For 25 years now, Air France and SNCF have been offering their customers a service combining rail and air travel in the same booking. A solution that allows many French cities to be integrated into the Air France network. Called "Train + Air", this 'combi' package is used by more than 160,000 customers every year to and from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports.
The two companies have agreed to expand their offering. From 19 Julyseven new additional routes are being introduced. These routes can be booked from 21 June. This initiative is part of Air France's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. For Vincent Etchebehere, Director of Sustainable Development and New Mobilities - Air France, " Air France is committed to reducing its CO2 on its domestic network by 2024. Regularly enriching our Train + Air offer allows us to continue developing intermodality, one of the key elements in meeting this commitment.".
The new links include:
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Aix-en-Provence TGV, Bordeaux Saint-Jean, Marseille Saint-Charles and Montpellier Saint-Roch,
- Paris-Orly (via Massy TGV station) and Valence TGV, Avignon TGV, Marseille Saint-Charles
This network extension brings the number of stations to 18 offered by Air France as part of the "Train + Air" service: Aix-en-Provence TGV, Angers Saint-Laud, Avignon TGV, Bordeaux Saint-Jean, Champagne-Ardenne TGV, Le Mans, Lille Europe, Lorraine TGV, Lyon Part-Dieu, Marseille Saint-Charles, Montpellier Saint-Roch, Nantes, Nîmes, Poitiers, Rennes, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, Strasbourg, Valence TGV.
With "Train + Air", customers have a single reservation for their entire journey and a guaranteed seat on the next INOUI flight or TGV, free of charge, in the event of a train or plane delay. Passengers can also earn Miles on Flying Blue. They can also travel in First Passenger Class if they fly in First or Business.
Digital innovation
The two companies are also conducting a digital experiment on the CDG and/or Massy TGV - Lille and CDG and/or Massy TGV - Strasbourg routes. This digitisation should further simplify the "Train + Air" experience. The customer journey is now completely digital, departing from Lille Europe and Strasbourg stations and connecting with an Air France flight via Paris-Charles de Gaulle or Paris-Orly airports.
This allows you to check in online on the Air France website before departure, for the entire journey. The ticket can then be collected from the station on the day of departure. If the test is successful, this service could be deployed on all "Train + Air" routes from 2022 onwards.
As underlined by Jérôme Laffon, Marketing Director - Voyages SNCF: "Our priority is to enable French and foreign tourists to travel from end to end with complete peace of mind. The development of Train + Air enables us to meet this objective. Given the urgent need to tackle climate change, it offers an efficient, low-carbon alternative to individual car journeys to the airport. ".
