Brittany Ferries fleet movements

Started by Collision-course, February 02, 2009, 08:13:57 PM

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Quote from: awaityourreply on March 16, 2020, 04:16:24 PM
While the Brittany Ferries newsroom link you referenced contains the correct schedule changes information, it also contains a link referring customers to view the Sailing Updates which are still incorrect on the website - any typos should have been corrected at this stage. Not all customers of BF might get to view sites like this one and may see the Sailing Updates link on the BF website first rather than the Brittany Ferries Newsroom link! If they want people to refer to their website rather than calling, they should ensure their website is not contradicting itself due to typo errors. The Sailing Updates page was changed - it's just not reflecting the new realities! 

Completely agree!

awaityourreply

#271
I've also noticed in the past when new changes were officially announced such as new routes, you could have a longer time lag between what information is entered in certain panels on the Brittany Ferries websites Vs other areas of their website which must sometimes cause such confusion for those holidaymakers trying to plan an itinerary.

That said, the current scenario must be a very anxious time for all businesses not knowing exactly how long many aspects of their business model will have to remain out of action. This must be the worst possible time for operators as ships are probably coming out of dry dock/annual maintenance and passenger bookings for the high season may not recover sufficiently for 2020 if this runs well beyond the provisional holding dates. So tough on staff & their families so let's hope the negative impact can be minimised. 

Incidentally, this latest European Commission 30-day travel ban now being proposed will likely alter all of the dates to continental Europe and will cause further delays to a resumption of services to countries like France & Spain I would imagine but "everyone is in the same boat" (or ship) no pun intended!   

A83

Its certainly going to be a tough time for travel companies in general and I gather that Stena are also retrenching. However Irish Sea and UK ferries mostly have two different business sectors namely RO/RO freight and passengers. The latter will be greatly reduced in number if not completely eliminated over the next while [I have just cancelled a booking to France on the WBY for 28th March]. However freight must continue in order for the business of the country to keep going so hopefully a basic service from Ireland to the UK and to France will keep sailing.

Kieran

Quote from: awaityourreply on March 16, 2020, 06:35:39 PM
I've also noticed in the past when new changes were officially announced such as new routes, you could have a longer time lag between what information is entered in certain panels on the Brittany Ferries websites Vs other areas of their website which must sometimes cause such confusion for those holidaymakers trying to plan an itinerary.

To be fair, the website probably isn't that dynamic, so content has to be manually updated.

I'm going to add a page to the main site listing timetable changes incase passangers end up here. If anyone notices anything i miss, please drop me a message.

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email from Brittany Ferries CEO

Dear Customer,

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected people, businesses and communities all around the world. This, of course, includes Brittany Ferries and our customers.

Following advice given by governments in all countries to which we sail, we have been forced to temporarily suspend passenger services connecting the UK, Ireland, France and Spain. We apologise sincerely to all those affected.

All passenger sailings between the UK and France, Ireland and France and Ireland-Spain have ceased operating for the time-being. The final passenger repatriation service leaving Spain for the UK this weekend is full.

A small number of ships in our fleet will continue to operate with limited crew as a lifeline freight-only service. During this period of uncertainty we must do all we can to ensure that essential goods continue to flow freely.

We've acted in the best interests of passengers and our colleagues. Our priority, of course, is the safety and well-being of passengers, crew, shore-side staff, suppliers, as well as the communities we serve across four countries.

Our teams have been working hard to answer calls, but due to the exceptionally high level of affected bookings we now have to close our phone lines and divert all resource to contacting passengers proactively over the coming days. If you have a booking with us over the coming days and haven't heard from us, please bear with us. For urgent enquiries, you can still contact us via a web form on our website.

For amendments to sailings from mid-April onwards, please use the online 'manage my booking' facility. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and we hope to return to normal service as soon as we can.

We know that everyone is doing the best they can during this ever-changing and unprecedented situation. And that's what we are trying to do too.
Take care and stay safe,

Christophe MATHIEU
CEO Brittany Ferries

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Update from Brittany Ferries CEO 22 April 17:30 CET

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/ceo-message

A new message from our CEO

I hope you and those closest to you continue to stay safe and well.

In my last message I mentioned that some restrictions were showing signs of lifting. The messages from the four countries we serve differ slightly but, for the time being, all four remain in lockdown. I'm still hopeful we'll be at a point to offer some passenger services in the near future and my teams are working hard to prepare accordingly. There will need to be changes to the on board experience but we're making good progress with our plans and will ensure we communicate those changes clearly and transparently.

At present our passenger sailings remain cancelled until May 15th. We're hearing from many of you with sailings and holidays booked after that date and are doing what we can to answer your questions. I'll feature more of those questions in the next updates to these pages.

