It’s a bird. It’s a plane. Actually, it’s a bus.
Some passengers on American Airlines connecting flights will be transported on buses instead of planes according to an announcement this week. The airline signed a deal with Landline, a bus company that describes itself as the airport of the future (if the airport of the future ran out of planes). The company took to Twitter to say in part, “We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with @AmericanAir! Seamless connections between American’s Philadelphia hub to Lehigh Valley Airport (ABE), and Atlantic City International Airport (ACY), beginning June 3.”
The latest switch from clouds to asphalt comes amidst increasing fuel prices and a shortage of pilots that has mostly affected regional airlines. It’s not clear what the experience will be like for passengers on the bus and whether they’ll be any better at not losing your luggage. What we do know is that Brian Znotins, American’s vice president of network planning, told the Associated Press the partnership would help customers connect to the airline’s international flights from Philadelphia.
This isn’t the first time an airline has joined forces with a bus company to get you to where you’re going. Landline has similar partnerships with United Airlines in Denver, which the company refers to as “groundline coach,” and Sun Country Airlines in seven cities across Minnesota and Wisconsin. It proposes bus trips as a more convenient alternative to travel between airports.
Speaking of connivence, flights from Philadelphia to Allentown and to Atlantic City currently take about 30 minutes each. By bus, the trip would take about two hours. Which um, doesn’t seem all that convenient. On the other hand, traveling by bus is a lot more environmentally friendly than hopping on a plane. Buses release a significantly lower amount of carbon dioxide into the air, thereby reducing your carbon footprint.