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The train to the flight

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2 million passengers used Austrian Federal Railways' long-distance trains to Vienna Airport in the first eleven months of 2017.

Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB-Holding AG, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), explains in an interview with Connoisseur Circle the successful development of RailJet long-distance trains from the Austrian federal states to Vienna Airport. However, it is difficult to estimate by how much more this passenger mark can be exceeded. As the top railroad official, he sees the cooperation with Austrian Airlines (AUA) in a positive light.

"We see this as an ideal opportunity for cooperation between train and flight, because we are in fact natural complementary partners. The train is unbeatable on short-haul routes and thus brings passengers to the flight". In addition, other airlines will be approached in order to be able to offer a further service. "But I would also like to make it very clear that we have a very good cooperation with AUA and we want to continue to use this," says Matthä.

Whether it will one day be possible to check in luggage at other train stations in Austria, such as Wien Mitte, remains to be seen. "We have check-in options in Linz and Salzburg as part of our existing AIRail cooperation with AUA. It is quite conceivable, if we are in a reasonable cooperation with our partners from the airline industry, to also consider the issue of baggage check-in. However, this is generally a logistical hurdle, because checking in baggage is actually difficult to solve due to the strict IATA rules.

Is there more demand for train tickets to and from Germany following the bankruptcy of Air Berlin? "Of course, any change in the short and medium-haul segment of aviation is an ideal market segment for us. The biggest challenge for us as a rail company is to offer a good product every day. But I have to say, anyone who flies from Vienna to Munich, for example, has only themselves to blame," says Matthä. Because with a journey time of four hours, we are absolutely competitive on this route, says the rail boss.

Text: Kurt Hofmann
Image credit: (c) ÖBB/Philipp Horak



Connoisseur Circle Reiseservice GmbH Mariahilfer Straße 88a/II/2a 1070 Wien, Austria +43 1 890 69 77-24, +43 1 890 69 77-10, office@ccircle.cc
 

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