Air Canada on track with new Air-to-Rail connections in Europe

Air Canada has unveiled new air-to-rail booking options for customers to connect at European airports with four major passenger rail systems.

Through new railway and distribution partnerships, Air Canada customers, when purchasing flights, can now also book onward rail trips to a multitude of destinations throughout France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria to create a seamless travel itinerary.

Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning, at Air Canada, explained that: “As a leading global airline, Air Canada excels at flying, but we also know intermodal connections can enrich the travel experience through added convenience and by promoting sustainability.”

Galardo continued: “In offering easy onward airport connections with the national rail systems in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, we are creating intermodal hubs and opening the door for customers to reach stations at major cities and popular destinations throughout these countries.”

And he pointed out that “by facilitating the use of rail for the short-haul segments of our customers’ journeys, we can provide sustainable travel options when touring Europe.”

With the launch of Air Canada’s European intermodal initiative, customers can now, while purchasing an Air Canada flight, at the same time book rail travel from European airports.

Through the airline’s partnership with Lufthansa Express Rail Product and new collaborations with AccesRail & WorldTicket, customers can use a streamlined booking process to create a seamless travel itinerary that connects their flight with trips on trains operated by France’s TGV-SNCF Voyageurs, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Swiss Federal Railways or ÖBB, the national railway of Austria.

Customers can check in for all segments of their trip prior to departure, avoiding the need to obtain a train ticket at the station. As well, customers experiencing any flight disruption will have both their air and rail segments rebooked to provide peace of mind.

Air Canada’s Wing-to-Rail Connections include:

• France: Sold under codeshare on SNCF Voyageurs, customers can purchase a single ticket that connects them at France’s Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris to up to 22 SNCF Voyageurs high-speed rail destinations across France, including Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille and Strasbourg.
• Germany: Air Canada is building on its existing intermodal rail connections with Lufthansa Express Rail which provides access to up to 24 stations on Star Alliance intermodal partner Deutsche Bahn within Germany from Frankfurt airport. With today’s announcement, customers now have expanded options to reach more than 5,600 railway stations across the country using Deutsche Bahn’s Rail and Fly products from Frankfurt and Munich. As of August 2022, Deutsche Bahn became an Intermodal Partner of Star Alliance, the first non-airline partner of any of the major alliances., and Air Canada plans to launch codeshare on the German rail in 2024 via the Lufthansa express rail product, offering customers added benefits.
• Switzerland: Customers flying to Zurich or Geneva on Air Canada can now connect at the airport to Swiss Federal Railways trains and reach up to 11 stations throughout Switzerland, including such popular destinations as Basel and Lucerne.
• Austria: ÖBB services are now also available from Vienna airport to up to nine railway stations across Austria, including Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck.

Go to www.aircanada.com for more.