A traveler from South Bend, Indiana, expecting to fly to New York via Chicago, was left amused after discovering her “flight” to Chicago was actually a 2.5-hour bus journey.

The unexpected ride

TikTok user Krista Moats shared the incident online, explaining that she had booked a work trip from South Bend Airport (SBN) to New York, with a connection in Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). However, instead of boarding a plane for the first leg, she and other passengers were directed onto a motorcoach.

“I booked a work trip to New York, and the airport I fly from is really small, so I had to connect in Chicago. The day of my flight, I checked my bags, went through security, and after my zone was called to board, we all got on a bus and were driven all the way from SBN to ORD,” Moats said in her viral TikTok video.

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According to her, the bus journey took around 2.5 hours, and passengers could even see planes taxiing on the runway as they drove by.

A new kind of connection

The unusual experience is part of American Airlines’ new Landline service, a premium bus connection designed to replace short-haul regional flights between select cities. Landline currently operates between regional airports and major hubs like Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Philadelphia (PHL), integrating bus rides into standard airline itineraries.

American Airlines markets the program as “a new and convenient way to travel,” allowing passengers to check in, clear security, and have their baggage transferred seamlessly, as though they were on a connecting flight.

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“This is a new service previously only available in Philadelphia, so it wasn’t exactly on my radar to look for ‘bus’ while booking. Literally, that option didn’t exist previously,” Moats clarified.

Social media reacts

Reactions online were mixed — while some users found the situation funny, others expressed disbelief.

“No because if I paid airline prices and had to go through security at an AIRPORT, I expect to be getting on a plane,” one commenter wrote.

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Another said:

“I still do not understand what happened. You bought a flight, and then at the airport they loaded you onto a bus and drove you to Chicago instead of flying you?”

Others pointed out that the short distance between South Bend and Chicago, roughly 145 kilometers (90 miles), made the bus option more practical and environmentally friendly.

Moats, meanwhile, took it all in stride, calling it a “cool new regional offering” and acknowledging that she learned to read the fine print more carefully next time.