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.
On 1 August 2022, German railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) became the first intermodal partner of the Star Alliance, as an extension of the Lufthansa Express Rail (AiRail) program that then existed for more than 20 years. All 26 member airlines of the Star Alliance can include DB ICE trains with flight numbers in their booking systems, to buy a combined ticket for the flight and the inner-German train in one booking step. This includes (business class) access to DB lounges, points or miles for the train journeys in the frequent-flyer programs and baggage handling in the AiRail check-in at Frankfurt Airport. [1]
In September 2024, high-speed rail operator Eurostar signed a memorandum of understanding to join SkyTeam as its first non-airline partner. This cooperation will enable integrated intermodal transport (air-rail) in the UK, France and the Netherlands. [2] [3]
Dedicated services are less common than Rail&Fly alliances, due to the level of service provided. Often checked through luggage 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 [4] |
Deutsche Bahn | Lufthansa American Airlines Emirates | Frankfurt Airport | Stuttgart Cologne Siegburg/Bonn / Kassel Wilhelmshöhe / Karlsruhe main station | AIRail [5] |
ÖBB | Austrian Airlines | Vienna International Airport | Linz Salzburg | AIRail [6] |
SBB | Swiss International Air Lines | Zurich Airport | Basel | Airtrain [7] |
SNCF | Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | Brussels-Midi Strasbourg | Air & Rail [8] |
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. [9]
♯ 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 [17] | |
Deutsche Bahn | Lufthansa [18] |
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Thalys was a brand name used for high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord via Brussels-South to either Amsterdam Centraal or to German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Dortmund.
High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 109.9-kilometre (68.3-mile) high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number as part of their published timetable or schedule. Typically, a flight is operated by one airline while seats are sold for the flight by all cooperating airlines using their own designator and flight number.
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within countries. This branding may involve unified aircraft liveries of member aircraft.
The Deutsche Bahn AG is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company (AG) and the largest railway company in the world.
Intercity Express is a high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands as part of cross-border services. It is the flagship of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. ICE fares are fixed for station-to-station connections, on the grounds that the trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph) within Germany and 320 km/h (200 mph) when in France, they are aimed at business travellers and long-distance commuters and marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.
Frankfurt Airport, is Germany's main international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. In the German Aeronautical Information Publication, its name is Frankfurt Main Airport. The airport is operated by Fraport and serves as the main hub for Lufthansa, including Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa Cargo as well as Condor and AeroLogic. It covers an area of 2,300 hectares of land and features two passenger terminals with capacity for approximately 65 million passengers per year; four runways; and extensive logistics and maintenance facilities.
Munich Airport is an international airport serving Munich and Upper Bavaria. To the German Aeronautical Information Publication, it is known as Muenchen Airport. It is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic after Frankfurt Airport, and the tenth-busiest airport in Europe, handling 47.9 million passengers in 2019. It is the world's 15th-busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, and was the 38th-busiest airport worldwide in 2018. It serves as hub for Lufthansa including its subsidiaries Lufthansa CityLine, Air Dolomiti and Eurowings as well as a base for Condor and TUI fly Deutschland.
Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. As of April 2024, it is also the world's largest airline alliance by market share, holding 17.4%, compared to 13.7% for SkyTeam and 11.9% for Oneworld.
AiRail Service is offered by Deutsche Bahn AG in cooperation with Lufthansa, American Airlines and Emirates. It is one example of several a dedicated air-rail alliances currently operating worldwide.
Precision Air Services Plc is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi and Comoros; and to various airports and airstrips in Tanzania. Kenya Airways owns 41.23% of the airline.
The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord, typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French 333-kilometre (207 mi)-long high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille.
An airport lounge is a facility operated at many airports. Airport lounges offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and better access to customer service representatives. Other accommodations may include private meeting rooms, telephones, wireless internet access and other business services, along with provisions to enhance passenger comfort, such as free drinks, snacks, magazines, and showers.
Volaris is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City with its operating bases in Cancún, Culiacán, Guadalajara, León/Del Bajío, Mexicali, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Tijuana. It is Mexico's largest airline by transported passengers and serves domestic and international destinations within the Americas. It is the leading airline in the Mexican domestic airline market with a market share of 42%.
Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew training. It is a member of the Star Alliance as well as the International Air Transport Association. The airline's IATA code SN is inherited from its predecessors, Sabena and SN Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group. The company slogan is ′You’re in good company′.
Railteam B.V. is a closed company with limited liability (B.V.) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It operates as an alliance of European railway companies in the field of international high-speed rail in Europe, modelled on the airline alliances and was founded in Brussels on 2 July 2007.
Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., doing business as ITA Airways, is the flag carrier of Italy. It is owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance and was founded in 2020 as bankrupt Alitalia's successor. The airline flies to over 70 scheduled domestic, European, and intercontinental destinations. ITA is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Its main hub is Rome Fiumicino Airport near Rome and focus city is Linate Airport near Milan. ITA Airways will leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance as part of the process of its acquisition by Lufthansa Group.
The Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) is a commercial agreement between 17 major European rail operators, to allow international train passengers on the next possible train without additional costs, in case of a missed train connection.