American Airlines is following a growing trend by offering through service to and from its Philadelphia hub and nearby regional airports, but on wheels rather than wings.
The American-branded buses, operated by Landline will start serving customers in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey on June 3.
The Landline operation isn’t just an airport shuttle. It operates from the two cities’ airports, with baggage check, boarding pass and security done before passengers board the bus, which then delivers them directly to the gate area airside at Philadelphia International. For passengers heading from Philadelphia to the two cities, baggage will be transferred for pickup at final destination.
American is not the first U.S. airline to ‘fly on the ground;’ Landline has similar arrangements with United serving Fort Collins and Breckenridge, as well as with Sun Country Airlines to several cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin from its hub in Minneapolis.
Landline has ambitions in other directions as well, having just raised some significant expansion funds. It said, in a press release, that with plans for “Future services, with regulatory approval, will connect industrial parks, corporate campuses, cruise ports and other convenient locations.”
