Sending airplanes skyward has become tedious, even for major airlines that seemingly have done so smoothly for years.
Flight frequencies have been stunted by too few workers amid an ongoing labor shortage and rising operating costs. In turn, airlines have started relying on America’s roads for help.
With a growing demand from South Jersey, American Airlines is investing more resources into the shuttle service it began two years ago as a way to ferry passengers between Atlantic City’s and Philadelphia’s international airports.
What was three daily trips from Atlantic City to Philadelphia scheduled throughout each week will in early May be raised to four, American Airlines announced in late March, citing a growing demand in ridership. It’s the first increase in trips to one of Pennsylvania’s busiest air hubs.
“It’s kind of a one-stop shop,” Kristen Ottesen, a Saunderstown, Rhode Island, resident traveling for work, said from the airport’s lounge area on Wednesday, waiting to board the shuttle’s 11:15 a.m. departure to Philadelphia.
Atlantic City International officials have lobbied airlines for flights in recent years, but as commercial flight companies find themselves strapped, buses from American Airlines are used as a cost-effective alternative to airplanes.
“It’s like a connecting flight,” Atlantic City International Airport Director Tim Kroll told NJ Advance Media. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of people using it to visit the region.”
Buses run by carriers are mostly a new facet of the airline industry in the last decade. American has used a shuttle service to send passengers between New York, Boston and Washington.
Trips to and from Philadelphia started after the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the airport, and American agreed to a contract in 2022. Airlines experimenting with road travel between destinations is part of a trend as the industry has been challenged by rising operating costs and persistent labor shortages, Kroll said.
Those costs, he said, are particularly higher to fly out of smaller airports because they need shorter airplanes to fit in their facilities. American cited both crew and equipment availability as a reason why the company has steered away from bringing planes in its fleet to Atlantic City when approached by officials in 2022, Kroll said.
Passengers heading to Philadelphia board American Airline's morning departure from Atlantic City International Airport on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.Eric Conklin
“The cost of operating a bus motor coach is significantly much cheaper than an airplane, so it allows them to try a new service,” Kroll said.
Jay Singh, a spokesperson for American Airlines, said the bus service connects South Jersey flyers to over 100 destinations served nonstop out of Philadelphia.
The Texas-based airline is among the county’s giants. As its next investment, it announced in March an order of 260 new aircraft between Boeing, Airbus and Embraer to meet growing rider demands.
American said it placed options for up to 193 more planes over the next several years.
Florida-based Spirit Airlines is the lone airline company flying to and from Atlantic City, doing so for over 30 years. Sun Country Airlines recently became the only other carrier to service the airport, but with limited availability.
Spirit, as a part of a larger move to reposition itself financially, announced it would shutter its Atlantic City crew hub later this year. Flights, however, would continue despite the closure.
SJTA and American entered into a five-year contract in 2022, securing the bus service through April 2027.
American agreed to pay about $2,346 monthly, or about $28,000 annually to lease 985 square feet of space at the terminal, according to the contract.
The bus stands out to motorists on Atlantic City Expressway, with its light-blue painted finish and company logo embroidered on each side.
Inside, the bus seats about 35 passengers, Kroll said. Like any other commuter bus, luggage is stored in a side carriage.
Buses can be boarded at the airport’s upstairs gates used for airplanes, limiting the number of times passengers are required to be cleared by the Transportation Security Administration. Leigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is the only other port in the country to have that access.
Several people traveling on Wednesday said their morning trip was their first time aboard.
Planning a vacation in Florida away from his sports journalism duties, Scott Grayson said having the bus cuts down on the added cost of stowing his car outside Philadelphia’s airport or finding a ride.
It was appealing enough that his family will make a second trip using the new feature later this year.
“It seems like a nice way to get through security and not having to do that in Philly either,” Grayson said, joined by his family ahead of Disney vacation in Orlando on Wednesday.
Stories by Eric Conklin
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.