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Upcoming and on-demand webinars, growth, innovation just part of success story at cline tours.

April 18, 2024 • By Alex Roman • Bookmark +

With its focus on new equipment and ability to snap back from COVID-19 rather quickly, Cline Tours was among the first in the nation to place a new 10-coach order with MCI in 2021.

In 1996, John McCommon, president of Ridgeland, Mississippi’s Cline Tours Inc ., purchased the operation, which at the time was about 13 years old but only consisted of one bus.

“It was a well-known business at the time with a great name in the region, which is why I chose to keep the Cline Tours brand,” explains McCommon. “But obviously, you can’t make a living with one bus, so I looked to grow the business and was able to do so fairly quickly.”

Flash forward to today, McCommon has grown Cline Tours to eight locations across Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, which transports more than 10,000 passengers at any given time.

Growing its stature in the industry, Cline Tours prides itself on providing excellent customer service, remaining vigilant with its safety practices, and using cutting-edge technology throughout the organization.

From McCommon’s start, he not only rebuilt and expanded the company’s fleet but did so with only new coaches engineered with the latest features — a strategic tactic that distinguishes Cline from its competitors and bolsters its bottom line.

For these reasons and more, McCommon and Cline Tours was named METRO Magazine ’s Motorcoach Operator of the Year at this year’s United Motorcoach Association’s EXPO , which was held in Charlotte, N.C., in February.

“Receiving this award certainly means a lot, especially coming from METRO Magazine , which is very well respected in the industry,” says McCommon. “Also, to be recognized as a real contributor to our industry means a lot to us and we are very proud of it.”

Cline’s Growth and Strategy

Since purchasing Cline, McCommon has brought a progressive and ambitious touch to create one of the nation’s most innovative tour, charter, and corporate shuttle operations.

Upon purchasing the operation, McCommon secured work at the then burgeoning casinos in Mississippi, growing the fleet to about 13 coaches by 2001 in the process.

Following 9/11 , McCommon bought out his business partner and saw the growth of his company eventually begin to grow by the mid-2000s.

“Once the shock of 9/11 and the change of ownership wore off, we started to really grow organically,” he explains. “Over the years, we’ve also had numerous opportunities to grow our company through acquisitions and have done so through the purchase of 19 companies, not only in Mississippi but also in Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee.”

While recognizing casino business was helping to pay the bills at the time, McCommon used his company’s success to take advantage of other opportunities to diversify as they arose, including a military contract at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss.

“That contract produced great revenue and allowed us to start buying new buses,” says McCommon. “Once we started adding those buses, the business seemed to follow.”

Another successful avenue for Cline Tours came in the way of the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference (SEC) colleges and universities, including the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State, and the University of Alabama.

“We probably do more SEC football business than any other bus company,” says McCommon, who adds that Cline’s clientele also includes smaller, lesser-known colleges and universities, as well as a junior colleges and private schools.

He says a heavy saturation in this market was key to the operation getting back on its feet after COVID-19 took away so much of the company’s business.

“Many of those schools were less affected by COVID, and after about four months or so, that business started to come back, especially at some of the high schools, and then eventually those Division 1 college programs, who were the first to start competitive sports again,” says McCommon. “Once that business started to come back, it came back strong.”  

Today, the majority of Cline’s business is charter.

Cline Tours was named METRO Magazine’s Motorcoach Operator of the Year at this year’s United Motorcoach Association’s EXPO, which was held in Charlotte, N.C., in February. Photo: UMA

New coaches, safety, and more.

From McCommon’s start, he not only rebuilt and expanded the company’s fleet but did so with only new coaches engineered with the latest features — a strategic tactic that distinguishes Cline from any competitor and bolsters its bottom line. In his words, “That’s because everybody wants to ride on the new motorcoaches.”

Cline tailors its coaches’ specifications adding important safety options such as 360-degree cameras for a bird’s eye view around the coach and the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) that provides collision mitigation, lane departure, and traffic sign recognition.

“We’re very concerned with the safety of not only our passengers, but also our staff,” says McCommon. “One of the reasons we began to move toward using only newer coaches was because newer buses are generally safer buses because the technology is more up to date. They also typically get about 10 to 15 percent better fuel mileage, which helps us control fuel costs.”

In addition to being named METRO ’s Motorcoach Operator of the Year, Cline Tours was also the winner of 2024’s International Motorcoach Group ’s Safety Award.

“We are really proud of winning that award as well, because safety is really how we sell ourselves to our customers,” says McCommon.

