Air Canada has introduced a new air-to-rail booking option that allows customers to seamlessly connect at European airports to their onward journeys. With the launch of the European intermodal initiative, travellers can now, while purchasing an Air Canada flight, at the same time book their rail travel as well.

The easy connections from European airports to a multitude of destinations throughout France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, are enabled by new railway and distribution partnerships between the airline and four major passenger rail systems.

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.

For added convenience, 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.

Wing-to-rail connections

• 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. 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.

“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,” says Air Canada Executive VP Mark Galardo. “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) by facilitating the use of rail for the short-haul segments of our customers’ journeys, we can provide sustainable travel options when touring Europe.”

Additional details, including about the simple booking process, available routings and destinations, and other important information are available in Air Canada’s website.

Europe 2024

Air Canada plans to operate 100% of its peak summer 2019 trans-Atlantic capacity next year. Air Canada’s Toronto and Montreal hubs will respectively rank third and fifth largest in North America, in terms of average daily trans-Atlantic seats and the airline says it is committed to further developing both hubs’ trans-Atlantic footprint in the coming years.