This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ THE DREAMERS - IN SELECT CITIES FRIDAY Set against the turbulent political backdrop of 1968 France when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, THE DREAMERS is a story of self-discovery as three students test each other to see just how far they will go. THE DREAMERS will be released uncut with an NC-17 rating. for more info: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thedreamers/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ United’s Discount Airline Will Fly From Dulles February 6, 2004 By MICHELINE MAYNARD Ted, the new low-fare carrier from United Airlines, will begin flights from Washington Dulles International Airport in April, two months after making its initial flight, out of Denver, next Thursday, United officials said yesterday. The announcement of new service for Ted came as Delta Air Lines confirmed that its low-fare airline, Song, would pull out of Dulles airport in April. Delta is scaling back its plans for Song, an airline-within-an-airline that began flying a year ago. A third low-fare carrier, ATA, said it would start offering business-class service this summer. ATA is making the move as low-fare carriers increasingly embrace frills and other features to win the business of bargain-seeking travelers. Low-fare airlines flew 24 percent of domestic passengers in 2003, according to the Department of Transportation, their largest share to date. Some economists say that the discount carriers could easily take 30 percent of the market within a few years, at the rapid rate they are expanding service. United, the nation's second-largest carrier behind American Airlines, plans to use Ted as an important part of its effort to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Ted's flights will initially be focused on the West Coast and Florida, using Airbus A320 jets configured in two classes of service, economy and the slightly plusher "economy plus." Dulles is the only United hub on the East Coast. United said Ted would fly from there to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa in Florida, and to Las Vegas. It expects to have 15 Ted flights a day by May from Dulles. Sean Donohue, the United executive in charge of Ted, said more flights from Dulles would be added if Ted proved successful with passengers in the area. In selecting Dulles, the airline is wading into a crowded market for low-fare flights on the Eastern Seaboard. JetBlue Airways already serves the airport, west of Washington in northern Virginia, while Song had started flights there in September. Yet another new low-fare carrier, Independence Air, is to begin flights from Dulles in November. Independence is owned by Atlantic Coast Airlines, which serves as United's regional carrier on the East Coast. But Atlantic Coast is trying to get out of its contract with United, which runs through 2010, and reconstitute itself as a low-fare carrier on its own. Just as Ted arrives at Dulles, Song will depart. It is ending its three daily flights from there to Orlando. The jet from that route will be used by Song to fly between New York and Fort Myers, Fla. Song, which cost Delta $65 million to develop, was meant to appeal to passengers who had been defecting from major carriers in search of cheaper tickets. Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, configured 36 Boeing 757 jets, with 199 seats each, to fly routes from New York to Florida and elsewhere. But under its new chief executive, Gerald Grinstein, Delta is reviewing its operating structure and in the process has scaled back some expansion plans it had for Song, company officials said this week. In an interview on Wednesday, Song's president, John N. Selvaggio, said his airline could play an important role as Delta battled low-fare airlines like Southwest and JetBlue for passengers in the East and elsewhere in the United States. Delta is striving to cut costs and is pushing its pilots' union to grant concessions so it can keep pace with the lower labor costs won in recent months by airlines like American and United. So Delta has postponed plans to expand Song's service from Kennedy International Airport, its main hub. Delta said last week that it would invest $300 million at Kennedy to expand service there but announced only two new flights for Song. Mr. Selvaggio said Delta originally envisioned Song as a defensive measure to keep from losing passengers to others. But he said it could be an offensive weapon as well, aimed at passengers who prefer direct flights over the connections that are routine for travelers on Delta. "What Mr. Grinstein wanted to do was undertake a strategic review" of the kind of service the airline would provide, Mr. Selvaggio said. From now on, he added, Delta would examine its routes to determine whether to offer the service instead on Song. "We want to have a strategy that makes sense," he said. ATA said yesterday that its business-class seats, which will be introduced in August on its Boeing 737's and 757's, would cost no more than $399 one way. It will also offer upgrades to business class from coach for a modest fee on the day of travel, but has not yet decided how much to charge. In providing business-class service, ATA, the 10th-largest airline in the United States, will be following the lead of AirTran, which has gotten a warm response to its business- class service. John Happ, senior vice president for marketing of ATA, said the airline expected most of its business-class seats to be sold through the same-day upgrades, a feature also offered by AirTran. By contrast, Southwest, the largest low-fare carrier and the nation's sixth-largest airline, has so far refused to add features like seat assignments or the audio systems available on Song, JetBlue, AirTran and soon on Ted. It has said it is studying the idea. Even though many corporations are trying to keep a tight rein on travel budgets, Mr. Happ surmised that travelers would be willing to pay slightly more for a little comfort. "A bag of peanuts and all coach seats is one way to do it, and they clearly have a recipe for success," he said of Southwest. But he added, "We believe there's a business traveler looking for a very different experience." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/06/business/06air.html?ex=1077078241&ei=1&en=9c4aabf80ed2add9 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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