Condor fights back with a special offer just hours after competitor's bid

Wednesday 24 April 2024

Condor and Brittany Ferries yesterday announced discounted fares on routes to Spain and Ireland in a joint initiative... just hours after a competitor formally announced its bid to snatch the Channel lslands contract.

The new pricing scheme follows a promise made by Condor’s and Brittany Ferries’ Chief Executive, Christophe Mathieu, who said the latter company, which is a shareholder in Condor, wanted to become "far more involved” with the Channel Islands.

Under the new scheme, Condor passengers can save up to 30% off Brittany Ferries’ routes to destinations including Santander and Bilbao in Spain and Rosslare in Ireland.

Pictured: Brittany Ferries' chief executive Christophe Mathieu recently said the operator wanted to be "far more involved" in the Channel Islands.

Mr Mathieu said: ‘This is a very good example of how our two companies can co-operate and we are delighted to open the extensive Brittany Ferries’ timetable and network to Channel Islanders.

‘We believe this could also benefit inbound tourism, as we will offer a reduction for visitors to travel on Condor’s services to Jersey and Guernsey from these destinations this summer.’

The offer – valid until 31 October – applies to Condor customers with future bookings or for those looking to make a new reservation.

Pictured: Barfleur successfully conducted a berthing trial in the island last month.

Barfleur – a large passenger and freight ship operated by Brittany Ferries – was due to undergo berthing trials in Guernsey today, after similar trials were carried out in Jersey last month.

The announcement of discounted fares was made as officials from Danish shipping company DFDS met Islanders yesterday ahead of lodging a rival bid to run a Channel Islands ferry service from next year.

Vice-president Filip Werne Hermann said that his firm had a “huge fleet” which presented an “opportunity” for the Channel Islands from a contingency perspective.

Pictured: DFDS vice-president Filip Werne Hermann said his firm had a “huge fleet” that could benefit the Channel Islands.

Speaking to Express, he added: “We are the biggest ferry operator and logistics company in Europe and it’s fair to say that we have a very long track record in reliability and punctuality that we can leverage here.

“I can already say now that we have learned a lot about what Islanders and businesses want. I am sure we will learn a lot more in the coming days and the next step, for us, is to process all of this and prepare for the tender – which we will hopefully receive shortly.”