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Brussels,14 September 2011Press releaseBrussels Airlines and Jet Airways join forces with Thalys to link theirnetworks to the centre of Paris, via Brussels AirportThis partnership marks a new stage in air-rail intermodalityfor long-haul tripsAs from 30 October 2011, passengers departing from Paris will be able to travel with Thalys toBrussels Airport, the city’s international flight hub; from there they will be able to choose fromnumerous destinations offered by the two partner airlines, Brussels Airlines and Jet Airways.A new stage in air-rail intermodality has just been completed. It is based on a completely newdistribution system which makes air and rail data compatible. It is now possible to book acombined Thalys Flight ticket between Paris and Kinshasa with Brussels Airlines or Paris toDelhi with Jet Airways from travel agencies or on the airlines’ websites. These combinedtickets will go on sale as from today. Thalys Brussels Airlines Jet AirwaysA commercial ambition supported by innovative technical solutionsTwo airlines, Brussels Airlines and Jet Airways, one rail transporter, Thalys, and one airport, BrusselsAirport, are at the heart of this unique project.For Brussels Airlines and Jet Airways, it is about gaining access to a part of the French market thatoffers great potential and about increasing volumes on long-haul flights. Bernard Gustin, CEO ofBrussels Airlines, explains: “thanks to this new partnership with Thalys, we are now offering ourcustomers a comfortable high-speed rail solution to Brussels Airport. This new offer acts as anextension of our flight operations and we hope that this new product will be the start of a solidintermodal partnership between Brussels Airlines and Thalys.”Jet Airways will operate the Paris-Brussels link as a code share with Thalys. Nikos Kardassis, CEOof Jet Airways, states: “Jet Airways has constantly innovated to set new benchmarks and ouraffiliation with Thalys high speed train is another distinctive travel solution. We are delighted to offerour guests this unique train-plane intermodality long haul travel solution, for seamless travel betweenthe French capital - Paris and the Jet Airways European hub in Brussels. Jet Airways‟ guests will nowbe able to access Brussels Airport from the French capital in a mere hour and forty seven minutesthanks to the new Thalys‟ high-speed train . As the largest long haul carrier in Brussels since 2007,offering daily six direct flights to India and North America, we are certain that our guests from Franceas well as from both the Asian and North American continents will greatly benefit from this new travelsolution. We look forward to extending partnership with Thalys to more European cities in the nearfuture. ”As a result of this project, Thalys is strengthening its position as a major player in intermodality.Communiqué de presse 14/09/2011 - page 1/5
Franck Gervais, CEO of Thalys International, asserts: “Travelling to and from Brussels Airport, theinternational airport at the heart of our network, is part of our optimisation strategy to go beyond theexpectations of our international clientele. Moreover, through this partnership, Thalys is establishingitself as a key player and pioneer in the development of rail-air transport.”Michel Jadot, Managing Director of SNCB Europe and Chairman of the Board of ThalysInternational, also asserts: “by developing a unique technical solution which allows mandatoryreservation trains to be sold directly in GDS, SNCB can now claim to be a major player in air-raildistribution.”Brussels Airlines‟ and Jet Airways‟ operations constitute an important part of Brussels Airport‟sintercontinental network by offering several unique destinations and some, in particular in Africa andIndia, which are not directly accessible from other European airports. Arnaud Feist, CEO of BrusselsAirport, highlights: “Brussels Airport has become more and more popular with travellers from theNord-Pas-de-Calais region in recent years. We are therefore very happy that this new connectionmakes our services accessible to Paris and the Ile-de-France region. This area actually holds apotential of 11 million inhabitants: a population as large as the whole of the Belgian market.”A new step in the intermodality of air-railIn order for this intermodal air-rail project to work, a number of technical, operational and legalconstraints had to be overcome because there are fundamental differences between the distributionsystems for air and rail. The difficulties concern the intermediation between electronic bookingmanagement platforms (GDS – globalised at an international level for air travel, but constrained to anational level for rail travel), as well as distribution, the implementation of common procedures,management of disruptions, luggage policy and even the responsibilities towards passengers.As the keystone of this new partnership, the solutions implemented have, in particular, involvedmaking the rail and air data compatible, such that the data from each Thalys journey (stored in the railinventory, Résarail) are coded in the booking system for flight tickets. So from now on, travellers whoreserve flights with Jet Airways or Brussels Airlines to or from Paris will directly be allocated a seat inthe rail inventory for the part of their journey on Thalys, between Paris and Brussels Airport. Anymodifications or cancellations will also be transmitted directly between the different systems.This work on the compatibility of data allows a move away from the „block seats‟ model wherebyairlines would buy a fixed number of seats on the partner trains. Within the partnership betweenThalys, Brussels Airlines, Jet Airways and Brussels Airport, only the seats on Thalys that are actuallysold by the partner company are then reserved in the rail inventory.This challenge was overcome thanks to the intervention of two technical actors: Accesrail andBeNeRi. Accesrail is a technical tool offered to rail transporters who convert air data into rail data andvice versa. It therefore enables rail companies to appear in GDS under the IATA code of Accesrail(9B) in the same way as any airline. BeNeRI is the technical distribution platform of SNCB whichmakes the link between Accesrail and the rail inventory (Résarail).TimetableJourneyCode shareDep./Arr.(local time)Operating daysPeriodParis-BrusselsAirport9W 6151 /SN42120625 / 0812123456730/OCT/2011 to27/MAR/2012Brussels Airport Paris9W 6150 /SN42110946 / 1135123456730/OCT/2011 to27/MAR/2012Destination: Kinshasa, Delhi, Toronto, Abidjan or even DakarDeparting from Paris-Nord at 6.25 a.m. and arriving at Brussels Airport at 8.12 a.m., Brussels Airlinesand Jet Airways customers will have access to 24 international destinations from Brussels Airport(which is located just 1 hour and 47 minutes from Paris with Thalys); trains are scheduled to departfrom Brussels Airport at 9.46 a.m., arriving in the centre of Paris at 11.35 a.m.Communiqué de presse 14/09/2011 - page 2/5
The customer’s journey in 5 stepsSingle journeyParis Nord Brussels Airport Jet Airways orBrussels Airlines destinationReturn journeyTravel with Jet Airways or Brussels Airlines Brussels Airport Arrive at Paris NordStep 1: booking a combined Thalys Flight ticketPassengers make their Brussels Airlines or Jet Airways flight booking at their travel agency or on theairlines‟ respective websites. They will receive confirmation of their flight ticket (e-ticket) which includestheir Thalys journey (considered as a „flight‟ in terms of distribution).Customers travelling business class will automatically be offered Comfort 1 seats on Thalys, andeconomy class customers will be offered Comfort 2.Step 2: checking inOn the day of travel, passengers arrive at Paris Nordstation for the Thalys at 6.25 a.m. Train tickets areprovided at the mobile terminal located in front of theplatform, on presentation of an e-ticket number andsome form of photo identification.Once they have arrived at Brussels Airport,passengers make their way to the check-in deskwhere they are welcomed and taken care of by therelevant airline, Brussels Airlines or Jet Airways.Returning, the procedure is the same.Passengers will be provided with their Thalystickets at the departure airport during check-in.Once they have arrived at Brussels Airport,passengers make their way to the Thalysdeparture platform which is clearly signed.Step 3: luggageThalys is adapted to satisfy the needs of air passengers in32 seats are reserved for storage in each of the Thalys services concerned.Passengers are responsible for their luggage fromleaving Paris until arriving at the check-in desk fortheir flight at Brussels Airport.relationtoluggage;On arrival at Brussels Airport, passengers mustcollect their luggage and take responsibility forit during their journey on Thalys.Step 4: the journey with ThalysIn order to direct Brussels Airlines and Jet Airways passengers, signage towards the Thalys service willbe improved; the on-board checking of train tickets is undertaken by the train managers, as for alljourneys.Customers travelling in business class will benefit from all of the Comfort 1 services on board Thalystrains: an at-seat service of breakfast (at 6.25 a.m.) or a snack (at 9.46 a.m.), seating ergonomics,international newspapers, Wi-Fi internet connection, taxi booking on arrival, etc.6.25 a.m.: departure from Paris Nord with Thalys8.12 a.m.: arrival at Brussels Airport9.46 a.m.: departure from Brussels Airport withThalys11.35 a.m.: arrival at Paris NordStep 5: the flightWithin this partnership, 19 African destinations are offered by Brussels Airlines and 61 by Jet Airways fromParis and to Paris.Africa –Brussels LuandaMonroviaNairobiOuagadougouYaoundéJet Airways/BrusselsAirlines – IndiaDirect destinationsNew DelhiMumbaiChennaiand 48 otherdestinationsJet Airways –North AmericaDirect destinationsNew York JFKNewarkTorontoJet Airways –AsiaBangkokColomboDhakaHong KongKathmanduKuala LumpurSingaporeCommuniqué de presse 14/09/2011 - page 3/5
