Air Canada announced that its intermodal strategies will be extended across Europe, to include Italy and Spain, Britain and Asia. Its first operator is South Korea. Customers who purchase flights can easily book onward connections to destinations in these countries, creating a seamless travel itinerary. The new rail and buses options extend the Air Canada Intermodal offer previously launched in December of 2023 in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
“Following its successful launch in Europe in 2017, Air Canada is now expanding its intermodal strategies to include more European gateways as well Asia. Our customers can connect with Trenitalia or Renfe, five operators within the UK including National Express, or KORAIL in South Korea.
The expanded offer will allow our customers to conveniently add rail or bus connections to their itinerary, whether they are flying to or from our international hubs. Our intermodal connectivity not only provides more choice, but also makes available sustainable options for the short-haul segment of their journey,” said Mark Galardo Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning, at Air Canada.
Enabled through Air Canada’s partnership with AccesRail, customers can book efficient connecting rail or bus segments in more countries on www.aircanada.com as part of their itinerary. Customers can check-in for the train or the bus portion of their trip before departure with AccesRail, eliminating the need to purchase a separate ticket. To provide customers with peace of mind, both the air and land segments will be rebooked if there is a flight delay.
Italy
Air Canada is flying to two airports in Italy this winter – Rome and Milan – where customers will be able to connect conveniently to Trenitalia, the state-owned railway of Italy. Customers will be able travel to up 30 destinations via these connections. These include Florence, Naples and Reggio di Calabria.
Spain
In Spain, where Air Canada will operate to Barcelona and Madrid this winter, customers will be able to connect at airports with Renfe, the state-owned rail transport provider. It will offer connections to up to 24 onward destinations throughout Spain, including popular tourist cities such as Cadiz, Granada, Pamplona, and Zaragoza.
Britain
Customers will have the option to connect onward by land from London-Heathrow. Rail services to several important destinations will be available on four rail companies, LNER, Avanti West Coast, Great Western Rail, and the TransPennine Express. In addition, the UK’s leading scheduled coach operator, National Express, offers convenient connections at London-Heathrow.
South Korea
Air Canada flies to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport where customers will be able to connect conveniently to KORAIL’s KTX Trains via the AREX Express and Seoul Station. These connections will allow customers to travel up to eight destinations. These include Busan, Gwangju and Ulsan
Other intermodal connections
Air Canada launched in December 2023 new air-to-rail booking options for customers to connect at airports in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria with 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 on www.aircanada.ca 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.
