Air Canada Expands its Intermodal Strategy in Europe to Italy, Spain, Britain and Launches First Air-to-Rail connections in Asia within South Korea

MONTREAL, Nov. 7, 2024 /CNW/ - Air Canada today announced it is extending its intermodal strategy across Europe to include Italy, Spain, Britain as well as to Asia, with its first operator in South Korea. Customers purchasing flights can now easily book onward land connections to destinations across these countries to create a seamless travel itinerary. The new rail and bus options expand the Air Canada Intermodal offering previously launched in December 2023 in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

"Following a successful launch in Europe last year, Air Canada is further growing its intermodal strategy to more European gateways and to Asia, making it possible for our customers to connect on Trenitalia, Renfe, five operators in the UK, including National Express, and KORAIL in South Korea. The expanded offer will make it easy for our customers flying to and from our international hubs to add convenient rail or bus connections on a single itinerary. Our intermodal connections not only provide more choice, but also make available sustainable options for short-haul segments of their journey," said Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President of 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 bus portion of their trip with AccesRail prior to departure, avoiding the need to obtain a separate train or bus ticket. As well, customers experiencing any flight disruption will have both their air and land segments rebooked to provide peace of mind. 

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. Through these connections, customers will be able to travel to up to 30 onward destinations. 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. Through these connections, customers will be able to travel to up to eight onward 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.

Additional details are available at www.aircanada.com. Air Canada's partnership portfolio has doubled over the past decade with three joint business agreements, 40 codeshare, 120 interline and 13 intermodal rail options and one bus option across the transport ecosystem to over 1200 destinations, delivering a world-spanning array of travel choices for customers.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada's Aeroplan program is Canada's premier travel loyalty program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world's largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers more travel choices than any other Canadian tour operator to hundreds of destinations worldwide, with a wide selection of hotels, flights, cruises, day tours, and car rentals. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada's passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada's climate ambition includes a long-term aspiration of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX in Canada and the OTCQX in the US.

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