There are four main types of airline-railway business 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 tables below.
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 | New Haven, CT Philadelphia, PA Stamford, CT Wilmington, DE | |
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] |
ÖBB | Austrian Airlines | Vienna International Airport | Linz Salzburg | AIRail [3] |
SBB | Swiss International Air Lines | Zurich Airport | Basel | Airtrain [4] |
SNCF | Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | Brussels-Midi Strasbourg | Air & Rail [5] |
Thalys | KLM | Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport | Antwerp-Centraal Brussels-Midi | |
Thalys | American Airlines | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | Brussels-Midi |
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 discounted (sometimes free) train ticket in addition to their full-price air ticket. 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. [6]
♯ Indicates airlines offer Rail&Fly ticketing on company website
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 [14] |
![]() | Deutsche Bahn | Lufthansa [15] |
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Navitaire LLC is a subsidiary of Amadeus IT Group. Navitaire primarily offers systems for passenger reservations, travel commerce, ancillary revenue and merchandising, as well as revenue accounting and revenue management to airlines and rail companies.