After extending the system to Valais and Vaud during the summer, it seems SWISS hasn’t finished expanding its Air Rail special offer. From October, passengers will be able to combine their boarding passes with a public transport ticket to and from several major ski resorts in Switzerland.

What is the Air Rail pass offered by SWISS and SBB?

In a statement, SWISS and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) confirmed that their Air Rail system will be made a permanent feature in Switzerland. Under the system, travellers on SWISS can combine their flight booking and rail journey into a single ticket.

For example, say someone wanted to travel from Lucerne to Amsterdam. Instead of having to book both a return train ticket between Lucerne and Zurich, and then a flight to and from the airport, Air Rail allows you to travel from Lucerne to the Dutch capital and back using one pass.

Air Rail connects over 15 destinations with Swiss airports

Currently, passengers from Basel, Interlaken, Bern, Lucerne, Bellinzona, Lugano, Bregenz and Munich can use Air Rail for flights to and from Zurich Airport, while those from Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Sion, Sierre, Visp and Brig can book the service to and from Geneva.

While Air Rail tickets usually have passengers arrive at the airport around an hour and a half ahead of departure for short-haul flights, rail connections can be booked up to a day before departure, or a day after arrival, should you want to spend some extra time in Zurich or Geneva. 

In addition, the pass offers the same delay compensation as a connecting flight. This means if your flight or train is late and you miss your connection, you will be rebooked on the next available flight or rail service free of charge.

Top Swiss ski resorts connected to Air Rail system

Now, SWISS confirmed that four brand new destinations will be added to the Air Rail special offer from Zurich. From October 2, travellers will be able to use the system to travel by rail to the Graubünden capital Chur and the towns of Davos, Klosters and St. Moritz.

As all of these destinations are in the mountains, the offer is naturally aimed at people who want to carve some powder at some of Switzerland’s top ski resorts. “Our customers benefit from seamless travel connections and an expanded network that brings the world and Switzerland even closer together. Together we encourage people to get on board!" noted SBB’s head of transport marketing Véronique Stephan.

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