Photo: LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines is expanding its services and launching LOT Fly&Rail, a new service that combines flights and train travel in a single booking, with the aim of enabling passengers to reach destinations that are not included in the company's direct flight network.
In the first phase, the service will be available in Switzerland and Sweden, and will allow passengers to reach 33 train stations, 18 of which are in Switzerland and 15 in Sweden, by continuing their journey from the airports in Zurich, Geneva and Stockholm.
Train travel will be operated by the Swiss SBB and Swedish SJ railway companies, with the integration of the lines into LOT's booking system being carried out by AccesRail, a company specializing in technological solutions for connecting air transport with trains.
This is how it will work: from booking the ticket to arriving at your destination
The new service lets passengers buy a flight ticket and a train ticket in a single order and with a single payment, without making separate reservations for each segment of the trip.
The service can be booked through all LOT sales channels, including the company's website. When booking, you can enter a train station in Switzerland or Sweden as the final destination, and the system will display travel options that combine flight and train.
However, you will check in separately for each travel segment. For flights, you can check in on the company's website or app; for trains, you must check in via the AccesRail Check-In platform.
On SBB trains, check-in is possible starting 24 hours before departure, while on SJ trains, the service opens 36 hours before departure.
In the first phase, LOT Fly&Rail will be offered in combination with short-haul flights operated by the company, with the company subsequently planning to gradually expand the service to additional routes, until it is integrated into its entire destination network.
LOT's move joins a growing trend in the European aviation industry, in which airlines are incorporating train travel into their booking systems.
As reported in PassportNews last month, Air France has also expanded its Train + Air service, which allows you to book a flight and a train ride under a single reservation. As part of the collaboration with the French railway company SNCF Voyageurs, the service was extended to all OUIGO trains connecting to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Air France also reported a 43% increase in service users during the six months before the expansion, compared with the same period last year.
A few months ago, the collaboration between Brussels Airlines and the German railway company Deutsche Bahn was also announced, which announced a high-speed train line between Cologne and Brussels Airport, with the option of booking a train and a flight on a single ticket.
For LOT, this is also a strategic move related to the development of the future transportation system in Poland, and in particular the Port Polska project, within the framework of which a more extensive integration between air and rail transportation is planned.