RailAir

RailAir describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on London Heathrow Airport, with one other from London Luton Airport. RailAir services are operated as public transport services by or on behalf of train operators, where the whole journey is paid for as a through ticket which combines the railway and bus journey, although journeys can be made using the bus only. As such, many are operated where the train and bus operator are owned by the same company.

Railair services originated as a partnership between the nationalised bus operator, the National Bus Company, and the nationalised rail operator, British Rail, under the Railair Link brand name.

In Luton National Bus Company subsidiary Luton and District, operated a Railair Link branded shuttle bus between Luton railway station and Luton Airport, as the Luton Flyer. Luton Airport Parkway railway station has since been built closer to the airport.

From 1967, Thames Valley Traction, (later Alder Valley), operated a Railair Link coach between Heathrow and Reading in a yellow striped livery as route X25, and later in National Bus Company coach livery. A Railair Link service was also operated by coach operator Rickards from Heathrow to Woking.

After bus deregulation, the existing Reading and Woking to Heathrow Railair services passed to private companies.

Privatised Alder Valley, as the Bee Line bus company, owned by Q-Drive, operated the Heathrow to Reading Railair service in bottle green liveried coaches as the Rail Air service with marketing for the onward rail links to South Wales and the West of England. When Beeline passed to FirstGroup, the Railair service was operated ultimately by First Berkshire, which in 2003 relaunched the service with Irizar Century bodied Scania K114IB coaches. The serviced operates as the FirstGroup branded service Rail Air.com.

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