Star Alliance has signed up another train operator to help extend its reach, with Austrian national operator ÖBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen/Austrian Federal Railways) joining as an intermodal partner.
This partnership allows customers of ÖBB and Star Alliance member airlines to seamlessly begin or conclude their long-distance journey on ÖBB’s eco-friendly Railjet trains, connecting from or to Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck from Vienna International Airport.
The partnership is founded on ÖBB and Austrian Airlines’ long-standing cooperation to offer rail-to-air connectivity, known as AIRail, which was launched in 2014. It has allowed passengers to travel conveniently between major Austrian cities and Vienna Airport by train, with integrated ticketing and check-in services.
Star Alliance Intermodal Partnership was launched in August 2022 with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn. It allows the combination of an alliance-wide airline network with railway, bus, ferry or any other transport ecosystem. It further links loyalty systems and facilitates seamless airport/station/port transit.
For passengers, there are benefits. Star Alliance promotes these as:
- More booking convenience: in a single booking process, customers will receive a combined ticket for the flight and train journeys including seat reservation.
- More check-in convenience: customers can check in online or at one of the ÖBB Travel Centers in Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck and receive boarding passes for both flight and train journeys.
- More choice: customers will have even more choice based on timings, duration and prices offered.
- More benefits: with a combined ticket, customers can earn points or miles for their train journey in the preferred frequent flyer program of a Star Alliance member airline.
In Quotes
Peter Hanke, Federal Minister for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure for the Austrian government said:
“Cooperation between various providers is crucial if we want to overcome the current challenges in the area of mobility. The partnership between ÖBB, Austrian Airlines, and Star Alliance perfectly symbolises my understanding of a minister’s role as a bridge-builder between the various mobility options. Infrastructure is the foundation for a functioning location, but also for domestic economy, tourism, and society.”
Star Alliance Chief Executive Officer Theo Panagiotoulias stated:
“Air and Rail have complemented each other as transport modes for several years around the world, and we are proud to welcome ÖBB, the Austrian Federal Railways, to the Star Alliance family. With a single ticket, customers can now reach from Singapore to Salzburg, switching from a flight to Railjet at the Vienna airport. I am confident that not only will this partnership offer more choice, but it will also enhance the seamlessness in customer journeys.”
Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) said:
“Traveling from the main train stations in Linz, Salzburg, Graz, or Innsbruck to destinations around the world will soon be even easier. We are very pleased to take a significant step in cooperation with Star Alliance to improve the integration of rail and air travel. This initiative allows us to offer our passengers an environmentally friendly way to travel to and from Vienna Airport – completely car-free – making the overall journey even more comfortable. This will make train journeys an even more flexible and seamless part of air travel – not just with one airline group, but across a global network of 25 airlines.”
Filling in Multi-Modal Gaps
I’ve gone on record more than once about airlines and train companies working together to fill in the important gaps in transit – where an aircraft is the wrong solution between two cities. It’s welcoming to see that this is now extending to alliances too, thus ceasing the need for an airline to train company partnership, and being able to work across an alliance of airlines to help deliver a more connected travel experience.
Whilst not as big of a network, it is big enough to have intercity routes with its RailJet network (with lots of room for expansion – akin to how DB is expanding its relationship).
It’s exciting to see Airlines and Rail services starting to integrate more tightly together. Whilst they do exist in competition to each other, there are places where working together can bring greater benefits – be it to the environment, to the airline or to the passenger.
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