The Wall Street Journal‘s Weekend Journal carries a piece on low fare carriers and their perks.

While American Trans Air is adding a business class cabin to their planes, United’s TED carries no first class offering. Ted’s introduction at Dulles, where flights will go as far as Las Vegas, is a real disappointment to this United flyer.

I told the Journal’s Paula Szuchman that gimmicks and marketing wouldn’t get me to fly Ted, and that the loss of a first class cabin was a huge disincentive.

For Gary Leff, it’s no contest. Low-fare carriers rarely match the majors on offerings that matter most to him, the 29-year-old finance director says, and he won’t be tempted when Ted expands flights to his hometown airport, Washington’s Dulles. He’ll fly Continental to earn flier miles and get business-class upgrades not only for work trips, but for vacations, too. “I’m not interested in having fun,” he says. “I’m interested in getting where I’m going with the least amount of discomfort.”