Posts

Dave

Munich-Zurich Airport to be the first international ‘SWISS Air Rail’ route

/in /by

SWISS is expanding its collaboration with SBB Swiss Federal Railways on its intermodal transport service, which will in future be known as ‘SWISS Air Rail’.

From July 2022 onwards, SWISS customers can take advantage of the first-ever international rail/air connection in the form of a new train service between Munich Hauptbahnhof and Zurich Airport.

SWISS Air Rail services in Switzerland are also set to be further expanded in collaboration with SBB.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is intensifying its collaboration with SBB Swiss Federal Railways to expand its intermodal rail/air travel product under the new name of ‘SWISS Air Rail’. The new Munich-Zurich Airport route joins the existing rail/air services between Zurich Airport and the SBB stations of Basel SBB, Lugano and Geneva which have been gradually established over the past few years under the ‘Airtrain’ name. The new Munich service is the first such rail/air connection between Zurich Airport and a point in a neighbouring country.

From 1 July 2022, travellers holding a SWISS flight ticket can take advantage of rail services between Munich Hauptbahnhof and Zurich Airport which can be seamlessly combined with their flight.

SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour said,

Tamur Goudarzi Pour

Together with SBB, we’re taking a big further step forward in offering our customers complementary travel options.

We are jointly seeking to provide smarter combinations of rail and air transport wherever these make sense.

And we’re marking a particular milestone here in offering – with Munich – our first-ever international SWISS Air Rail connection.

Véronique Stephan, SBB’s Head of Passenger Services Markets said,

I am delighted that it will now be easier to combine rail and air travel on the Munich-Zurich Airport route.

This new service will enable SWISS customers living a short or a medium distance away from SWISS’s Zurich hub to make greater use of rail connections to get to and from the airport.

And with these quick and direct new rail services, they’ll enjoy the best possible connections with their SWISS flights.

Véronique Stephan

The timetable for the new SWISS Air Rail service between Munich Hauptbahnhof and Zurich Airport offers SWISS travellers a choice of six SBB trains a day in each direction. Trains may also be boarded or left in Bregenz en route. The rail ticket is included in the SWISS air fare, and can be booked now together with the flight ticket by customers of Global Travel Management.

As on all its other SWISS Air Rail routes, SWISS offers users of the service guaranteed connections in the event of a delay.

SWISS customers using SWISS Air Rail who are Miles & More members will earn status and award miles on their SWISS Air Rail ticket, too, with the number of miles earned depending on their connecting flight and class of travel. SWISS First and SWISS Business travellers using SWISS Air Rail will also travel in first class on the train; and both they and HON Circle and Senator status customers can make use of the Munich Hauptbahnhof DB Lounge.

All travellers using SWISS Air Rail from or to Munich will also enjoy automatic seat reservation and free WiFi access. F

The range of SWISS Air Rail options in Switzerland is also to be further expanded together with SBB. The plans include selected new intermediate stops on existing SWISS Air Rail routes from summer 2022 to enable even more SWISS travellers to take advantage of these seamless rail connections to and from SWISS’s Zurich Airport hub.

The Geneva-Zurich Airport service will also allow travellers holding a SWISS flight ticket to join or leave the train in Lausanne, Fribourg or Bern; and the Lugano-Zurich Airport service will offer a similar boarding/leaving option in Bellinzona. SWISS and SBB further plan to introduce improved baggage collection and delivery services for SWISS Air Rail users.

SWISS and SBB aim to work steadily to enhance the rail-and-air-travel combination and further expand their joint product and service portfolio.

Dave

United reinstates some international flights…

/in /by

United Airlines has announced it will continue to fly six daily operations to and from a number of destinations in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and the Middle East “in an effort to get customers where they need to be.

The airline has describe the situation as “fluid” but claims that “United continues to play a role in connecting people and uniting the world, especially in these challenging times”.

United Airlines flights continuing until and through May:

  • Newark/New York – Frankfurt (Flights 960/961)
  • Newark/New York – London (Flights 16/17)
  • Newark/New York – Tel Aviv (Flights 90/91)
  • Houston – Sao Paulo (Flights 62/63)
  • San Francisco – Tokyo-Narita (Flights 837/838)
  • San Francisco – Sydney (Flights 863/870)

In addition to the above, United Airlines has reinstated the following flights to help displaced customers who still need to get home.

Flights through until 27 March, outbound

  • Newark/New York – Amsterdam (Flights 70/71)
  • Newark/New York – Munich (Flights 30/31)
  • Newark/New York – Brussels (Flights 999/998)
  • Washington-Dulles – London (Flights 918/919)
  • San Francisco – Frankfurt (Flights 58/59)
  • Newark/New York – Sao Paulo (Flights 149/148)

Flights until 29 March, outbound

  • San Francisco – Seoul (Flights 893/892)

In destinations where government actions have barred the airline from flying, United Airlines are looking for ways to bring customers who have been impacted by travel restrictions back to the United States. This includes working with the U.S. State Department and the local governments to gain permission to operate service.

If you need help planning how to get home, contact your GTM Account Manager.

Dave

South African Airways announces plans to close regional, international routes from 29 February

/in /by

SAA has announced a tranche of urgent measures to conserve cashflow, including the axing of several regional and international routes from the end of February 2020.

SAA will close the following regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo. But will continue to operate all international services between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra.

On the domestic route network, SAA will continue to serve Cape Town on a reduced basis. But all other domestic destinations, including Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, will cease to be operated by SAA on 29 February 2020.

Domestic routes operated by Mango will not be affected by the changes.

The flight schedule for the rest of February 2020 remains unchanged and the airline states that it “does not intend to make any further significant network changes”.

Dave

Pilots of Air Dolomiti plan four-hour strike on Wednesday

/in /by

Bloomberg News reported pilots of Air Dolomiti, an Italian regional airline and partner of Lufthansa, are planning a four-hour strike on 29 May, to protest the dismissal of four crew members and to express concern for the future of the airline.

Air Dolomiti, which provides services from Frankfurt, Munich and Moscow mostly to cities in northern Italy, faces a work stoppage of pilots who are members of the UGL Trasporti Union from noon to 4 pm, local time, on Wednesday, for all flights departing from Italy.

Some connections may experience delays or cancellations.

Paul

Germany – Wintry Weather Affecting Travel.

/in /by

Frankfurt Airport yesterday cancelled 150 flights yesterday because of snowfall and warned that more cancellations could be expected today (Monday 10th December).

Both Munich and Dusseldorf are also currently experiencing similar delays this morning due to snow and wintry weather.

Please ensure that you check in online for your flight as this will provide the most up to date information on your departure.