Airlines Are Replacing Planes with Bus Travel on Some Short Routes

Date: April 24, 2022

By Zahra Tayeb, Business Insider

• Some US airlines are replacing planes with bus travel on short routes to combat a pilot shortage. 
• United and American signed contracts with the bus-as-flight company Landline, Bloomberg reported.
• One route offered by United may take passengers from Denver to smaller cities, such as Breckenridge.

An ongoing pilot shortage has prompted US airlines to replace planes with buses on some routes in an attempt to tackle the issue.

Bloomberg reported that United and American Airlines were among those using the new scheme.

Labor shortages continue to pose problems for various industries, including aviation, where salary hikes and higher bonuses are being used to attract and retain talent.

Bloomberg reported that United and American signed contracts with the Colorado bus-as-flight company Landline to transport passengers and their luggage by bus on short, domestic routes. 

One such route offered by United is expected to take passengers from Denver to smaller cities, including Breckenridge and Fort Collins. 

American's bus service is scheduled to begin on June 3. Passengers are expected to be ferried between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

United and American did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comments, which were made outside normal working hours.

The pilot shortage has affected other airlines, too. Delta Air Lines announced that it was reducing its education requirements for prospective pilots by abandoning the requirement for a four-year college degree. 

Meanwhile, Breeze Airways is combating the labor shortage by hiring pilots from Australia under the E-3 visa program for skilled workers. 

Recently, United said it had cut 29 cities this summer indefinitely because its partner company SkyWest Airlines didn't have enough pilots to fly the routes.