The partnership is founded on ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) and Austrian Airlines’ long-standing cooperation to offer rail-to-air connectivity, known as AIRail, which was launched in 2014. It has allowed passengers to travel conveniently between major Austrian cities and Vienna Airport by train, with integrated ticketing and check-in services.
Introduced in August 2022 with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, the Star Alliance Intermodal Partnership model makes it possible to intelligently combine an alliance-wide airline network with a railway, bus, ferry or any other transport ecosystem. It further links loyalty systems and facilitates seamless airport/station/port transit. Benefits to customers include:
- More booking convenience: In a single booking process, customers will receive a combined ticket for the flight and train journeys including seat reservation.
- More check-in convenience: Customers can check in online or at one of the ÖBB Travel Centers in Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck and receive boarding passes for both flight and train journeys.
- More choice: Customers will have even more choices based on timings, duration and prices offered.
- More benefits: With a combined ticket, customers can earn points or miles for their train journey in the preferred frequent flyer program of a Star Alliance member airline.
March 2025 also marks Austrian Airlines’ 25 years of Star Alliance membership. At present, 16 Star Alliance member airlines operate at Vienna airport offering over 1300 weekly flights to 135 destinations.
Delighted at the expansion, Star Alliance CEO Theo Panagiotoulias stated: “Air and Rail have complemented each other as transport modes for several years around the world, and we are proud to welcome ÖBB, the Austrian Federal Railways, to the Star Alliance family. With a single ticket, customers can now reach from Singapore to Salzburg, switching from a flight to Railjet at the Vienna airport. I am confident that not only will this partnership offer more choice, but it will also enhance the seamlessness in customer journeys.”
Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB added: “Traveling from the main train stations in Linz, Salzburg, Graz, or Innsbruck to destinations around the world will soon be even easier. We are very pleased to take a significant step in cooperation with Star Alliance to improve the integration of rail and air travel. This initiative allows us to offer our passengers an environmentally friendly way to travel to and from Vienna Airport – completely car-free – making the overall journey even more comfortable. This will make train journeys an even more flexible and seamless part of air travel – not just with one airline group, but across a global network of 25 airlines.”
