Is 'bussing' common?

[RooFlyer]

I could be mistaken here but isn’t bussing to the terminal preferred over the jetbridge approach? After all you’re dropped off right at immigration, you don’t have that mile long walk in the terminal

Its a cough shoot whether you are dropped off close to immigration.

Main downsides are the wait for the bus, the unholy circuitous route the bus often needs to take around the terminal, the need to go down stairs (or up, if boarding) and, for premium pax, the horror of being mixed with the great unwashed whY pax.

Of course at DOH, they do J and F busses classily; I've posted pics before so just a link here (scroll down).

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Bus gate is very common at syd early am, especially flights to and from nz. Syd intl I've had more flights to or from remote stand than to or from a regular gate. Gate 26 socks.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Stairway to Hell?

Not to be confused with the highway to hell (also known as an arrival into Terminal 1 of Toronto's Pearson Airport). It is also not to be confused with the stairway to HEL either, which I am told can be a very effective way to harvest status credits flying AY.

Very common around the world. I have had buses at LHR, FRA, STR, MEL all just in the last 12 months.

Edit: and SYD.

Having been to a number of airports, I would say it is a fairly rare occurrence, although it does seem more common at European airports like AMS than airports in the US.

Its a cough shoot whether you are dropped off close to immigration.

Fair enough. It really depends on the layout of the airport. However, I have been to some airports where you are dumped directly at immigration which isn't a bad perk.

Main downsides are the wait for the bus, the unholy circuitous route the bus often needs to take around the terminal, the need to go down stairs (or up, if boarding) and, for premium pax, the horror of being mixed with the great unwashed whY pax.

Agree with those downsides although I will point out that some would being given an airside tour of the airport as a positive thing, particularly if you've got some exotic birds parked there, such as the Antonov An-124 at Toronto.

Of course at DOH, they do J and F busses classily; I've posted pics before so just a link here (scroll down).

Which is nice (I guess), although from your report there was no indication of whether there was an onboard bar for guests. Nothing like having a glass of Dom on your way to the terminal.

 

[Forg]

^ I think I’d be impressed & well-entertained if I were in F or J and got to enjoy a bar on the bus … it’d more than make-up for the existence of the bus.

 

[Blackadder]

Never experienced it in Aus, any transfers with no aerobridge has been by foot, DRW,TSV,NTL comes to mind.
Overseas, HNL, BWI from my experiences.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Never experienced it in Aus, any transfers with no aerobridge has been by foot, DRW,TSV,NTL comes to mind.
Overseas, HNL, BWI from my experiences.

It happens a decent amount if you are flying on small propeller planes. I’ve encountered them at SYD flying SYD>LDH back in 2022 and BNE > LRE in 2022

 

[L2.]

I thought for a second based on the title of this thread, that it was in relation to flights being replaced with a bus, as has occurred previously:

Thread 'Qantas bus between Syd and Cbr'

Jan 10, 2020

Hi all,

Anyone here that got the chance to experience a qantas organized bus ride in replacement of a cancelled flight between nearby cities?

This happened this week between Sydney and Canberra, I was a bit surprised, never seen that before. Also wondering what happens to miles and sc. Nothing so far.

• ChrisMars
• Replies: 20
• Forum: Qantas | Frequent Flyer

• 

 

[Mattg]

Flew into DOH the other day on an A350-1000 and we had a bus gate. Took 25 minutes to reach the terminal, and this was on the first of the "First Class" busses.

At certain other airports like LIS and FRA I've also had a lot of bus gates. Depends on the airport and airline.

 

[markis10]

Probably worth noting the so called bus bays are actually called standoff bays although terminology does vary around the world.

 

[antycbr]

Domestic flight on VN - DAD-HAN A321.

Senior party member and wife in 1A/C - escorted on the air bridge at DAD by several senior looking VN staff. Given lots of attention en route.

At HAN we got bussed, but the senior party member had a waiting Mercedes van at the foot of the stairs. That’s a decent bus transfer!

However the other 12 odd of us in J got our own “midi” bus with leather seats, and separate buses were done for the Y pax.

Now that is how to do bus gates…

 

[Gold Member]

Funkiest and guaranteed bus transfers every time? USM (Ko Samui).

 

[ksksks]

As per above, happens quite a bit in Sydney during early morning, more so to the A330s and B737's.

Majority of the time, it's bus between gate 26 and either international cargo (bays 2-6B) or bays 11-12... but have occasionally ended up at bays 83-85 (near the pond on Airport Dr).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

At certain other airports like LIS and FRA I've also had a lot of bus gates. Depends on the airport and airline.

That has been my experience at least flying into LIS. Which can be a pain because the airport is quite small and compact making connections a breeze. Frankfurt, on the other hand is a pain to navigate and perhaps a bus is more desirable especially if one has to clear immigration. One would think for a major airport of a European capital like Frankfurt they’d have this sorted by now but the same mess is true about CDG airport in Paris