Air Canada has extended its contract with regional airport-to-airport motorcoach operator Landline, which will continue to provide service to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) from Hamilton and Waterloo.
Air Canada and Landline are also exploring turning the service into a secure-to-secure operation in which passengers go through security at the regional airport and then are dropped off airside at YYZ without having to go through security again or collect bags.
Landline operates secure-to-secure service from four airports to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) under contract with American Airlines. For now, the YYZ service is landside-to-landside.
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 wi-fi offered at no charge.
“We'll be working closely with Transport Canada officials to replicate the secure-to-secure model that's been running very successfully in Philadelphia with American Airlines,” Landline Vice President Nick Johnson told Aviation Week.
Landline operates American Airlines-contracted bus service from four airports—Atlantic City, New Jersey; Allentown and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Wilmington, Delaware—to PHL.
The company also operates landside-to-landside routes for two other U.S. carriers: Allentown-Newark and Fort Collins, Colorado-Denver for United; and Duluth, Minnesota-Minneapolis for Sun Country. Johnson said Landline’s goal is to transition its other U.S. operations to secure-to-secure.
As with a contracted regional aircraft, Landline’s buses have the airline’s livery and “you can customize the interior lighting,” Johnson said. “So, if you are Air Canada, you could put a hint of red on the ceiling.”
Air Canada “has been very pleased with the response to this innovative initiative that we launched as a pilot program a year ago," said Director for Regional Airlines Ranbir Singh. "The results show our multimodal strategy is a popular and effective means to increase connectivity within our network.”
He added Air Canada has “the goal of advancing to a direct [secure] airside-to-airside service, subject to government approval … [and] introducing [Landline routes] elsewhere in Canada.”
Johnson said Landline is in active talks with additional airlines and airports in North America to establish service at more airports.
YKF Chair Karen Redman said Landline connects the regional airport to Air Canada’s global network despite the airport having no air service to YYZ. The Landline route provides YKF passengers “seamless connectivity to a wide range of Canadian and international destinations," Redman said. "Global connectivity is key.”
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