Air Canada has partnered with "flight-on-a-bus" operator Landline to launch new connection services for its passengers in the Toronto area. The airline's bus services will operate with Air Canada flight numbers, allowing passengers to fly and connect on a single itinerary.

Air Canada adds bus flights
From May 1st, the Canadian flag carrier, Air Canada, will connect two airports in the Hamilton and Waterloo Region - John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM) and Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF) - to Toronto Pearson International (YYZ) via a luxury motorcoach, enabling passengers to travel with "the same benefits as those making air-only connections" under a single itinerary. Motorcoach and shuttle firm Landline will operate six daily roundtrips on both routes, with buses traveling under an Air Canada flight code.

Alexandre Lefèvre, vice president of network planning for North America at Air Canada, commented,

"Air Canada is focused on improving regional services. Through this innovative partnership with The Landline Company, we are connecting communities and extending our network by offering customers a convenient, stress-free multimodal option."

As reported by The Points Guy, the comfort and quality of the buses is reportedly similar to a premium economy experience, featuring 36 seats in a 1-2 configuration with a 35" pitch. Built by Canadian manufacturer Provost, motorcoaches offer leather seats, power outlets, overhead storage, an onboard lavatory and even free WiFi. François Tremblay, president of Prevost and Volvo Group Canada, added,

"We're very excited about this partnership between Air Canada and our customer Landline, and proud to be able to offer them the comfort and quality that Prevost is known for. These new coach routes will enable them to serve their passengers by providing safe transportation adapted to their needs."

These first two routes may be the beginning of a broader land expansion should the service prove a success, with Air Canada stating, "there is potential to further expand the partnership with Landline to connect with other regional airports in Canada at a future date." Coach connections like this can help the carrier reclaim regional connections lost from its network in recent years, while also aiding its sustainability goals.

How it all works
Passengers starting their journey at Hamilton or Regional of Waterloo will check in at the airport to receive boarding passes. They will then proceed to the designated departure point before boarding the bus, described as a "luxury, Air Canada-branded motorcoach."

After arriving at Toronto Pearson, passengers can go directly to security, and any checked bags will automatically be loaded onto the plane. Members of Air Canada's Aeroplan program will continue to earn points on both land and air segments of itineraries as normal.

About Landline
Landline was established by former Alaska Airlines network planners Ben Munson and David Sunde, who wanted to replace regional flight connections with coach services, targeting routes between 50 and 250 miles - or around one to three hours - from a major airport.