Singapore Airlines, Heathrow Express and First Great Western have teamed up to form a through-ticketing partnership that allows passengers to travel from Bristol to Brisbane with a single booking.
From Friday, those based in 11 destinations in the UK south-west — including Bath, Bristol and Cardiff — can use rail-fly.com to arrange their train travel and international flights.
The website will save passengers time and money, it is claimed, with the site showing the best train times to connect with a flight. It is the first through-ticketing system of its kind in the UK.
Passengers who travel from the south-west region will board a First Great Western train to London Paddington, from where they will use the Heathrow Express train service to link to Heathrow, where they will board a Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore and beyond.
Wilson Yong, SIA's general manager UK and Ireland, said: "Singapore Airlines is excited to initiate the first ever rail and fly partnership in the UK.
"In conjunction with First Great Western and Heathrow Express, we are simplifying long-haul travel by enabling customers to exclusively and conveniently book their trains and flights in one transaction.
"Together we are proud to launch another industry first, helping to bring the south-west to Asia and the rest of the world – and the world to south-west England."
Keith Greenfield, managing director of Heathrow Express, added: "Now people can book a journey between Bath and Singapore with just one transaction rather than three. This is the smarter way to travel.
“The main beneficiary of this rail-fly deal will be customers - not just Heathrow Express customers but also Singapore Airlines and First Great Western customers."
South-west destinations initially included in the partnership are Bath, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff, Exeter, Oxford, Par, Penzance, Plymouth, St Austell and Swansea.
Graham Smith
