Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa launch new joint offers
Extraschnelle DB-Sprinter-Züge zum Frankfurter Flughafen: Lufthansa und Deutsche Bahn stellen gemeinsame Produktoffensive vor
Deutsche Bahn and airline Lufthansa announced new Express Rail connections to Frankfurt Airport on Monday. They will link to Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Münster and Munich from the second half of 2021. Additional new extra-fast ICE connections from December will provide shorter travel times between several major cities.
Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn extend their cooperation with new ‘Zug zum Flug’ joint offers for train to flight. In Frankfurt this week, both companies presented their plans. The Lufthansa Express Rail network already offers 134 trains from 17 German cities to Frankfurt Airport every day. From July, it will be possible for the first time to travel to Frankfurt Airport with Lufthansa Express Rail from Hamburg and Munich. From December, they also depart from Berlin, Bremen and Münster, and extra-fast Sprinter ICE trains to Frankfurt Airport are to launch.
Extra-fast ICE
With the new faster Sprinter connections, the train journey between Munich and Cologne will be shortened to under four hours. It is part of the Düsseldorf – Frankfurt Airport – Munich connection, which will be shortened by half an hour to four hours and 20 minutes. Hamburg – Hannover – Frankfurt Airport will be shortened with 10 minutes to 3 hours and 45 minutes.
From December, there will also be direct flights to and from Munich and Nuremberg twice a day in three and two hours respectively, without any further stops on the way to Frankfurt Airport. This is half an hour faster than today and precisely tailored to the departure and arrival times of the Lufthansa hub.
DB board member Berthold Huber: “A good cooperation is now turning into a comprehensive partnership that has never existed between Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn. At the end of the year, DB will network the largest German airport even more closely with the railways with new sprinter connections. Traveling by train will be faster and more comfortable.”
More flexible booking
The booking of Lufthansa Express Rail tickets is to become more flexible. From April 2021, the trains will be bookable for as long as the associated connecting flight. At the same time, it is worth booking early, as this can make tickets cheaper. When the train has delay, tickets will automatically be rebooked.
All the existing features of the Lufthansa Express Rail such as reserved seats on the train, mileage credit for the train journey as well as first class travel and access to the DB lounges for business and first class are still available. Express Rail trains will be easier to identify thanks to a common DB-LH branding on many of the trains.
Luggage transport on the trains is also to become easier. Deutsche Bahn will use the latest generation of trains with larger luggage compartments. As soon as traffic at the airports increases again, Lufthansa Express Rail customers will have access to the Fastlane at the security checkpoint. When landing at Frankfurt Airport, the suitcases of Express Rail customers are given priority.
Harry Hohmeister, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, says: “With this initiative, we are strengthening the mobility offer in Germany and thus the domestic business location. By intelligently linking rail and air transport, we offer our customers a seamless and convenient travel chain. Networked and integrated mobility benefits consumers and the environment.”
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