It is the second rail company to connect with the alliance Skyteam. After Eurostar on 25 September, now comes Italian railway company Trenitalia is moving closer to the global airline alliance created in its time by Air France-KLM, Aeromexico, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air.
As with EurostarThe partnership was set out in a Memorandum of Understanding. At the heart of this partnership is the possibility for customers to explore Italy using the Frecciarossa high-speed trains - Trenitalia's high-speed network in Italy. It will therefore of intermodal journeys in Italy by combining air and rail routes in a single booking.
New coverage of Italy
A good opportunity for Skyteam passengers to regain complete territorial coverage of Italy, cover that had largely disappeared with the departure of ITAthe national airline that became part of the Lufthansa Group.
As Trenitalia is part of the SkyTeam global network, customers will be able to book a journey that links the air and rail segments. For example, customers will be able to fly from New York-JFK to Rome Fiumicino, collect their baggage and continue their journey by Frecciarossa train to Bologna or Naples, for example...
" We are delighted to be joining forces with Trenitalia as our second non-airline partner, reinforcing SkyTeam's intermodal travel strategy offering more high-quality high-speed rail links - supporting our mission to secure the future of travel "he said at the signing of the protocol, Patrick Roux, Chief Executive Officer of SkyTeam.
" The partnership with SkyTeam brings Trenitalia closer to its vision of being one of the main players in the European rail transport marketby offering customers reliable, high-quality rail travel that complements international flight schedules "added Mario Alovisi, Marketing Director, Trenitalia.
Eventually integrate the Trenitalia network in France?
The partnership will cover a number of areas. Travellers on the 14 SkyTeam member airlines will be able to earn and spend miles on eligible Frecciarossa itineraries.. The members of CartaFRECCIAthe Frecciarosa frequent flyer programme, will do the same on SkyTeam.
The Skypriority services will apply in railway stations where possible. They will benefit SkyTeam's Elite and Elite Plus members and Trenitalia's CartaFRECCIA Platinum and Gold members.
There are currently direct rail connections from Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino, Palermo-Punta Raisi and Turin-Caselle airports. Dedicated bus links serve the central stations from the other airports. The Italian cities in the SkyTeam network with Frecciarossa connections include Bari, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Rome, Venice, Verona and Turin.
After Italy, Skyteam/Trenitalia agreement could be extended to France. The railway company which currently links Paris to Lyon (and soon again to Chambéry) has indicated that it is planning Paris-Marseille services by 2025. It remains to be seen whether such an agreement could conflict with the intermodal services offered by Air France and SNCF...
