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1. Ted is operated with all Airbuses which are much more fuel efficient than 737’s. The rumor is that United will be grounding ALL of their 737’s in the fall. Then they’ll back fill those vacant routes with the re-allocated Airbuses off of the Ted operation. Again, if it happens it will be for the fall schedule.

   Comment by Steve Filson — June 4, 2008 @ 12:38 pm

2. Ted isn’t another airline. It’s a poor attempt at trying to create a LCC within a legacy carrier. Might sound good to someone who doesn’t know a whole lot about airline economics. The problem with TED is that the equipment is configured with just enough seats to push it over the 3 FA requirement, requiring them to carry one more FA to take care of 6 more passengers. At the same point, they get rid of the premium product that some customers are willing to pay for and subsidize the low fares. Not to mention the additional overhead for signage, marketing, and headaches for travelers. Smart move Chicago.

   So, to call the Ted shutdown the same as ATA, Aloha, etc. would be shortsighted, because it is nothing more than a differently painted UA aircraft.

   Comment by Joe Rinaldi — June 4, 2008 @ 8:56 pm

3. I agree with Joe. Ted isn’t an airline, just a different name. It’s the same as United, with an orange paint job instead of blue, no business class seats and some humorous quotes in the Ted departure area. I didn’t do an analysis of fares, but when I flew with them, it didn’t seem to be priced any differently than prior to its introduction or to any of UA’s traditional competitors (although, Rick, you’re the authority on airfare analysis, so feel free to confirm/deny that). I often connected from United to Ted. And my guess is that the routes won’t be cut, just taken over by United aircraft.

   Comment by Elliot Campbell — June 5, 2008 @ 9:09 pm

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