The European plan for unified ticket purchasing could change the rules of travel
The European Commission has opened a new chapter in the debate on how travel is sold in Europe. According to the proposal presented on 13 May 2026, major railway carriers would have to make it easier for passengers to purchase tickets for journeys that include several operators, several countries and, in some cases, several modes of transport. The aim is that complex cross-border train journeys should no longer be planned through a series of disconnected websites, applications and rules, but through a clearer system in which offers can be compared, a ticket can be bought and it can be known who bears responsibility if the journey is interrupted.
The proposal is important beyond the railway sector itself. If the European Union succeeds in imposing an obligation on larger railway companies to offer competitors' tickets through their sales channels as well, the question will arise whether similar rules could one day be extended to airlines. For now, this is not an official legislative proposal for the aviation industry, but rather a logical consequence of the debate on transparency in the digital sale of transport services. Nevertheless, the issue is sensitive because the sale of airline tickets has for decades relied on a complex relationship between carriers, global distribution systems, online intermediaries and airlines' own channels.
The European Commission presents the plan as part of a broader policy toward more sustainable, digitally connected and consumer-friendly mobility. According to Commission announcements, three new proposals should simplify the planning and booking of regional, long-distance and cross-border journeys and strengthen passenger protection throughout the entire trip. In practice, this would mean that a passenger traveling from one Member State to another would not have to check the rules of each operator separately, but in a greater number of cases could buy a combined ticket and have clearer rights in the event of delays, cancellations or missed connections.
What is being proposed for railways
The central part of the proposal concerns the digital sale of railway tickets. According to reports on the Commission's proposal, larger railway operators with a dominant position in national markets would have to open their sales systems to the offers of other carriers as well. This would allow passengers to see and buy travel combinations in one place that today often require searching several separate websites. In practice, this would particularly affect large national railway companies such as Deutsche Bahn, SNCF, Trenitalia or Renfe, because their sales channels play a key role in the way passengers find tickets.
Such a model would not be only a technical change in online purchasing. It would affect the market position of large carriers, the way prices are formed and control over the relationship with the passenger. Railway companies have for years been investing in their own applications and loyalty programs, and the sale of competitors' tickets on the same platforms could weaken the advantage they have in the domestic market. On the other hand, independent distributors and advocates of a more open market believe that the closed nature of sales systems is precisely one of the reasons why international train travel in Europe is often more complicated than it should be.
The Commission also links the proposal to passenger rights. According to official information on rights in rail transport, the EU already has a framework that gives passengers the right to information, assistance, rerouting, refunds or compensation in certain cases of delays and cancellations. However, the problem arises when a journey consists of several separate tickets or several carriers, especially if the sales system does not clearly show whether it is a single journey or a series of separate contracts. The new proposal seeks to reduce this grey area so that passengers know before purchase what they are buying and what rights they have if one connection is delayed.
The European Commission has previously emphasized that cross-border train journeys remain too complex for many users. According to Commission documents on rail rights, the current regulation on passengers' rights in rail transport has applied since 7 June 2023, and its aim is to increase the level of passenger protection and the availability of so-called through-tickets. The latest package goes one step further because it does not stop only at carriers' responsibility, but also seeks to change the way in which passengers reach offers in the first place.
Why ticket purchasing has become a regulatory issue
Traveling by train through several European countries is often simple in a physical sense, but complex in a digital one. A passenger can find a line, but not necessarily a complete ticket. They can get a favorable price for one part of the route, but not clear information on whether the same protection applies if the second part of the journey fails because the first train is delayed. They can buy tickets from several service providers, but remain without a single point of responsibility. This is precisely where the Commission sees a structural weakness in the European travel market.
According to reports by relevant media, the European Commission wants to create, by the end of the current mandate, a system in which passengers could more easily plan, compare and buy cross-border journeys. Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas presented the idea as a step toward a simpler experience, in which passengers on digital platforms could compare offers from different forms of transport and obtain better protection. Such a formulation shows that the Commission is not dealing only with railways as infrastructure, but also with the digital market on which it is decided whether a passenger will choose a train, bus, ferry, car or airplane.
In this sense, the proposal is part of a broader debate on so-called multimodal digital mobility services. These are platforms that enable passengers to compare and combine different types of transport, for example train and bus, train and ferry, or railway and air transport. According to the European Economic and Social Committee, the proposal on single digital booking and ticketing is aimed at increasing the availability of railway tickets on such platforms. This is an important detail because regulation affects not only carriers, but also technological intermediaries that display offers to passengers.
For passengers, the greatest benefit would be a reduction in uncertainty. When the ticket is clear and the rights are known in advance, the choice of transport depends not only on price but also on trust in the system. On long international routes, this certainty is particularly important because one missed connection can mean a lost hotel reservation, a missed meeting or additional costs. The Commission therefore presents the proposal as a consumer measure, but its market consequence could be much broader: greater visibility for alternative operators and pressure on the prices of dominant carriers.
Resistance from the railway sector and fear of platform power
The proposal is already encountering resistance from part of the railway industry. According to a report by the International Railway Journal, the European passenger mobility package has provoked a strong reaction from the sector, primarily because carriers believe that too broad a regulatory intervention is being proposed. The concern relates not only to the obligation to share data and sell competitors' tickets, but also to the question of who will control the commercial relationship with the passenger. If a larger part of sales shifts toward major digital platforms, carriers fear they could lose part of their revenue, data and bargaining power.
