HD Ferries is to stop all sailings from this weekend with the loss of up to eight jobs.
The troubled ferry company is blaming the rising cost of oil and a slow down in business for its decision to cease operating.
But the news has angered Economic Development, who believe that HD should not be able to ‘cherry-pick’ when and where it operates after being granted operating licences.
The company’s Sunday evening’s sailing from St Malo to Jersey will be its last for the time being, although the company intends to try to return in the spring.
• Full report in Thursday’s Jersey Evening Post.
Article posted on 3rd September, 2008 - 4.40pm
36 Article Comments
Very disappointing news- with no competition Condor will probably hike up their prices - We will have to sail back from St Malo with Condor this month and in January we had booked HD for £79 return - Condor were charging nearly £300 for a car and 2 pax return
What hypocrisy!
Farwell to HD Ferries? I quote, “the news has angered Economic Development, who believe that HD should not be able to ‘cherry-pick’”.
Jersey survives in the free market by cherry picking the financial services business of others. Maybe it was time that Economic Development studied the economics of the free market.
maybe i’m missing something. hd ferries has stopped a route and had to let 8 people go. i don’t think that’s cherry picking. isn’t it closing an unprofitable route?
if the market doesn’t support 2 suppliers then 1 goes out of business/stops supplying the market.
if EconDevelop want a competitive service for jersey they need to regulate the 1 private supplier or add a public service. it’s the same as for any industry be it electricity, trains, ferries or paperclips.
Oh what a shame. I’ve travelled with HD many times and the sailing times and the fares have been very good. There is no point running a non profit making route however, if they wish to return in the spring I think that is a good thing and they should be allowed to. I do feel though that they should honour reservations if they have taken them!
HD have not had an easy time from the folk in the States and the folk down at the harbour. They have tried to provide a cheaper route but with all the red tape and incidents with Condor I dont blame them for pulling out. But again I say that people should vote with thier feet and take alternative ferrys to other parts of France, perhaps then Condor will keep offering deals.
Such a shame but there main problem is the boat its too unreliable and can’t sail above force 5 if they didn’t have these issues they would have maintained their service and consumer trust. Hopefully a boat upgrade over the winter will happen. On a 2nd note if they charged £200 instead of £100 I would still use them over rip off Condor. I saved 350 this summer using HD to St Malo driving for 8 hours and then the ferry to the UK. I for one hope they come back.
Good riddance - I willingly paid the premium to go on Condor this summer, better boat, will take more sea, less likely to get cancelled.
Just goes to show that the “cheap airline model” that they were following doesn’t work. Why should we expect to travel for rock bottom prices?
Everyone wants too much service for too little cost and then moan like anything when that service is not delivered. Just look at the Zoom passengers that got stuck in Canada. Tough I say.
You get what you pay for, always have done, always will do… get used to it!
Farewell, did they actually really properly start? I’ve never seen such a chaotic ferry service
I am shocked, We were meant to go to France in September and October with HD ferries and nobody bothered to let us know.
Jersey need to have competitive services. They have done that by opening to more budget airlines, however they all sit there and watch while Jersey is in urgent need for reasonable priced transport to attract tourist to the island
, I don’t really understand what is going on here.
Especially when this company is providing reasonable trip from and to France where due to the strength of the Euro towards the pound people are much more able to come and spend money in Jersey.
Maybe our government has taken enough on GST and ITIS from its own people that they aren’t interest in the tourism.
What a great shame that HD have felt it necessary to withdraw their services. Having used HD in the past I have been pleased with the service they gave. It’s extremely dissapointing the Economic Development Committee don’t have the will power and can’t see fit to restricting the one remaining operator on their extotionate pricing. This will only serve to open the floodgates for them to increase prices further knowing islanders are a “captive audience”. The cheapest inter island fare currently on offer for a car and passenger from Jersey to Guernsey is a 2 night deal for £134.00, yet UK operators can offer similar length route from the UK to France for half this price, how is this. Surely we need to do something about this situation. Where’s the Monopoly Commission when they are needed as they don’t appear to have commented on the situation as yet. Perhaps they will just let Condor ride rough shod over the islanders yet again.
pcc, wake up, this is just not purely down to this one incident, HD have been unreliable since the day it operated, or tried to operate, I can count more than ten times this year that they have cancelled sailings that have not been due to the weather. This is a mickey mouse travel service which as received nothing but bad reports from all tyes of customers.
Its about time they were done with, to be honest I think it is the best news that they are not sailing any more…don;t have to worrry about booking loads of sailings and have ing to be told on the day that they will be cancelled AGAIN!!!!!
Muppets
Great going to get ripped off again by condour
A real shame…. We used them for the first time this summer because the difference for the same from Condor was a staggering £275.00. It is an economy ticket and accepting that the on board operations are not a slick the objective of transporting the car and family from a to b was achieved. Condor are fleecing the the general public and will remain doing so until a viable competitor can be found. HD can only be applauded for trying!
