Ted, United’s new low-fare
service, today celebrated its inaugural flight out of Chicago’s O’Hare
International Airport, United’s home market and largest hub. Tampa is
Ted’s first destination from Chicago. By late summer, Ted will offer
Chicago-area travelers a robust schedule with five daily roundtrips to
Tampa, eight daily roundtrips to Las Vegas, seven daily roundtrips to
Orlando, six daily roundtrips to Phoenix and four daily roundtrips to Ft.
Lauderdale. In honor of the first flight, Ted treated Chicagoans to a special
celebration in downtown Chicago’s Pioneer Court. The celebration included
a giant replica of the distinctive Ted aircraft and a live performance by
homegrown Chicago band Poi Dog Pondering.

“We are thrilled to have begun our Ted service out of Chicago,” said Sean
Donohue, vice president, Ted. “Ted has been well-received in Denver and
Washington, D.C., and we know that our Chicago customers will respond with
the same enthusiasm.” In particular, Donohue said that Chicago-area
customers will benefit from the fact that Ted flies out of O’Hare Airport,
a much more convenient option than Midway for residents on the north side
of the city, and in northern and northwestern Chicago suburbs.

Ted has seen success in its first three months of flying, filling 86
percent of seats in the first 90 days of operations, exceeding initial
forecasts. On-time arrivals for April were also a very strong 83 percent.
And, Ted customers have rated the Ted experience very highly in consumer
surveys, saying that they appreciate the “accommodating and thoughtful
employees” and enjoy Ted’s “pleasant in-flight experience and casual
atmosphere.”
In addition to the routes served out of Chicago, Ted offers service from
Denver to Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Reno, New Orleans, Ft.
Lauderdale and Ontario, Calif.; between San Francisco and Las Vegas;
between Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas; and between San Francisco and
Phoenix. In April, Ted began service from Washington Dulles to Orlando,
Tampa, Las Vegas and Ft. Lauderdale, a new route that had not previously
been served by United.
The relaxed and friendly Ted experience combines low fares with
outstanding service. In addition to more simplified, low fares, Ted offers
pre-assigned seats and exclusive onboard entertainment, dubbed
“Tedevision” and “Tedtunes.” Tedevision features a variety of programming
in keeping with Ted’s relaxed personality, including hit television shows
such as Friends and My Wife and Kids; music videos from chart toppers and
segments from Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and the Carson Daly show. Tedtunes
features 12 channels of music ranging from Latin, dance, club and easy
listening to kids’ tunes. Offering something for everyone, featured
artists include Beyonce, Maroon 5, Shania Twain and Outkast.

The Ted fleet features the popular Airbus A320, each with 156 seats,
featuring a 66-seat Economy Plus section with four extra inches of
legroom. All Ted passengers can earn Mileage Plus miles for their Ted
flights and will have access to United’s suite of Easy products including
EasyCheck-In and EasyUpdate.
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