Air India partners AccessRail for seamless intermodal travel to 100+ cities in Europe
Gurugram (Haryana) [India], August 22 (ANI): Air India has taken a step towards enhancing connectivity options for its guests across Europe by entering into an intermodal interline agreement with AccesRail.
This partnership promises to facilitate seamless travel to over 100 cities and towns in Austria, Belgium, Germany, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom, even those without dedicated airports.
Under this agreement, Air India guests will have the convenience of booking a single intermodal ticket that grants them access to on-ground train and bus connections through its European gateways of Amsterdam, Birmingham, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Milan, and Vienna.
This collaboration will allow Air India passengers to enjoy the same generous baggage allowance on these rail and bus services as they do on Air India’s flights.
AccesRail, an IATA travel partner with its own designator code (9B), plays a role in enabling these seamless journeys on a single ticket.
Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial & transformation officer at Air India, said, “The expansion of our global network is one of our key priorities in the ongoing, comprehensive transformation of Air India. This partnership with AccesRail not only helps us to provide our guests easy access to an extended network of destinations across Europe but also to bridge the gaps in connectivity between India and Europe.”
Aggarwal also emphasized the environmental aspect, adding, “Augmenting our network with an intermodal approach also underlines our commitment to environmental sustainability.”
Andrew Popescu, vice president of Business Development at AccesRail, said, “We are excited to be launching our Air India-AccesRail cooperation and look forward to continuing with Air India on a global scale with so many of our intermodal rail and coach partners. Through this enhanced AccesRail partnership, Air India will be able, now and in the future, to offer its customers more destinations and more possibilities in a more seamless fashion.”
AccesRail’s extensive network of rail and bus operators for Air India includes Avanti West Coast (UK), Great Western Railways (UK), London North Eastern Railways (UK), National Express (UK), Trenitalia (Italy), ÖBB Austrian Railways (Austria), SNCB Belgian Railways, and Thalys (Netherlands/Belgium).
Currently, intermodal tickets with Air India are available for booking through travel agents globally.
The airline also plans to extend the facility to its own sales channels progressively, making it even more convenient for travellers to explore Europe’s diverse cities and towns seamlessly.
