- Some US airlines are replacing planes with bus travel on short routes to combat a pilot shortage.
- United and American recently signed contracts with bus-as flight company Landline, per Bloomberg.
- One route offered by United will take passengers from Denver to smaller cities like Breckenridge.
An ongoing pilot shortage has prompted US airlines to replace planes with buses on some routes in an attempt to tackle the issue.
Bloomberg reported that United and American Airlines are among those using the new scheme.
Labor shortages continue to pose problems for several industries, including aviation, where salary hikes and higher bonuses are being used to attract and retain talent.
Per Bloomberg, United and American signed contracts with Colorado-based bus-as-flight company Landline to transport passengers and their luggage by bus on shorter, domestic routes.
One such route offered by United will take passengers from Denver to smaller cities like Breckenridge and Fort Collins.
American’s bus service is scheduled to begin on June 3. Passengers will be ferried between Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
United and American did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment made outside normal working hours.
The pilot shortage has affected other airlines, too. Delta Air Lines announced it is reducing its education requirements for prospective pilots by abandoning the requirement for a four-year college degree.
Meanwhile, Breeze Airways is combatting the labor shortage by hiring pilots from Australia under the E-3 visa program for skilled workers.
Recently, United said it had cut 29 cities this summer indefinitely because its partner company SkyWest Airlines doesn’t have enough pilots to fly the routes.