mediator

Looks like PHL-ABE will be replaced by bus starting 06/03. The article also mentions ACY, that will be interesting.

https://6abc.com/american-airlines-p...illy/11721366/

NickRivas

Since it’s AA I think we can all expect those “flights” to be cancelled or delayed too

WeekendTraveler

For Philadelphia-Atlantic City, SEPTA and NJ Transit already cover that route (and SEPTA used to cover Philadelphia-Allentown/Bethlehem).

I'd rather sit on a commuter train than a bus.

FlyingEgghead

TPG says the bus to PHL will be sterile and arrive airside:
This is very interesting and different from the UA ABE-EWR bus, which arrives landside. Is there any precedent for a passenger transport vehicle on public roads (not within an airport fence) being considered sterile by TSA?

Presumably there will have to be a protocol to not disembark airside if there has been any irregularity during the drive in which any bus door (including emergency exit) has opened. Perhaps physical tamper-evident seals will be placed on all bus doors and windows after boarding and then inspected before letting anyone/anything off airside at the destination.

ORDflyer92

I haven't been to ACY in a long time but isn't Spirit the only airline offering service there right now? So this is technically a "new route" for AA?

mediator

That’s correct. Presumably AA will need to rent a new counter at ACY.

IADCAflyer

Doesnt (or didn't) UA do this to EWR?

MASTERNC

I know that they had ticketed Amtrak trips to EWR

WeekendTraveler

Thanks for sharing the article.

If AA could replace some of its short flights from CLT with busses, that could be an improvement.

For example, driving from GSP or CAE to CLT can take about 90 minutes. If AA could have the bus stop maybe downtown or another place in those cities, do a security check, and then head to CLT and arrive airside, that would be significantly faster than the time it takes to go to GSP or CAE and then fly to CLT. But I guess it’s not realistic to do a TSA security check outside of an airport.

Mr. BoH

PHL-ABE does not sound like a fun bus ride at all

Mister Nice

I wouldn’t mind seeing this service come to BWI for BWI-PHL . BWI had AA flights to PHL for years - including some mainline service .

LlamaJesus

I'm very curious to see how this plays out. I feel like people will ignore it (or try it once, realize they have to take a bus, and not want to do it again), but I wonder if this is the future for a lot of smaller markets, particularly in the (relatively) dense northeast. Such short flights have always seemed like a waste of time and resources to me, but there are a lot of reasons someone would want to start at ABE/ACY instead of PHL (stating the obvious here, but short Uber ride, family/friend dropping you off, no car, etc.). Getting to the hub airside (and not having to take care of your luggage once you've been checked in at the origin) is the potential game-changer - obviously, otherwise AA is just reinventing public transportation.
Apparently there will be a TSA officer onboard or something like that.

IADCAflyer

There has always been discussion of secure bus service for short hop airport service to hubs. In a sense it makes sense. Two not inexpensive pilots and at least two not inexpensive flight attendants servicing an aircraft with a lot of Jet-A being burned. On many flights, the ground taxi time is as long as the en route time.

Instead you can have a single bus with a single driver.

It'd be ineresting to see how many x<100 mile routes there are out there these days.

PHL-ABE, PHL-MDT, CLT-GSP, CLT-GSO, CLT-CAE, ORD-MKE, DFW-ACT, and DFW-TYR all come to mind.

Segments

So re-inventing prison transport?

FlyingEgghead

The checked luggage part is not new; it's already true for existing buses like UA's ABE-EWR. Bags are checked to the final destination and are handled by the airline, not the passenger, at the connection to or from the bus. Moreover, other differences from public transportation, even for the existing bus operations, are frequent flyer earnings and protection from misconnects just like an actual flight.
Is that your speculation or do you have a source?