Two United Airlines regional routes operated by Landline, the luxury bus operator that partners with airlines, will be cut.
United and Landline—which operates roundtrip, short-haul routes between regional airports and hubs as part of airline itineraries—are ending their partnership started in 2021. United-branded bus services connecting Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) in Fort Collins to Denver International Airport (DEN) will end on July 31. Landline services operated on behalf of United from Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) will cease on Sept. 1.
“We did make the decision to discontinue our partnership with United to focus on other commercial opportunities,” Landline Vice President Nick Johnson said.
A United spokesperson reiterated that the routes “will end as Landline focuses on other opportunities. We are reaching out to customers to offer refunds or rebooking options.”
Landline operates under capacity-purchase agreements with carriers as if it were a regional airline. Tickets are purchased via the airline as part of an itinerary. The bus routes are part of a carrier’s scheduled network.
Landline said it will continue to operate buses independently between FNL and DEN, increasing frequencies to 17X-daily. But those services will not be part of an airline itinerary, meaning passengers will have to book separately with Landline for the FNL-DEN leg and then with an airline for the flight onward from DEN.
Landline buses have a luxury interior resembling an airline cabin, with 35 seats with a 36-40-in. pitch in a two-by-one configuration, as well as tray tables and WiFi offered at no charge.
Landline also has contracts with Air Canada, American Airlines and Sun Country Airlines. It will continue to operate American-branded services between ABE and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
Landline also operates American services to PHL from Atlantic City, New Jersey; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Wilmington, Delaware. The bus operator will start American services to PHL from Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN) in New Jersey in late September.
The American PHL services are secure-to-secure. Passengers go through security at the regional airport and then are dropped off airside at the American hub without having to go through security again or collect checked bags, which are transferred directly to the flight.
Landline will operate 1,500 combined daily secure-to-secure seats from five regional airports to PHL once the TTN route kicks off.
The United services were not secure-to-secure, with passengers dropped off landside and then having to go through security at DEN and EWR.
Landline operates Air Canada-contracted service from both Region of Waterloo International Airport and Hamilton International Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport. That service is landside-to-landside, but Air Canada and Landline have said they are working with Transport Canada to transition to secure-to-secure. The airline also aims to expand Landline services to additional airports in Canada.
Landline also operates landside-to-landside service for Sun Country Airlines between Duluth, Minnesota, and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Landline is in active talks with airlines and airports in North America to establish more routes, according to the company. “I can’t share the upcoming operations yet, other than [already announced] TTN-PHL,” Johnson told Aviation Week. “Stay tuned.”
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