By IW Observer.co.uk
Red Funnel’s CEO, Fran Collins, has apologised for the significant travel problems caused by their vessels being out of action.
She said: “I wish to apologise on behalf of everyone at Red Funnel for the disruption experienced by many of our customers travelling between Southampton and the Isle of Wight yesterday. We know that this level of service is not acceptable to the Island, and nor is it aligned with our own standards. Our teams worked tirelessly to rectify the issues and support passengers, and we continue to focus on restoring the Red Jet service as soon as possible.
“Affected passengers may be eligible for compensation, which can be claimed by completing the form on our website https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/service-disruption-claims, or by phoning our contact centre (023 8001 9192).
“In addition, we will be contacting passengers who were pre-booked on the affected vehicle ferry sailings to offer a voucher in recognition of the disruption to their travel
“For customers affected by the disruption on our Hi-speed services, we will be contacting season ticket holders and customers using books of tickets, to offer compensatory extensions to their tickets.
“We also advise customers with specific dated tickets that are affected over this period to contact customer services (customerservices@redfunnel.co.uk) with details of how they were disrupted so that we can assist them on an individual basis.
“Yesterday our on the ground teams issued vouchers for hot and cold drinks for those customers experiencing extended delays.
“Looking forward, I am pleased to say that the vehicle ferry service is running to its timetabled schedule with 12 scheduled daily crossings today and into next week.
“Our Red Jet service remains suspended for the time being. An alternative service has been put on for Monday 18th March, with an extended crossing time of 50 minutes. The timetable will run as follows:
Dept Southampton: 0700 / 0900 / 1100 / 1500 / 1700 / 1900
Dept West Cowes: 0600 / 0800 / 1000 / 1400 / 1600 / 1800
“Hovertravel and Hoverbus will be accepting Red Funnel tickets from today and tomorrow (18th March) for its service between Ryde and Southsea in Portsmouth, until our Red Jet service is once again operational.
“We’d like to thank all our customers for their patience as we try and return to a normal timetable as safely and quickly as possible, and I apologise once again for the disruption to their travel.”
Yesterday hundreds of passengers were hit with travel delays as both operational Red Jets (6 and 7) were taken out of service.
Red Falcon is currently not operational due to engine problems. Red Eagle suffered problems with its doors yesterday morning, but is now back in service along with Red Osprey, which for some of yesterday and overnight was the only Red Funnel vessel usable.
Press Release