Rail&fly with United in Germany
 

According to Deutsche Bahn, United is one of its partners in the Rail&fly program. See link: https://www.bahn.de/p/view/mdb/bahni...y_airlines.pdf

Has anyone booked a Rail&fly ticket through United for use in Germany? If so, how did you do it? The Deutsche Bahn Website says that the ticket has to be booked through the issuing airline or travel agent. Is there a GG code that we can refer United agents to in booking these rail tickets?

You just use the IATA codes for the destination train stations (just as you do in the USA - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...ladelphia.html)

It has been years but did ZWS: Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, Germany regularly for a decade

I think AiRail is something different than Rail&fly. At least, the Rail&fly ticket I booked with a Lufthansa ticket uses QYG as the destination code and is good to anywhere in Germany that day. A good deal, too. Only €33 to anywhere in Germany, completely unrestricted.

United’s website doesn’t seem to recognize German rail. ZWS shows up on the drop down; however, the website returns no flights out of it.

I seem to recall that UA doesn't participate in this program, though that might be old news.

I can get that to work on LH.com but not UA.com.

Sorry, did catch the difference.

Believe it did pre-merge. Wonder if phone agents have access?

With Lufthansa, if you request a flight out of Stuttgart, their website will give you a segment on an aircraft out of Stuttgart Airport or a rail segment out of Stuttgart Hbf (ZWS). The rail segment out of ZWS up to FRA is treated as a codeshare, Lufthansa Rail Express, operated by Deutsche Bahn. Whether out of STR or ZWS, fare would be priced as Stuttgart to your final destination, with no fare break in FRA.

However, if you fly into or out of FRA, your airfare would be priced as FRA-XXX. With Lufthansa, you can call up their Service Center afterwards and buy the Rail&fly ticket in addition to your FRA-XXX ticket. €33 each way in 2nd Class to/from anywhere in Germany.

It seems like a good option, particularly if the STR-XXX fare is significantly more expensive than the FRA-XXX fare. Or, if the Lufthansa/United schedules don’t really match up. Who wants to wait five hours at FRA for a flight to STR, only 90 miles away?

Wait, really? So if I book an LH ticket to Frankfurt, I just call up Lufthansa afterwards and ask for a Rail&fly ticket to somewhere else (Cologne, for example)? Does it become a segment as part of the flight itinerary, or is it a separate train ticket?

Yes. But, the Rail&fly ticket is to anywhere in Germany. You don't have to specify a destination. You could decide at the last minute that you're going to take the train to Berlin instead of Cologne. LH creates a separate reservation and separate 220 ticket for the rail part. I think they may cross reference the two reservations (air and rail) in a backend system somewhere. Then, you have to print out the rail ticket three days prior to taking the train or otherwise at the train station.

I'd like to find out how to book one of these with a 016 ticket flying United into/out of FRA.

UA isn't on the list of participating airlines AFAIK.

ETA: Best list I can find is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-ra...network_access.

UA is on the list of participating airlines: https://www.bahn.de/p/view/mdb/bahnintern/services/mobilitaet_service/rail_fly_airrail/mdb_257936_20170919_railandfly_airlines.pdf

So does that mean you could find the cheapest of the participating cities and book to there, and then take the train to whichever one you want (or none at all)?

Yes. Rail and Fly works between any airport in Germany (so Frankfurt and Munich if flying United) plus Amsterdam and Zurich, and any railway station in Germany. The rail ticket is unrestricted. Typical discounted German rail tickets must be purchased in advance are only for a specific train, which is an issue if your flight is delayed. Regular unrestricted rail tickets are expensive. It's a very good deal.

I didn't know United participated.

Plus, the train ticket is good the day after the flight, too. If you, say, arrived in Frankfurt on Sunday for a Monday morning meeting, you could use the train ticket on Monday afternoon or evening to get up to Berlin.

Wow, that's great!

Does it also work going in the other direction? So a train ticket from any city to Frankfurt/Munich to catch a plane?