DISCUSSIONS around inter-island connectivity involving representatives from both Jersey and Guernsey are being progressed this week, according to DFDS – which has started to take online bookings for its UK and French routes…
The Danish shipping firm, which has today announced that online bookings for its UK and French routes can be made via its website, said that a meeting “facilitated by the two governments to bring the operators and ports together to discuss next steps for inter-island” took place yesterday.
Brittany Ferries has included a weekly inter-island crossing in its 2025 schedule, but DFDS – which has published its timetable for routes to France and the UK – is yet to reveal plans for sailings between Jersey and Guernsey.
“We’ve obviously been talking to a lot of the stakeholders who are affected,” DFDS’s Jersey route director, Chris Parker, told the JEP, noting the implications for sports, trade and social connectivity between the islands.
“We certainly want to reciprocate in terms of what Condor are doing in terms of connections, so we’ll have that discussion about how many that looks like. We’re looking at the potential, for example, for a Sunday rotation – that’s what we’re looking at the moment to see if that will work for us.
“We need to have a look at specific dates with the other operators and see what we can do around specific events. So that will be something that we will try to build into those discussions.”
Announcing on Friday that online bookings were open, DFDS said there was a 10% introductory discount on UK-to-Jersey and Jersey-to-France routes for those who booked before midnight on 27 March.
Commenting on prices, Mr Parker added that there had been “an expectation on us to be competitive” as part of the tender process.
“That’s what we aim to do, so I believe that they will be competitive.
“We want to fill the vessels. We want people travelling.”
He also revealed that DFDS was still having conversations with local businesses and logistics firms about plans for the freight-only schedule, which he acknowledged was a “lifeline service”.
“We’ll be in a better position to talk about that at the end of next week and beginning of the following week.
“We need to turn it around quickly and we want to get it agreed and sorted so that everybody can plan, from a business point of view on the Island as well.”
