Robert Neville

Notable deal in distribution this morning. Sysco is buying Restaurant Depot for $29 billion. Plans to expand RD more aggressively. It gives Sysco a huge entry into cash-and-carry and a large number of independent restaurant customers. restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/sysc…

American Airlines has 77 regional planes sitting in storage because they can't find pilots to fly them. The expected U.S. pilot shortfall in 2026 is 24,000. Training a new commercial pilot takes 2-3 years minimum and costs six figures. So American found a loophole. Partner with a bus company, brand the bus "American Eagle," sell the seat on aa.com with a flight number, route passengers through TSA, let them pick a seat, check bags, earn AAdvantage miles. The entire experience is designed to feel like a flight in every way except the part where you leave the ground. The economics are staggering. A regional jet on a 90-mile route needs two pilots ($100K+ each), a flight attendant, jet fuel, FAA maintenance requirements, and an aircraft that costs $20-30 million. The Landline bus needs one driver and a highway. South Bend to Chicago O'Hare is 90 miles. That route doesn't make money with a regional jet anymore. It barely made money before the pilot shortage. The bus lets American keep selling connections through O'Hare to every destination in its network without operating a single flight. This is what the pilot shortage actually looks like. Not cancelled routes. Not smaller airports going dark. The airline just quietly reclassified a bus as a flight and kept charging accordingly. The TikTok exposing it has 13 million views because the passenger cleared security, sat at a gate, and watched her luggage get loaded onto a coach before it merged onto the interstate. The word "bus" appears once during booking in small text. Google Flights lists it with a tiny bus icon. The airline says customers are "transparently informed." 72% of U.S. airports have already lost an average of 25% of their flights to the shortage, and Landline is expanding, not shrinking. Philadelphia, Chicago, and now five regional airports are on the bus network. American Airlines is solving a $28,000-per-pilot-shortfall crisis by removing the pilot from the equation entirely. The bus is the product now. The flight number is just packaging.

Rob Schneider says the United States “must restore the military draft for our nation’s young people” amid the ongoing war with Iran: “Being a citizen of the United States gives us unparalleled Freedoms and opportunities that are the envy of the world. However, these Freedoms that we cherish do not come without a cost.” variety.com/2026/film/news…