In 2025, Air France and the loyalty program of French railway operator SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), known as ‘SNCF Voyageurs’ are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their commercial partnership and will broaden their activities under that agreement. The companies first joined forces in 1995 to facilitate access to airports by train and encourage the use of low-carbon transport solutions where possible to reduce carbon emissions through travel.
For the past 30 years, Air France and SNCF Voyageurs have been working together to offer ‘Train+Air’ combined travel services. This service has been considerably extended in recent years and is now available on 41 routes to and from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports, compared with just 28 in 2022.
The result of the ‘Train+Air’ travel program means that 22 train stations throughout France are directly linked to Paris’ airports of Orly (ORY) and Charles De Gaulle (CDG), with a fully digital service that allows passengers to combine train journeys and flights in a single booking and the guarantee, in the event of irregularity, of assistance and a seat on the next flight or train at no additional cost.
Since 2019, more than 600,000 bookings have been made via the ‘Train+Air’ service by Air France customers, a fact that “underlines the growing interest of travelers in combined journeys and customers’ desire to reduce their travel footprint whenever they can,” says Air France. In 2024, the most popular routes on the Train+Air network were Lyon, Lille, and Strasbourg, with customers then connecting to flights mainly to North America and the West Indies.
Additionally, in May 2023, France became something of a trailblazer among countries trying to reduce carbon emissions across their transportation systems. The French Government formally introduced a ban on direct domestic flights that could reasonably and easily be replaced by a train journey lasting no more than 150 minutes, or 2.5 hours. However, while the ban all but ruled out air travel between Paris and several major French cities including Nantes, Lyon, and Bordeaux, connecting flights were unaffected by the new rule.
Cooperation extension
Now, following an announcement by Air France on February 10, 2025, the two companies will be strengthening their ties in this anniversary year. Effective immediately, members of Air France’s Flying Blue loyalty program will be able to convert their accrued points into electronic SNCF Voyageurs vouchers that can be redeemed for travel on SNCF’s TGV INOUI high-speed-rail network. This is done by members accessing their accounts via the Flying Blue online store.
These vouchers, for an amount of the customer’s choice (between €25 and €100, or $26 to $103), can be used across the entire TGV INOUI network for bookings made via SNCF Voyageurs-approved ticket offices that accept them and SNCF Voyageurs direct sales channels.
Flying Blue, the Air France-KLM loyalty program, allows customers to earn Miles when traveling with Air France, KLM, or Transavia, or when making purchases from affiliated partner stores. These miles can be used to purchase air tickets (award tickets), to contribute to the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), to make donations to charities, and now to buy SNCF Voyageurs travel vouchers.
As part of the nation’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions through travel, Air France says it remains “fully committed to reducing its carbon footprint.” By modernizing its fleet, increasing the integration of sustainable aviation fuel, and leveraging eco-piloting practices, the airline aims to cut CO₂ emissions per passenger-kilometre by 30% by 2030, compared to 2019. As part of the emission reduction program, the carrier offers its customers more environmentally friendly travel solutions, including intermodal options in conjunction with the SNCF through the Train+Air program.
According to an Air France statement, “Air France and SNCF Voyageurs are determined to continue to improve intermodality between train and air travel and are continuing their efforts to make their offers more complementary and their customers’ journeys smoother.”
