United ends 'flights' on buses, parts ways with Landline

Landline, the flights-on-a-bus operator that contracts with major airlines across North America, is ending its tie up with one of its oldest partners, United Airlines.

Colorado-based Landline will end branded bus service for United Airlines between Denver International Airport (DEN) and Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) in Fort Collins, Colorado, on July 31. Then, a month later on Sept. 1, it will end service between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) near Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Nicholas Johnson, vice president and head of revenue at Landline, said in an email that the move allows it to "focus on other opportunities."

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A United spokesperson echoed Johnson's language, saying Landline is "pursuing other opportunities." They declined to say whether the airline would replace Landline with another operator but noted that United would add a third daily flight between ABE and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in August.

Landline has announced several service expansions in recent days. Earlier in July, American Airlines unveiled plans to add Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN) to its growing network of bus "flights" from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in September. And, following the United announcement, Landline posted on Instagram that it would expand its own independent bus service between the Fort Collins and Denver airports; it'll grow to 17 daily round trips on Aug. 1 — up from around 11 today.

Landline debuted in 2019 with the basic premise that smaller cities within 200 miles of a major hub could be better served by a bus rather than a plane. The much lower operating cost of buses would outweigh any hesitancy by air travelers to book a connection on a bus.

Sun Country Airlines was Landline's first partner, launching service at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) in November 2019. United was Landline's second partner, with buses debuting between Denver and both Breckenridge and Fort Collins, Colorado, in early 2021.

One challenge that Landline faced with both Sun Country and United was that buses to Denver and Minneapolis arrived at the hubs outside of security, or "landside." And while checked bags were transferred automatically, the need for travelers to clear security at the major airports added a degree of uncertainty to flight connections.

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"It's the number one most asked question," David Sunde, CEO of Landline, said of offering buses entirely inside security during a 2021 interview.

Landline debuted its first airside-to-airside — or entirely inside security — buses with American in 2023 between Philadelphia and Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Allentown. In the two years since, the American-Landline partnership has expanded to five destinations, including the recent Trenton announcement.

The end of Landline's tie-up with United leaves the company with three partners: Air Canada, American Airlines and Sun Country. Its buses connect to the airlines at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), PHL and MSP, respectively. Only American's buses operate as airside connections.

Travelers who book Landline buses via partner airlines can earn points and valuable status credits on their "flights."

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