Air shuttle - Definition and Overview

An air shuttle is a shuttle service operated with aircraft. Although many airlines employ "shuttle" in their name, a true air shuttle is characterized by

• short, limited routes
• frequent, regular scheduled service
• simplified fare and class structures.

Many shuttle services are established by governments, businesses, or organizations which require a high level of service in an otherwise thin corridor. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey operates an air shuttle to ferry FAA employees to and from Reagan National Airport (DCA) near Washington, DC four days a week. Ohio University operates its Bobcat Air Shuttle to DCA from its Gordon K. Bush Regional Airport.

Certain dense markets may support commercial shuttles. The pioneer service was the Eastern Air Shuttle, which offered no-frills, hourly flights connecting LaGuardia Airport in New York City with DCA and Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Examples of present-day commercial air shuttle services include

• US Airways Shuttle (US Airways), previously the Trump Shuttle
• Delta Shuttle (Delta Air Lines)
• Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways service between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan