In this paper we analyze the most valued service quality attributes in order to develop intermodal products consisting in the integrations of the high-speed rail (HSR) and the air transport. In this sense, different solutions could be implemented ranging from the very basic integration, in which passengers need to take an important active role, to the most sophisticated systems which include ticket and handling integration.
We conducted a discrete choice experiment facing travellers, on routes linking Gran Canaria with different cities in mainland Spain through a connection at Madrid-Barajas Airport, to the choice between the current option and the integrated alternative involving the HSR in the second stage of the trip. To understand passenger preferences for the integrated transport alternative we estimated flexible choice models, the specification of which allowed us to analyze the existence of systematic and random taste heterogeneity as well as the correlation panel effects. We obtain some different willingness to pay for service quality attributes of these intermodal products and find some peculiarities that depend on the type of trip. Results of the analysis can be used to infer important policy conclusions that balance some existing misconceptions about the real possibilities of the Air-HSR integrated alternative. We show that the schedule coordination between both modes, as well as other measures facilitating their integration is paramount in order to promote intermodality at Madrid-Barajas airport.