WestJet Airlines Ltd., a Canadian airline, was profitable in 2016. The following list of accounts and amounts was taken from its December 31, 2016, financial statements (in thousands):

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities ......................................... $ 547,490
Accounts receivable .............................................................................. 127,785
Advance ticket sales liability ................................................................. 626,635
Aircraft fuel, leasing, and maintenance expense ............................ 1,153,538
Cash and cash equivalents ................................................................. 1,520,822

Deferred income tax liability ................................................................. 309,694
Deferred rewards program ................................................................... 155,567
Depreciation and amortization expense ............................................. 350,484
Employee profit share expense ............................................................. 59,342
Guest revenues .................................................................................... 3,556,941
Income tax expense ............................................................................... 120,775
Intangibles ................................................................................................ 66,187
Inventory ................................................................................................... 33,535
Long-term debt ................................................................................... 2,046,658
Maintenance provisions liability .......................................................... 366,234
Non-operating expenses ........................................................................ 23,864
Non-refundable guest credits liability .................................................. 42,942
Other assets ............................................................................................. 95,368
Other expenses ..................................................................................... 291,024
Other liabilities .......................................................................................... 8,374
Other revenues ..................................................................................... 565,918
Prepaid expenses and deposits .......................................................... 181,070
Property and equipment ................................................................... 4,036,880
Rates and fee expense .......................................................................... 617,573
Restricted cash ...................................................................................... 102,649
Salaries and benefits expense ............................................................ 854,056
Sales and marketing expense ............................................................. 356,745
Shareholders’ (owners’) “drawings” ...................................................... 66,967
Shareholders’ (owners’) equity, Jan. 1, 2016 ................................... 1,832,211

Instructions

a. WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a corporation. Which of the items listed above are used only in corporations?

b. Prepare a trial balance for WestJet with the accounts in financial statement order.

c. WestJet has grouped several items together in its financial statements. For example, salaries and benefits expenses are shown as one amount. What are some possible reasons for doing this?

d. In this chapter, you learned about unearned revenue. Would you expect a company like WestJet to have unearned revenue? If so, what account name has WestJet used for its unearned revenue?