South Bend International Airport has announced American Airlines will connect passengers to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport via a motorcoach service provided by The Landline Company. Photo from American Airlines.

News Release

SOUTH BEND — South Bend International Airport has announced American Airlines will connect passengers to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport beginning Monday, Oct. 6.

The service will run four times daily, in both directions, on a luxury motorcoach operated by regional partner, The Landline Company.

The 35-seat motorcoach has many of the features travelers expect from the first-class cabin of a regional jet, including in-seat power, Wi-Fi, plentiful legroom, and leather seats.

How The Bus Service Works

1. Mobile Check-In — Begin online check-in 24 hours before departure, just like a flight.
2. Arrive at SBN — Passengers check bags and clear TSA security at SBN.
3. Boarding — Passengers board the buses, sit back and ride to ORD. While traveling, they can make use of features like like complimentary Wi-Fi and in-seat power.
4. Seamless Connections — After arriving at ORD, passengers go to their connecting gate at ORD and board their flight. Checked baggage will automatically be transferred to their next flight.

Tickets for travel from SBN to more than 150 destinations through ORD are available for purchase at aa.com or American’s mobile app from July 21. Passengers will book as they always have by selecting SBN as the departing city and specifying the final destination. This new option offers the ability to easily connect to American’s global network over ORD from SBN. Customer can earn and redeem AAdvantage miles on these services.

This marks American’s third hub to be served from SBN. Nonstop flights to Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport began in June 2018. During the fall football season, American is also operating weekend flights to New York LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“We know American Airlines-loyal passengers are driving to O’Hare for flights,” said Mike Daigle, CEO and executive director of South Bend International Airport.

He continued, “These ‘flights’ offer greater flexibility for all travelers allowing the ability to make use of the drive time doing work or streaming on high-speed Wi-Fi while avoiding the headaches of traffic, parking, and long lines in Chicago. The airside-to-airside operation offers another option for passengers to get where they need to go conveniently from SBN.”