United Airlines customers can now combine flights to or from Frankfurt Airport with train reservations on the Deutsche Bahn rail network in a single booking.
Integrated plane and rail travel is available to or from 25 German cities (plus Basel, Switzerland) via Frankfurt. The mixed itineraries can be booked on United.com and in the United app.
Customer benefits, United said, include the ability to earn MileagePlus points for the rail portion of the trip. Flyers can also receive boarding passes for both the air and rail portions of their travels when checking in, as well as priority baggage handling at the AiRail check-in area at Frankfurt Airport.
The United-Deutsche Bahn collaboration builds upon the Star Alliance's Intermodal Partnership model, which kicked off in the summer of 2022 when train connections became available for booking via Lufthansa Group airlines. The model is designed to facilitate seamless intermodal travel between Star Alliance carriers and transit modes such as railways, buses and ferries.