Eurostar has signed an e-ticketing deal with Virgin Atlantic that allows consumers to buy train tickets at the same time as they book their flights.

Passengers and travel companies will be able to book e-tickets to London, Lille, Paris and Brussels through Virgin Atlantic’s online booking system and call centre.

The move is designed to open up Eurostar bookings to more overseas travellers to the UK. Whilst Virgin Atlantic is the first airline to strike such a deal, this could spark a trend in booking integration between airlines and high-speed train operators.

Emma Harris, director of sales and marketing at Eurostar, said: “Many of our customers making corporate bookings can now take full advantage of these through fares, opening up a host of new travel opportunities.”

“The vast majority of people travelling between London and Paris and Brussels use Eurostar and it’s fantastic news that our overseas travellers will now have greater access to the ease and comfort of high speed rail journeys.”

Eurostar is currently the only rail operator in the world to be registered on GDS in its own right.