Air Canada Is Connecting Two Ontario Airports with Toronto Pearson Via Coach Buses

Air Canada is launching a new bus service that will connect two local Ontario airports to its Toronto Pearson hub.

Starting in May 2024, Air Canada will connect John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport and Region of Waterloo to Toronto Pearson via luxury coach buses from Landline, the same company that American Airlines used for its land-connection services launched in 2022.

Air Canada will operate the service six times daily between Toronto Pearson and each of the Hamilton and Region of Waterloo airports, journeys that are both about an hour long. Travelers will check in as normal for their flight and obtain boarding passes for all segments of their trip at those airports. They will then board luxury coach buses at those airports, ride to Toronto Pearson, and go directly through security screening.

Air Canada says that the bus segment will operate like a connecting flight, with the same protections as those on connecting air segments in case of delays and checked bags transferred through the airport and onto the connecting flights by Air Canada. 

That’s different than the process that American Airlines debuted in 2022, which allowed travelers to go through security at those smaller, regional airports, which are typically less busy than larger airports.

Each of the buses include 36 leather seats in a two-by-one configuration, with free WiFi, poewer outlets, overhead storage, and a table tray.

While it’s just launching at the two regional airports for now, Air Canada said that it could expand it even further.

“We will look to further expand our regional network in Canada through our Landline partnership, as it also advances our sustainability programs by potentially removing tens of thousands of vehicles from the road each year,” Alexandre Lefevre, Vice President Network Planning, North America, and Scheduling, at Air Canada said in a statement on Thursday.