The global airline alliance Sky Team has announced a new partnership with rail operator Trenitalia to offer passengers advanced travel options when arriving in Italy.
The announcement was made as the aviation industry gathers at the World Aviation Festival in Amsterdam, which is being held between October 8 and October 10, 2024.
Sky Team and Trenitalia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will allow alliance members to book flights and use high-speed Frecciarossa train services across Italy in a single reservation.
Currently, 14 SkyTeam member airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, ITA, Air France and Delta, fly to Italy from markets across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Greater China.
“We are delighted to join forces with Trenitalia as our second non-airline partner, strengthening SkyTeam’s intermodal travel strategy by offering more high-quality, high-speed rail connections – supporting our mission to future-proof travel,” said Patrick Roux, CEO at SkyTeam.
Roux added: “Italy is an important global market for business and leisure travelers and with Trenitalia customers will have more choice and flexibility to go where they want to, how they want to, while enjoying the many benefits for which SkyTeam is known.”
Once the partnership with Trenitalia is in place, SkyTeam frequent flyers will be able to earn and spend miles when traveling on eligible Frecciarossa rail itineraries.
While members of CartaFRECCIA, the loyalty program of Trenitalia’s high-speed train network, will earn and use points when flying on eligible SkyTeam flights.
SkyPriority services will be offered at railway stations where possible, benefiting SkyTeam Elite and Elite Plus members and Trenitalia’s CartaFRECCIA Platinum and Gold members.
Trenitalia offers direct connections to/from 23 Italian airports, including SkyTeam’s Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) hub.
“Partnering with SkyTeam takes Trenitalia closer to our vision of being one of the leading players in the European rail transportation market, offering customers high-quality, reliable train travel that complements international flight schedules. We’re excited to be on a journey together with SkyTeam in a shared mission to make travel more responsible and look forward to welcoming SkyTeam customers to our extensive network across Italy,” said Mario Alovisi, Trenitalia Marketing Director and CEO of Italia Loyalty.
In September 2024, Eurostar and SkyTeam announced that they have signed a MOU that allows customers to access integrated intermodal journeys via air and rail.
The current SkyTeam members are Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, SAS, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and XiamenAir.
