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Well, it might have been 'Uni'

When choosing a name for its new low-fare carrier as part of its strategy to restructure from bankruptcy, United Airlines opts to use just the last three letters of its name.

United Airlines has a new weapon to battle low-fare competitors, an all-coach carrier with an implausible name: Ted.

On Wednesday, the nation's second-largest airline confirmed the widely rumored name - the last three letters of United - for the new division that will connect its Denver hub early next year with leisure markets, including the Tampa Bay area.

Ted will start flying at Tampa International Airport in late February or early March with three daily round-trip flights to Denver, replacing two regular United flights each day to the Mile High City, said spokesman Jason Schechter.

The new airline won't offer first-class cabins. But the 156-seat planes will have 66 seats in the front with five extra inches of leg room for United's elite Mileage Plus members and for passengers paying higher fares.

Ted will have a simplified pricing structure with six fares instead of the 12 to 14 now used by United. The airline did not release any Tampa-Denver fares Wednesday but will begin selling tickets Nov. 18.

"Ted isn't just a low-cost initiative, it also creates more revenue opportunity in leisure-focused markets," John Tague, executive vice president for customers, said in a statement. "Although Ted will be a United branded product, it has been designed with a unique name and personality all its own."

Creating a more casual personality for a huge corporate airline is no easy task, and choosing a jaunty new name seems to be a favorite starting point. At major airports including Tampa International, United's planes emblazoned with "Ted" will soon taxi past planes from Delta Air Lines' offshoot, Song.

The strategy of launching a low-fare division with its own identity mirrors what Delta is trying to achieve with Song, whose planes adorned with lime green squiggles mostly target JetBlue Airways on routes between Florida and the Northeast.

Like many traditional hub-and-spoke airlines, United is struggling against low-cost carriers such as JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways that have been taking away market share and forcing it to match bargain fares.

Some airline experts doubt Ted will help United, which has operated under bankruptcy court protection for 11 months, hold off low-cost competitors.

Ted's costs, including employees who will fly and service the planes at regular United salaries, will be almost identical to those of the parent airline, said aviation consultant Michael Boyd, who owns the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.

Ted will start with 19 planes. Even if it grows as planned to 45 by the end of 2004, the carrier will be only a tiny piece of United's total fleet of more than 600, Boyd said.

"It's got to be one of the most dim-bulb moves in aviation," he said. "All the time and energy to create this . . . borders on mismanagement."

United teased at the new name with a guerrilla advertising campaign in Denver, Ted's hub city, over the last two weeks.

The airline delivered flowers to hospitals with cards signed, "From Ted." A Ted Marching Band played in the city and spectators at sporting events yelled, "Go, Ted!"

The name even served as fodder Wednesday for the boss of US Airways, which has a partnership with United that includes selling seats on each others' flights. Tongue firmly in cheek, chief executive David Siegel joked at a transportation investors conference that US Airways would start a low-fare airline called Bill.

"An extension of the United Airlines alliance (will be) . . . Ted and Bill's Excellent Low-Cost Alliance," Siegel said.

- Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

SONG Delta Air Lines targeted women when it launched its new low-cost airline with simple fares and sky-blue leather seats. The name was "meant to evoke feelings people have about their favorite piece of music," according to John Selvaggio, CEO of the carrier.

VIRGIN Virgin Atlantic, the "rock 'n' roll" airline, was formed by Richard Branson, who also founded Virgin Music after a publishing venture failed. He opted for Virgin because he and his partners were such novices.

JETBLUE Expensive consultants came up with duds like "egg," "it" and "Air Hop." The airline toyed with "True Blue" but found out that name was owned by a rental-car business. With time running out, the company went with "JetBlue," an employee's suggestion.

HOOTERS The owner of the Hooters restaurant chain, known for waitresses in tight T-shirts and shorts, bought up the assets of bankrupt Vanguard Airlines and named it after the chicken wing eatery, which is named for, well, you figure it out.

JAZZ Air Canada's regional carrier had operated under four names. Last year, the airline combined them under the Air Canada Jazz name to "build on the strengths of the four existing brands," said Joseph D. Randell, president of the carrier. He said the Jazz label "acts as a metaphor for being youthful, vibrant, innovative, flexible and part of the local community."

Sources: AP; Crain's New York Business; Wall Street Journal; New York Times