Air-rail alliance
There are four main types of airline-railway alliance or codeshare agreements - dedicated services, entire network access, Night&Fly, and re-protection agreements. The currently active air-rail alliances are listed in the various tables below.
Dedicated services
Dedicated services are less common than Rail&Fly alliances, due to the level of service provided. Often checked through luggage to is provided between the air and rail journeys, dedicated carriages or entire trains are provided to airline passengers, and service is to the same level expected on board an aircraft, including meals and refreshments.
| Train Operating Company | Airline | From Airport | To City | Marketed As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amtrak | United Airlines | Newark Liberty International Airport | Philadelphia | ||
| CRH | China Eastern Airlines | Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport | Shanghai-Hangzhou Shanghai-Wuxi | China Eastern Air-Rail Service [1] | |
| Deutsche Bahn | Lufthansa American Airlines Emirates | Frankfurt Airport | Stuttgart Cologne Siegburg/Bonn / Kassel Wilhelmshöhe / Karlsruhe main station | AIRail[2][3] | |
| ÖBB | Austrian Airlines | Vienna International Airport | Linz | AIRail[4][5] | |
| SBB | Swiss International Air Lines | Zurich Airport | Basel | Airtrain [6] | |
| SNCF | Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | Brussels-Midi Strasbourg | Air & Rail [7] | |
| Thalys | KLM | Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport | Antwerp Brussels | ||
| Thalys | American Airlines | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | Brussels-Midi | ||
| Thalys | Jet Airways | Brussels Airport | Paris | [8] |
Entire network access
More commonly referred to as Rail & Fly due to the popularity of the Deutsche Bahn service, entire network access is the increasingly common form of air-rail alliance. This allows passengers to book a train ticket at the same time as their air ticket, often for a discounted price and occasionally for free. Checked through luggage and dedicated train compartments for airline passengers are not normally available, though sometimes first class train travel is provided. Travel is usually available to the entire rail network.
♯ Indicates airlines offer Rail&Fly ticketing on company website
Night & Fly
A novel approach to attracting passengers by offering overnight trains for accommodation from the airline's hub airport.
| Train Operating Company | Airline | From Airport | To | Marketed As |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Night Line | Swiss International Air Lines | Zurich Airport | Basel Köln Düsseldorf Amsterdam Dortmund Bremen Hamburg Frankfurt Hannover Berlin | Night&Flight [14] |
Airline-Rail re-protection agreements
Also known as "Good for Trains", this is an emergency backup service for airline cancellations, providing train tickets in lieu of flights to get passengers to their destination. Such an example was during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010, where extra trains were provided to support the airlines’ stranded passengers in Europe. These 'good for train' agreements are in place with the following airlines:
| Country | Train Operating Company | Airline |
|---|---|---|
 | Via Rail | Air Canada [15] |
 | Deutsche Bahn | Lufthansa Air Berlin [16] |
See also
 |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rail air alliances. |
References
- ↑ "Air-Rail Service". China Eastern. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ "AIRail Service". Frankfurt Airport. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/AIRail-Reisen-wie-im-Flug
- ↑ http://www.austrian.com/Info/Book/AIRail.aspx?cc=AT
- ↑ http://www.oebb.at/en/Planning_your_trip/Travelling_to_Vienna_Airport/Austrian_AIRail/index.jsp
- ↑ "Airtrain". SWISS. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ↑ "Air-Rail Service". Air France. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ http://in.news.yahoo.com/jet-airways-forms-air-rail-code-share-thalys-124248337.html
- ↑ "Rail&Fly Portugal – Termos e Condições" (PDF). TAP Portugal. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ↑ "Rail & Fly". Frankfurt Airport. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ "Air China - HSR". SkyTeam. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ "TGVair". Air France. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ "Gulf Air and French National Railway SNCF commence codeshare". AMEINFO. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ Sauter-Servaes, T; Nash, A. (2009). "Increasing Rail Demand by Improving Multimodal Information and Ticketing". Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2117 (1): 7–13. doi:10.3141/2117-02.
- ↑ "Air Canada/Via Rail reprotection agreement". Air Canada. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ↑ "Media release: DB prepared for flight restrictions". Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved 28 November 2011.