TAP and CP, more correctly known as Transportes Aéreos Portugueses and Comboios de Portugal, Portugal’s national airline and rail passenger carriers, have devised a joint programme, Rail & Fly Portugal, where airline passengers can obtain discounts on onward travel from Faro, Lisbon and Oporto.
The discounts are available on Alfa Pendular and Intercity services.
The agreement between the two travel companies comes into force today and in brief allows air passengers a 20% discount on rail tickets. Purchases can be made through the TAP website by hitting the special ‘train’ tab where passengers can then fill in the required information.
"The partnership now established with the Comboios de Portugal is in line with TAP policy, always trying to provide our customers with the most appropriate options and services so they can have the best travel experience possible by offering them increasingly convenient and easy ways to travel. This is especially useful for passengers from abroad who are visiting Portugal," said the boss of TAP, ‘Golden Boy’ Fernando Pinto at the official signing of the agreement.
"Ten million TAP customers can now rely on rapid access to schedules train services and discounts when purchasing Alpha Pendular and Intercity tickets," said the president of Comboios de Portugal, Manuel Queiró.
The two travel sector bosses are soon to announce news of additional services that “complement the travel experience" in a joint effort to thwart Ryanair which has introduced cheap routes within Portugal which are designed to draw travellers from the railways to the air.
The problem in the Algarve of course is that Faro airport has no train link. Still, there's always a cab...
