businesses include aircraft maintenance and staffing services we provide to third parties and our vacation wholesale operations.  

 

•	Profit sharing. Management believes the exclusion of this item provides a more meaningful comparison of our results to the airline industry.  

 

•	Restructuring and other items. Management believes the exclusion of this item is helpful to investors to evaluate our recurring core operational performance.  

 

•	Mark-to-market ("MTM") adjustments for fuel hedges recorded in periods other than the settlement period. Management believes these adjustments are helpful to evaluate our financial results in the period shown.  

The following table reconciles average price per fuel gallon to average price per fuel gallon, adjusted for MTM adjustments for fuel hedges recorded in periods other than the settlement period. These mark-to-market adjustments are based on market prices as of the end of the reporting period. Such market prices are not necessarily indicative of the actual future cash value of the underlying hedge in the contract settlement period. Therefore, Delta adjusts fuel expense for these items to arrive at a more meaningful measure of fuel cost.   

Glossary of Defined Terms  

 

ASM - Available Seat Mile. A measure of capacity. ASMs equal the total number of seats available for transporting passengers during a reporting period multiplied by the total number of miles flown during that period.  

 

CASM - (Operating) Cost per Available Seat Mile. The amount of operating cost incurred per ASM during a reporting period.  

 

CASM-Ex - The amount of operating cost incurred per ASM during a reporting period, excluding aircraft fuel and related taxes, ancillary businesses, profit sharing, restructuring and other items and MTM adjustments for fuel hedges recorded in periods other than the settlement period.  

 

Passenger Load Factor - A measure of utilized available seating capacity calculated by dividing RPMs by ASMs for a reporting period.  

 

Passenger Mile Yield or Yield - The amount of passenger revenue earned per RPM during a reporting period.  

 

PRASM - Passenger Revenue per ASM. The amount of passenger revenue earned per ASM during a reporting period. PRASM is also referred to as “unit revenue.”  

 

RPM - Revenue Passenger Mile. One revenue-paying passenger transported one mile. RPMs equal the number of revenue passengers during a reporting period multiplied by the number of miles flown by those passengers during that period. RPMs are also referred to as “traffic.”  

 

 

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK  

 

We have market risk exposure related to aircraft fuel prices, interest rates, and foreign currency exchange rates. Market risk is the potential negative impact of adverse changes in these prices or rates on our Consolidated Financial Statements. In an effort to manage our exposure to these risks, we enter into derivative contracts and may adjust our derivative portfolio as market conditions change. We expect adjustments to the fair value of financial instruments to result in ongoing volatility in earnings and stockholders' equity.  

 

The following