I truly believe that TED was what opened the door to Southwest in Denver. If both UA/TED and F9 are not going to have first class, then Southwest had a great opportunity to come in and compete. They did and now they are #3 in Denver.
I was on a flight with a TED flight number from DEN to LAS recently. When the plane pulled up, it was the new white with blue stripes paint job. WOW, a non-TED plane, I thought?
But, on-board, it was still TED. On the back wall was
www.flyted.com. On the front wall "TED." Still had the TED video (woman telling us that TED wants us to be safe). TED seating configuration.
TED is dying but has not gone quietly into the night yet. I'd bet it will take at least a couple of years to get rid of all signs of TED.
Having experienced no change fees and no bag fees over at Southwest, however, it will be pretty hard to get me to come back when the planes are re-UNITED.