DENVER — Ted has taken off.
United Airlines' discount carrier took its first flight from Las Vegas to Denver before dawn Thursday, launching a key component of United's strategy to emerge from bankruptcy this summer.
United parent UAL Corp. hopes Ted will be competitive with low-cost carriers that are rapidly snatching customers from big airlines. The new airline is based in Denver, home to discount carrier Frontier Airlines.
Ted has not affected advance bookings for Frontier, whose executives also handed out treats on Thursday, spokesman Joe Hodas said.
United, the nation's No. 2 airline, has pitched Ted as laid-back fun, with free overhead programming — Tedevision — that includes music videos and comedies, and free music on Tedtunes. Executives said they will also test handheld entertainment units customers can rent.
Delta Air Lines launched a similar operation last year, Song, on East Coast routes to try to emulate the success of JetBlue Airways.
Analysts have been skeptical of Ted, citing the failures of low-fare ventures like United Shuttle and the fact that neither United nor Delta has been able to negotiate lower wages on their new airlines.
"This isn't a new airline," aviation consultant Mike Boyd said. "It has the same costs as United and the same fares as it did yesterday."
Executives said Ted differs from other low-fare carriers because it is linked to United's frequent-flier program. It also includes a 66-seat section with 4 extra inches of leg room.
The Ted fleet will expand to up to 45 Airbus A320 aircraft by year's end. Each A320 will have 156 seats.
Sean Donohue, United vice president of Ted, said early bookings are filling 90 percent of the airline's seats. Frontier Airlines recently reported a record quarterly load factor of about 77 percent.
Routes include Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Denver to Las Vegas, Phoenix, New Orleans and Reno, Nev. Ted — as in UniTED — is expected to have 106 daily flights by early April.
United flight attendants, accusing the airline of reducing retirement benefits, organized rallies to coincide with the launch of Ted. The union says United is reneging on an agreement to give more benefits to flight attendants who retired before July 1, even as it launches Ted.
Sharron Bezanson, 64, a flight attendant who retired in November 2002 after 43 years at United, was among 20 union members distributing leaflets at McCarron International Airport in Las Vegas.
"Why are they trying to hurt me? I don't want to hurt them," said Bezanson, wearing a yellow baseball cap with the word "cheaTED." "I just don't want them to take away the benefits I worked for."
United spokeswoman Jean Medina said the airline had told workers benefits could change. "We regret having to make that decision, but it's a necessary component of our restructuring," she said.
United, operating under federal bankruptcy court protection, began planning a low-fare carrier early last year.
Company officials said cost-cutting efforts, which include slashing labor expenses and overhauling aircraft leases, should save nearly $5 billion annually by 2005.
Contributing: Ken Ritter