American Airlines will use buses for hops to Philadelphia

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines has hired a bus company to carry passengers between Philadelphia and two airports that are only a short hop away by air.

The service will start June 3 between Philadelphia International Airport and airports in Allentown and Atlantic City, N.J., the airline said Thursday with the bus company called Landline.

Landline and American pitched the bus service as an easier way to get between the Philadelphia airport and Lehigh International Airport in Allentown 73 miles away, and Atlantic City International Airport, 56 miles away. Brian Znotins, American’s vice president of network planning, said it would help customers connect to the airline’s international flights from Philadelphia.

American’s regional affiliate, American Eagle, operates flights from Allentown to Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Fort Worth, airline does not serve Atlantic City.

Landline, based in Fort Collins, Colo., has similar deals with United Airlines in Denver and Sun Country Airlines in seven cities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The company said it raised $28 million to expand its geographic reach.