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Booking a train ticket through your airline can take all the hassle out of onward travel, and will ensure you’re protected when things don’t go to plan.
Unless you’re visiting a major city for your holidays, the last leg can be the worst of the whole journey. When you emerge from a busy airport, tired from your flight, the last thing you need is to try and figure out how to use local public transport.As a result, many holidaymakers rely on hotel shuttles, taxis or rideshares for the final miles of their trip. While this is often convenient, it’s typically expensive and comes at a high carbon cost. Taking the train can be a more pleasant, affordable, and environmentally sound option. In some cases it is quicker too.By combining rail tickets with flight bookings, passengers can take the guesswork out of this last stretch of their journey. Air-rail tickets mean you’ve got your booking in hand when you arrive and can simply head to the train station for your connection. On top of this, when booked all together, airlines will protect the passenger in case a flight delay means they miss their train.Several European airlines already offer combined ticketing, with some even transferring luggage from plane to train for you.Air France: Combining flights with trains to FranceAir France offers not one but two ways to combine your flight with a rail trip.For trips that include a train within France, the Train + Air tickets are available for any international travellers, including those arriving from or going to French overseas territories. The train network in France is expansive, with connections from both Orly and Charles de Gaulle in Paris to dozens of destinations across the country.To book these tickets, passengers simply need to enter the name of the train station as if it were an airport. The airline will organise the train booking, and tickets are delivered as a downloadable e-ticket 30 hours before the trip.Keep in mind that your baggage will not be transferred between the plane and the train, so manual retrieval and checking in will need to be done. Orly Airport is not walkable to Massy TGV station, but the airline provides a taxi transfer between the rail station and the terminal.For those heading to or departing from Brussels, Air&Rail offers similar perks. In this case, a combined ticket will put you in first class on the TGV INOUI, and bags will be checked at the rail station on departure. However, if you’re arriving in Paris by plane, you’ll need to get your bags yourself and drop them at the Air&Rail agency before boarding the train.Air France states that if you miss a connection due to a delay, the airline will transfer you to the next available flight or rail service.ITA Airways: Accessing all of Europe on one ticketItalian airline ITA Airways has teamed up with AccesRail technology to offer combined air and rail tickets that cover just about all of Europe. Launched in 2023, the service allows travellers to book train tickets at both ends of their journeys, including in the UK.Available for any international or intercontinental flights, passengers can book train travel with several rail partners, including Trenitalia in Italy, Renfe in Spain, SNBC in Belgium and Deutsche Bahn in Germany. Most of the UK’s many train operators are also included.This means that you could effectively travel from the picturesque Italian town of Orte in the province of Viterbo by high-speed rail to one of the airports in Rome. From there, you could catch a flight to London and immediately hop on a train to Edinburgh. All on one ticket and with a protected itinerary.Booking is via the ITA Airways website, with separate boarding passes issued for each mode of transport. You will be responsible for picking up your luggage and taking it to the next stage of the trip.Austrian Airlines: Connecting the world to Austria’s gemsThrough its AIRail program, Austrian Airlines offers onward travel from any of its international flights to Linz, Salzburg, Graz and Innsbruck. Arriving into Vienna, passengers can connect directly onto ÖBB Railjet trains to get to their final destination stress-free.Booking the ticket is simple on the Austrian Airlines website. As with other airlines, the desired train station should be selected as the final arrival point, which will then be shown on the itinerary as being ‘operated by ÖBB.’ The rail section will even have an Austrian Airlines flight number.The connection is guaranteed, so if you face a delay during any part of your trip, a new booking will be provided. Baggage is transferred by the passenger between train and plane, and check-in for both modes of transport can be done online. As an additional perk, Austrian Airlines provides a snack voucher to use on the train, and allows passengers to collect Miles & More points on the rail portion of their trip. As a Miles & More member, a discount of 20 per cent is also applied to car parking in Linz.TAP Portugal: Travel to any city in EuropeTAP Portugal allows passengers to book onward rail travel not just in Portugal but to many major cities in Europe. Its partnerships with several rail companies mean cities in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland are all reachable with just one booking.The train ticket must be booked at the same time as the flight, as it cannot be added on later. Baggage is self-transfer, and the connection is guaranteed so any disruptions can be easily resolved.Lufthansa: Go anywhere in Germany with Deutsche BahnLufthansa’s Rail&Fly tickets offer connections to more than 5,600 train stations in Germany through its partnership with Deutsche Bahn. Unusually, the Lufthansa offer also allows travel up to one day before or after the flight, catering to those trips operating at unsociable hours.Although the partnership is with Deutsche Bahn, passengers are only limited to DB stations, not to the rail operator. That means onward travel can also be on InterCity, EuroCity and ICE trains, opening even more options.There are two ways to book Rail&Fly tickets. If you’ve already selected your flight, you can add a rail connection under ‘additional services’ on the booking page. Alternatively, you can simply book a trip selecting the rail station as the destination and the booking system will do the rest.Baggage is self-transfer with Rail&Fly, and passengers do not have to take the train that is specified on the booking. The ticket is valid for any train on that route on that day.SWISS Air Rail for connections to Switzerland and beyondSWISS passengers can book Air Rail connections to any SBB station in Switzerland from Zurich and Geneva airports. It also includes some stations that are close to the border outside of the country, such as Bregenz in Austria and Munich in Germany.Unlike some other airlines, the Air Rail connections are fully integrated into the SWISS booking system. This means a seamless booking experience and only one check-in required, with only one boarding pass for all parts of the journey.The train ticket is valid for one day before departure and up to one day after the arrival of the flight. Unlike Lufthansa, SWISS notes that you must try to use the specific train service you booked, particularly for those services that cross the border. Baggage must be carried with you on the train, both when arriving and departing the country. However, for an extra fee, SWISS offers a baggage transfer service throughout Switzerland called AirPortr, which will let you travel luggage-free.KLM: From Amsterdam to the worldKLM was one of the first airlines in Europe to venture into air-rail tickets, offering onward transport to Brussels from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for over 20 years. Originally provided by Thalys, now Eurostar, the service has been used by more than 4.5 million passengers since 2001.Passengers can choose to travel to or from either Brussels-Midi/Zuid train station or Antwerp Central station with their air-rail ticket. Both stations can be selected as your departure or arrival location, and will include a high-speed train journey from Belgium to Amsterdam.Brussels-Midi/Zuid is also a connection for the air-rail service to Paris Charles de Gaulle for Air France, KLM’s sister airline. In March 2024, the airline group announced a refurbished lounge in Brussels for their Air&Rail customers, enabling customers to check in, drop their luggage and relax in pleasant surroundings.Is booking an air-rail ticket worth it?In general, booking both legs of a journey together is well worth it for the peace of mind alone. All the services mentioned here offer a connection guarantee, meaning if you miss your train or flight due to a delay, you won’t be stranded. Cost savings vary depending on the service booked, but those offering a fixed cost for the rail journey (such as Lufthansa) tend to give great value. If you hold a loyalty card with the airline, you may also be able to earn frequent flyer miles for the rail portion of your ticket. The carbon savings can be pretty significant, too. In general, train travel produces between 40g and 50g of CO2 per passenger kilometer, less for electric trains, compared with 150g to 200g per passenger kilometre for a short-haul flight. Choosing a train over a flight for a journey of 500 km, for example, would reduce the CO2 emissions by 70 to 90 per cent.There are some limitations of combined air-rail tickets, most notably in terms of the lack of flexibility with the train portion. Not all rail companies are included in these offers, and fewer options may be presented when booking via the airline. The manual transfer of luggage may also be a problem for some passengers.Nevertheless, the ease of having one booking and knowing you’ll be taken care of if things go wrong makes the air-rail offering an appealing option.
