This airline will serve all 50 states in the United States with the inclusion of Wilmington Airport in Delaware effective as of Monday, October 7, 2024…
This Airline Will Serve All 50 States — But…
…but the service will not include airplanes. Rather, luxury motor coaches that are operated by The Landline Company will be used for service between Wilmington Airport and Philadelphia International Airport for six round trips per day to be timed with key flights that are operated by American Airlines out of its hub airport in Philadelphia. This new service will allow customers to park their vehicles locally and clear the security checkpoint at Wilmington Airport before boarding a bus to a secure gate at Terminal F at Philadelphia International Airport that will be branded by American Airlines as a “flight”. Customers will then disembark at the gate and proceed to their next gates to continue on their connecting flights.
The luxury motor coaches feature 35 premium leather seats in a 2 by 1 seating configuration; and they offer 36 inches of seat pitch for plenty of leg room, which is comparable to the premium cabin on a regional jet airplane. Passengers also enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi and in-seat power at every seat. Because these transfers by bus count as “flights” on American Airlines, customers can book tickets on these transfers just as they would book tickets for flights; and they will earn and redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
Bags are handled as with any flight: passengers check their luggage in with American Airlines agents on arrival at Wilmington Airport; and the baggage handling system of the airport takes over from there. Check-in also works like any other American Airlines flight. The bus service will work the same from Philadelphia International Airport to Wilmington Airport.
To use the service, customers will book their flight through the official channels of American Airlines by entering ILG as the origin, and selecting the destination as the endpoint — similar to a flight itinerary.
According to this article at the official Internet web site of the Delaware River and Bay Authority — which oversees the operations of Wilmington Airport — on Thursday, May 16, 2024, the schedule of bus service will be as follows:
Wilmington ILG to Philadelphia PHL
- Depart Wilmington at 6:45 in the morning; Arrive Philadelphia at 7:35 in the morning
- Depart Wilmington at 8:00 in the morning; Arrive Philadelphia at 8:50 in the morning
- Depart Wilmington at 11:00 in the morning; Arrive Philadelphia at 11:50 in the morning
- Depart Wilmington at 1:30 in the afternoon; Arrive Philadelphia at 2:20 in the afternoon
- Depart Wilmington at 4:00 in the afternoon; Arrive Philadelphia at 4:55 in the afternoon
- Depart Wilmington at 6:00 in the afternoon; Arrive Philadelphia at 6:50 in the afternoon
Philadelphia PHL to Wilmington ILG
- Depart Philadelphia at 8:30 in the morning; Arrive Wilmington at 9:20 in the morning
- Depart Philadelphia at 10:30 in the morning; Arrive Wilmington at 11:20 in the morning
- Depart Philadelphia at 1:55 in the afternoon; Arrive Wilmington at 2:45 in the afternoon
- Depart Philadelphia at 3:35 in the afternoon; Arrive Wilmington at 4:25 in the afternoon
- Depart Philadelphia at 6:35 in the afternoon; Arrive Wilmington at 7:30 in the afternoon
- Depart Philadelphia at 8:45 in the afternoon; Arrive Wilmington at 9:35 in the afternoon
The Delaware River and Bay Authority will work jointly with American Airlines and The Landline Company on a final service agreement to support the start of service and associated terminal work.
Final Boarding Call
The last time an airline offered service to all 50 airports in the United States was Delta Air Lines from Thursday, June 29, 2006 through Thursday, September 6, 2007. The main reason why airlines discontinue service to and from Wilmington Airport is because the service was not profitable — especially as ticket prices have historically been significantly more expensive to and from Wilmington Airport than Philadelphia International Airport; so traveling to and from Wilmington was not financially practical when the airports are only slightly greater than 27 miles apart, which can take as few as 28 minutes to drive with no traffic…
…but American Airlines may be onto something here: motor coach service should be significantly less expensive than service with an airplane while simultaneously offering passengers reasonable comfort and convenience.
As a person who prefers not to check baggage whenever possible, I am not sure how the luxury motor coach service will handle carry-on bags, as no details were given about this. Perhaps enough room is available in an overhead compartment or underneath the seat in front?
Photograph ©2021 by Brian Cohen.