The move was a step back toward Cline’s policy of swapping out its old coaches for new ones.

“Before the pandemic, we were buying 20 to 25 coaches a year, at our peak, from MCI ,” says McCommon. “And that practiced continued for about 10 years, where we’d sell 20 coaches and buy 20 coaches, but COVID killed that. We plan to get back on that cycle, but it’s going to take several years for us to do so.”

McCommon says there have been several reasons for his operation straying from its traditional practice, including the value of previously-owned coaches cratering and soaring interest rates.

Another reason, he adds, is the supply chain issues experienced by motorcoach suppliers.

“Our suppliers have been devastated, particularly the manufacturers and parts suppliers. It is crazy what we had to go through during COVID, but it’s been especially crazy for them and we can’t operate without our suppliers,” McCommon says, adding that he plans on remaining patient and continuing to work as a partner with his suppliers.

“We know they’ve been through a lot and we’re sure there’s going to be some good to come out of it, but until then we are going to continue to work with MCI and all our suppliers to find solutions and keep moving forward,” he says.

In addition to being named METRO’s Motorcoach Operator of the Year, Cline Tours was also the winner of 2024’s International Motorcoach Group’s Safety Award. Photo: MCI

Innovative technologies, maintaining customers.

Cline Tours keeps miles ahead of others by applying innovative technologies. From its front office, to dispatch, to operational data on its coaches, Cline is often the first to embrace new software and systems to improve customer service and operational profitability.

“One of the first steps in the technology chain for us that was truly meaningful were electronic logs,” says McCommon. “We got on board with that technology about a year and a half before the mandate because we didn't want to wait until the last minute to find out there were issues. Fortunately, the first supplier we partnered with worked out for us and they are still our partner today.”

At Cline, every customer relationship starts with communicatio n. Staff stay connected digitally with customers and drivers in advance, during, and after each trip.

To successfully enable this next level of service, Cline uses C Spire, a Ridgeland, Miss.-based telecommunications supplier, for its VoIP phone systems, email, and software platforms, which link its locations and powers its online booking.

More clients are navigating away from booking by telephone, McCommon said in a YouTube video promoting its partnership with C Spire.

“Forty percent of our bookings are now online. It’s where everyone is going, and our mission is to get there first,” he says.

While adding that 90% of Cline ’s work is from repeat customers, McCommon says much of his operation’s work is driven through its website, which was revamped several years ago and is responsive for optimal viewing from a phone, tablet, or computer.

With business strong and getting stronger, McCommon says his operation’s biggest issue is the same as most, which is having enough drivers on board to handle potential growth.

“We had a lot of drivers who moved on to other opportunities or just didn’t come back after COVID because they were retired already and didn’t necessarily need the income,” he says.

To combat the issue, Cline has raised wages, offered sign-on bonuses, and created competitive benefits packages, including insurance and 401K programs.

“The buses aren’t going to drive themselves,” says McCommon. “We need drivers, and to get them in the door, we’ve got to make working here as attractive as possible.”  

While the trucking industry does supply some competition for drivers in the areas Cline serves, McCommon says with that industry down they have been able to address another talent issue the operation has been experiencing.

“We have been able to hire some mechanics from the trucking business, or from shops that serve the trucking industry, because business their business has been falling off, but ours is not,” says McCommon. “While that remains to be the case, we want to continue to take advantage of while we still can.”

Executive Editor

Alex Roman is Executive Editor of METRO Magazine — the only magazine serving the public transit and motorcoach industries for more than 100 years.

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About Kline Tours, Inc.

Kline Tours, Inc. offers motorcoach and air tours with twenty five years of continuous uninterrupted service to the four state region serving South Central Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and Winchester, VA area.

Kline Tours is your home for some of the biggest sporting events in North America. We offer bus tours to home games of the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Philadelphia Phillies. We also offer an annual trip to Fenway Park in Boston as well as other major league parks.

Kline Tours is your home for the NFL with tours to every Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins home game.

Kline Tours is your NASCAR source with trips to the spring and fall races at Richmond.

We are the four state region’s home for Atlantic City’s biggest bonus package. For only $63 per person we offer round-trip transportation from Chambersburg, Greencastle, Hagerstown and Frederick to Resorts Casino with a $30 Coin Bonus, FREE buffet dinner.

Kline Tours also offers 2 day packages to Atlantic City. Check this website for dates.

Kline Tours is also your source for air tours to Las Vegas , check this web site for upcoming Las Vegas tours. We run tours to Las Vegas throughout the year.