I'm increasingly confident we'll be resuming passenger services, adapted for life post COVID-19, in due course. As with so much of our changed lives at present, our plans and preparations are subject to governmental guidance and permissions but, as with the skies in Brittany today, things seem to be looking brighter.

Thank you again for your patience and support.

Christophe Mathieu

CEO Brittany Ferries

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Further update this afternoon from BF CEO

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/ceo-message

A message from our CEO

I hope you and those closest to you continue to stay safe and well.

In recent days we've continued working hard with national bodies to understand how the new normal will play out for us and paying particular attention to how the on board experience will change in the immediate term. Of course we all continue to navigate uncharted waters, but this is what I can tell you today.

At present our passenger sailings remain cancelled until May 15th. When passenger services do return, and they will, we have to make changes on board to protect everyone, whilst remaining compatible with WHO (World Health Organisation) guidelines.

We hope to be able to offer self-service dining facilities (with social-distancing measures), boutique experiences and the usual memorable on board welcome and commitment to service. We hope other much-loved parts of the experience will return in due course but at this stage it's difficult to know for sure.

But please be aware that when we re-start passenger services, onboard colleagues will probably be obliged to wear masks on your journey. The warm welcome will still be there of course, but the welcoming smile will be seen through their eyes rather than mouths; indeed this may well be a non-verbal communication we all learn to master in the coming weeks!  We may well ask customers to wear masks too, ensuring everyone on board is protected, be they passengers, lorries drivers or members of our crew.

I am sure you will appreciate the need for enforcing strict social distancing measures. This may mean fewer people have access to specific areas of the ship at certain times (the bars for example) and it could also mean we have to revise normal passenger limits for vessels. Our ships are large and there is plenty of space to move around, however it may simply not be an option to host the usual numbers of passengers, particularly during peak crossings.

We are planning carefully in these uncertain times. There may be some tough decisions ahead of course, but we're a flexible organisation, and we will look for solutions that provide maximum protection and reassurance, while offering as many services as possible to as many passengers as the rules allow.

I will keep you informed with our progress here.

Again, thank you for your understanding and patience.

Christophe Mathieu

CEO Brittany Ferries

Updated: 24 April 2020

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Latest From BF CEO
https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/ceo-message

Time to Move Forward, a message from our CEO

I hope you and those closest to you are safe and well and, like me, feeling increasingly optimistic about the coming months. Summer is on its way, evenings are lengthening and we are working on plans to make our way out of a uniquely challenging period in our 47 year history.

My teams have been working non-stop since March to plot a way through these most testing of times. Our services will need to change and those changes must be viable, sustainable and a reinforcement of our ability to serve our communities and destinations long into the future.

We've asked a lot from our customers to get to this point and I'm increasingly confident we'll be able to thank those that have supported us through the heavy seas of COVID-19 in the coming months. To the many thousands who have already made new arrangements with their credit notes, thank you!  We can't wait to welcome you back on board.

At the moment I'm hearing from customers who are unsure whether they can, or want, to travel on their holidays or sailings after May 15th (all passenger sailings have had to be cancelled up to that date). Confident in the changes we've made, I'm pleased to advise those passengers can now amend sailings free of charge to later in the year, or cancel sailings and holidays and receive a Refund Credit Note for any lost deposit or balance. The credit note is valid for two years and can be used against any sailing or Brittany Ferries Holiday in the future.

You will understand I am sure that financial prudence is key at this difficult and economically turbulent time, so this enhanced flexibility can only be offered to direct customers and only for as long as it is viable to do so. Please read our FAQs or Contact us to learn more. It won't be possible for us to backdate the offer of enhanced flexibility but I do hope it will help those of you anxious about travel in the coming months, bringing a little more peace of mind in the coming weeks.

We're in the process of arranging schedules for 2021 but these won't be ready until mid-July. Again, I'm confident our flexible fleet and unique organisation will be well placed to offer outstanding services to fabulous destinations for many years to come.

If you're among the many waiting to hear back from our customer services teams, I can confirm that in line with our recovery plan, we are now able to divert more resource to their efforts and I expect to see response times and customer satisfaction rates improve considerably over the coming fortnight. Again, these efforts are only possible as a result of the difficult decisions and remodelling we've had to do to cement our long-term future which, now confirmed, will enable us to return to our usual standards of customer excellence very soon.

Things are looking up.

