Airport Shuttle Service Landline Launches in St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD – A unique airport shuttle service connected with a major airline has arrived in St. Cloud.

Los Angeles-based The Landline Company launched their private car service, Landline Select, in the St. Cloud area Wednesday. The company offers 10 daily round trips to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from any location in St. Cloud.

Landline has a partnership with Sun Country Airlines, allowing customers to book integrated air and ground transportation, according to Landline cofounder and CEO David Sunde.

“Customers get the benefit of great air fare,” Sunde said. “They get their bag checked all the way to their final destination. If the bus is late, they automatically get rebooked.”

With Landline Select, travelers have the option of being picked up anywhere in St. Cloud (including the St. Cloud Regional Airport) and dropped off at Terminal 2 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

“So, you can search for a flight from St. Cloud to wherever you want to go – any destination in Sun Country’s network – and you purchase a ticket,” Sunde explained. “The Landline segment shows up like a connecting flight.”

Sunde says each of Landline Select's cars are limited to one reservation of up to four people, a service crafted as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You’re guaranteed to only be traveling with friends, family – only people who are in your COVID bubble,” Sunde said. “(Landline Select) has allowed us to start service to a lot more cities with a lot more frequency, because the way we operate it is a little more flexible.”

St. Cloud is Landline’s third Minnesota market; the company currently offers shuttle services in the Duluth and Mankato areas. Sunde says Landline has been working with the St. Cloud Regional Airport and city officials on the launch for several years.

“We saw a lot of markets like St. Cloud seeing their air service decline over time,” Sunde explained. “If you go back to the 1990s, St. Cloud would have had multiple daily departures to the Twin Cities on Northwest Airlink. As a result of changes in the airline industry, and despite the fact that the community has grown since then, the number of airline seats for customers has decreased.”

Sunde says St. Cloud has been on Landline’s radar since the company was founded in 2018.

“We’ve wanted to serve this city for a long time,” Sunde said. “Doing it during a pandemic is certainly a tricky business decision to make, but our view is that there are still people who need to travel. They need to make essential trips, visit family or travel for emergencies."

“If we know people are going to travel, we want to give them an option that makes them feel as safe as possible,” he added.

Sunde says travelers are able to use Landline to make a connection to any airline – but the ticket will not be bundled into the total cost of travel the way it is when booked with Sun Country. He says Landline is exploring future collaborations with other airlines.

“The travel business has been through a really tough time in the last year,” he said. “We would love to partner with other airlines, and plan to do this in the future, but right now we’re just really happy to have the partner that we have and continue to help them extend their reach across Minnesota.”

To learn more, visit Landline's website.