Executives at AMR's American Airlines have also said they are studying whether to start a low-fare operation.
They said the airline had not settled on its revamped structure nor provided much information about the low-fare operation that is the centerpiece of its plan.
The designer Kate Spade gave a sneak preview last week of the uniforms she has created for Song, the low-fare operation of Delta Air Lines.
United failed in the 1990's with a low-fare operation called Shuttle by United; Continental scrapped one named Continental Lite and Delta pulled the plug on Delta Express, though it is giving the field another try with Song, which began flying this year.
Last February, it launched its own low-fare operation, called "Ted," which flies 156-seat Airbus planes and goes head-to-head with the discounters, mainly in Chicago, Denver and Washington, D.C. United won't release specifics, but spokesperson Jeff Green insists that United has made "double-digit market share" gains on routes where Ted competes with low-fare carriers.
JetBlue Airways, which began low-fare operations last year, plans to double operations out of its base at Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Sean Donohue, United's vice president in charge of low-fare operations, wants passengers to think of Ted as a friend, albeit one with wings and a tail.
Robert W. Shinnick, the director of transportation operations for the county, said that the fare increases might be put off depending on developments in the next few days.
"When you throw this low-fare carrier operation out there, you give your labor unions a false hope that this is the silver bullet.
Or could the railroad — meaning the riders and other taxpayers who subsidized its cash-strapped, infrastructure-neglecting, delay-prone, fare-raising operations — have been the victim of a pervasive fraud?
Antitrust exemption is now seen as crucial to the success of an international alliance because it allows the airlines to coordinate their schedules and fares, combine operations, pool revenue and offer volume discounts to corporations.
