United has your 35-seat ‘flight’ direct to Colorado’s ski slopes

United has a new twist on the marketer’s phrase “fly directly to the slopes” this ski season with a plan to sell tickets to a destination only 100 yards from the ski gondola in the resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado. The twist: Passengers and their bags transfer to a bus at the Denver airport, the connecting point to their final destination 105 miles to the west. United said daily trips starting March 11 will be the first time Breckenridge has “airline” service, as it were. A second United coach route introduced Friday will connect Denver International and Fort Collins, 70 miles to the north. This “flight” will take off four times daily starting on April 1. Both will be operated by The Landline Co., a Los Angeles-based startup, with buses painted in United’s livery colors. The arrangement allows airlines to sell destinations where they don’t fly—such as Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Fort Collins—but retain a passenger’s full journey and adjust fares for the entire trip just as they do with air-only itineraries. Partner Landline pitches itself to carriers as a “single-brand” experience that offers the same “seamless” passenger connection at hubs as a regional airline. United chose its Denver hub for the busing trial because “you have so many ski resorts or second homes there and these are all in the 50-to-100 mile segment,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of domestic network planning.<br/>