American Airlines swaps South Bend buses for CRJ-700 jets

American Airlines has replaced its Landline motorcoach connection between South Bend Regional Airport (SBN) and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) with actual flights. Simple Flying reports that as of Oct. 5, the carrier is operating three daily American Eagle services using 65-seat Bombardier CRJ-700s, ending the 35-seat buses that made their final trips on Sunday.

The 84-mile route is now the second-shortest scheduled jet link in American's domestic network, just behind the 67-mile flight between Chicago and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE). The switch marks a quick evolution for a connection that only began Oct. 6, 2025, when American launched South Bend and Rockford as the first two cities in its Chicago Landline network.

Landline services are treated as flights even though they run on roads: passengers check bags and clear TSA at the regional airport before being driven to the secure side of O'Hare. Simple Flying notes the buses had 35 leather seats in a 2-1 layout, with complimentary Wi-Fi and AAdvantage miles earned as on a flight.

The move to jets drops South Bend–O'Hare frequency from four departures each way to three, but adds capacity. Four 35-seat buses gave 140 seats daily in each direction; three 65-seat CRJ-700s give 195, a 39% increase, according to Simple Flying. The jets, operated by SkyWest Airlines, have dual-class cabins, giving South Bend travelers a premium cabin on the Chicago connection for the first time.

The route worked. South Bend says the upgrade is straightforward: the SBN–ORD connection has been in high demand.

South Bend Regional Airport CEO Mike Daigle told Simple Flying: "It was one-year ago in October that American connected SBN to one of its major hubs, marking a third nonstop route from SBN. We are thrilled the route has performed well and will now be operating with an upgraded regional aircraft, offering convenient options for travelers."

The bus isn't gone from American's network. Its larger Philadelphia operation remains, with Landline linking PHL to Allentown, Atlantic City, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Wilmington, and Trenton. Simple Flying reports that Trenton's addition in September 2025 brought the five markets to 22 daily round trips, or 44 individual bus journeys, and more than 1,500 seats per day feeding American's Philadelphia hub.

American says more than 200,000 people have used Landline since it began offering the service to airports within 100 miles of its hubs. The attraction for many is checking in at a regional airport with easy parking, versus driving to a larger hub and dealing with congestion, Simple Flying reports.

But the service has confused some passengers when ground segments appear in larger itineraries. Earlier this year, passenger Kennedy Woodard went viral after booking SBN–ORD through a corporate travel portal and only realizing at the airport that her "flight" was a motorcoach, according to Simple Flying. Her TikTok drew more than 13.5 million views, while American said its own booking channels clearly identify Landline-operated segments.

The South Bend case contrasts with Rockford. American and Landline launched both as O'Hare feeders in October 2025, but less than a year later they went in opposite directions: South Bend got three daily jets, while Rockford's service ended completely on Oct. 4, Simple Flying reports.

South Bend also isn't uncontested. United Airlines already runs eight daily flights from O'Hare, compared with American's three, so the new service adds to competition on the hub-feed route. United increased its service from six to eight daily flights last year, signaling demand.

The timing fits American's wider Chicago push. It added 29 destinations from O'Hare during 2025, pushed its peak operation beyond 500 daily departures in 2026, and keeps adding spokes. South Bend shows another role for Landline: not just replacing short regional flights with buses, but testing feeder markets cheaply enough that, when demand proves itself, the bus can become the airplane.

• American Airlines
• Chicago O'Hare
• CRJ-700
• Landline
• SkyWest
• South Bend Regional Airport