We are your source for New York City 1 day and 3 day tours. We offer New York City trips throughout the year.

We are also your connection for great concerts, family shows and so much more.

Kline Tours offers great multi-day tours to Myrtle Beach, Cape Cod, New Orleans, San Antonio, Niagara Falls, New York City and many other great destinations.

All tours depart from Greencastle, PA and Hagerstown, MD Tours running eastbound such as to destinations in Baltimore, Washington and Atlantic City also depart from Frederick, MD. Northbound tours such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, 1 Day Atlantic City tours, Niagara Falls, Cape Cod and other northern destinations also depart from Chambersburg, PA. All southbound tours have a Winchester, VA pick-up also.

Find out why more then 6,000 people every year make Kline Tours there first choice in travel.

Navigate the web site and check out our many offerings. Reservations can be made right here at our on-line travel center or by calling (717)-597-5997.

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Cline Tours, Inc.

(205) 591-7555 www.clinetours.com 4363 1st Ave N Birmingham, AL 35222-1530

Description

As of January 23, 2015 Adventure Bus Charter merged with Cline Tours. This merger brings together two powerhouse companies under one roof. The expectations are endless. Cline Tours has 6 offices throughout the Southeast (Birmingham, AL-Ridgeland, MS-Oxford, MS-Memphis, TN-Jonesboro, AR-Hot Springs, AR) and has long been a transportation provider in the Alabama Market (formerly Alabama Limousine).

Adventure has been a top provider in the Alabama Market since 1983. Now that the companies have merged, we would like to make a promise to our customers.

All of our buses will be no older than 3 years old (2012 model or newer). All of our buses will have working Wi-Fi. All of our buses will have working Satellite TV (through DirecTV). All of our buses will have individual plug-ins at each seat so that each passenger can charge cell phones, lap top computers, tablets, or anything else. We are beyond exited about what we will have to offer and we are equally excited to have the opportunity to serve YOU! All of my contact information will remain the same. As always, I am here to serve YOU. Without YOU we would go nowhere!

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• Alexander Dennis

Cline tours keeps growing with the MCI J-series — adds six new J3500s and one new J4500 to its all-MCI coach fleet

DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS, AUGUST 27, 2019:  (TSX:NFI) Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., (“NFI”), one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, is helping Mississippi-based Cline Tours grow with a total of six new J3500s – MCI’s flexible new 35-foot luxury model — and a new bestselling J4500.

One of the standout growth stories in the industry, the Ridgeland, Mississippi-based tour and charter company has been an MCI customer since 1996 when owner John McCommon acquired Cline Tours and its one MCI coach. Today Cline operates a diverse fleet of nearly 190 coaches, mini-buses and sleeper coaches, along with more than 120 MCI J-Series coaches operating from nine locations throughout the Southeast. Cline continues to be one of the top operators with the largest fleet of newer J-Series coaches in North America.

McCommon’s earlier experience with 40-passenger buses led him to this major investment in MCI’s new 35-foot model. “We experimented with 40-seat cutaway buses, but it got to the point where we wanted to step up and get something that would live up to our expectations,” he said. “When we learned MCI would be building a J3500 model, we knew it would meet our passenger comfort and operational requirements.”

Cline’s new J3500 coaches are built to the exact same specifications as its J4500 models. They feature industry-leading legroom in a 40-seat capacity, lavatories, best-in-class interiors, the RGB variable lighting package offering programable interior color options, and the optional next-generation ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System). The system, Bendix’ Wingman Fusion, integrates a radar, camera and braking system, providing always-on Collision Mitigation with Stationary Vehicle Braking (SVB) as well as adaptive cruise control with braking, Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and traffic sign recognition.

“Anything safety-related, I will gladly spend the money on to keep our drivers and passengers as safe as we can,” said McCommon, who highlights his coaches’ safety features to customers in personal presentations and during the MCI J4500 Safety Systems video the company features on  YouTube  and its own  website .

A team of 300 safety-dedicated employees and Cline’s insistence on a young fleet with the newest passenger protection systems are the mainstays of the company’s success, says McCommon. He also applies those standards to potential acquisition targets. When purchasing other operators, as Cline has done recently, McCommon buys those names, puts them in the vault, and rebrands the businesses under the Cline moniker. “Our reputation is very good and when you have as many buses as we do people take notice.”

Learn more about the company at  www.ClineTours.com .

