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| Founded | 2003 | |||
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| Commenced operations | February 12, 2004 | |||
| Ceased operations | January 6, 2009 (now operated by United Airlines) | |||
| Hubs | ||||
| Secondary hubs | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Mileage Plus | |||
| Airport lounge | Red Carpet Club | |||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | |||
| Fleet size | 57 | |||
| Destinations | 22 | |||
| Parent company | UAL Corporation | |||
| Headquarters | Elk Grove Township, Cook County, Illinois | |||
| Key people | Glenn Tilton (CEO) Kathryn Mikells (CFO) |
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| Website | ||||
Ted was one of two "airline within an airline" divisional brands of United Airlines. It targeted vacation locations. Ted targeted to compete in the low cost airline market. In contrast to United's high end divisional "sub-fleeted" brand called United p.s., "Ted" comes from the last three letters in the United brand name. United marketed Ted anthropomorphically and attempted to personify Ted; it used phrases such as Meet Ted or I've Met Ted.
Due to the airline crisis caused by spiking fuel prices, on June 4, 2008, United announced that the Ted brand and services would be discontinued with the Ted aircraft being fitted with United's First Class cabin and eventually being incorporated into United's regular fleet to compensate for the removal of United's entire 737 fleet. Operations were folded back into the mainline brand on January 6, 2009.
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Ted's creation was announced November 12, 2003, and service began on February 12, 2004. It began service in Denver, a United hub, to compete with Frontier Airlines. The airline was equipped with 57 Airbus A320 aircraft, in a 156-seat all-economy configuration. This gave United a way to compete with low-cost airlines, such as Frontier Airlines. All Ted flights were operated by United Airlines crew flying under the United Airlines operating certificate, as Ted was not actually a certificated airline, but rather a brand name applied to differentiate the all-economy service from United's mainline flights. Sometimes, because of operational needs, Ted aircraft operated as mainline United flights. More often, however, mainline United aircraft operated as Ted flights because of equipment substitutions.
At the time of its integration back into United Airlines, Ted flew to 23 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, including Puerto Rico. Ted's primary hub was at Denver International Airport, and the airline maintained focus cities at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport. Ted ended all services on January 6, 2009 and were transferred to UA mainline.
United Airlines had 57 aircraft in its fleet dedicated to Ted operations:
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 57 | 156 | Offered Economy Plus and Economy Class |
As of September 2008, Ted's average fleet age was 8.7 years old.
Ted's A320s were configured in 1 class that was split into 2 sub-classes. Economy Plus was the first sub-class which included rows 1-11. Economy Plus provided an extra 5 inches to the existing 31 inches of seat pitch for economy. Ted planes were equipped with 20 overhead retractable LCD screens known as "Tedevision" which were used to play videos throughout the flight. First class seating was not available on Ted flights. On every Ted seat there was TedTunes which had 12 music stations including a station that played live feed from Air Traffic Control (channel 9), at the pilot's discretion, a feature that is still available on all mainline United flights.
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