General Lee
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Ted drops by for a visit
United's new low-fare carrier landed its flagship plane in Orlando on Friday as part of a promotional tour.
By Todd Pack
Sentinel Staff Writer
February 7, 2004
Before flying United to New York, Angela Struffolino got to meet Ted.
"This is beautiful," she said, boarding the flagship plane in Ted's fleet, parked at Gate 40 at Orlando International Airport on Friday as part of a cross-country tour to introduce the brand to employees and passengers.
Ted's Airbus A320 was roomy and bright, and 9-inch flat-panel televisions spaced throughout the cabin played a VH1 show about the pop singer Mandy Moore.
"I love the TVs," Struffolino said.
She asked the plane's captain, "Is this going to be more expensive?"
Just the opposite, he told her.
Ted will be United's low-fare brand, its latest attempt to win back travelers from the likes of Southwest and Orlando-based AirTran, which are gaining market share even as United and other big airlines struggle to pull out of a nearly three-year slump in air travel.
Service will begin Thursday.
Ted's first flights will be between Denver and Fort Lauderdale, Denver and Las Vegas and San Francisco and Las Vegas. It will add service from Orlando to Denver on March 11 and Orlando to Washington Dulles on May 8.
Major airlines such as United often try to match the low fares of the discounters, but their higher costs make it hard for them to make money on those routes.
Ted's lower operating costs should help the brand make money despite its cheaper fares, airline officials said.
United and other full-price airlines have tried that strategy before.
But defunct brands such as United's own Shuttle couldn't fly as cheaply as their low-cost competitors and were among the first business lines cut when air travel fell after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Ted's vice president said the airline had learned valuable lessons from Shuttle's failure.
"The reason Shuttle ultimately did not work is our costs became too high," Sean Donohue said.
"So, the very first thing we started with when we were building our low-fare operation was a foundation of cost competitiveness," he said.
UAL, which expects to emerge from bankruptcy in mid-2004, has reduced its operating costs $5 billion a year in part by negotiating new contracts with its unions.
It removed the first-class cabins from Ted's A320s so it could put in 18 more economy-class seats, allowing the planes to carry more passengers without significantly increasing operating costs.
And it will change how crews tidy up the planes to reduce time spent at the gate.
Ordinarily, cleaning crews board through the same door as passengers, meaning they can't get on until the last passenger has gotten off. Ted will let crews enter through the rear of the plane so they can start cleaning as the plane empties.
"Once the customer deplanes, we're about done with cleaning the airplane," Donohue said.
"That can save us four, five, six minutes," he said.
Ted's rollout comes nearly a year after Delta introduced Song, a high-style, low-fare airline that flies primarily between cities in the Northeast and vacation spots such as Orlando and Las Vegas.
Earlier this week, Delta chief executive Gerald Grinstein said Song's expansion plans were on hold while the company continues to seek wage concessions in its ongoing talks with its pilots union.
Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the decision would not affect Song's service in Orlando. It flies between Orlando and seven markets, including New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"But understand that Song's not the only thing that's under strategic review," Estes said. Grinstein "will look at all of Delta's business units . . . and there are no sacred cows. He's looking at everything."
Airline consultant Robert Mann said on Friday that low-fare airlines such as Ted and Song "don't make sense."
It's good the airlines are looking for ways to save money, said Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co., based in Port Washington, N.Y. But they should try them first on their mainline routes, "with little fanfare and lots of attention to results."
Bye Bye--General Lee
United's new low-fare carrier landed its flagship plane in Orlando on Friday as part of a promotional tour.
By Todd Pack
Sentinel Staff Writer
February 7, 2004
Before flying United to New York, Angela Struffolino got to meet Ted.
"This is beautiful," she said, boarding the flagship plane in Ted's fleet, parked at Gate 40 at Orlando International Airport on Friday as part of a cross-country tour to introduce the brand to employees and passengers.
Ted's Airbus A320 was roomy and bright, and 9-inch flat-panel televisions spaced throughout the cabin played a VH1 show about the pop singer Mandy Moore.
"I love the TVs," Struffolino said.
She asked the plane's captain, "Is this going to be more expensive?"
Just the opposite, he told her.
Ted will be United's low-fare brand, its latest attempt to win back travelers from the likes of Southwest and Orlando-based AirTran, which are gaining market share even as United and other big airlines struggle to pull out of a nearly three-year slump in air travel.
Service will begin Thursday.
Ted's first flights will be between Denver and Fort Lauderdale, Denver and Las Vegas and San Francisco and Las Vegas. It will add service from Orlando to Denver on March 11 and Orlando to Washington Dulles on May 8.
Major airlines such as United often try to match the low fares of the discounters, but their higher costs make it hard for them to make money on those routes.
Ted's lower operating costs should help the brand make money despite its cheaper fares, airline officials said.
United and other full-price airlines have tried that strategy before.
But defunct brands such as United's own Shuttle couldn't fly as cheaply as their low-cost competitors and were among the first business lines cut when air travel fell after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Ted's vice president said the airline had learned valuable lessons from Shuttle's failure.
"The reason Shuttle ultimately did not work is our costs became too high," Sean Donohue said.
"So, the very first thing we started with when we were building our low-fare operation was a foundation of cost competitiveness," he said.
UAL, which expects to emerge from bankruptcy in mid-2004, has reduced its operating costs $5 billion a year in part by negotiating new contracts with its unions.
It removed the first-class cabins from Ted's A320s so it could put in 18 more economy-class seats, allowing the planes to carry more passengers without significantly increasing operating costs.
And it will change how crews tidy up the planes to reduce time spent at the gate.
Ordinarily, cleaning crews board through the same door as passengers, meaning they can't get on until the last passenger has gotten off. Ted will let crews enter through the rear of the plane so they can start cleaning as the plane empties.
"Once the customer deplanes, we're about done with cleaning the airplane," Donohue said.
"That can save us four, five, six minutes," he said.
Ted's rollout comes nearly a year after Delta introduced Song, a high-style, low-fare airline that flies primarily between cities in the Northeast and vacation spots such as Orlando and Las Vegas.
Earlier this week, Delta chief executive Gerald Grinstein said Song's expansion plans were on hold while the company continues to seek wage concessions in its ongoing talks with its pilots union.
Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the decision would not affect Song's service in Orlando. It flies between Orlando and seven markets, including New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"But understand that Song's not the only thing that's under strategic review," Estes said. Grinstein "will look at all of Delta's business units . . . and there are no sacred cows. He's looking at everything."
Airline consultant Robert Mann said on Friday that low-fare airlines such as Ted and Song "don't make sense."
It's good the airlines are looking for ways to save money, said Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co., based in Port Washington, N.Y. But they should try them first on their mainline routes, "with little fanfare and lots of attention to results."
Bye Bye--General Lee