With over 8,900 team members operating from more than 50 facilities across ten countries, NFI is a leading independent global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions under brands: New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), MCI® (motor coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI buses and motor coaches incorporate the widest range of drive systems available including: clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, and zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell). In total, NFI now supports over 105,000 buses and coaches currently in service around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information are available at  www.nfigroup.com ,  www.newflyer.com ,  www.mcicoach.com ,  www.arbocsv.com ,  www.alexander-dennis.com , and  nfi.parts .

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is North America’s public and private market motor coach leader, building the  J4500  J4500 (the industry best-seller for 13 consecutive years), the all-new 35-foot  J3500  model, and the workhorse  D-Series  including the breakthrough ADA-accessible MCI  D45 CRT LE  Commuter Coach offering lower dwell times. MCI will add  battery-electric propulsion  in 2020. With nearly 30,000 MCI coaches on the road, MCI also provides maintenance, repair, 24-hour roadside assistance, parts supply through  NFI Parts , and technician training through the industry’s only Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) accredited  MCI Academy .

NFI subsidiaries New Flyer and MCI appoint industry leader Ian Macpherson as Vice President of Engineering Services

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CLINE TOURS, INC. – Ridgeland, Mississippi

Departure - When and where you will leave

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CLINE TOURS, INC.

277 Commerce Park Drive Ridgeland, Mississippi  39157 +1 800-233-5307 www.ClineTours.com [email protected]

In business since: 1983

Additional Locations

3000 7th Ave North Birmingham, Alabama  35203 +1 800-633-0223

8790 Tulane Road Southaven, Mississippi  38671 +1 800-233-5307

2342 E Grand Ave Hot Springs, Arkansas  71901 +1 800-233-5307

515 Highway 7 South Oxford, Mississippi  38655 +1 800-233-5307

Key Cities Served:

Memphis, TN, Birmingham, AL, New Orleans, LA, Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX

Cline Tours, Inc. offers charter bus rentals to groups of any size.  Cline Tours, Inc. has locations in the following cities: Ridgeland, MS/ Jackson, MS Area; Southaven/Memphis, TN Area; Oxford, MS; Starkville, MS; Hot Springs, AR; Jonesboro, AR; Birmingham, AL

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Cline Marine and Machine was started by Chris Cline in 2019 after working in the lake area for 15 years. He recognized that people in the lake area were in need of a honest, timely and fair repair company. 

All rates are based per hour

PWC Rate $140

Boat Rate $140

Trip time $90

For your convenience we also offer "priority service" Call for details.

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Cline Marine strives to provide you an excellent experience from first contact and through out the  future years!

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Cline Marine & Machine

105 Mays Road, Milledgeville, Georgia 31061, United States

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277 Commerce Park Dr

Ridgeland, MS 39157

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I normally would recommend a place only if I am used it., However, not this place... Their driver was driving so horrendously I think I would be terrified to get into one of their vans. I don't know if customers were in there but oh my goodness, I won't risk it.

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Jerry Seinfeld Reveals Never-Told-Before Story About Famous Marine Biologist-Golf Ball Scene

You will appreciate George Costanza's speech about ripping golf ball from whale's blowhole even more after reading this story

• Author: Jimmy Traina

1. “The sea was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.”

That famous Seinfeld line, of course, was delivered by George Costanza, to his friends, Jerry, Kramer and Elaine, as he told the story of saving a beached whale’s life by removing a golf ball from its blowhole.

Here’s Seinfeld’s account:

“When Kramer is hitting golf balls at the beach and George is dating this girl, pretending to be a marine biologist, and walking on the beach and then saves a whale on the beach, we're shooting the episode—I don't know the schedule that week, but let's say we're shooting it on Wednesday, it's Tuesday—we don't have ‘the golf ball goes into the blowhole of the whale.’ We don't have it. It was never in the script.

“It was the night before we shot the scene with Jason in the coffee shop. I said to Larry [David], ‘Hey,  what if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer's golf ball?’ He's hitting golf balls at the beach. George is walking on the beach with the girl. We haven't connected them. We saw no connection.

“We write that speech the night before, two in the morning. We show up the next day. We hand Jason, who's an effing genius, we hand Jason that speech. How long is that speech? It's a page, two pages, yes? This is TV. This is why film sucks. You walk up to a TV actor like Jason and you hand him two-and-a-half pages and I go, ‘We got to shoot this in a half hour, memorize it.’ He goes, ‘no problem.’ That’s TV. No preciousness.”

