More news from Ted - Montana destinations this summer
Feb 22, 2008, 9:01 am
#1
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More news from Ted - Montana destinations this summer
United's Ted will be coming to Montana in force this summer with twice daily A-320 service from Denver to both Missoula and Bozeman as well as once daily between Chicago O'Hare and Bozeman. It appears that United is putting in lower cost aircraft into these markets to compete with the newly announced Frontier service to both Missoula and Bozeman. Both Missoula and Bozeman will see frequency reductions for the summer by United but total seats will be up a bit because of the much larger aircraft.
I put in a couple of dummy bookings for July and they produced Ted options!
I put in a couple of dummy bookings for July and they produced Ted options!
Feb 22, 2008, 9:15 am
#2
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They need new advertising to go along with this...
Ted! It's Not Just For Sunny Southern Places Anymore.
Come Fly Ted to Montana - The Big State Up At The Top Of Your Map.
Ted to Montana: 'Cuz We Gave Up on Florida and Arizona.
Seriously - not to slight Montana or anything, but this just seems like total seat and lift overkill to me.
THE SCENE: offices of UA exec in charge of making the flight schedule:
UA GUY: "Hmmm...well, Ted is a miserable failure, but we just can't admit that. Since we are not making any money flying to the popular tourist spots like Florida, Vegas, Arizona, Mexico and New Orleans, let's try...(closes eyes, throws dart at US map...thunk...) Montana!! That's it!! Montana is the reason Ted's been under performing!! We should have been flying 156 seat planes to small Montana airports all this time! And here we've been banging our head against the wall, trying to make money by flying people to big airports like MCO and LAS."
Come Fly Ted to Montana - The Big State Up At The Top Of Your Map.
Ted to Montana: 'Cuz We Gave Up on Florida and Arizona.
Seriously - not to slight Montana or anything, but this just seems like total seat and lift overkill to me.
THE SCENE: offices of UA exec in charge of making the flight schedule:
UA GUY: "Hmmm...well, Ted is a miserable failure, but we just can't admit that. Since we are not making any money flying to the popular tourist spots like Florida, Vegas, Arizona, Mexico and New Orleans, let's try...(closes eyes, throws dart at US map...thunk...) Montana!! That's it!! Montana is the reason Ted's been under performing!! We should have been flying 156 seat planes to small Montana airports all this time! And here we've been banging our head against the wall, trying to make money by flying people to big airports like MCO and LAS."
Feb 22, 2008, 9:17 am
#3
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The Ted fleet is pretty much completely utilized. Where are they going to get these birds from? Either mainline is about to lose more 320's or some routes are losing Ted. A cursory check shows no obvious Ted route cuts in the summer.
Feb 22, 2008, 9:20 am
#4
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Does this feel like it did right before the end of Sh*ttle by United? Huge expansion to oddball cities just before scrapping the whole thing. Of course, this could be the start of what I see as the future of NA aviation - single class planes with "business" class ala Europe.
Feb 22, 2008, 9:55 am
#5
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Clearly, the UA execs were looking for a way to exploit the popularity of Hannah Montana. A few execs took a cursory look at a map of Montana, but were unable to locate this Hannah that all the kids are so crazy for. As such, it was decided to just fly to Missoula and Bozeman and hope that teenage girls would talk their parents into making the drive from wherever Hannah is.
Feb 22, 2008, 10:08 am
#6
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Feb 22, 2008, 10:20 am
#7
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Well, it does make the Rapid City route news make a bit more sense. I guess Ted is trying to cash in on the growing tourist business in MT and SD...?
What's next, Ted service to Sheridan, Wyoming...?
What's next, Ted service to Sheridan, Wyoming...?
Feb 22, 2008, 10:21 am
#8
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LAWL! Now there is a Hannah Montana ringtone ad at the bottom of this page! Everyone is cashing in on Hannah Montana!! And for once, United is part of the trend, not left out as usual. ^
Feb 22, 2008, 10:30 am
#9
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Maaybe this is a way to kill TED... get his loads down by sending him to places nobody flies to. Next, fly TED to FAT!
Feb 22, 2008, 11:06 am
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Feb 22, 2008, 11:09 am
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Any chance the TED addition will bring down summer fares to Montana? Or has F9 already accomplished that? I lived in Missoula for a while, and could never afford to fly out. It's a beautiful destination, btw. Better than Rapid City.
Feb 22, 2008, 11:17 am
#12
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It looks like it will have some effect on the prices. Fares look about $100 cheaper than I recall seeing just a few weeks ago. (Have family in MSO) Still a terrible CPM, though.
Feb 22, 2008, 11:40 am
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Feb 22, 2008, 11:53 am
#14
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-Ted aircraft will be freed up as some Ted cities go back to mainline later this year,
-route(s) being subsidized by local tourism industry (I think this one is a not so much, myself.)
-UA has just had it with trying to make a buck using Ted, and short of admitting the folly of the whole thing and scrapping it, this is all they got left. Which is sorta like the first one, I guess.
Feb 22, 2008, 12:03 pm
#15
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I flew DL to FCA a few years ago - an RJ out of SLC.
The flights were packed. Middle of the week, and both 6AM and 7AM FCA-SLC flights were completely full.
So, anecdotally, there's plenty of demand.
The flights were packed. Middle of the week, and both 6AM and 7AM FCA-SLC flights were completely full.
So, anecdotally, there's plenty of demand.