Additional information about the partners:Thalys is the red highspeed train which does not only connect Brussels with Paris in 1 hour 22 minutes, but also connectsBrussels with Cologne and Amsterdam in 1 hour 47 minutes and 1 hour 53 minutes. Since 29 August 2011, Thalys has threenew German destinations in the form of Düsseldorf, Duisburg and Essen.Thalys is a product of the SNCF, NMBS, DB AG and NS Groups. Thalys is a member of Railteam, a collaborative venturebetween the most important European highspeed operators, CER (Community of European Railway and InfrastuctureCompanies) and UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer).The baseline “Welcome to our world” is the motto of the brand name and the company which makes the quality of the receptionwhich it gives its customers and service its most important values. All Thalys trains have WiFi (a service which is provided by21Net and recommended by Nokia Siemens Networks and Telenet) and have been completely modernised with a new designand improved comfort. Catering services are provided to your seat in Comfort 1 and are available in the bar in Comfort 2.The Thalys TheCard loyalty programme makes it possible to collect Miles and thus gain access to a range of services. This cardis available to all travellers at www.thalys.com.Media contact:Thalys International: Patricia Baars / 0032 2 504 05 99 / 00 32 2 548 06 34 / presse@thalys.comBrussels Airlines is the Belgian airline that offers the widest choice of flights to and from its base in Brussels Airport. T he grouphas more than 3.300 employees and 47 aircraft that operate some 300 punctual flights daily, connecting the Capital of Europeto some 70 premium European and African airports.On its European routes, operated with AVRO, Boeing 737, and Airbus A319/A320, Brussels Airlines offers the choice of apremium service at a very high level (“b.business”), an ultra-flexible product, which offers time-saving and comfort at reasonableprices (“b.flex economy ”) and a low fare product (“b.light economy”). On medium- and long-haul flights, the airline operatestraditional business or economy class. Long-haul flights are operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft.In addition to 20 destinations in Africa, Brussels Airlines and its intercontinental partners also offer long-haul service to theUnited Arab Emirates, China, Thailand, India and North America.Brussels Airlines is owned by SN Airholding and is backed up by more than 80 years of aviation experience in Belgium. In June2009, Lufthansa announced its interest in the management structure and capital of the Belgian airline. Brussels Airlines hasbeen a member of the global airline alliance Star Alliance since 9 December 2009.More information on www.brusselsairlines.com.Media contacts:Brussels AirlinesCorporate CommunicationsWencke Lemmes and Geert SciotTel.: 32 (0)2 723 84 00"Jet Airways has constantly innovated to set new benchmarks and our affiliation with Thalys high speed train is anotherdistinctive travel solution. We are delighted to offer our guests this unique train-plane intermodality long haul travel solution, forseamless travel between the French capital - Paris and the Jet Airways European hub in Brussels. Jet Airways‟ guests will nowbe able to access Brussels Airport from the French capital in a mere hour and forty seven minutes thanks to the new Thalys‟high-speed train . As the largest long haul carrier in Brussels since 2007, offering daily six direct flights to India and NorthAmerica, we are certain that our guests from France as well as from both the Asian and North American continents will greatlybenefit from this new travel solution. We look forward to extending partnership with Thalys to mor e European cities in the nearfuture. ”Media Contact :Jet Airways Media Relations Belgium-LuxembourgBrussels Airport, PO Box 10 / 1930 ZaventemT 32 2 709 09 63 / kdevalkeneer@jetairways.comCommuniqué de presse 14/09/2011 - page 4/5
The SNCB is the Belgian public company that exploits and commercializes the national railway system. The SNCB is alsooffering an international railways service and the transport of goods by rail. Almost 20.000 people are employed by the SNCBand the company has a turnover of more than 2, 2 billion euro (financial year 2010). The SNCB holds participations in Eurostar,Thalys, SNCB Logistics, The company plays with its reliable, market adapted high quality service a key role in thedevelopment of a sustainable mobility model.Press Contact:Claire Gilissenclaire.gilissen@b-rail.be 32 2 528 84 83Brussels Airport is one of the largest airports in Europe, handling well over 17.2 million passengers and 480,000 tons of freightannually. Brussels Airport links the European capital with 228 destinations worldwide that are served by 94 different airlines: 78passenger airlines and 16 full-freighter airlines (figures 2010).Brussels Airport is dedicated to become the most European, most efficient and most welcoming airport in Europe. BrusselsAirport caters for the specific needs of the business travellers, but also has the largest low-fare offer in Belgium.Brussels Airport is operated by The Brussels Airport Company. The shareholders are the Belgian State (25 percent) and aconsortium of private investors (75 percent).Media Contact:Jan Van der CruysseSpokesperson 32 478 38 01 niqué de presse 14/09/2011 - page 5/5
Brussels Airlines is the Belgian airline that offers the widest choice of flights to and from its base in Brussels Airport. The group has more than 3.300 employees and 47 aircraft that operate some 300 punctual flights daily, connecting the Capital of Europe
