Man shows up for his American Airlines flight — only to find a bus waiting for him

Experiencing a canceled or delayed flight is nothing new. But imagine booking a flight, only to find a bus waiting to take you to your destination instead—not a shuttle, but an actual bus ride. As surprising as it sounds, that’s exactly what happened to Devan Donahue’s husband. Devan, who shares stories on TikTok as @devandonahue, posted about her husband’s inconvenient yet hilarious travel experience, and viewers couldn’t get enough.

"American Airlines, what is this?" the text overlay read. "I have never seen this before and I need an explanation for this. Now, my husband is traveling for work and he just showed up to his connecting flight in Philadelphia — and it's a bus ride." Her husband sent her many details about the same. His boarding pass also clearly showed the symbol of a plane along with a flight number, but there was a bus parked outside to take them to their destination. "So I said maybe the bus is taking you to the plane because sometimes we have been on shuttles before." But then the husband sent her multiple videos and said, "We even have a flight attendant. They also have a pre-take-off announcement." The video said, "Enjoy your in-seat entertainment and power. Like there's even a safety card."

"He said he's still just as cramped," Donahue continued. "I mean, he's like 6'5. But when he tried to move to an open seat, they told him he couldn't because weight distribution had to be even." She laughed and wondered how something like this was possible. In an update, Donahue shared more information about her husband's bizarre experience. "Can you imagine booking a flight, getting a flight number and a boarding pass and showing up to this waiting for you at the gate?" she highlighted, pointing at a photo of the bus. In a screenshot of a video sent by the husband, people could even see a plane's tail through a mirror, but it was still not a shuttle but a "full-on bus ride."

Her husband found the seating restriction for “weight distribution” on a bus to be the most baffling part. "I am not making a difference. We are on a road," her husband said to Donahue over a text message. "So, is the driver a pilot?" he questioned. "They drove the whole way there," she emphasized. The husband was traveling from Philadelphia to Allentown. "He wouldn't need another flight, but why book him this way? Why, like, board them from a gate onto a bus?" There was also a photo of the bus pulling up to the Allentown airport. "He goes, we'll be parking at a gate." Donahue concluded, "So, I guess this is what could happen to you if you are not flying very far." The caption read, "The way they just never said a word about it being a bus ride was the punch line."

People expressed their surprise at the incident in the comments. @ashleyxlynne wrote, "The way I'd be requesting a full refund because that was probably a $45 bus ride." @emmyloo56 commented, "I looked it up on the American app…it does have a disclaimer that says 'includes a ride on a luxury bus.'" @carolynchilla remarked, "I live in Philadelphia and I see these buses all the time on the road. It's so weird! But they don't have to go through security again, which is cool."

You can follow Devan Donahue (@devandonahue) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.