ÖBB and AUA Strengthen Cooperation

Through the strengthened collaboration between ÖBB and AUA, passengers can travel with a single ticket across the entire Star Alliance network and by train to Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. Customers thus also travel by train according to IATA rules and benefit from a connection guarantee, explained ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä on Wednesday.

ÖBB and AUA Expand Cooperation: Easier Travel for Passengers

The continuous travel chain enables a sustainable journey to the airport and also saves passengers parking fees at Vienna Airport, Matthä highlighted the advantages of the partnership. ÖBB has been cooperating in this way with AUA for ten years under the name "AIRail". In 2024, 3.1 million travelers will use the ÖBB Railjet for travel to and from Vienna Airport.

The train connection is considered like a feeder flight. "The whole thing only works if you don't have to buy two different tickets, where as a guest you then have the risk of what to do if one or the other is late," said AUA CEO Anette Mann at the presentation of the partnership. It is also a myth that airlines are attached to their short-haul flights. "We prefer to find good opportunities to link it with the train," Mann said.

ÖBB Not the First Partner of Star Alliance

After the opening of the Koralm Tunnel at the end of 2025, Klagenfurt is also to be connected by train to the Star Alliance airlines in Vienna. ÖBB is not the first railway company to join an aviation alliance. The first rail partner of the Star Alliance was Deutsche Bahn in 2022. The train partnership puts pressure on the airports in the federal states, whose flights to Vienna have already been reduced or discontinued in recent years. For state aid during the coronavirus crisis, AUA has also committed to discontinuing its flights if the train travel time is less than three hours, which will be the case for Graz and Klagenfurt after the opening of the Semmering Tunnel.

Hanke Emphasizes Positive Impact of ÖBB Construction Projects on Job Market

The new Minister of Transport, Peter Hanke (SPÖ), also participated in the press conference. He said he wanted to set a sign as a minister "that a modern business location also needs modern infrastructure" - "which is of course not an easy task when we talk about climate neutrality, when we talk about connection quality, and when we talk about new roads." He emphasized that the planned multi-billion construction projects by ÖBB and Asfinag are investments that would also be well received in the job market. The coalition parties ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS have agreed in the government program to build the Lobau highway tunnel, which was stopped by Hanke's predecessor Leonore Gewessler (Greens) for climate protection reasons.

(APA/Red)

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