ONE year ago Brittany Ferries and P&O Ferries were
preparing to go head to head as each launched a route
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| Pride of Portsmouth |
in the other’s territory – one from Portsmouth
to Cherbourg, the other from Portsmouth to Caen.
Twelve months later, P&O Ferries is axeing all its
French routes from Portsmouth and taking two passenger ships off
the Dover Straits in a bid to save £55 million and return the
company to profit this year.
Brittany Ferries, meanwhile, is filling the gap left by its
rival. It is expanding the Portsmouth-Cherbourg route it launched
last year with just one crossing a day to three crossings a day
until March, when fast-ferry Normandie Express takes over with a
twice-daily service, and traditional ferry Barfleur provides a
daily rotation. Normandie Express will also operate a daily service
from Portsmouth to Caen on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Brittany also intends to acquire the Pride of Portsmouth and
Pride of Le Havre charters from P&O Ferries and continue to
operate the Le Havre service.
So what went wrong for P&O Ferries? A spokesman said the
company has not made a profit on the western Channel for a decade,
but things came to a head last year when overcapacity and fierce
competition on the Dover Straits forced return fares below
£100.
He said: “When Portsmouth passengers see prices fall that low,
they will use the Dover-Calais crossing instead. But we can’t
compete with Dover prices because ships on the western Channel only
make a couple of crossings a day. It’s a very different
business.”
Brittany Ferries is relying on its loyal following on the
western Channel, but it is also being careful not to increase
capacity. Managing director David Longden said: “Economies of scale
will make the Le Havre route commercially more viable for us than
P&O Ferries. We have a large operation at Portsmouth which will
take over the marketing and catering, and Le Havre can simply be
added to existing adverts.”
Because it involves the acquisition of the ships’
charters, the Le Havre deal had to go to the Office of Fair
Trading. While acknowledging P&O Ferries will pull out of the
route anyway – it has said it will operate Le Havre until the
end of September – just before Christmas the OFT referred the
matter to the Competition Commission, arguing it would give
Brittany Ferries more than 70% of the tourist and freight ferry
crossings on the western Channel.
The Competition Commission’s deadline to report is May
23.
P&O Ferries spokesman Brian Rees said: “The referral is a
disappointment and it means increased uncertainty for employees and
travellers.”
Brittany Ferries managing director David Longden said the
decision was regrettable. “It prolongs uncertainty for many
employees of P&O who are hoping for some job security, as well
as holidaymakers planning their trips to France next year.”
Longden said big price rises are not on the cards. “If they do
go up, it will be at the rate of inflation at the most,” he
said.
- You can view our Travel Weekly Car Ferry Guide 2005 in
this week’s issue.