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Who's Who in Low Cost Aviation
| Carrier: | Ted
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| Headquarters: | USA
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| Founded: | 2004
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| Destinations: | 19
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| Bases: | Denver, Chicago OHare, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles, San Francisco
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| Owners: | United Airlines affiliate
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| Listed: | Yes
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| Online Booking: | Yes
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| Website: | http://www.flyted.com
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| Fleet | A320s 54
| Overview - Ted Ted – And then there was one … but for how long? Ted, the last of the US major-affiliated LCCs in the US, began operations from Denver where parent United wanted a product that could compete on price with, first Frontier, and then recent Denver arrival Southwest. It was subsequently rolled out to serve leisure destinations from hubs in Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The carrier, whose name comes from the last three letters of United's name, operates United's relatively new A320 fleet and flies typically longer stage length segments, such as Chicago to Cabo San Lucas (Mexico). These two attributes, plus the greater number of seats in the cabin caused by having no first class section, allow the carrier to record lower unit costs than the mainline partner. There are no wage savings, as Ted services are operated by United pilots and cabin staff, with no contractual delineation. Ted has proven not entirely effective at competing with bona fide LCCs. It retreated from Chicago Midway after 18 months in the face of Southwest's expansion at the facility, even though United's hometown presence should have been a critical advantage.
Outlook unpromising for LCC affiliate Ted's weakness in the most important area – costs – could spell the end of its existence, especially if parent United determines it is losing more revenue through the lack of first class product than it is adding to its bottom line through marginally lower costs. In the labour-constrained US industry, this would put Ted on the scrap heap alongside, among others, Delta's Song and US Airway's MetroJet.
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