Derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting
The Company mitigates certain financial risks, such as volatility in the price of jet fuel, adverse changes in interest rates and exchange rate fluctuations, through a risk management program that includes the use of derivative financial instruments.
In accordance with IFRS 9 (2013), derivative financial instruments are recognized in the consolidated statement of financial position at fair value. At inception of a hedge relationship, the Company formally designates and documents the hedge relationship to which it wishes to apply hedge accounting, as well as the risk management objective and strategy for undertaking the hedge. The documentation includes the hedging strategy and objective, identification of the hedging instrument, the hedged item or transaction, the nature of the risks being hedged and how the entity will assess the effectiveness of changes in the hedging instrument’s fair value in offsetting the exposure to changes in the hedged item’s fair value or cash flows attributable to the hedged risk(s).
Only if such hedges are expected to be effective in achieving offsetting changes in fair value or cash flows of the hedge item(s) and are assessed on an ongoing basis to determine that they actually have been effective throughout the financial reporting periods for which they were designated, hedge accounting treatment can be used.
Under the cash flow hedge (CFH) accounting model, the effective portion of the hedging instrument’s changes in fair value is recognized in OCI, while the ineffective portion is recognized in current year earnings. During the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, there was no ineffectiveness with respect to derivative financial instruments. The amounts recognized in OCI are transferred to earnings in the period in which the hedged transaction affects earnings.
The realized gain or loss of derivative financial instruments that qualify as CFH is recorded in the same caption of the hedged item in the consolidated statement of operations.
Accounting for the time value of options
The Company accounts for the time value of options in accordance with IFRS 9 (2013), which requires all derivative financial instruments to be initially recognized at fair value. Subsequent measurement for options purchased and designated as CFH requires that the option’s changes in fair value be segregated into its intrinsic value (which will be considered the hedging instrument’s effective portion in OCI) and its correspondent changes in extrinsic value (time value and volatility). The extrinsic value changes will be considered as a cost of hedging (recognized in OCI in a separate component of equity) and accounted for in income when the hedged item also is recognized in income.