United Airlines, Lufthansa Group and Deutsche Bahn have announced a new commercial cooperation that offers greater choice and enhanced connectivity for customers travelling between Germany and the United States.

The new arrangement allows United customers travelling between Germany and the United States via Frankfurt Airport to book integrated rail and air journeys with just one single transaction, one combined fare and one single ticket.

Customers can now connect between 25 cities in Germany, as well as Basel, Switzerland, and United’s hubs at New York/Newark, Chicago, Washington, Houston, Denver and San Francisco and beyond to destinations across the Americas.

The collaboration builds upon Star Alliance’s Intermodal Partnership model, launched in July 2022, that intelligently combines airline with railway, bus, ferry or any other transport ecosystem, alliance-wide.

It is designed to link loyalty systems and facilitate convenient airport/station/port transit, according to United Airlines’ Senior Vice President Global Network Planning and Alliances, Patrick Quayle.

He said customer benefits include the possibility to receive boarding passes for both rail and air sectors when checking in, priority baggage handling and other services in the AiRail check-in area at Frankfurt Airport, as well as the ability for United MileagePlusSM customers to collect miles for rail journeys taken as part of a combined rail/air ticket.

Also included is transfer and connection protection in the event of delays and breakdowns and eligible customers can enjoy access to Deutsche Bahn lounges as well.

“We are excited to announce our new partnership with Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn,” Quayle said.

“This new collaboration will offer our customers even greater travel choice and flexibility, allowing convenient connections between 25 cities across Germany and the United States with just one convenient transfer at Frankfurt Airport, all on a single ticket.”