Air France and KLM have opened a fully refurbished Air-Rail Terminal at Brussels-South (also known as Bruxelles-Midi or Brussel-Zuid).
The revamped facility is open daily between 0530 and 1830, and comes ahead of a seventh daily high-speed rail service being added between Brussels-South and Paris CDG this summer.
The group’s Air&Rail offering enables customers to purchase combined train and air travel under one booking, with a guaranteed seat on the next available flight or train if either service is delayed.
Flying Blue members also earn miles on the rail section of the booking, and elite members get benefits including priority check-in, additional luggage allowance, and access to the Eurostar lounge at Brussels-South.
Air France and KLM have offered integrated air-rail services for passengers travelling to and from Belgium for more than 20 years, but have been gradually ramping up their air-rail offerings amid slot constraints and environmental concerns over short connecting flights.
Last year Air France expanded its Air&Rail service to include eight more routes to and from Paris CDG and Paris Orly.
Air France expands Train + Air service
Commenting on the news Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM, said:
“We’re proud to continue investing in the Air&Rail product. We remain fully committed to ensuring a smooth customer journey, making the train an ever-better alternative to air on short-haul routes in Europe.
“We’re working closely with our partners to optimize the Air&Rail offer for our customers, who can connect to over 300 destinations worldwide via Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.”
For our feature looking at developments in air-rail services (published in April 2023), see:
Can the rail-air solution take off?
airfrance.co.uk, klm.com