Rest in peace, Ted, you were never going to make it (Ted Airlines)

Member Name: jamesontheroad

Product:	Ted Airlines
Date:	19/01/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sometimes cheaper than the competition

Disadvantages: Confused the hell out of me

Ted was a (supposedly) low-cost division of United Airlines. It was not a separate airline, but a brand developed to compete with low cost airlines that had begun to eat into the revenue of the major "legacy" airlines of the US. It operated from 2004 to early 2009, before being folded back into the mainline operations of United.

I only used Ted a few times, and whenever I did I was utterly bemused as to the point of a major airline trying to compete with low-cost competitors by creating a differently branded subsidiary. The service in economy was fine, but no different than on board United. 57 Airbus planes were re-configured and re-branded for Ted, with Economy and Economy Plus classes. Economy Plus simply offered slightly more legroom than Economy, a distinction that continues to be offered on many United flights. However because Ted flights were operated by United crews and United planes, it was not uncommon for Ted or United to use each others planes when substitutions were necessary. This made a mockery of the low-cost model, and infuriated first class passengers on mainline United Airlines flights who paid top dollar for an economy class seat.

Much like Tango, Air Canada's attempt at a low-cost division, the experiment didn't work and in 2009 the airline was merged back into the mainline operations of United. Since Ted was never a genuinely low cost operation (dependent on United's resources, staff and infrastructure) it made more sense with rising fuel prices to offer a consistent mainline United Airlines service, with first class service to compete with low cost airlines that didn't have offer it.

Summary: Big airline tried to do low cost. And failed.