Natalie Paris, The Daily Telegraph, December 3, 2014
British Airways has agreed to a partnership with rail operators to make international trips easier for travelers in Wales and the South West of England.
The tie-in with First Great Western and Heathrow Express means passengers can now buy a combined ticket for rail and air travel.
The move will provide additional protection for travelers in the event of disruption to rail services as BA is promising that passengers who miss their connection will be given a seat on the next available flight. They will also be entitled to overnight accommodation at Heathrow if the next flight is on the following day.
Tickets that can take you from St Austell to St Petersburg, for example, as well as other overseas destinations, will be available to buy through travel agents from December 5. BA hopes it will be able to make the ticket option available on its website at some point in the future.
A rail and fly service for the South West and Wales was first launched last year by Singapore Airlines ( rail-fly.com ). It is currently offering a 50 per cent discount on rail fares to customers who book a rail-fly journey with Singapore Airlines, First Great Western and Heathrow Express until the end of the year.
The BA tickets meanwhile will apply to travel from 11 First Great Western stations: Oxford, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, Plymouth, Swansea, Penzance, Par and St Austell.
“Our partnership with First Great Western and Heathrow Express will make flying more accessible and convenient for customers travelling from regions in the UK without local airports,” said Stephen Humphreys, BA’s head of UK&I sales and marketing.
"This partnership removes a layer of hassle for customers and affords them extra protection against possible problems,” added Keith Greenfield, managing director of Heathrow Express. “This kind of joined-up travel is what today's leisure and business travellers expect."
This article was written by Natalie Paris from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
