Speaking of TED

[jetblue320]

I was in IAD this morning and saw a TED A320 (maybe it was a 319, not sure from the angle) but it was parked at a jetway. No activity though. Are they just getting ready for the posted Feb. 12 start up or are they operating already?

Just curious. The paint scheme was kinda cool, IMO. Basic white with a light orange-ish patterned tail with a big TED (block letters) around the forward entry doors.

See ya

 

[pb4ufly]

TED starts flying next week out of DEN; looks like IAD in late Spring.

United Airlines Unit To Start Offering Flights Out of Dulles
Firm Competes With Low-Cost Carriers
By Keith L. Alexander
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 5, 2004; Page E02


United Airlines' low-cost subsidiary Ted intends to begin flying between Washington's Dulles International Airport and Florida in late spring, sources familiar with the carrier's plans said yesterday.

United, a unit of UAL Corp., is scheduled to release details of the service at a news conference today. Ted is expected to fly primarily to vacation destinations such as Orlando and Tampa.

United officials declined to comment.

United unveiled Ted -- short for United -- in November as a quirky, fun airline to compete with low-cost competitors such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. The new carrier is launching service next week with flights to several cities, including Reno, Nev.; Phoenix; and New Orleans from its base at Denver International Airport.

The arrival of Ted in the Washington area will further establish Dulles as an airport with one of the largest concentrations of low-fare airlines in the country. JetBlue and AirTran Airways have boosted the number of their flights at Dulles in recent months. In September, Delta Air Lines Inc. began operating its fledgling low-fare carrier Song between Dulles and Orlando.

This summer, Dulles-based Atlantic Coast Airlines will transform itself into Independence Air, a low-cost, low-fare carrier. The airline operates United Express flights, but United and Atlantic Coast expect to end their 15-year relationship as early as this spring because they cannot agree on a new contract.

Atlantic Coast spokesman Rick DeLisi said the airline is undaunted by low-cost competition at Dulles. "This was absolutely anticipated by us, and we built this into our business plan. We're going to be bringing 350 low-fare flights a day into Dulles," he said.

United, the nation's second-largest airline, is hoping to emerge from nearly 14 months of bankruptcy protection by June. Last month, United officials announced plans to begin construction of a $22 million passenger terminal for United Express, its regional jet operations at Dulles. In December, United applied for $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees.

United's flight attendants said recently that they plan to picket the airline's operations after the carrier announced a plan to increase the cost of health benefits for some retirees.

 

[juan2go]

Ted

I saw Ted in ONT and LAS this week. Guy sure gets around.

 

[jetblue320]

That didn't answer my question about why the TED planes are out and about. Thanks for the news article though.

Any UAL guys out there know why the TED planes are out there but not operating as "TED"??

C ya

 

[pb4ufly]

The A320s are coming directly from Mainline UAL; the company cannot paint/transform all the planes at once. I'm guessing they are utilizing the assets until TED gets a hold of them. I think UAL plans on using 48 (or so) Airbuses...

 

[Flying Freddie]

Rumor has it that TED is going to pick up all the Song uniforms.

 

[Bally]

Attempt #186 for a mainline carrier to be another Southwest. How long did Shuttle last?

 

[juan2go]

Ted (TED)

No, this time it's different!

 

[pb4ufly]

"Attempt #186 for a mainline carrier to be another Southwest"

Bally - it looks like you don't see SWA as a "Mainline Carrier"? Interesting.

 

[Skank]

Good point...

 

[Bally]

pb4ufly,

Since it appears you are unable to understand what I was saying in my post, let me be spell it out for you.

The "mainline carriers" that I mentined have attemped to emulate SWA for years. While Southwest is by definition a mainline carrier, they acheived this status through non-traditional mehtods. Only in the past few years has Southwest been condiered mainline; and acheived this status as a result of their success in capturing market share.

My definitaion of mainline are Airlines such as Untied, Delta, and American who are all on the brink or in bankrupcy.

Companies such as JetBlue, Air Tran, and Frontier are the future of the "mainline carriers". United will fail with Ted. Delta is floundering with Song, and American will wollow with breakeven performance.

It sort of like getting a nasty strawberry stain on a white cotton short. No matter what you do, the stain remains, and that is the future of the "mainline carriers".

 

[njcapt]

My first viewing of a TED aircraft happened under the conditions I had hoped for. I was pulling into gate B25 in DFW at 0230 on Tuesday, and right next to us were TED and Shuttle By United aircraft right next to each other. Major irony alert.

 

[FDJ2]

Companies such as JetBlue, Air Tran, and Frontier are the future of the "mainline carriers".

You might want to study up on the history of start-ups, before you trumpet their conquest of the skies and the inevitable failure of airlines that have been in existance for over 70 years.

 

[flint4xx]

Bally, can you say "SPELLCHECKER"?

 

[dgs]

Saw TED in ATL a couple of days ago, so I asked a United Captain about it. He said that they have painted a few planes that are still flying mainline routes until the official launch of TED.

 

[pb4ufly]

FDJ2 -

Well Said.

 

[dgs]

** Off topic alert. **

This thread was supposed to be about TED, but since you took a shot at us, I'll defend.

You might want to study up on the history of start-ups, before you trumpet their conquest of the skies and the inevitable failure of airlines that have been in existance for over 70 years.

That's exactly what our leadership did when they created the jetBlue business model. They wanted to make sure the design of their new airline would avoid the pitfalls of those that had gone before. They also studied the success stories, particularly SWA. Remember, David had inside information on how SWA operated. That's why he had a 5-year non-compete clause when he left. IMHO, they've done an excellent job of designing this company. That's why it drives me crazy when people try to compare us with PEOPLExpress. Once you get beyond the fact that we are both LCCs operating from NYC, the two companies couldn't be more different.

 

[crashpad]

I thought the scheme was very similar to Fed-Ex...Maybe they should call it 'Ted-Ex".

 

[rice]

Not trying to be a Tool

First off, I just want to say that I hope everyone out of work is recalled ASAP and that Rev's for all carriers in 2004 increase at a realistic and sustained rate.
But given the history (UA Shuttle) and recent news(Song), it makes me wonder how long it'll be before we start hearing that Song has sung (sp) and TED is Dead. I know all of you in the pointy end are doing what you can to make it succeed but it seems that no matter how many new faces cycle through management the plan remains the same and thus destined to fail.
Hope I'm wrong, but as a consumer (I do A LOT of commercial travel for crew swaps etc.) it seems like nothing more than new paint over an old product. When will the bean counters realize that a simple and consistent fare structure on flights that can meet some significant percentage of their schedule is what the bulk of travelers are really looking for.

 

[TR4A]

Isn't TED the end of UNITED?