“When I exited the gate to get on the plane… it was a bus.”

A TikToker discovered herself on a stunning “flight” expertise when her American Airlines connection from South Bend, Indiana, to Chicago turned out to be a…bus.

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Creator Krista Moats (@kristamoats) shared her story on Oct. 10, 2025, explaining that passengers boarded on the gate like some other flight, solely to discover a luxurious bus ready.

The service, a part of American Airlines’ new partnership with The Landline Company, goals to scale back congestion at main hubs like O’Hare by providing “seamless” bus connections meant to chop down on site visitors at transportation hubs Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.

Moats’ video has almost 400,000 views. People reacting to the publish stated they don’t need to pay air journey costs to take a seat in site visitors on a bus. Anyway, what concerning the practice?

“The idea of taking a 2.5 hour bus (or any flight???) instead of the perfectly good $10 1.5 hour train that goes directly to South Bend is insane and kinda embarrassing ngl I hope this shit doesn’t catch on for them.”

The new “landline” service blurs the road between air and floor journey

“When I exited the gate to get on the plane… it was a bus,” Moats stated in her video. She famous that even the flight crew was taking photos of the bizarre occasion on the tarmac. “We were driving beside planes when they were taxiing,” she stated.

“It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from South Bend International Airport to Chicago O’Hare. It was the first day of American Airlines gate to gate landline bus service, and actually it was super awesome,” Moats wrote within the caption for her video. “I would totally do it again.”

@kristamoats

We had been boarding zone by zone like regular after which once I went by way of the door to the gate, there was a bus ready for us. Not like a bus to take you to your terminal, however straight up a bus that was gonna take me all the best way to the vacation spot the flight was imagined to take me too. It was a 2 1/2 hour bus trip from South Bend International Airport to Chicago O’Hare. It was the primary day of American Airlines gate to gate landline bus service, and really it was tremendous superior. I’d completely do it once more.

♬ unique sound – kristamoats

TikTok customers are skeptical of the brand new service

Quite a lot of commenters misunderstood Moats’ itinerary and instantly skewered the TikTok creator for reserving such a brief flight.

Moats addressed the feedback in a follow-up video that exposed her flight originated in New York. The journey from South Bend to Chicago was a connection flight.

Other commenters shared doubtful reactions to the airline’s new floor journey service.

“That better have been a bus ticket price for bus service 💀”

“So let me get this straight, it is pretty much the worst of both worlds. You have to get there early to go through security, you have to check your bags, it costs more because you’re using an airport, it’s the sluggishness of going through city traffic, and there’s no drink service? And why is there a crew on the bus?”

“So they made you pay airplane money for a bus ticket? 👀”

Alternatively, @kitkat135.ca steered American Airlines is simply doing one of the best it could. “This has got to be a lot more eco friendly than short flight plane trips I would imagine,” she wrote. “I hope it was cheaper than a plane ticket and you still got your airline miles though.”

@kristamoats didn’t instantly reply to the Daily Dot’s request for remark by way of TikTok.

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