Princeton, N.J.-based A-1 Limousine will round out its 20-coach fleet with two 2019 MCI J4500 and two all-new 2019 MCI J3500s.

One of A-1’s newest J4500s was the featured MCI coach at the American Bus Association (ABA) Foundation’s Live Auction at ABA Marketplace, which was held in Louisville, Kentucky in January. Proceeds from the auction event benefit the ABA Foundation’s scholarships and motorcoach travel and tourism research.

The son of founders Michael and Marilyn Star, the company’s president, Jeffrey Starr, helped the family business expand from traditional limousines and vans into motorcoaches in the 1990s as corporate clients began asking for ways to move larger groups.

That strategy would begin with MCI pre-owned coaches and a longtime working relationship built with Walter Sturdivant, a 45-year career veteran at MCI who is regional VP of pre-owned coach sales, based at MCI Sales and Service Center in Blackwood, N.J. and Greg Lukas, regional VP of new coach sales.

A-1 is taking its new J4500 coaches in a roomy 60-seat configuration and its two J3500 with a 44-seat layout. All four coaches will also carry optional programmable multicolor interior lighting and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that help drivers prevent incidents in highway and local traffic.

A-1 knows about 35-foot coaches — its new J3500s will replace the company’s longtime “F coaches” built by MCI in Mexico more than 20 years ago.

These four new MCI vehicles will support a fast-expanding coach business, explains Starr. With nearly 130 mini-buses, vans, and sedans, the company is electing to grow their coach fleet “with a goal of refreshing our motorcoaches with two new coaches every few years because that side of our business is really growing,” he explained.

Another source to that growth is A-1’s 2018 acquisition of Princeton-based Triangle Tours and Travel, a tour and charter expert in sports, single-day and extended excursions with luxury touches like tailgate party services featuring upscale restaurant-style catering.