A new coach service launching November 17 will let travelers departing from San Francisco International Airport skip the SFO security line entirely — by checking in and clearing TSA at a smaller regional airport 60 miles north first.
The Landline Company, Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS), and SFO jointly unveiled Straight to Gate, a service that allows passengers flying United, Alaska, Hawaiian, American, or JetBlue out of SFO to complete check-in, bag drop, and TSA screening at STS in Santa Rosa before boarding a nonstop secure coach to the SFO airfield. On arrival, riders walk directly to their gate without re-clearing security, while their bags are transferred to their flight automatically.
How the Service Works
Eight daily round trips run beginning November 17, with northbound coaches departing STS at 5, 7, 9, and 11 a.m. and 1, 3, 5:30, and 8 p.m. Return service picks up curbside at every SFO terminal — including International — from roughly 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Travelers arriving at SFO on any airline can board the return coach regardless of which carrier brought them in. One-way adult fares are $55; children 15 and under ride free when accompanied by a paying adult. Reservations are open at sfo.landline.com, where the booking tool recommends the correct departure time based on a traveler's SFO flight.
Landline coaches feature leather seats in a 2×1 extra-legroom layout, Starlink Wi-Fi, power at every seat, an onboard restroom, and wheelchair accessibility — amenities that position the ride as a premium airport-transfer product rather than a standard shuttle.
Why Hospitality Operators Should Take Note
For hotel groups, event venues, corporate travel managers, and hospitality businesses in the North Bay wine country corridor, the service meaningfully expands the effective catchment area of SFO's global network. Guests staying in Sonoma or Marin counties who previously faced a congested Highway 101 drive to SFO now have a credentialed, time-certain alternative that begins the travel experience the moment they leave their hotel or meeting.
"People love traveling. What they don't love is everything it takes to get to the airport," said David Sunde, Founder and CEO of Landline. "Sonoma County already has a great local airport. Straight to Gate connects it to SFO's global network, so trips to anywhere in the world can start close to home."
The Straight to Gate model is not new to Landline. The company partnered with Massport to operate the Logan Airport Remote Terminal in Framingham, Massachusetts, where suburban Boston travelers check in and clear security before riding to Boston Logan International Airport — a template that proved the concept at scale. Landline reports it has now carried more than one million passengers and currently operates more than 200 daily departures across North America.
SFO Airport Director Mike Nakornkhet framed the partnership around seamless guest experience, a priority that resonates with hospitality industry operators who increasingly treat the full travel arc — not just the stay — as part of their product. Landline has indicated it plans to add more airlines to the Straight to Gate program beyond the initial five carriers in the coming months, which could further extend the service's appeal to international leisure and group travel segments tracked closely in restaurant and hospitality travel coverage.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