After hearing that HD were to stop sailing I checked the Condor website at approx 3.30pm yesterday for sailings in half term to France. There and back for £172 car +3. Checked this morning at 11am same crossings now £214 there and back! Don’t tell me that Condor are not cashing in!!!
Yes Condor have hiked up their prices as Mrs Cosgrove predicted!
It’s about time something was done - condor have you over a barrel.
Abandonded to the tender mercies of Condor! Prices will rise immediately and, with some islanders having to go over to France to close up mobile or second homes, we face a further strain on finances. Perhaps the removal of GST on essential foods will compensate? Not!!
It is not surprising really.
How can H D Ferries hope to compete with a competitor (Condor Ferries) which is owned and backed by a bank, has held a monopoly on the UK routes for years and now has a coomplete monopoly once again on the French routes too.
JCRA - WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY DO????
Need I say more!
We had booked to go car + 2passengers in Sept, Nov and Xmas. During the November trip for a week we also booked with another another company from Le Havre to Portsmouth (car + 2 return £45. HD had charged £78 - a good fare, but now they have pulled out we are having to travel with Condor for £242, more three times the price. Xmas in France is now out because that is £300. We want competition on the routes, but we want it to be a quality and reliable service that is altered, which is what HD could have been. I don’t see how they can have great public support now, they’ve let many people down on more than one occasion. I feel sorry for the staff though, they have to put up with the uncertainty of their future employment. Now is the time for our Jersey government to do something realistic and beneficial for the people of this island to travel at affordable prices with reliable carriers.
What a shame, I travelled on HD last month, only returning a week ago, and paid only £258 for myself, 3 children, large car and trailer tent, compared to the approx £574 that Condor wanted for the same journey. I hope HD returns next year to give us much needed competition
It would be interesting to know exactly when they took this decision, which has just been announced a few days before the end of the high season. Until a few days ago HD Ferries were happily taking advance bookings for sailings up to and including Christmas. Even if they now refund the cost of the bookings, which legally they will surely have to do, what about the interest they have earned on the payments they have taken in the meantime. Will they be compensating their customers for the interest they have lost up to the date they are refunded? I am not sure of the legal position, but it would surely be immoral and inequitable for HD Ferries to retain the benefit of that interest to the detriment of their customers who purchased their tickets in good faith.
Well I hope that the JCRA keep a very close eye on Condor’s fares over the next few months.. as its autumn they should really go down a bit.
when condor went on the st malo route to take on emeraude nothing was said.. but when a uk company tried to get on the UK route Condor screamed that there wasnt enough trade for two.. double standards methinks..
Its a pity about HD.. they tried and should have got aid from the states (like jersey heritage and those blue ‘duwk’things!)
i can understand with riseing fuel cost it would
be hard to compete with condor as prices would
have to rise but i think hd company should take
some of the blame they had a boat that was not
on a par with condor as far as wind restrictions
went cancellations delayed sailing engine trouble
docking trouble people will only stand so much my
wife has had this happen three of four times
twice on her birthdays if they come back they
must get there act together or it will be the
same next year
Rant about HD1’s poor clearance to sail in winds above Force5:
I have my parents sitting in the hotelroom next door here facing Jersey harbour. I had booked a daytrip to Guernsey and a coach tour across the island for Friday 05-SEP, only to find out that all sailings until 1900h Friday have been cancelled. This was supposed to be one of my gifts to them after they had celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary last week … Fortunately, I had kept a tight lip about this part of the whole trip from Germany to Jersey, so I save them from disappointment of being unable to visit Guernsey (fortunately there is enough to see / to experience here on Jersey for a first-timer, so I will keep them busy).
Now I am curious how smooth the refund-process will work …
RE: Reply #19 by Mike Evans: I do not think that the company is required to pay back the original amount of money PLUS interest. Let’s only hope that the company continues to exist and does not file for bankruptcy, which would make it almost impossible to get back prepaid fares.
-HT
For the second year in a row, HD have almost ruined our planned annual golf trip with a short notice cancellation. That’s 6 months of planning very nearly ruined by a ferry company who have turned out to be big on promises but low on delivery. Potentially, they had the formula right - realistic prices and much better sailing times than Condor. However, as others have pointed out, their vessel was clearly inappropriate for the task and when not weather-bound they seem to have suffered with endless operational and technical problems from the outset.
Whilst it would seem that Condor are an expensive alternative, they have once again stepped in at the last minute to clear up HD’s mess, for which they earn our respect and gratitude. As a firm believer in the philosophy that you get what you pay for and having travelled on most of Condor’s fleet as well as the HD boat, I don’t think it would be unfair to compare Condor and HD in the same vein as one would compare British Airways and Easyjet. Top dollar for a high class service and environment or pennies for no frills and increased risk.
Perhaps Condor will look at why HD have been so popular with islanders and will consider revising sailing times and prices in the future… but then again, if they end up becoming the sole operator on the route, I don’t suppose they will have to, will they?
Paul H -ever heard of punctuation!
