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As printed in the East Hampton Star —
http://www.easthamptonstar.com
The Luxury Liner Is Sold
By Jennifer Landes
(02/25/2009)
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Jennifer Landes
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| Classic Coach replaced Hampton Luxury Liner buses with its own after its purchase of the Bridgehampton-based company was finalized last week. The Luxury Liner began operating in 2000. |
Hampton Luxury Liner has been purchased by Classic Coach, a charter-bus company based in Bohemia. The deal was finalized last week.
This week buses with bright-blue “Classic Coach” logos could be seen on Montauk Highway instead of the Luxury Liner’s tall white models. Eventually, Classic Coach will use the Hampton Luxury Liner logo, but at present it is working on new buses with DirecTV and Internet access, which should be rolled out in a few weeks.
The six buses will provide more regular service to New York City, according to Michael Schoolman, vice president of sales and marketing for Classic Coach.
“The transaction did not involve the vehicles,” he said of the current Hampton Luxury Liner fleet. “We’ll be using Classic Coach buses in this period until the new vehicles are on line.” The new buses will be a hybrid of what the Luxury Liner called “comfort class” and “first class,” which Mr. Schoolman called “enhanced comfort class.”
Ticket prices will remain the same, as will the purchasing process, phone number, and Web site. Prepaid value packs will continue to be honored.
The 44-seat buses will have the same leather seats and leg room as the present buses. The galley, snacks, drinks, magazines, and newspapers will all be the same or similar to those of the Luxury Liner. The new buses are expected to be available sometime in mid-March, after which the company plans to expand its service, eventually moving to an hourly schedule.
Future changes might include expanding the range of time for an advance purchase and adding airport service and perhaps additional stops.
Although he said that the company was making a multimillion-dollar investment in the new fleet, Mr. Schoolman would not describe the terms of the sale, other than that it had been in the works since November.
Mr. Schoolman said buying the business made sense even in an economic downturn because there is a “loyal customer base and niche market” for affordable luxury and service.
Classic Coach has been in business since 1976 and is “one of the largest motor coach providers in the United States,” Mr. Schoolman said. In addition to charters, it operates daily service to Atlantic City and makes trips to regional colleges during major holidays.
