Fco Connect kicks off: how Ita and Trenitalia's train+airplane intermodality works

Official part Fco Connect, the intermodality project promoted by Aeroporti di Roma, Ita Airways and Trenitalia who have developed the train + plane model, as already announced on these pages a few weeks ago.

The service enables passengers to simplify their travel experience with a combined ticket and a check-in already in the station at the dedicated desks in Leonardo da Vinci Airport.

The product proposed by the three partners, through technology provided by AccesRail, allows passengers to purchase, on all digital channels of Ita Airways a combined train+airplane ticket.

How Fco Connect Works

Passengers who choose this intermodal option will also be able to check in for their flight at the dedicated counter in the airport train station Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino.

In fact, as we have already recounted, Fco Connect includes a step forward and an integrated service for those flying to and from Fiumicino in connection with the rest of the territory Italian, despite the absence of overnight connections.

Basically-as explained during the April 27 press conference at Fiumicino airport-passengers who reach the airport aboard a Frecciarossa or with a Leonardo Express, in conjunction with a High-Speed train to Roma Termini, and continuing on flights in the international and intercontinental network operated by Ita Airways (with the exception of the U.S. and Israel), they will be able to check in and drop off their luggage directly at Fiumicino airport station, and then pick it up at the final destination operated by the airline.

The AdR-Ita-Trenitalia Pact

"The path toward decarbonization of the aviation sector must include strong service innovations, as well as technological innovations, and can generate great benefits for our country's passengers and the Italian transportation system as a whole," said Marco Troncone, chief executive officer of Rome Airports - Exactly with this in mind, Aeroporti di Roma wanted to give top priority, thanks to Enac and together with Ita and Trenitalia, to this new intermodal product, which is essential to multiply the connectivity opportunities for domestic passengers, with the aim of making integrated train-to-air travel a profitable alternative."

The intermodal travel experience is part of the agreements already signed between Aeroporti di Roma and the State Railway Group to develop integrated train + air products and facilitate connections between the country's major stations, airports and ports, while also paying attention to the development of new forms of urban air mobility.

"Intermodality is a focal point for Ita Airways, combining the Company's values and ambitions: the sustainability, innovation and the centrality of the Customer, with a view to concrete participation in the development of the Country System," said Fabio Lazzerini, chief executive officer of Ita - The perspective in which the company is working with major players in the national transportation sector and institutions is aimed at achieving multimodal connectivity through integration with surface vehicles, realizing an overall more sustainable offer.

For Lazzerini, moreover, "the integrated train-to-air mobility, through our airport hub, will enable more efficient connectivity to and from Italian cities with international destinations."

Summer experimentation

The intermodal product further enriches the offerings in connection with Fiumicino airport, adding rail connections with primary Italian cities. There will be direct Frecciarossa connections with high-speed trains from Italian cities such as Naples, Florence, Bologna, Padua and Venice.

In addition, convenient connections to the airport hub are offered with the Leonardo Express, which quickly connects Fiumicino with Roma Termini, thanks to High Speed connections to/from Rome Termini.

Is Lufthansa also coming?

The service could also be available for the Group Lufthansa - if the takeover of the tricolor carrier goes through-especially following the memorandum of understanding that the three companies (Lufthansa Group, railways and the Italian airline) signed last February.

The check-in service at the Fiumicino airport train station. Will be active, on an experimental basis, for the duration of the summer season aviation.

"Today we show that working as a system is crucial for the development of intermodality, a key theme in the strategy of Trenitalia and the Passenger Hub of the Fs Group. We have put ourselves in the passenger's shoes and thought about how to make the service better, to ensure a simple experience already at the time of ticket purchase and not only during the train journey," said Luigi Corradi, Trenitalia CEO - Intermodality is increasingly playing a leading role in our travels, allowing us to take people on a door-to-door journey that puts the customer at the center of a rail offering enriched by other means of transportation."