DFDS made quite the splash this week – not just because of the publication of its contract with the Government of Jersey, but also for a bit of continental commotion across the water…
While islanders were busy leafing through the fine print of the concession agreement signed with the Danish line last January, French newspaper Ouest-France was grilling Étienne Melliani, DFDS’s managing director for France.
He was quizzed on topics like passenger numbers, social security arrangements for French employees, and loud ships.
Among the allegations levelled at Mr Melliani were noise complaints from St Malo residents about the Tarifa Jet, the ship DFDS uses on the crossing from to Jersey.
Mr Melliani said he hoped improvements could be made when the ship is in dry dock in the winter.
He added that on the St Malo to Jersey crossing, passenger numbers from April to August had gone down by 37% compared to last year, with a total of 127,000 passengers this year.
This amounted to a drop in the total number of passengers, he said, adding that both operators have to make “concessions” – even if Condor’s passenger numbers went up in their first season under Brittany Ferries ownership.
This was because fewer French passengers were coming to Jersey on day trips, he said, as the ferry operator had to take leftover harbour slots when it got the tender late last year.
Mr Melliani added that DFDS “wanted to show to the other ferry operators that our goal wasn’t to make a show of force”.
He also pointed to the firm’s 1% cancellation rate, saying that all passengers had been reimbursed and had been given discounts.
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