Julian Moxon/PARIS
SNCF, the French railway operator, will decide this quarter on its strategy for partnerships with airlines as the number of passengers taking advantage of train-plane schemes in the country increases dramatically.
"We've seen growth of 30% in intermodal traffic in the first six months of 2000," says SNCF manager of partnerships, Véronique Teynier. "Clearly passengers have taken very well to combining air travel with our TGV [high-speed train] service. We think we have a lot to offer in terms of access to the French regions." The number of passengers expected to take advantage of train-plane links is expected to reach 1.5 million in five years.
Teynier adds that the SNCF has received "many, many" enquiries from airlines about combining flights into Paris Charles de Gaulle with onward journeys on the TGV. Four airlines - Air France, United, American and Lufthansa - have signed partnership deals on links between CDG and up to eight French cities - Angers, Le Mans, Nantes, Rennes, Poitiers, Tours, Bordeaux and Lille - as well as Brussels. Most recently, in March, United finalised an arrangement for onward travel from CDG to all eight French cities.
Talks are underway between the SNCF and Paris airport operator Aeroports de Paris on solving the problems associated with combined train-plane services, including the provision of check-in services at train stations so that passengers can book seats and deposit baggage.
Teynier says the SNCF also hopes to be able to sell combined tickets "but there are still some cultural and legal problems preventing us doing that", she says.
The SNCF is determining its policy on global airline alliances - whether to offer its "unique" access to the French market to a global alliance or to single airlines.
Source: Flight International
