Motor Coach Industries (MCI) announced the delivery of 10 2023 model year MCI J4500 coaches to Cline Tours, one of the nation’s leading operators in the Southeast, marking Cline Tours’ 300th motorcoach and MCI’s 10,000th J4500 built on its production line in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
MCI tailors Cline’s J-Series coaches to the company’s specifications. For its newest luxury J4500 coaches, Cline Tours selected the optional 360-degree cameras for a bird’s eye view around the coach; the RGB variable lighting package offering programable interior color options; and the optional next-generation Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) by Bendix Wingman Fusion, providing collision mitigation, lane departure, and traffic sign recognition.
Cline Tours has been an MCI customer since 1996, when owner John McCommon acquired the Ridgeland, Miss.-based tour and charter operator and purchased its first new MCI coach in 2004. Today, Cline Tours has a diverse fleet of 230 revenue-producing vehicles, including mini-buses, school buses, more than 100 45-foot MCI J4500 vehicles, and six 35-foot MCI J3500 coaches that operate from nine locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
“We are very pleased to celebrate production of our 10,000th J4500, a big milestone, and to do so with customer Cline Tours,” said Brent Maitland, VP, private sector sales and marketing. “Cline Tours’ consistent selection of MCI’s J-Series speaks to the quality of the model, the relationship between our companies, and MCI’s responsiveness in providing reliable parts service and support. We appreciate the confidence Cline Tours has in MCI and we are committed to continuing our great relationship as Cline Tours continues to grow.”
Cline Tours chooses the J-Series because of the models’ reliability and fleet uniformity between its locations, according to John McCommon, president of Cline Tours.
“If you see one Cline Tours coach, you’ve seen them all,” McCommon said. “So many of our moves require multiple coaches. It’s important to our customers: They like the same look.”
Providing a young fleet with the newest safety features is another mainstay of Cline Tour’ success. Before COVID-19, the company had a five-year fleet renewal replacement policy and it plans to get back to that as fast as it can, McCommon said. The new clean-diesel J4500 coaches are replacing the 2015 and 2016 models.
Since 2001 when the J4500 was launched, the vehicle has undergone several redesigns, including a recent interior update that provides a more spacious cabin and industry-leading legroom. MCI also introduced a 35-foot version of the J-Series featuring all the styling and performance benefits of the 45-foot J4500. In 2019, Cline Tours was among the first operators to add six MCI J3500 coaches to its fleet.
To celebrate the production and delivery milestones, MCI showcased its 10,000th J4500 coach at the International Motorcoach Coach Group's (IMG) Strategic Annual Meeting August 9 to 12, in Arlington, Texas. The meeting brought together IMG’s tour and charter operator members throughout North America, including Cline Tours, for business, educational and networking sessions.
