When looking for award flights, comparing prices across different programs is vital to finding the best deals. Partner airline programs might offer lower prices for award tickets than the airline’s program. It’s beneficial to pay attention to airline alliances to take advantage of these potential savings. You can search for awards by reviewing each program individually or using an award search website. I personally use Point.me, but there are other similar options available.
And while you’ll find deals using this method, you’ll also come across programs that charge an unreasonable number of miles for an award trip.
For example, I found a route where British Airways Executive Club charges 12,000 Avios for a bus ride.
12,000 Avios for a bus ride
American Airlines offers an interesting service to smaller airports around Philadelphia. Instead of operating American Eagle flights to these regional airports, American has partnered with Landline to provide luxury motorcoach transportation. What makes these trips unique is that you book the bus ride through the AA website, just like booking a flight. To board the bus, you go through airport security and load from a gate. In fact, some passengers are shocked to see that they’re boarding a bus instead of a plane.
At one point, we planned a trip to Wilkes-Barre, PA, one of the airports that Landline buses service. AA was offering tickets from Orlando for 8,500 AAdvantage points.
This was a good deal as the cash price for a ticket was over $200. When I checked out Alaska Airlines, the price was higher at 15,000 Mileage Plan points.
When I checked British Airways, I was shocked to see they charged 28,000 Avios for the same trip.
Why is British Airways so expensive?
It all comes down to how British Airways prices award tickets. British Airways uses a distance chart to compute how many miles to charge for a trip on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Here are the prices for Main Cabin Economy:
- Flights up to 650 miles – 12,000 Avios
- Flights 651-1,151 miles – 16,000 Avios
- Flights 1,152-2,000 miles – 18,000 Avios
- Flights 2.001 – 3,000 miles – 20,000 Avios
While using Avios for short flights in the US used to be a good deal, that’s no longer the case. But why did BA come up with charging 28,000 Avios for this trip?
British Airways charges separately for each flight segment. If you’re on a connecting flight, you’ll pay the corresponding price for each part of the trip. In this instance, the flight from Orlando to Philadelphia is 861 miles and costs 16,000 Avios. The distance between PHL and AVP is 104 miles, so British Airways systems add another 12,000 Avios for a two-hour bus ride.
Where else do American Airlines Landline motorcoaches go?
Landline services the following airports from Philadelphia Airport (PHL)
- Allentown / Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (ABE)
- Atlantic City, New Jersey (ACY)
- Wilkes-Barre / Scranton, Pennsylvania (AVP)
- Wilmington, Delaware (ILG) – starting on October 7
You can find out more about the service on the American Airlines website.
Final Thought
American Airlines has a unique service with Landline to provide motorcoach transportation to nearby regional airports. The connection between the buses and flights takes place past security, which allows passengers not to re-clear security to get onto a plane or leave the airport to reach a waiting bus.
However, when booking flights that include a Landline bus connection or any short connecting flight with American or Alaska, it’s best to avoid using British Airways Avios due to the high pricing of those segments.
Photos: Courtesy of Landline / American Airlines
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