Ted, RIP

A moment of silence, please, for Ted, the inanely named little brother of United Airlines. The low-cost, shuttle-like service to nearby destinations made sense when it was announced in late 1993; the name never did. It was the equivalent of renaming an economically challenged portion of this city "Ver." Even...

By Patricia Calhoun

June 9, 2008

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A moment of silence, please, for Ted, the inanely named little brother of United Airlines.

The low-cost, shuttle-like service to nearby destinations made sense when it was announced in late 1993; the name never did. It was the equivalent of renaming an economically challenged portion of this city "Ver." Even without getting into all the less-than-laudatory Teds around, the name just didn't fly.

And last week, United announced that as part of major cutbacks, it was killing off Ted, the offshoot that "had a personality all its own," an exec had pronounced back in November 2003. "It's warm, friendly and casual. If this airplane could wink, it would."

But now Ted is dead. Rest in peace. -- Patricia Calhoun

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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