Local passengers and airline celebrate flights from Wilmington to Puerto Rico
Avelo Airlines offered its first flight from Wilmington to Puerto Rico on Wednesday. 15.11.23
Starting October 7, passengers at Wilmington Airport will be able to do something spooky: They will be able to go through security in Wilmington and then fly out of Philadelphia.
American Airlines, in collaboration with bus company Landline, is trying a small experiment they call “runway-to-runway” luxury coach service.
As you probably know, American Airlines does not fly out of Wilmington Airport. Avelo does. But if you book an American Airlines flight from Wilmington (ILG) starting in October, you can still arrive at Wilmington Airport as if you were taking a flight there.
More: Here are the details of Wilmington Airport’s ambitious $13 million expansion plans
You will park in Wilmington, check your luggage in Wilmington, and go through a less busy security gate in Wilmington. Then you will board a Philadelphia Airport Landline coach that will drop you off at Terminal F behind the Philadelphia security gates.
Your checked baggage travels with you on the bus. The same thing happens on the return journey: you collect your baggage from ILG when you get off the bus.
The service is a partnership between American Airlines and Landline, and spokespeople for both companies make it clear that the main benefit they offer is not having to deal with the unpredictability of parking and long security lines at PHL, American Airlines’ fifth-largest hub.
“Riding Landline eliminates the hassle of finding a ride or driving and parking at PHL,” Landline’s Hannah Tamura wrote in a statement. “The ability to go through TSA security at ILG instead of waiting in unpredictable security lines at PHL is an added benefit.”
The 35-seat coach service, which will feature Wi-Fi and an on-board restroom, will launch in October with six round-trip trips daily between ILG and PHL airports.
Since last year, the bus line has been offering similar service from other regional airports to Philadelphia. The bus routes now also include Allentown and Scranton in Pennsylvania and Atlantic City in New Jersey.
“Flights” from Wilmington to Los Angeles can already be booked
Coach-assisted flights booked through Wilmington Airport are already available online on American Airlines’ website at aa.com. When we searched for American Airlines flights from ILG this fall, there was a small note attached: “Travel in a luxury coach included.”
However, such flights can only be booked for dates starting October 7. This date roughly coincides with when ILG expects to receive about 500 new parking spaces. Attempts to book earlier ILG “flights” through American Airlines result in an error message.
To book, passengers can simply search for flights departing ILG on the American Airlines website. Economy Class seats will be automatically booked with your flight. American Airlines award miles and Itinerary Protection are both honored.
Your flight booking will be processed as if the bus departure time from Wilmington was your flight departure time.
So a “flight” from Wilmington Airport to Los Angeles at 6:45 a.m. on the morning of October 8th actually refers to the time the coach leaves Wilmington. The coach is scheduled to arrive at Philadelphia Airport’s Terminal F at 7:35 a.m., just in time to board an 8:15 a.m. flight to Los Angeles.
While the service is convenient, it doesn’t appear to be free. Bus service isn’t listed as an extra charge, but round-trip economy class flights on American Airlines, which we searched for from ILG, cost between $20 and $110 more than the same flights from PHL.
However, thanks to the magic and utter nonsense of airfares, we also managed to find a round-trip flight from Wilmington to Los Angeles that was $10 cheaper than the same flight if we had booked direct from Philly.
That means the bus ride from Wilmington Airport would cost minus $5 in this case. We’ll take it.
Matthew Korfhage is a business and development reporter in the Delaware region, covering all things land and money: openings and closings, construction and the many companies that call the First State home. Send tips and insults to [email protected].
