Fully agree. There's a reason why the French only banned a few flights to Paris Orly - and not those to Charles de Gaulle. Improve competition (and thus price) & point-to-point connections, which will automatically earn a huge rail share between city pairs (see Barcelona-Madrid!)
https://twitter.com/seatsixtyone/status/1389826955193769984
You may not win over all connecting pax - but you don't have to. Those travelling between 2 cities is already a good start & leads to less short-haul traffic. Curious to see how eg. Athens-Thessaloniki traffic will develop now rail is a viable alternative, as fast as the plane.
And frankly speaking, you'd be mad as a domestic passenger to opt for a flight here. Metro ticket to ATH airport €10 extra, check-in hassle, on arrival in Thessaloniki long bus ride in bad traffic to town, while city to city centre will be 3 hours by train! This is way to start.
In Germany, I'd say with my more limited knowledge it's (lack of) competition. Quite a few friends fly between Berlin & Dusseldorf. Why? No competition means Deutsche Bahn can be expensive, esp. when booked shortly out. Bus = no alternative. They'd go for rail if price was good!
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