dailynewsnblog
In a convoluted and bizarre form of multimode transportation options, 
American Airlines is selling $1,000 bus tickets from local airports to larger hub cities. These ‘flights’ by Landline coaches are intended to provide a connecting service that bypasses security at bigger airports for flyers on itineraries with at least one connecting stop.
However, it is possible to purchase this extravagantly expensive bus ride by accident. The website on AA clearly distinguishes between bus service and actual flights. The issue is with third-party websites that are selling these bus rides as if they are regional flights.
Landline Coaches: From Local Security To A Mega-Hub Gate
American Airlines told the Philadelphia Inquirer, via MSN News, that it intentionally makes the standalone price of the bus service exceptionally expensive. The airline has been taking steps to ensure third-party booking websites make it clearer that passengers are booking on a bus and not an airplane, but there have still been issues. The high price tag is meant to discourage travelers from selecting the option unless it is part of a longer itinerary, in which case the bus ride is absorbed into the overall cost.
Although some recent experiences from unpleasantly surprised travelers have made that sound like this is a deceptive or intentionally convoluted process, the airline has said that it’s meant to be convenient. AA says the purpose is to allow for travelers to go through security checks at smaller airports and then be bused directly to boarding at the larger hub for their actual flight. American is not the first carrier to do this; United Airlines was also providing the same service with Landline buses until last year.
Landline CEO David Sunde gave this statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“The goal here is to make the purchasing experience just like buying any other connecting flight. To fully integrate it into the American Airlines connecting experience, it has to start with the purchase and the digital side, which is why they appear like flights.”
AA’s Long-Haul Shuttle: Boarding A Bus On The Tarmac
Fox 13 News reported that while the official American website does have a pop-up warning that informs customers that the first part of their trip will be on a coach, the lack of transparency through third-party booking services has led some flyers to arrive at the airport thinking they’re getting on a plane and instead being put on a bus. Aside from the convenience factor that is meant to make traveling smoother, these buses also connect smaller airports that do not have flight availability at all on AA aircraft.
American does actually board these buses on the tarmac because travelers must go through security at their local airfield in order to be dropped off at the boarding area when they arrive at the larger hub. This has led to some very unpleasant surprises for flyers that expected to get on an airplane.
The Washington Post reported that a woman was shocked when she was put on a bus from South Bend, Indiana, to Chicago after passing security and going to get on her ‘flight.’ Her experience went viral on TikTok where she showed email updates about her trip that clearly implied she would be boarding an aircraft in the American Airlines correspondence.
United Airlines Axes All Landline Bus Services
Its two remaining services from Denver and Newark will end this summer.
AA’s 100-Mile Rule Of Thumb
American Airlines says that more than 200,000 people have used this service since they began offering Landline bus connections. AA’s Philadelphia Hub (PHL) added a fifth local airport last year to its network of coach connected regional airfields. All of these are within 100 miles of PHL, which makes the bus much more economical for the airline to operate as well.
American Airlines has said that customers who booked the service intentionally have praised it as being a much more convenient option than driving to PHL themselves. Since the summer of 2025, the services offered 1,500 seats a day to customers in the northeastern United States.
