Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Icelandair and GO7 to develop combined air and rail ticket options for travelers. This will allow passengers to book flights and train rides together in one ticket.
Emirates signed the agreements at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin trade show in Germany. The partnerships aim to make travel around Europe and beyond more convenient for customers. By integrating airlines and rail networks, people will have an easier time planning multi-modal journeys involving both planes and trains.
The MOU with Icelandair lays the groundwork for a codeshare partnership between the two airlines. In a codeshare agreement, an airline puts its name or code on another airline’s flight. This allows passengers to book seats on the other airline’s planes as if they were their own. Emirates and Icelandair plan to codeshare initially on flights between Europe and Dubai, and then expand to more destinations.
With the codeshare, travelers will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly on either airline with a connecting flight provided by the partner. For example, customers could fly from London to Reykjavik, Iceland on Icelandair, and then continue onwards to Dubai on Emirates with just one booking. Their luggage would also be checked through to the final destination. This creates a more seamless travel experience.
Emirates’ MOU with GO7 focuses on developing combined air and rail ticketing options worldwide through GO7’s technology platforms. GO7 is a travel distribution company that provides airline ticket distribution outside of traditional global distribution systems (GDS). It has tools to integrate air and rail schedules and fares to allow booking of intermodal trips on a single ticket.
Through the partnership, Emirates aims to offer customers rail and flight combinations reaching destinations beyond its own network. Passengers will be able to book journeys involving multiple airlines and train operators from origin to destination using Emirates’ direct sales channels like its website and app. For example, a traveler could fly from Dubai to Frankfurt with Emirates and then take a high-speed train from Frankfurt to Paris – all on one itinerary and ticket.
GO7’s platforms will provide Emirates with the capability to virtually extend its network by including land transport connections on interline itineraries. Interlining refers to two or more airlines cooperating to transport passengers between points on their networks, even if the airlines don’t have a formal agreement. Customers will have more routing options through a single reservation and ticketing process instead of separate bookings.
The partnerships are expected to deliver benefits like competitive fares, simplified bookings, seamless transfers between flights and trains, and one-bag check-in for multi-modal trips. Travelers will have greater flexibility to reach more destinations in Europe through single tickets combining the air and rail networks of multiple carriers. Emirates and its partners also aim to strengthen commercial ties and drive more traffic on each other’s networks through codesharing and expanded interline access.
Overall, the agreements reflect Emirates’ goal of enhancing connectivity for travelers and improving the travel experience to and within Europe. By integrating air and rail, the airline intends to offer customers simplified journeys involving multiple transport modes on the continent. The collaborations have potential to open up new travel opportunities and route choices while benefiting all the partners involved.
