Posts

Dave

Intermodal ingenuity: Air Canada unveils air-to-rail connections across Europe

/in /by

Air Canada has unveiled an innovative air-to-rail booking option, enhancing the travel experience for its customers connecting at European airports.

This initiative allows passengers seamlessly to book onward rail trips, providing convenient access to a multitude of destinations in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Intermodal journeys: Air Canada has increased air-to-rail connection options across Europe

The move reflects Air Canada’s commitment to enriching the travel experience, promoting sustainability and creating intermodal hubs.

Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning at Air Canada, emphasised the airline’s dedication to providing more than just flights. He said,

In offering easy onward airport connections with the national rail systems in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, we are creating intermodal hubs and opening the door for customers to reach stations at major cities and popular destinations throughout these countries

Through partnerships with Lufthansa Express Rail Product, AccesRail and WorldTicket, Air Canada passengers can seamlessly book rail travel when purchasing their flights.

This collaboration allows a streamlined booking process, connecting Air Canada flights with trains operated by renowned rail systems, including France’s TGV-SNCF Voyageurs, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Swiss Federal Railways, and Austria’s ÖBB.

The European intermodal initiative not only simplifies the booking process but also offers added convenience.

Passengers can check in for all segments of their journey before departure, eliminating the need to obtain a train ticket at the station. In the event of any flight disruption, Air Canada ensures rebooking for both air and rail segments, providing peace of mind to travellers.

  • France: Customers can now purchase a single ticket connecting them at France’s Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris to up to 22 SNCF Voyageurs high-speed rail destinations across France, including Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, and Strasbourg.
  • Germany: Expanding on existing intermodal rail connections with Lufthansa Express Rail, Air Canada now provides access to over 5,600 railway stations across Germany using Deutsche Bahn’s Rail and Fly products from Frankfurt and Munich. Codeshare on the German rail is set to launch in 2024 via the Lufthansa express rail product.
  • Switzerland: Travellers flying to Zurich or Geneva on Air Canada can connect at the airport to Swiss Federal Railways trains, reaching up to 11 stations throughout Switzerland, including popular destinations like Basel and Lucerne.
  • Austria: ÖBB services are now available from Vienna airport, connecting to up to nine railway stations across Austria, including Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck.

This strategic expansion aligns with Air Canada’s goal of providing travel choices for customers.

The airline’s partnership portfolio has doubled over the past decade, with 39 codeshares, 120 interline agreements and four intermodal rail options. With an extensive network, Air Canada is making thousands of exciting destinations easily accessible.

Air Canada encourages its customers to embrace the new intermodal offering, putting thousands of exciting destinations within easy reach while offering sustainable travel options to major European destinations.

For details of all Air Canada flights and for rail bookings in the UK, Canada, Europe, North America and elsewhere, contact your Global Travel Account Manager.

Dave

Air Canada’s upgraded Airbus A321: redefining the business travel experience

/in /by

Air Canada introduces an upgraded Airbus A321 with cutting-edge cabin enhancements, including larger overhead bins, Bluetooth audio, real-time exterior cameras, and more, offering UK-based business travelers an elevated travel experience.

Air Canada has proudly introduced passengers to a new era of air travel comfort and technology, unveiling their first upgraded Airbus A321 with an entirely revamped interior and groundbreaking in-flight features. This milestone event promises to elevate the flying experience for UK-based business travellers.

The reimagined Airbus A321 boasts a series of innovative enhancements to ensure passengers enjoy unparalleled comfort and connectivity. Some of the key highlights of the cabin improvements include:

  • Larger Overhead Bins: The latest Airbus Airspace XL design features the largest overhead bins in its class, ensuring ample storage for passengers’ belongings. These spacious bins will also be incorporated into the Airbus A321XLRs.
  • Upgraded Seating: Business Class and Economy passengers will benefit from standardised seating designed to optimise personal space, enhance ergonomics, and provide more storage, ensuring a more comfortable journey.
  • Bluetooth Audio: Air Canada’s new In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system offers Bluetooth-enabled seatback monitors, allowing passengers to connect their personal headsets while enjoying video on demand, live TV, podcasts, or music. This initiative aligns with Air Canada’s commitment to sustainability by reducing single-use headphone waste.
  • New Exterior Cameras: Passengers can now enjoy real-time, high-definition views of their flight through a groundbreaking exterior camera system – a first for narrow-body aircraft.
  • Full-Colour LED Mood Lighting: The new cabin lighting system can set different ambiences based on the time of day and phase of the flight.
  • Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi: Enhanced satellite-based connectivity ensures passengers have access to high-speed internet during their journey.
  • Power Options at Every Seat: All passengers can conveniently access power outlets, USB-A, and USB-C to keep their devices charged.
Live view: industry-first exterior cameras on a narrow-body aircraft provide customers real time, high-definition flight views on IFE seatback screens

The new IFE system installed on the Airbus A321 and A320 fleets features Air Canada’s award-winning in-flight entertainment, offering the most extensive content of any airline in the Americas.

Passengers can also enjoy live TV on these flights, featuring popular channels such as BNN, CTV, LCN, RDS, TSN1, and TSN2.

The remaining 14 Airbus A321s and eight A320s in Air Canada’s fleet are set to undergo retrofitting from this autumn until the end of 2025.

With these upgrades, passengers will experience a consistent and elevated narrow-body cabin experience, in line with the quality offered on the Airbus A220 and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that constitute the majority of Air Canada’s narrowbody fleet. 

Air Canada is Canada’s largest airline and the country’s flag carrier. As a founding member of Star Alliance, it offers scheduled services to over 180 airports worldwide. The airline holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax and is committed to achieving a net-zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX in Canada and the OTCQX in the US.

In addition to enhancing passenger comfort and connectivity, the new cabin design will reduce the overall weight of the A321 by approximately 240 kilograms.

This weight reduction is expected to result in substantial fuel savings, estimated at more than 2.4 million litres, and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 4,185 Canadian homes.

For further information about these groundbreaking upgrades and how they will enhance your business travel experience, we invite you to get in touch with your Global Travel Account Manager.