Just one day after the Koralm high-speed line entered commercial service, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Austrian Airlines unveiled their newest AIRail route connecting Klagenfurt Central Station with Vienna International Airport. From 14 December seven Railjet Xpress trains per day now cover the 330 km journey in 3 h 59 m, slotting seamlessly into Austrian’s long-haul banks. The partnership, formally announced on 15 December, lets passengers book a single PNR that earns Miles & More points, guarantees rebooking in case of delays and grants premium travellers access to ÖBB lounges.
For Austrian Airlines the move substitutes two wet-lease flights on the sector, trimming an estimated 450 t of CO₂ annually and freeing scarce aircraft capacity for longer routes. For ÖBB it is another proof-of-concept that rail can displace sub-500-km air journeys without sacrificing connectivity—an objective embedded in Austria’s 2030 climate roadmap.
Business-mobility managers stand to gain a more reliable winter option: trains are less vulnerable than turboprops to Alpine fog and de-icing delays. Companies with ESG targets can also count the rail leg toward Scope 3 emission reductions while keeping travellers under EU 261 protection. Baggage drop still occurs at Vienna Airport, and check-in closes 15 minutes before train departure—details travel teams should highlight in itineraries.
![ÖBB and Austrian Airlines Launch Klagenfurt–Vienna AIRail Link, Replacing Feeder Flights with High-Speed Rail]()
The AIRail expansion is enabled by the €5.9 bn Koralm Railway and its 33 km base tunnel, which slashed Graz–Klagenfurt journey times from three hours to 41 minutes. Austrian transport officials say further multimodal links—Villach and Leoben are mooted—will follow once additional infrastructure upgrades come online.
A quick note for travel planners juggling Schengen paperwork: VisaHQ can expedite Austrian visa applications, provide real-time tracking, and supply customized document checklists, all through an intuitive portal at https://www.visahq.com/austria/. Getting visas sorted ahead of the AIRail journey removes one more administrative wrinkle for international staff and guests.
Practical tips: update online-booking-tool displays so the rail-flight combo surfaces alongside purely airborne options; remind travellers that ÖBB Wi-Fi supports VPN connections for productive work en route; and verify that any third-country nationals boarding AIRail have Schengen-compliant visas even if their final destination is outside the EU.
For Austrian Airlines the move substitutes two wet-lease flights on the sector, trimming an estimated 450 t of CO₂ annually and freeing scarce aircraft capacity for longer routes. For ÖBB it is another proof-of-concept that rail can displace sub-500-km air journeys without sacrificing connectivity—an objective embedded in Austria’s 2030 climate roadmap.
Business-mobility managers stand to gain a more reliable winter option: trains are less vulnerable than turboprops to Alpine fog and de-icing delays. Companies with ESG targets can also count the rail leg toward Scope 3 emission reductions while keeping travellers under EU 261 protection. Baggage drop still occurs at Vienna Airport, and check-in closes 15 minutes before train departure—details travel teams should highlight in itineraries.
The AIRail expansion is enabled by the €5.9 bn Koralm Railway and its 33 km base tunnel, which slashed Graz–Klagenfurt journey times from three hours to 41 minutes. Austrian transport officials say further multimodal links—Villach and Leoben are mooted—will follow once additional infrastructure upgrades come online.
A quick note for travel planners juggling Schengen paperwork: VisaHQ can expedite Austrian visa applications, provide real-time tracking, and supply customized document checklists, all through an intuitive portal at https://www.visahq.com/austria/. Getting visas sorted ahead of the AIRail journey removes one more administrative wrinkle for international staff and guests.
Practical tips: update online-booking-tool displays so the rail-flight combo surfaces alongside purely airborne options; remind travellers that ÖBB Wi-Fi supports VPN connections for productive work en route; and verify that any third-country nationals boarding AIRail have Schengen-compliant visas even if their final destination is outside the EU.
