Sure, when you consider the customer complaint levels, on time rates and the route networks, UAL wins hands down. But lets clarify things a bit. Most people have a loyalty level of around .5% when it comes to airlines. they go to Travelocity.com to buy the CHEAPEST ticket. If it pops up TED, they buy TED. Are they expecting warm towels and a backrub? NO, they are expecting a CHEAP TICKET!! now lets consider Bob the businessman. He likes FC when he goes to HKG, but when he is taking the kids to Disney, he wants a SEAT. When he takes his wife on the short flight to Vegas, he wants a SEAT. dispute that all you'd like, but Bob's habits are CLOSELY tracted, and his preferences are PRECISELY the reason certain cities were chosen. Now, you add the additional bonus of rewarding his loyalty with econ + at NO additional charge on EVERY TED flight, and you are in fact giving him BETTER service than previous LCC attempts. Shuttle had no Econ +. Mainline 737's only have 8 FC seats, narrower Y seats and NO video. The 32S's are an IMPROVEMENT in quality on the routes they serve, and with the bonus of reducing CASM by AT LEAST 12%.mweiss said:
Ted In The Post-atsb World
- Thread starter JetClipper
- Start date
Well guys who makes Lexus? I have an RX330 and love it but its still made by Toyota. So is UAL the equivalent of Lexus while TED is the equivalent of an Avalon?
I certainly hope so (as opposed to the 74 coupe Deville and the 74 Vega being made by the same company....). Toyota makes excellent vehicles for MULTIPLE categories. Why can't an airline excel in multiple markets? Of course the next line will be "an airlines within an airline just never works..." This uneducated response fails to acknowledge that 34 of the first 36 post Dereg airlines FAILED. does this mean starting an airline is impossible? Or does it suggest that the new crowd learned vital lessons from past failures?L1011Ret said:
BTW, how's retirement?
An airline company can. But people who are told they are buying a high-end product (UA) and instead receiving a mid-range product (Ted) are likely to be disappointed. If UA is so proud of Ted (and they have reason to be), sell Ted tickets as a completely different airline, with a different code and everything.Busdrvr said:
Fly,
You sure it won't be in '05 after they manage to usurp the Constitution and postpone the election??? Sorry, couldn't resist.
Anywho,
I think it's far too early to euthanize TED just yet. Regardless of whether or not it is destroying or distracting the main United brand, the question that will ultimately determine its' fate is: is it making money? That's what I'd like to know. Are the markets profitable or breaking even, or are they bleeding? TED is a concept that can work if we get our costs low enough, which they aren't yet. That's what scares the bejeezus out of Jeff Potter and the other LCC CEO's. They know what happens if we can successfully lower our costs to truly be competitive with them on costs. They lose. The strength of TED lies in its' connectivity to the network, a network that the LCC's can't begin to match. If TED becomes profitable, it's going to put a serious hurt on LCC's in leisure markets, which will only enhance UA's brand. I could care less about whether it's hurting the brand now. Our brand has been hurt plenty the last 4 years, much of it of our own making. The bottom line is making money. That is all that matters.
You sure it won't be in '05 after they manage to usurp the Constitution and postpone the election???
Sorry, couldn't resist.Anywho,
I think it's far too early to euthanize TED just yet. Regardless of whether or not it is destroying or distracting the main United brand, the question that will ultimately determine its' fate is: is it making money? That's what I'd like to know. Are the markets profitable or breaking even, or are they bleeding? TED is a concept that can work if we get our costs low enough, which they aren't yet. That's what scares the bejeezus out of Jeff Potter and the other LCC CEO's. They know what happens if we can successfully lower our costs to truly be competitive with them on costs. They lose. The strength of TED lies in its' connectivity to the network, a network that the LCC's can't begin to match. If TED becomes profitable, it's going to put a serious hurt on LCC's in leisure markets, which will only enhance UA's brand. I could care less about whether it's hurting the brand now. Our brand has been hurt plenty the last 4 years, much of it of our own making. The bottom line is making money. That is all that matters.
I think it is too early to judge whether TED is a failure or success.JungleClone said:
Also I wouldn't be too sure that the advantage of TED is its connectivity to United mainline. AC tried a similar thing with TANGO and look how that worked. (Granted AC also started ZIP, and ACJets, and renamed their regionals Jazz to confuse everybody, but I don't want to digress too much).
HUH? Are you suggesting that Bush is going to illegally change the constitution to try to defend his selection?JungleClone said:Fly,
You sure it won't be in '05 after they manage to usurp the Constitution and postpone the election???
Jungleclone is right....If TED makes money keep him...if not don't. Bottom line hurt the LCC's and make money. God knows they all want us to just "go away."
Hey Fly, you forgot to include "and embolden Osama!" on your cutesy little bumper sticker. :down:
