Swiss International Air Lines is deepening its collaboration with SBB Swiss Federal Railways to expand its intermodal rail/air travel product under the new name of ‘SWISS Air Rail’.
SWISS is adding Munich Hauptbahnhof in Germany to its intermodal SWISS Air Rail network. The new Munich-Zurich Airport route joins the existing rail/air services between Zurich Airport and the SBB stations of Basel SBB, Lugano and Geneva which have been gradually established over the past few years under the ‘Airtrain’ name.
The new Munich service is the first such rail/air connection between Zurich Airport and a point in a neighbouring country to be offered by the pair of companies.
This will be offered to passengers from the 1st July 2022. Passengers can take advantage of rail services between Munich Hauptbahnhof and Zurich Airport which can be seamlessly combined with their flight, with a choice of six SBB trains a day in each direction. Trains may also be boarded or left in Bregenz en route.
The rail ticket is included in the SWISS airfare and can be booked now together with the flight ticket on www.swiss.com or at any travel agency. As on all its other SWISS Air Rail routes, SWISS offers users of the service guaranteed connections in the event of a delay.
In Quotes
“Together with the SBB, we’re taking a big further step forward in offering our customers complementary travel options
We are jointly seeking to provide smarter combinations of rail and air transport wherever these make sense. And we’re marking a particular milestone here in offering – with Munich – our first-ever international SWISS Air Rail connection.”
Véronique Stephan, the SBB’s Head of Passenger Services Markets added
“I am delighted that it will now be easier to combine rail and air travel on the Munich-Zurich Airport route, too,”
“This new service will enable SWISS customers living a short or a medium distance away from SWISS’s Zurich hub to make greater use of rail connections to get to and from the airport. And with these quick and direct new rail services, they’ll enjoy the best possible connections with their SWISS flights.”
Miles and More Benefits too
If you collect points via Miles and More, SWISS customers using SWISS Air Rail service will earn status and award miles on their SWISS Air Rail ticket, too, with the number of miles earned depending on their connecting flight and class of travel.
SWISS First and SWISS Business travellers using SWISS Air Rail will also travel in first class on the train, and both they and HON Circle and Senator status customers can make use of the Munich Hauptbahnhof DB Lounge.
All travellers using SWISS Air Rail from or to Munich will also enjoy automatic seat reservations and free WiFi access.
Further Expansion on the Horizon
SWISS and SSB are planning further Air-Rail services The plans include selected new intermediate stops on existing SWISS Air Rail routes from summer 2022. The Geneva-Zurich Airport service will also allow travellers holding a SWISS flight ticket to join or leave the train in Lausanne, Fribourg or Bern; and the Lugano-Zurich Airport service will offer a similar boarding/leaving option in Bellinzona.
SWISS and SBB plan to introduce improved baggage collection and delivery services for SWISS Air Rail users.
Full details of the SWISS Air Rail routes operated and services provided in collaboration with the SBB will be found here.
Making the Multi-Modal Multi-Border Move
We all know we use more than one mode of travel is more common than not – and it is a big step forward with SWISS and SSB offering a cross-border service to Germany via rail in an integrated ticket.
It is the perfect case where a flight is less viable than the equivalent train journey, whilst offering more options on the way.
More importantly, unlike separately booked tickets, these will preserve connections – so if something does go wrong and you are delayed, you can be re-accommodated .
Considering the total time of travel from Centre-to-Centre (or in this case, Centre-to-Hub), there may well be some serious benefits to switching to rail for a travel segment.
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