Seinfeld gave Eisen one more tidbit about the famous closing scene from the “Marine Biologist” episode.

“I got a nugget for you. When Jason is doing the speech, there's one cut to me with my eyes, my eyebrows, I'm watching him. You think I'm reacting to the story. I'm reacting to, I can't believe he's getting this speech word perfect. That is what I'm thinking. I'm not even in the scene. I'm not acting. I'm just watching Jason get the speech right in front of a live audience. It’s not film. In movies, you screw it up and we do it again. In TV, this live audience is going to hear this speech for the first time once. Once. So you want those juicy laughs of they're hearing these jokes the first time and he's getting it perfect. That is why I have that look on my face in that scene.”

On the perfection of the #CurbYourEnthusiasm finale with Larry David and a never-before-told story from "The Marine Biologist" episode more than 30 years ago — @JerrySeinfeld crushed it with us today: #Seinfeld #Unfrosted @SeinfeldTV @IJasonAlexander pic.twitter.com/3sHOgEzMR6 — Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 2, 2024

Of all 180 episodes of "Seinfeld," @JerrySeinfeld has stated that perhaps his favorite is "The Marine Biologist" on account of how the biggest laugh came at the very end—and how difficult that is to achieve @IJasonAlexander nailed it in just 1 take 🐳 pic.twitter.com/oHpoAiCSp4 — TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) April 30, 2024

2. Charles Barkley shed more light on the future of Inside the NBA during an interview with Dan Patrick on Friday. The bottom line, as I said on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast, is simple: If TNT (Warner Brothers Discovery) doesn’t match NBC’s offer for the NBA’s “B” package of games, the legendary studio show with Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaq is done.

Charles Barkley told us that if TNT loses #NBA TV rights, he'll become a free agent. He's unsure about "Inside the NBA" moving to another network because the show wouldn't be the same without Ernie Johnson. Ernie has said he isn't leaving Turner. A decision is expected today. pic.twitter.com/MRMnjBFDf1 — Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 3, 2024

3 . Last season, ABC aired every Monday Night Football game, in addition to the broadcast airing on ESPN. That won’t happen this season . Only a handful of games will be simulcast on ABC.

4. Here’s your daily example of umpire ineptness. Somehow, the umps in Thursday’s Cubs-Mets game decided that Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong was safe on a play in which he used his helmet to remain on the bag. I mean, this is just flat-out embarrassing

PCA took his own helmet off when running to second 😂 pic.twitter.com/FJdBPx9VOk — Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 2, 2024

5. Cubs pitcher Shōta Imanaga is 5–0 with a 0.78 ERA. He’s also still getting used to America. One of the rules of the road has really made an impact on Imanaga.

“Shota, what has been the most surprising thing about life in America off the field in your short time here in the USA?” Shōta: “The biggest surprise for me has been that even on a red light, I can take a right.” (📸: @MLBNetwork ) pic.twitter.com/SUMgStQQbq — Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) May 2, 2024

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with Puck senior correspondent, John Ourand, about all the latest sports media news. Ourand breaks down the latest reports regarding the NBA’s upcoming television deals and where things stand between the league and ESPN, TNT, NBC and Amazon. Ourand also shares thoughts on how the new TV deals would impact the future of the Inside the NBA crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.

Ourand also discusses the changes at CBS’ NFL Today with Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms out and Matt Ryan in, whether the NFL Draft would ever move to a Wednesday-Thursday-Friday schedule instead of Thursday-Friday-Saturday, the status of the Marchand & Ourand Podcast and more.

Following Ourand, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins Jimmy for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include an NFL Draft shocker, a blow to an MLB superstar, Dave & Busters allowing gambling, Jerry Seinfeld turning 70 and much more.

Brand new SI MEDIA PODCAST with @Ourand_Puck - All the latest news on the NBA's TV future with ESPN, TNT, NBC and Amazon - Future of "Inside the NBA" - CBS shakes up "NFL Today" - Should NFL move Draft days https://t.co/c0SbPttxyO — Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) May 2, 2024

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY : I’ve written a lot this week about the future of Inside the NBA . So I figured I’d close out the week by posting what is probably my all-time favorite video from the show.

Shaq vs. Chuck episode 253,739,088 💀 pic.twitter.com/PzPEhdYOWI — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 1, 2019

Be sure to  catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts  and check out the  Sports Illustrated Media Podcast  hosted by Jimmy Traina on  Apple ,  Spotify  or  Google . You can also follow Jimmy on  Twitter, Instagram  and  TikTok . 

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