A Daily Look at the Airline Industry and the Nation’s Top Seven U.S. Airlines

Ted. an Airline. Really.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - United Airlines, the world's second-largest airline, on Wednesday unveiled "Ted" as the name for its fledgling low-cost carrier, which is gearing up for service launch from Denver early next year and may move into the Washington, D.C., area.

ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - United Airlines has officially unveiled the name of its low-cost operation, "Ted," a product it says is "squarely focused" on competing in the low-fare marketplace. With its unique name – taken from the last three letters of United – Ted’s onboard product is designed to attract customers with simplified pricing, lower fares and a more relaxed service environment. United says the substantial cost reductions attained through its restructuring will allow Ted to compete with other low-fare carriers in a way that United Shuttle couldn’t.

Ted will operate with A320 aircraft from United’s Denver hub, serving Las Vegas, Reno, Ontario, Calif., Phoenix, New Orleans, Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Ted will also operate between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, San Francisco and Las Vegas, and San Francisco and Phoenix. Ted will complement United operations by feeding customers to the mainline, strengthening United's presence in its hubs and in leisure markets served by the hubs.

To get the word out, United recently used non-traditional marketing methods, such as calling radio stations to dedicate songs to Ted and displaying Ted signs at Denver sporting events. United customers flying Ted will retain benefits such as the ability to accrue miles in the airline’s Mileage Plus program.

ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - Low-fare carrier AirTran will turn its focus on cities already in its network, adding fewer destinations but increasing capacity by as much as 25 percent next year, according to a Bloomberg News report. The airline will add one to three cities next year, down from its usual three to five. Instead of adding as many cities, AirTran will increase flight frequencies between cities and add service connecting destinations it already serves.

AirTran is adding 10 Boeing 717s and as many as 100 Boeing 737-700s as it more than doubles its fleet by 2008. With the additional 737s, the airline will be able to fly from any point in North America and says flights to Canada and Mexico are "distinct possibilities." Orlando-based AirTran, which saw its third-quarter profit rise more than 15-fold to $19.6 million as sales increased 30 percent, today begins flights to San Francisco, its 45th city.

Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration has denied AirTran’s request for exemptions from slot restrictions at New York LaGuardia Airport, saying it would create a precedent that would make it difficult to deny other carrier’s requests, according to Aviation Daily. AirTran wanted four slots to maintain its roundtrip flights to Akron/Canton and Newport News/Williamsburg that it introduced in July using temporary slot allocations. It also wanted another six slots to serve an undisclosed city, according to the report.