Christophe Mathieu

CEO Brittany Ferries

Last updated: 30 April 2020

marsav68

Just noticed that Brittany appear to have removed their dedicated Honfleur site @ destinationhonfleur [dot] com

Jamie1608

Quote from: marsav68 on May 18, 2020, 07:16:59 PM
Just noticed that Brittany appear to have removed their dedicated Honfleur site @ destinationhonfleur [dot] com

Brittany ferries said a couple of weeks ago that they were temporary shutting the site because the ship is not going to be delivered this year due to the shipyard being temporarily closed due to covid-19

marsav68

Quote from: Jamie1608 on May 19, 2020, 12:01:26 PM
Quote from: marsav68 on May 18, 2020, 07:16:59 PM
Just noticed that Brittany appear to have removed their dedicated Honfleur site @ destinationhonfleur [dot] com

Brittany ferries said a couple of weeks ago that they were temporary shutting the site because the ship is not going to be delivered this year due to the shipyard being temporarily closed due to covid-19

Thanks, I missed that and couldn't find anything online

jimjoe

Quote from: Jamie1608 on May 19, 2020, 12:01:26 PM
Quote from: marsav68 on May 18, 2020, 07:16:59 PM
Just noticed that Brittany appear to have removed their dedicated Honfleur site @ destinationhonfleur [dot] com

Brittany ferries said a couple of weeks ago that they were temporary shutting the site because the ship is not going to be delivered this year due to the shipyard being temporarily closed due to covid-19

FSG filed for insolvency last month, so it's not a temporary closure anymore. It'll only reopen when they've gone through the German insolvency process

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https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/ceo-message

An update from our CEO
At the end of a busy week, I'm mindful that we are heading into what would normally be one of the most important weeks of our year. It's half-term in many places, and our ships should be gearing-up for packed sailings with happy holiday makers.

I do find myself wishing there were more we could do to resume passenger services. But of course we are in the hands of the authorities. I hope, at least, that these pages are going some way to connect with you directly, keeping you informed on how we're planning for brighter times ahead.

There's no doubt that holiday plans are rising up the agenda. There are more reports in the press about companies preparing for a resumption of services. And lockdowns are continuing to ease - partially at least - across Europe.

Our own plans for a return to service are now well-established. And we are all raring to go.

One thing we should all be prepared for is masks: customers will be asked to wear masks in all public areas in the ports, garages and passenger decks, but this will be subject to review as the global pandemic evolves through the summer. We will also be asking you to arrive in ports 90 minutes before departure (as opposed to 45) so that we can stagger boarding and prevent queues on car decks, on stairs and in other areas on the ship.

Likewise, disembarkation will be staggered. This will ensure we can safely get everyone back to their cars at the end of a journey with as little risk of queues and unnecessary contact with other.

This week we've been speaking directly with some customers about these on changes, to gauge reaction and opinion. All were very understanding. There certainly seems to be a sense that we are all in this together: everyone on board, passengers and crew, sees the importance of common sense and consideration for others.

While strange to begin with, the measures will still allow us to take in sea air while on board. And I should be clear here that sea air is supplied in all individual cabins and public areas on the ship. There is no air recirculation on board Brittany Ferries.

This last week, many of you have expressed more displeasure about the length of time it's taking to receive responses to Enhanced Flexibility requests and refund applications. Please accept my apologies once more. In my last message I indicated that response times were improving and we are seeing those times come down further. A gradual return to a fuller telephone service is also expected in due course but only when we are able to do it well.

Some customers are sending multiple contact forms (and emailing multiple addresses) for the same request and I must ask please that you do not do this. It slows down all service levels. I know it can be frustrating, but please keep faith with the contact forms to ensure we can resume regular service at the earliest opportunity.

I realise it isn't the first time I've said this, but it really is key to ensuring the highest number of people get the quickest (and best) possible service from our teams. Help us to help you please.

To close, I wish you all a most enjoyable bank holiday weekend. If you were supposed to be travelling at this time and are feeling a little blue about missing your holiday or sea air, please rest assured we'll be back. Our destinations are going nowhere - and I would like you perhaps to think of them like relatives you have missed during this dreadful lockdown. They too will be delighted to see you again and will embrace you with open arms when the time comes.

Stay safe and well

Christophe Mathieu

CEO Brittany Ferries

Last updated: 22 May 2020

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https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/ceo-message

I'm afraid more bad news comes as we are forced to cancel sailings until June 28th. There is still a blanket ban on all but essential travel and the imposition of the UK's quarantine, lasting for three weeks starting from Monday this week, means we have no choice but to extend the cancellation period until then.

I really hope that this will be the last round of cancellations. While there are differences in approaches across Europe, I believe governments are converging on a late June resumption of travel and tourism. And we are ready - and eager - to play our part if that is the case. Summer is not cancelled yet. We can all still salvage something from this horrible year.





IFPete

 29th June is being earmarked m however it could be mid July.