Hldgs (Pte) Ltd. And actually Singapore airline also have 4 subsidiary companies, which are Silk Air, Tradewinds Tour and Travel, SIA Engineering Company, SIA Cargo, and SATS. All 4 of them are in closely related business with Singapore Airline, for example, Trades Tour and Travel deals with travelling, SIA cargo deals with the cargo transportations, SATS deals with the baggage handling business. And they all work together to provide a full line of services to its customers. Singapore Airline, being the parent company of the 4, accounts for about 75% of the total revenue of the group.
Here is the Balance sheet for both the group and the company. It looks very different from the Balance sheet of Canadian companies because it is built under different accounting standards. However, we can see that the value of asset of the company is about 18.5 billion, and the aircraft, spares and spare engines account for 12.2 billion of that, which is about 67% of the total asset. From this figures again we can see that the aircrafts are fatal assets of the company. We have calculated the ROA, ROE and Earning per share of the group for the two financial years. The results are consistent with the profitability chart that all the measures has dropped a little bit from the previous year, but still look healthy.
Here is the Cash Flow statement of the group. The cash flow of the group has been steady for the two years and At the end, the cash and cash equivalent has increased by about 10% from the previous years.
Here is the consolidated income statement of the group for the two years. the staff cost only account for about 20 to 24% of the total expenditure, while the industry average is 40%. On the other hand, the percentage of fuel cost as to total cost for SIA group is higher than the industry average, Its fuel cost accounts for 26 to 35% for the two years and the industry is around which is 15%. We can see that SIA group’s exposure to jet fuel risk is a lot higher than the average competitors. From the income statement, we can see that the operating profit dropped from 1.3 billion to 1.2 billion, but the only account that has significant change is actually fuel costs, which has an increase of 60%. The exact amount of increase in jet fuel is 1547.4 million, while the decrease in operating profit is only 103.8 million. This comparison indicates that in spite of the decreased in profit, the company’s performance is actually really improving excluding the fact that fuel cost has significantly increased. In another aspect, it also tells us that risk management of fuel cost critically determines the success of the whole group.
Here a table that tells us the stock performance of the group during the 12 months period ending Feb. 28 th , 2007. We can see that the stock price in the last year has been moving within the range of $12 to $18, and it was closed at $15.80.
Here is the 5-year stock price trend of the company. we can see here that the stock price had suffered from disasters like 911 and SARS in the early years but it is gradually recovering and improving in the last 3 years. More recently, with the stock price closing at $15.80 at the end of February, it has now increased to over $17 per share.
Here is a table that shows us the top 10 major shareholders of Singapore Airline. Even though Singapore Airline is a public traded company. but closely held among a few companies. Temasek Holdings Limited holds over 50% of the shares of the company and have the control of company. And most of the other shares are held by big companies like HSBC, Citibank and Morgan Stanley. The top 10 shareholders altogether holds over 90% of the shares, and it tells us that very little percentage of the shares are actively traded in the market.
Now let’s look at the stock option that the companies issued to its employees. Since 2001, the exercise price of the stock option is remained at the range of 10 – 13 dollars, while the stock prices has increased to about 16 dollars recently. And The stock options accounts take up 79 million unissued shares, which is about 6% of the total shares outstanding. Here my presentation about the Singapore Airlines’ background and financial performance, I will let Tony to talk about the Risk that Singapore airline is facing and their risk management strategies.
MOVE THIS SLIDE BEFORE JET FUEL COST Southwest's low cost structure is one of its primary competitive advantages and many factors could affect the Company's ability to control its costs. Factors affecting the Company's ability to control its costs include the price and availability of fuel, results of Employee labor contract negotiations, Employee hir- ing and retention rates, costs for health care, capacity decisions by the Company and its competitors, un scheduled required aircraft airframe or engine repairs, regulatory requirements, availability of capital markets, and future financing decisions made by the Company.
Faced with increasing low fare and lower cost competition, and record high energy costs, Southwest have aggressively reduced their cost structures, largely through downsized work force and renegotiated collective bargaining and vendor agreements and increasing productivity. Headcount per aircraft decreased from 74 at Dec 2004 to 71 at Dec 2005
Historically, the Company's relationships with its Employees have been very good. However, the results of labor contract negotiations (approximately 82% of the Company's Employees are represented for collective bargaining purposes by labor unions), Employee hiring and retention rates, and costs for health care are items with potentially significant impact on the Company's operating results.
stock-based compensation utilizing the intrinsic value method in accordance with the provisions of Accountyears ing Principles Board Opinion No. 25 (APB 25), Accordingly, no compensation expense is recognized for fixed option plans because the exercise Prices of Employee stock options equal or exceed the market prices of the underlying stock on the dates of grant. Compensation expense for other stock options is not material.
The Black-Scholes option valuation model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of short- term traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. (For 2005, the Company relied on observations of both historical volatility trends as well as implied future volatility observations as determined by independent third parties.)
Given that company current stock price is $15
Average 4.1 years Range from 1-6.1 years
Largest portion is Aircraft purchase commitments, following by long term debt
The fair value of the interest rate swap agreements, excluding accrued interest, at Decem- ber 31, 2005, was a liability of approximately $31 mil- lion. The comparable fair value of these same agreements at December 31, 2004, was a liability of $16 million. The long-term portion of these amounts are recorded in ""Other deferred liabilities'' in the Consolidated Balance Sheet for each respective year and the current portion is reflected in ""Accrued liabilities.'' In accordance with fair value hedging, the offsetting entry is an adjustment to decrease the carrying value of long-term debt. See Note 10 to the Consolidated Finan- cial Statements.
The Company also has some risk associated with changing interest rates due to the short-term nature of its invested cash, which totaled $2.3 billion, and short Term investments, which totaled $251 million, at December 31, 2005. “ a hypothetical ten percent change in those rates would correspondingly change the Company's net earnings and cash flows less than $2 million ” Considering the Company's short-term investments, and float ing-rate debt outstanding, an increase in rates would have a net positive effect on the Company's earnings and cash flows, while a decrease in rates would have a net negative effect. FV of interest rate swap as of Dec 31, 05 is: was a liability of approximately $31 million
Outstanding financial derivative instruments ex- pose the Company to credit loss in the event of nonper formance by the counterparties to the agreements. However, the Company does not expect any of the counterparties to fail to meet their obligations. The credit exposure related to these financial instruments is represented by the fair value of contracts with a positive fair value at the reporting date. To manage credit risk, the Company selects and periodically reviews counterparties based on credit ratings, limits its expo- sure to a single counterparty, and monitors the market position of the program and its relative market position with each counterparty. At December 31, 2005, the Company had agreements with seven counterparties containing early termination rights and/or bilateral collateral provisions whereby security is required if market risk exposure exceeds a specified threshold amount or credit ratings fall below certain levels. At December 31, 2005, the Company held $950 million in fuel hedge related cash collateral deposits under these bilateral collateral provisions. These collateral deposits serve to decrease, but not totally eliminate, the credit risk associated with the Company's hedging program. The cash deposits, which can have a significant impact on the Company's cash balance and cash flows as of and
Following the terrorist attacks, commercial aviation insurers significantly increased the premiums and reduced the amount of war-risk coverage available commercial carriers. The federal Homeland Security Act of 2002 requires the federal government to provide third party, passenger, and hull war-risk insurance coverage to commercial carriers through a period of time that has now been extended to December 31, 2006. The Company is unable to predict whether the government will extend this insurance coverage past December 31, 2006, whether alternative commercial insurance with comparable coverage will become available at reasonable premiums, and what impact this will have on the Company's ongoing operations or future financial performance.