American Airlines’ Latest Flight Surprise: Woman's Husband Booked on a … Bus?

Imagine this: You’re at the airport, ready for a connecting flight, boarding pass in hand. You’ve double-checked everything, and then, you arrive at the gate to find … a bus? This is exactly what happened to TikToker Devan’s (@devandonahue) husband, who ended up on a “flight” like no other, courtesy of American Airlines.

Devan couldn’t resist sharing the absurdity with TikTok, posting two videos (Part 1 & Part 2) epically chronicling her husband’s experience, which has since racked up over 700,000 views and plenty of head-shaking.

In the first video, Devan explains her disbelief: “My husband is traveling for work, and he just showed up to his connecting flight in Philadelphia — and it’s a bus ride.” She clarified that he even had a boarding pass with a flight number, so she initially thought it was just a shuttle to another plane. But nope!

“We even have attended every take-off announcement … but, like, it says ‘enjoy your in-seat entertainment and Wi-Fi,’” she laughs, noting that he was cramped just as he would be in a plane. Her husband, a tall 6’5”, tried moving seats for some extra room but was told he couldn’t because of “weight distribution.”

Even for a seasoned traveler, it was a lot to wrap his head around.

The saga continued in Devan’s second video, where she says, “So this is just a screenshot of a video he sent me. But if you see here, like, behind the mirror, there’s a tail to a plane.” But, alas, it wasn’t a shuttle to another flight.

Instead, her husband was in for a full-on bus ride from Philadelphia to Allentown, a distance that could be a quick drive but was far from the “flight” experience they’d expected. As they rolled through airport gates and passed real planes, her husband jokingly asked, “So is the driver a pilot?”

This incident sparked hilarious reactions online. One commenter shared a similar experience, saying, “Happened to us once on American. It said Bus and I thought we got lucky and were upgraded to Business Class!”

Another joked about American Airlines’ apparent confusion: “Do THEY know it’s not a plane? Lol.”

Others, waiting at airports themselves, chimed in with nervous humor, like one person who wrote, “Currently sitting at an airport waiting for my American Airlines flight and now looking out the window to make sure I didn’t book a bus.”

While this quirky travel story was lighthearted, it does speak to the challenges facing the airline industry. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines have faced a whirlwind of operational changes.

The pandemic’s impact was dramatic: U.S. passenger traffic plummeted by 96% in April 2020, naturally.

American Airlines, like others, implemented major cost-cutting measures, including early retirements and fleet reductions, to survive financially. To make matters even trickier, in 2024, the airline tried a bold sales strategy, cutting travel agency commissions in favor of direct bookings.

However, the move backfired, and they lost many valuable business travelers.

American Airlines’ recent issues extend beyond scheduling and strategy. Pilots have voiced concerns over maintenance, reporting that aircraft are skipping routine inspections. Thankfully, the airline took this feedback seriously and promised to address the safety concerns head-on.

They reported a record $13.6 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2024, marking a 1.2% year-over-year increase, and they’re optimistic about future profits.

The airline is also pursuing sustainability efforts, aiming to tackle climate change while improving efficiency.

Though Devan’s story might feel like a comedy of errors, it captures the strange reality of modern air travel in an industry still grappling with post-pandemic adjustments. And while a bus might not be what travelers expect when booking a flight, it’s another chapter in the evolving story of airlines finding new ways to navigate today’s travel demands.

So next time you book a short “flight,” maybe check twice… it could be a MegaBus.