Star Alliance carrier Swiss International Air Lines ( SWISS) has expanded its partnership with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to allow passengers to book flights and trains directly to even more destinations. The intermodal partnership has proved incredibly popular since its introduction in 2019 and provides a simple way to access destinations across the Alps.
Skiing into Switzerland
The link between the airline and national railroad began in 2019 as a strategic partnership to link Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Basel and has since grown to a network of more than 20 SWISS Air Rail destinations. The partnership was initially intended to last only five years, but given the fact that the demand for these services has already grown by 15% this year alone, the transport companies have now decided to extend the collaboration indefinitely.
This winter, the partners are adding four stunning destinations in Canton Graubünden. Beginning on October 2nd, passengers can book tickets to and from Chur, Davos, Klosters, and St. Moritz. The latter three destinations have been added compliments of the Rhaetian Railway, opening up new opportunities for international travelers. Heike Birlenbach, Chief Commercial Officer at SWISS, expressed excitement for the partnership’s expansion:
“SBB and SWISS are both bywords for Swiss values, quality and reliability. This partnership enables us to offer our customers an overall travel experience that seamlessly combines the strengths of air and rail travel and, in doing so, sets new benchmarks in comfort and convenience terms.”
“I’m especially pleased that our now-extended collaboration with SBB will enable us to offer even more convenient connections within Switzerland that optimally meet our air travellers’ needs.”
Photo: SWISS
SWISS and SBB are far from the only partners that can provide integrated air-rail tickets. German rail operator Deutsche Bahn even became an official partner of the Star Alliance in 2022.
How does it work?
The SWISS Air Rail program links the national carrier’s air routes to further points in Switzerland and across Europe, offering direct transfers and a connection guarantee in the event of delays. To book, passengers can select any of the rail stations offered as their point of origin or destination. This means SWISS Air Rail travelers only need to check in once and can use their rail ticket the day before or after travel for additional flexibility.
Passengers can even earn frequent flyer miles on the rail tickets too. SWISS Air Rail travelers who are Miles & More members will earn miles and points based on their connecting flight and class of air travel, with SWISS First and Business passengers receiving first-class rail travel on the overland leg. Véronique Stephan, Head of Passenger Services Markets at SBB, noted how the links help connect Switzerland to the world:
“The open-ended continuation of our collaboration and the addition of these new connections to Chur, Davos, Klosters and St. Moritz tellingly demonstrate how SBB and SWISS are jointly developing a broad range of viable travel solutions, and the benefits for all our customers are seamless connections and an expanded network of travel services that bring the world and Switzerland even closer together.
“We’re teaming up to bring people on board!”
This further expansion brings the SWISS Air Rail network to 21 destinations. The network already extends to Basel, Bellinzona, Bern, Brig, Fribourg, Geneva Cornavin (main station), Interlaken, Lausanne, Lucerne, Lugano, Montreux, Sierre, Sion, Vevey, and Visp in Switzerland. Two international destinations are also included: Munich in Germany and Bregenz in Austria.
Where does SWISS fly in the United States?
The carrier is one of several Lufthansa Group airlines with a significant presence in the US. The airline confirmed it will extend its summer seasonal service to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) through the winter with five weekly flights. In addition, the carrier is boosting frequencies on three US routes. Boeing 777 flights from Zurich to the Californian cities of Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) will become daily operations. Meanwhile, the airline’s route to Miami (MIA), which is operated by a mix of aircraft, will increase to twice daily for the winter season.
The rest of the carrier’s US routes are operated by its fleet of Airbus A330s. The New York City area receives the most flights from the airline, with links from Zurich to both Newark (EWR) and New York JFK. The latter airport is also home to the carrier’s sole US link from Geneva (GVA).
Source: Simple Flying
