Business booming for ferry companies

FERRY TRAFFIC:STENA LINE, the largest ferry company on the Irish Sea, is reporting business up 15 per cent this year as a result of the volcanic ash cloud.

It said the ash cloud, which brought all air traffic in northern Europe to a halt in April, was resulting in a more lasting uplift for passenger numbers.

Stena estimates it will carry 50,000 more passengers this summer on top of the 60,000 extra it carried during the spring volcanic crisis.

Communications manager Eamonn Hewitt said Stena had been a beneficiary for two main reasons: it had got repeat bookings from passengers who would not normally travel by ferry, but did so during the crisis and enjoyed the experience; and that ferries brought a measure of “relative certainty” about holiday plans, given the manner in which the ash cloud had brought chaos to millions of travellers and fears that it would erupt again.

Irish Ferries is also reporting an increase in passenger numbers as a result of the ash cloud. Parent company Irish Continental Group say passenger numbers are up 11 per cent this year to 570,000.

Spokesman Declan Mescall said there was a “definite uplift” in bookings for the summer and the company had embarked on an advertising campaign to highlight that it was unaffected by the ash cloud.

He said ferry travel was also becoming a more attractive option for families because of the decision by Ryanair to increase luggage charges by €5 per bag for the summer, a decision he described as “anti-family”.

Irish Ferries is promoting a €99 one-way fare on the Rosslare-Pembroke route travelling mid-week during the summer.

The pan-European coach operator Eurolines has also responded to increased demand with an early morning service from Dublin to London via Birmingham which will travel via Irish Ferries from next month.

Fares start at €50 and the company maintains that the increased comfort of coach travel, along with the absence of travel tax and baggage charges now make it an attractive option.

Dublin Port is reporting that passenger numbers are up by 25.5 per cent in the first five months of the year from 506,000 to 635,000 and tourist cars are up by 10.6 per cent.

A spokeswoman said the dramatic increase in passenger numbers was a combination of the ash cloud, an extra sailing a day from Stena Line, but also the increased popularity of ferries.