ASC 605-908
Airlines
605 Revenue Recognition
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ASC 605-908 was the legacy industry-specific revenue recognition guidance for airlines (passenger ticket sales, frequent flyer/mileage programs, and related items). Every paragraph in Sections 05, 15, and 25 has been superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, so the subtopic contains no operative guidance. Airline revenue is now accounted for under ASC 606 (with airline-specific implementation guidance in ASC 606-10-55 and Subtopic 908-606).
Key points (6)
- Every paragraph of this subtopic — 605-908-05-1 through 05-2, 605-908-15-1, and 605-908-25-1 through 25-10 — is marked 'Paragraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09.'
- Because the Overview/Background (Section 05), Scope (Section 15), and Recognition (Section 25) sections are all superseded, the subtopic imposes no current recognition or measurement requirements.
- ASU 2014-09 replaced legacy industry-specific revenue guidance, including airline guidance, with the single five-step model in Topic 606 (see 606-10-05-3 through 05-4).
- Under the current model an airline identifies the contract and performance obligations (e.g., the flight and any material right such as frequent flyer mileage credits) and recognizes revenue when each performance obligation is satisfied (606-10-25-1, 606-10-25-23).
- Historical financial statements or comparative periods presented before the ASU 2014-09 transition date may still reflect the superseded guidance, so students should check the effective-date and transition provisions in Topic 606.
- Airline-specific costs of obtaining or fulfilling contracts are addressed by Subtopic 340-40 rather than this superseded subtopic.
For students. This subtopic is a shell — it exists only as a pointer showing that airline-specific revenue rules were eliminated by ASU 2014-09; the common mistake is citing legacy frequent flyer or ticket-breakage guidance that no longer exists. For any current airline revenue question, go straight to Topic 606 (and 908-606) instead.
Machine-generated study aid for ASC 605-908. Check the source paragraphs below.
605-908-00Status
Source downloaded: .Record version 7ee93e826ed0. Effective date must be checked in the source.
| Paragraph | Action | Accounting Standards Update | Date |
| Air Cargo | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| Airbill | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| Fare | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| Lifted Flight Coupon | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| On-Line Lifts | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| On-Line Sale and Off-Line Sale | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| Revenue Passenger Mile | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| 908-605-05-1 | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| 908-605-05-2 | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| 908-605-15-1 | Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
| Superseded | Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 | 05/28/2014 |
605-908-05Overview and Background
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605-908-15Scope and Scope Exceptions
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605-908-25Recognition
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