Such an objection is not without precedent. In aviation, there has for years been a debate on the role of online travel agencies, metasearch engines and global distribution systems. Airlines seek to direct passengers to their own websites because there they better control price, additional services, baggage, seats, benefits and communication after purchase. Intermediaries, meanwhile, argue that they enable passengers to compare offers and foster competition. The railway sector is now entering a similar debate, but with an additional problem: European railways have historically been strongly linked to national markets and the public interest.
Critics also warn of operational complexity. If one platform sells a journey that includes several carriers, there must be a reliable system for exchanging data on timetables, seat availability, prices, special conditions, accessibility, baggage and possible changes. Any error in display can end in a passenger complaint, additional cost or a dispute over responsibility. That is why the implementation of such a proposal depends not only on political adoption, but also on technical standardization.
Supporters of the proposal respond that without regulatory pressure the market will not solve the problem on its own. Fragmented sales systems have existed for years, and passengers still often cannot simply buy an international railway ticket with the level of clarity they expect when buying an airline ticket. If the EU wants railways to be a real alternative to air transport on medium-distance routes, the sales experience must be comparably simple. Otherwise, even well-connected routes will remain less attractive than a flight that can be compared and purchased in a few minutes.
Could the same approach be applied to airlines
The most interesting question raised by the European proposal is whether similar logic could one day be applied to airlines. At present, there is no official announcement that the EU would require air carriers to sell tickets of competing companies on their own websites. Such a move would be far more radical because it would interfere with airlines' business models, revenue management and the way additional services are bundled. Still, the regulatory logic behind the railway proposal could in the long term influence air transport as well.
The aviation market already has a European framework for computer reservation systems. The European Union regulation on a code of conduct for computer reservation systems, known as Regulation 80/2009, establishes rules for fair competition and consumer protection. According to the EUR-Lex summary, the aim is to ensure a harmonized code of conduct for systems used in booking air transport, while the rules also apply to railway transport when it is combined with a flight. The text of the regulation also emphasizes the importance of an unbiased display of offers because such a display increases the transparency of services offered by carriers included in the system.
This, however, is not the same as an obligation for an airline to sell competitors' flights on its own website. Today's rules primarily regulate computer reservation systems and the display of offers in distribution channels, while carriers retain substantial freedom in direct sales. Many airlines have developed strategies that encourage purchases directly from them, and some services, discounts or conditions may differ depending on the channel. That is why any future debate on mandatory display or sale of competitors' flights would be politically, legally and commercially demanding.
Still, the railway proposal sets a precedent in the way of thinking. If the public interest requires that a passenger can easily compare and buy a combined train journey, why should greater transparency not be sought in other forms of transport as well? The answer is not simple. The aviation industry is already strongly liberalized, internationally regulated and technologically developed, while railways in Europe still carry the burden of national fragmentation. But a common denominator exists: passengers increasingly expect a single digital market, not a series of closed sales systems.
Broader effect on booking platforms
If the proposal passes through the legislative procedure, the biggest changes could be felt by platforms for travel planning and sales. They would gain better access to data and a greater ability to conclude commercial arrangements with carriers, but at the same time they could be exposed to stricter obligations toward users. In a model in which a platform sells several carriers in one transaction, it is expected to provide clear information on what is included in the ticket, who is responsible for an interrupted journey and what rights the passenger has. This means that platforms would not be only a price display window, but an important part of the consumer protection system.
For users, the key change should be greater comparability. Price, duration, number of transfers, emissions, baggage conditions, availability of assistance for persons with reduced mobility and rights in the event of travel disruption could become more visible in the same digital environment. This could encourage passengers to consider trains on routes where they currently avoid them because of complicated purchasing. At the same time, greater transparency could increase pressure on operators that charge high prices or offer unfavorable conditions.
What follows in the legislative procedure
The European Commission's proposal does not automatically become law. It must be discussed by Member States in the Council of the European Union and by the European Parliament, and the final text may change during negotiations. It will be precisely at that stage that it becomes clear how willing Member States are to limit the business autonomy of large railway companies and how much they want to open ticket distribution to competition.
For the aviation industry, nothing changes directly in the short term. But the proposal is an important signal because it shows that the European Commission increasingly views the sale of travel as part of public transport policy, and not only as a commercial service. If the obligation of greater openness in rail transport proves to bring lower barriers for passengers, stronger competition and better consumer protection, pressure for similar debates in air transport could grow.
For now, the most important point is that the proposal separates two levels of the problem. The first is practical: passengers want to buy a ticket more easily and know their rights. The second is market-related: carriers and platforms are fighting for control over data, prices and the relationship with the user. The European railway reform is therefore not only a story about trains, but also a test for the future of digital transport sales. If this model proves feasible, it could change passenger expectations toward other forms of transport as well, including aviation.
Sources:
- European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport – announcement on new proposals for simpler travel planning and booking and better passenger protection (link)
- European Commission – overview of passenger rights in the EU and proposals for multimodal journeys (link)
- European Commission – information on rail passenger rights and the application of Regulation 2021/782 (link)
- EUR-Lex – summary of Regulation (EC) No 80/2009 on a code of conduct for computer reservation systems (link)
- EUR-Lex – text of Regulation (EC) No 80/2009 and provisions on the unbiased display of offers (link)
- The Guardian – report on the European Commission proposal for simpler purchasing of cross-border railway tickets (link)
- Financial Times – report on the EU plan for the obligation to display and sell competing railway services (link)
- International Railway Journal – report on the railway industry's reactions to the European passenger mobility package (link)
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