United Airlines will soon begin service to two Colorado destinations…via bus. Service will begin next month.
United Airlines Adds Two New Bus Destinations In Colorado
United Airlines has served Allentown, Pennsylvania via bus from Newark Airport going back to the Continental Airlines days. Passengers in Newark board airside (past security) and are taken, with their luggage, to Allentown. On the “flight” they earn elite and reward miles and the service is classified just like any other United Express flight. The flight also operates in the opposite direction, though passengers must clear security when arriving at Newark.
United is now expanding this service to two Colorado cities with new service between Denver and:
- Breckenridge (QKB)
- Fort Collins (FNL)
The bus service marks the first time an airline has ever served Breckenridge and the first “flight” by a network carrier into Fort Collins in 25 years.
What Can Passengers Expect Onboard?
Service will begin on March 11, 2021 and be offered once-daily to Breckenridge and 4x daily to Fort Collins. United is teaming up with Landline to offer this service. Onboard amenities will include “spacious” leather seating, streaming entertainment from United, and complimentary wi-fi.
Landline’s co-founder & CEO David Sunde noted:
“With this new service, customers can start their day anywhere in United’s global network and arrive slope side in Breckenridge minutes from the main gondola. At the same time, in Fort Collins we are creating global connectivity for the first time in 25 years. These new routes exemplify our mission to redefine the airport by making it mobile and multimodal. We could not be more thrilled to have United’s commitment to innovation and passion for customer service backing this new endeavor.”
United’s Breckenridge Service Schedule
United’s daily service to Breckenridge will operate on the following schedule:
|
From |
To |
Depart |
Arrive |
Frequency |
Effective |
|
Denver |
Breckenridge |
11:15 a.m. 11:15 a.m. 11:15 a.m. |
1:45 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 1:35 p.m. |
Mon-Thurs, Fri Sun |
March 11 |
|
Breckenridge |
Denver |
2:15 p.m. 2:25 p.m. 1:55 p.m. |
4:45 p.m. 4:45 p.m. 4:45 p.m. |
Mon-Thurs, Fri Sun |
March 11 |
United’s Fort Collins Service Schedule
United’s 4x daily service to Fort Collins will operate on the following schedule:
|
From |
To |
Depart |
Arrive |
Frequency |
Effective |
|
Denver |
Fort Collins |
9:45 a.m. 1:25 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 7:25 p.m. |
11:00 a.m. 2:40 p.m. 7:15 p.m. 8:40 p.m. |
4x daily |
April 1 |
|
Fort Collins |
Denver |
7:30 a.m. 9:10 a.m. 11:20 a.m. 5:15 p.m. |
8:45 a.m. 10:25 a.m. 12:35 p.m. 6:30 p.m. |
4x daily |
April 1 |
CONCLUSION
United Airlines will add bus service to two new destinations in Colorado not currently served by other carriers. Fares will be loaded this weekend. Might we see new trend among carriers to integrate bus and plane service? This new service will certainly be a test case.
images: United Airlines
United previously code shared with a shuttle service called Resort Express (now Epic Mountain Express and owned by Vail Resorts). I would book the ticket to QKS and Resort Express would drop you at your door anywhere in Summit County. This was a great way to use award miles to go round trip from my front door . Lamented the day they stopped that code share.
I wonder how they expect people to get from the Breck bus stop to their lodging or home. There is a free bus service around Breck and across Summit County – though doesn’t go everywhere – and ride shares and taxis are often scarce or nonexistent. Hope they may also stop at the Frisco Transfer Center on the way.
Still a welcome addition to DIA from Breck.
These kinds of regional connections long overdue, other parts of the world this is common. There’s no point to the short plane jumps, by the time you deal w/ hub connecting time, you could be on the road. We don’t have a meaningful regional rail infrastructure, this point to point is great, integrated with flight.
It would be nice if they would restore the Amtrak codeshare from Newark to Philadelphia, Wilmington DE, Stamford and New Haven.