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.
History 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.
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.
Dedicated services 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-HangzhouShanghai-Wuxi China Eastern Air-Rail Service Deutsche Bahn LufthansaAmerican AirlinesEmirates Frankfurt Airport StuttgartCologneSiegberg/Bonn / Kassel Wilhelmshöhe / Karlsruhe main station AIRail ÖBB Austrian Airlines Vienna International Airport LinzSalzburg AIRail SBB Swiss International Air Lines Zurich Airport Basel Airtrain SNCF Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Brussels-MidiStrasbourg Air & Rail Thalys KLM Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport Antwerp-CentraalBrussels-Midi Thalys American Airlines Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Brussels-Midi
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 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. Train Operating Company Airline From Airport To Marketed As Comboios de Portugal TAP Portugal Lisbon Airport, Porto Airport, Faro Airport All of Portugal, long-distance trains only Rail&Fly Portugal Deutsche Bahn Lufthansa #AeroflotAir Astana #Air ChinaAir IndiaAir MaltaAir MauritiusAir MoldovaAir TransatAlitaliaAmerican Airlines #All Nippon AirwaysAsiana AirlinesBelaviaBulgaria AirCathay Pacific AirwaysChina AirlinesChina Eastern AirlinesCondor #Croatia AirlinesCyprus AirwaysEgyptairEl Al Israel AirlinesEmirates #Ethiopian AirlinesEtihad AirwaysFinnair #Gulf AirHainan AirlinesIberiaIcelandairIran AirJapan AirlinesKorean AirKuwait AirwaysLATAMMahan AirMalaysia AirlinesMIAT Mongolian AirlinesMiddle East AirlinesOman AirPakistan InternationalQantas #Qatar Airways #Rossiya AirlinesRoyal Air MarocRoyal Jordanian AirlinesS7 AirlinesSingapore AirlinesSouth African Airways #SriLankan AirlinesSyrian Arab AirlineLATAM BrasilTAP PortugalTAROMThai AirwaysTransAerTUIfly.com #TunisairTurkish AirlinesUkraine InternationalUzbekistan AirwaysVietnam AirlinesYemenia Frankfurt AirportBasel AirportBerlin Brandenburg AirportBremen AirportDortmund AirportDresden AirportDüsseldorf AirportHamburg AirportHannover AirportLeipzig/Halle AirportKöln-Bonn AirportMünchen AirportMünster-Osnabrück AirportNürnberg AirportStuttgart Airport All Deutsche-Bahn-stations (including some in Austria and Switzerland), and select private railway services in Germany Rail&Fly ÖBB Air Moldova # Vienna International Airport Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bregenz, Graz, Klagenfurt and St. Pölten Air & Rail Austria ÖBB Emirates # Vienna International Airport All ÖBB-trains in Austria except EN Euro Night Rail & Fly in Austria Taiwan High Speed Rail China AirlinesEVA AirChina Eastern Airlines Taoyuan International AirportTaipei Songshan AirportKaohsiung International AirportTaichung Airport All of Taiwan - HSR only SNCF Air FranceGulf AirAir AustralAir Tahiti NuiAmerican AirlinesCathay PacificMiddle East AirlinesEmiratesEtihad AirwaysQatar Airways Paris-Charles de Gaulle All of France - HSR only TGVair ♯ Indicates airlines offer Rail&Fly ticketing on company website
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 Deutsche Bahn Lufthansa
See also
List of IATA-indexed railway stations Codeshare agreement Airport rail link
References
External links List of Rail&Fly partners from Frankfurt Airport