Quicktip: Generating extra Flying Blue segments and miles by train
Did you know that you can book some train journeys as part of an airline ticket and get elite qualifying segments and mileage out of it?
Wikipedia has a handy list of commonly-used train stations which have an IATA-assigned airport code. There is even a dedicated Flyertalk thread
The codes I most often use for my own searches are:
- ZWE – Antwerp Centraal
- ZYA – Amsterdam Centraal
Strictly speaking, you need to show your train ticket stamped by a conductor when you check in at the airport for a departure, but on the return sector the airline might find it hard to enforce checking you got onto a train …… !
Next time you're looking for flights, don't forget to try looking up some return or open jaw segments by searching some of the stations above. Sometimes you will find the train plus flight combination will be cheaper than just the flights alone!
(Thanks to Alvin)
Lille (Europe) is another one, more for Paris than Amsterdam though
I believe that on the AirFrance TGVAir tickets, you do need to collect your ticket from the TGVAir desk at the station, otherwise you’ll be counted as a no-show. Booking X-Paris-Lille, Paris-X you’ll be fine as you can collect the TGVAir ticket from CDG then not take the train. Lille-Paris-X will likely be a problem unless you actually go to Lille! That said, it’s only an hour from Paris, and you can get some pretty cheap Advanced Purchase tickets, and the savings could be enough to cover that
Great article! This is the first I’ve heard of this, so still trying to absorb the ways to benefit from this. Any idea if these trains work for awards? Also, any idea where more information might be available?
On the AirFrance side, the magic term to google for is TGVAir and the main english language site on it is http://www.airfrance.co.uk/GB/en/common/resainfovol/avion_train/reservation_avion_train_tgvair_airfrance.htm . On the KLM side, I think it’s partly the general SNCB AirRail service mentioned at https://www.b-europe.com/Travel/Destinations/Airports%20and%20harbours/AirRail and partly the KLM train thing mentioned at https://www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/plan_and_book/ticket_information/travel_by_train_on_a_klm_ticket/index.htm
Amazing tip! Do you know how I can book this? the KLM app does not let me, the KAYAK app neither. Do I need to call?