Rail and air associations to co-operate on ticketing

The International Union of Railways and the International Air Transport Association have signed a memorandum of understanding covering co-operation in standard setting and interoperability, with a focus on data exchange to support intermodal travel.

Areas for co-operation include:

– Journey planning;

– Reservations;

– Ticketing, including irregular operations processes;

– Industry coding, including location codes;

– Check-in and validation control;

– Accounting and settlement;

– Legal matters

UIC said the aim is to promote ticketing innovation while preserving members’ intellectual property.

IATA represents 290 airlines carrying 82% of total air traffic, while UIC has 200 members from across the global rail sector.

Both organisations are developing digital standards for ticketing, and ‘to work on established interfaces right from the design phase is an exciting prospect’, said UIC Director General François Davenne on January 30. He said offering passengers a single ticket for rail and air travel ‘gives them the opportunity to choose the best of both worlds by optimising their journey as well as their carbon footprint’.

‘As customers increasingly seek sustainable travel options, it is important that providers work together to provide seamless exchanges of passengers and passenger information’, added IATA Director General & CEO Alexandre de Juniac. ‘IATA has extensive experience in facilitating standards development to support intramodality and our MoU with UIC is an important step toward strengthening this activity.’

Source: railwaygazette.com