4 ms·

What was the benefit of these flights anyways when you have a good rail and highway system? I see that pre 9/11 security was fast and easy but now just the wor

by kenty 5y ago

What was the benefit of these flights anyways when you have a good rail and highway system? I see that pre 9/11 security was fast and easy but now just the worst case security checkup time makes me shrug at short-distance flights.

Arnt 5y ago
I know one such — the connection between Munich and Nuremberg, which is half an hour by plane (airport to airport) and an hour and a half by train (from railway station to railway station). Most air passsengers were transit passengers. If you wanted to go from Nuremberg to Madrid, say, then flying via the hub in Munich made sense, and the train wasn't much of a competitor for that case. The train is good if you want to go to the city of Munich, not so good if you want to go to the airport and check in for a long-distance flight. By air you check in in Nuremberg, hand over your luggage, take a half-hour flight, arrive not very long before your flight to Madrid, go to gate, and fly on. If there's a problem before Munich it's the airline's problem. By train (or car) you leave longer in advance, and even longer because you leave a buffer against delays on the way to Munich airport.
- patates 5y ago
  Lufthansa also sells tickets to connecting train rides to flights and as far as I know, they take the responsibility for delays (which is common occurrence with Deutsche Bahn unfortunately). I'm not 100% sure though. Still, as you've said, it makes more sense to book a connecting flight than a train ride, because of the ease of checking in.
  - camillomiller 5y ago
    Not just Lufthansa. I’ve done it with Emirates’ rail and fly option too from Berlin to Frankfurt.
    - germanier 5y ago
      As far as I understand, this (as offered by many airline) is "just" a discounted rail ticket and the airline will not assume any responsibility on delays. The Lufthansa offer goes beyond that: the trains have an LH flight number, and you get a single ticket. They rebook you in case of delays and there is a dedicated luggage droppoff/collection point right at Frankfurt airport train station.
- sneeze-slayer 5y ago
  Lufthansa at least has Rail & Fly where for €60 return you can add a DB train ticket to the flight. The ticket gets you from anywhere to the airport and back. Since the train and flight are booked on the same ticket, if there is a train delay (or flight delay returning) you will get rebooked on the next flight as if you had taken a flight. It's pretty great, I would recommend it. https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/rail-and-fly https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/rail-and-fly
tjpnz 5y ago
>What was the benefit of these flights anyways when you have a good rail and highway system? Didn't read the article but might they just be repositioning the planes for flights elsewhere?
- zeepzeep 5y ago
  This would be the only legit reason
crocsarecool 5y ago
I remember reading the story below where a man in England buys a flight from Newcastle to Spain to London because it was cheaper than the train. https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2017/06/27/man-flies-from-newcastle-to-london-via-spain-because-its-cheaper-than-the-train-6737975/amp/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2017/06/27/man-flie...
paul_f 5y ago
Connecting to international flights at CDG is the most common example. These are still allowed BTW.
Macha 5y ago
The french greens appear to be objecting to the changes in the measure since its proposal for this reason. From the article, the original proposal was four hours and by reducing into 2.5 hours you've got out a lot of flights which people would seriously consider taking rather than going by rail. Even as someone who happily shows up for European flights with 40 minutes to go, if I could take a train rather than go through airport security for a trip under 2.5 hours I think I'd rather take the train.

by kenty 5y ago

Arnt 5y ago

I know one such — the connection between Munich and Nuremberg, which is half an hour by plane (airport to airport) and an hour and a half by train (from railway station to railway station). Most air passsengers were transit passengers. If you wanted to go from Nuremberg to Madrid, say, then flying via the hub in Munich made sense, and the train wasn't much of a competitor for that case. The train is good if you want to go to the city of Munich, not so good if you want to go to the airport and check in for a long-distance flight. By air you check in in Nuremberg, hand over your luggage, take a half-hour flight, arrive not very long before your flight to Madrid, go to gate, and fly on. If there's a problem before Munich it's the airline's problem. By train (or car) you leave longer in advance, and even longer because you leave a buffer against delays on the way to Munich airport.

patates 5y ago
Lufthansa also sells tickets to connecting train rides to flights and as far as I know, they take the responsibility for delays (which is common occurrence with Deutsche Bahn unfortunately). I'm not 100% sure though. Still, as you've said, it makes more sense to book a connecting flight than a train ride, because of the ease of checking in.
- camillomiller 5y ago
  Not just Lufthansa. I’ve done it with Emirates’ rail and fly option too from Berlin to Frankfurt.
  - germanier 5y ago
    As far as I understand, this (as offered by many airline) is "just" a discounted rail ticket and the airline will not assume any responsibility on delays. The Lufthansa offer goes beyond that: the trains have an LH flight number, and you get a single ticket. They rebook you in case of delays and there is a dedicated luggage droppoff/collection point right at Frankfurt airport train station.
sneeze-slayer 5y ago
Lufthansa at least has Rail & Fly where for €60 return you can add a DB train ticket to the flight. The ticket gets you from anywhere to the airport and back. Since the train and flight are booked on the same ticket, if there is a train delay (or flight delay returning) you will get rebooked on the next flight as if you had taken a flight. It's pretty great, I would recommend it. https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/rail-and-fly https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/rail-and-fly

tjpnz 5y ago

>What was the benefit of these flights anyways when you have a good rail and highway system? Didn't read the article but might they just be repositioning the planes for flights elsewhere?

zeepzeep 5y ago
This would be the only legit reason

crocsarecool 5y ago

I remember reading the story below where a man in England buys a flight from Newcastle to Spain to London because it was cheaper than the train. https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2017/06/27/man-flies-from-newcastle-to-london-via-spain-because-its-cheaper-than-the-train-6737975/amp/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2017/06/27/man-flie...

paul_f 5y ago

Connecting to international flights at CDG is the most common example. These are still allowed BTW.

Macha 5y ago

The french greens appear to be objecting to the changes in the measure since its proposal for this reason. From the article, the original proposal was four hours and by reducing into 2.5 hours you've got out a lot of flights which people would seriously consider taking rather than going by rail. Even as someone who happily shows up for European flights with 40 minutes to go, if I could take a train rather than go through airport security for a trip under 2.5 hours I think I'd rather take the train.