Remember in “Home Alone” when the mom couldn’t get a flight from Pennsylvania to Chicago, so she hopped in a moving van with that traveling polka band? Well, YOU might get to experience that too.
The “Washington Post” says that some short, regional plane routes are becoming BUS RIDES, even if you have a ticket, go to the airport, and pass through security. There’s just a BUS waiting outside your gate.
One woman says she expected a short flight from South Bend, Indiana to Chicago, but was shocked when she realized the bus at the gate wasn’t taking her to a plane, it was taking her to her destination.
These bus “flights” aren’t directly related to the current airport chaos, but it’s possible that they could become an option, if things keep getting worse.
Instead, some airlines, like American, have been selling bus flights between smaller cities that don’t have regular AIR flight service. But for whatever reason, they aren’t always CLEAR about the mode of transportation when you book, so some travelers are confused.
For American, the bus routes even have a “flight number.” Their website notes that the route, “includes travel on luxury bus,” and it shows a bus icon. But that is even less obvious if you book through a third-party service.
For what it’s worth, the bus planes aren’t THAT luxurious, but they DO resemble planes, offering overhead compartments for carry-ons, first class, TVs, and tray tables. Many have wi-fi too, although you don’t have to put your phone’s service on “bus mode.”
(Here’s a TikTok from a woman who was SHOCKED to discover that her flight was a bus ride. Another, another, and another.)
@thekennedysimone_ Replying to @SouthernTwisted❌️ for the record! 😂😀 #traveltok #magicschoolbus #planeride #americanairlines
(MSN / Washington Post)
