United CEO backs Denver bus service pilot despite slow start

It makes a lot of sense for airlines to use a bus to connect smaller communities to major airports. Buses can go places aircraft cannot, and when they do replace planes, they can do so more cost-effectively and with lower carbon emissions. That’s what the partnership between United and Landline, a luxury bus company that markets itself as a regional aircraft on wheels, launched last year aims to do. United CEO Scott Kirby described the service as “going well,” and Landline co-founder and CEO David Sunde called its performance as “good” in separate comments in November. And in what Sunde described as a signal of some success, United added a fifth daily bus between the Denver airport and Fort Collins, Colo. — one of Landline’s two routes under the pact — in November. Landline has connected United’s Denver hub to the ski town of Breckenridge, as well as the nearby city of Fort Collins, since March and April, respectively. But the offering is being marketed as more than just your average airport bus. Landline buses carry United flight numbers and depart the Denver airport from a gate on Concourse A alongside other United Express flights. Bags are transferred automatically — both to and from Breckenridge and Fort Collins — and travelers can check in for their entire trip at both Landline-managed destinations. In addition, travelers can earn frequent flyer miles and status points by riding the bus. The biggest pain point for travelers is buses arrive landside at the Denver airport where they have to proceed through security screening on their own. Despite the tighter integration between Landline and United, neither Kirby nor Sunde described the partnership as a clear success. Both qualified their comments in ways that suggest the service is still maturing.<br/>