Sad news. Jersey desperately NEED REAL competition, not only in ferry services area… Why do ferry prices from Calais to Dover (sailing twice longer) starts from 25£ per car no matter how many passengers ? And ferry sails every two hour …
If the fuel prices are too expensive they should invest in solar-and-wind-powered ferry, like one ferry service provider in Ausralia..
I’m really surprised at the ignorance of your correspondent ‘Adrien’ who is totally arrogant…and obviously loaded. Not everybody here can afford to pay Condor’s ludicrous prices…and as for HDs supposed inferior boat..well actually it’s not. It has sailed in other countries safely and with higher wave height restrictions than it is allowed to sail here? It doesn’t take an idiot to work out why. I’m a sailor myself and it’s nothing to do with an inferior boat…it’s because the States won’t allow HD to operate at the same wave heights as Condor…when the boat is perfectly capable of doing so, and has done so in the past. Think about it Adrian and open your eyes and mind to what is actually going on. Talking with your wallet isn’t easy for everybody on this island…and we all deserve to get off the rock at times. Oh yes - I notice that Condor have now put up their Christmas FOOT PASSENGER price to France to an astonishing 59 pounds!!! Yep it’s Christmas in France out for us now too. Happy Christmas to you Adrian…wherever you decide to spend it.
How could HD got their business plan so wrong?
How can they in a press release in July say things are looking good with an upturn 20% in passenger and freight movement and 6 weeks later complain of an economic downturn?
It would make sense if the fairs were 33% higher, they would still have offered a more competitive price than Condor.
Why not introduce a fuel surcharge like other transport operators?
How cynical to blame the states of Jersey for there own business failings.
If they are in breech of contract then the company should be taken to court and fined,
What about the 4000 inconvenienced customers (i who am one) who have had to pay more money or change travel plans at short notice, those who have been left stranded in France or Jersey!
Perhaps we could arrange a group action for compensation (any one interested) A sharp lesson is required to stop any other crooked company trying to make a quick buck out of our transport routes.
I also am disgusted the way the higher management have treated customers and the staff on the front line by asking for continued support because its not their fault!
Goodwill only goes so far and HD have abused our trust.
HD Ferries are feeling the pinch because we’ve probably reduced the number of times we head off to France or further. If there isn’t enough traffic for two winter operators, why should they be expected to bankrupt themselves? Let’s hope they get back in to gear next Spring and offer the substantial reductions we all look for. In the meantime, they can knock the dents out of their boat and smarten it up for 2009.
The low cost model DOES work. Sppedferries have operated very succesfully between Dover and Boulogne for a number of years, albeit with an InCat very similar to Condor’s ships. HD Ferries needs those type of Ships, it also needs to be competitive, and to be honest it did not need to reduce fares as much as it has done. Condor ‘cherry picked’ the market when Emeraude Lines was running. They operated during the summer, and not in the winter, especially out of Guernsey. For the record, if the French administrators had not sold Emeraude to Sogestran, I fully believe they would still be running. I feel sorry for the former Emeraude crews employed by HD who have been let down, this time not by an administrator, but by the HD management.
If economic development want to get involved then it should be to ask why Condor are able to drop their prices so much when HD are in service, and increase so much when HD are out of service. Condor are charging more when there is no competition, is this justified? Are they just charging premium becuase they can? I dont expect prices as low as HD’s best offers, clearly this doesn’t work! There is middle ground though.
Their decision to withdraw wouldn’t have anything to do with the below would it ?
http://www.rideoceanzoom.com/content/view/13/29/
If HD are having their ramp licence revoked for not providing the expected service, will Easyjet be asked to give back some of the subsidy they got for the same reason?
Well, it certainly makes things more interesting. The Housing Minister suggested a while back to get “the boat in the morning” to those unable to live/survive in Jersey and……….now there’s one boat less to get! Since it’s only offered by Condor we probably won’t be able to afford the ticket either. Oh the irony!
I CAN GET A FERRY FROM PORTSMOUTH FOR 10 POUND FOR A DAY TRIP TO FRANCE, OR AN OVERNIGHT STAY IS THE SAME .WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE TO GET TO FRANCE FROM JERSEY ,IT IS ONLY ACROSS THE WATER . . . THERE ARE ALWAYS SPECIAL OFFERS ON ON TWO OR THREE OCCASIONS I HAVE BEEN FOR ONE POUND , VERY HANDY TO GO AND STOCK UP ON FOOD AND DRINK NEAR CHRISTMAS . ALTHOUGH WE LOVE THE ISLAND I MUST SAY WE ARE GLAD WE LEFT WHEN WE DID MANY YEARS AGO. WE DO RETURN TO VISIT FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN JERSEY SOMETIMES , BUT IT IS JUST SO EXPENSIVE . WE CAN ACTUALLY GO ABROAD CHEAPER . .
Ed, you are a star!
jersey politics!! all you do is moan over here if you dont like it there is a boat in the morning!! but word of advice…? dont book hd!!hee hee