Yesterday I booked a crossing with LD Lines Fri-Monday car+2 in Mid March £82.00.
Then I stumbled on the pdf copy (pity I do not know how to post it on the forum) of the ticket I had booked last year with them : car+2 Friday-Monday in mid March : £ 39.60.
HOW DO THEY EXPLAIN AN INCREASE OF 100% ????????
Has Mrs Gupta an opinion on this ? And WHY so much silence about this disgraceful price increase on the forums ?
It seems you have now become quite happy to pay higher prices than P&O used to charge!
I am puzzled.
Danglar
valmont wrote: HOW DO THEY EXPLAIN AN INCREASE OF 100% ????????
Market forces - but that's only a wild guess, of course......
Why don't you ask them?
I got a brilliant deal from them for a return trip so no complaints from this end
http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/867332/ShowPost.aspx
Dear Will, surely you know that LD lines have still ONLY got one ship on the PO/LH route and a ship that is quite old and not even remotely comparable in terms of comfort to the two that P&O operated ! (not to mention the return sailing schedule that will let you become stranded in Portsmouth till the early hours of the morning , if you are a foot passenger ). We all thought that on this basis LD lines could not pretend to apply the same tariffs of P&O. And indeed they did not , last year . But the custom they won , they will kill off with such an arrogant business policy. The UK government should step in and dictate the implementation of lower tariffs , tariffs that reflect the distance being covered, that reflect the comfort- or not - being provided. These high fares stop the free movement of people. Ah but which government? The one that is allowing the rail companies to charge you > £200 for a one way journey London to Edingburgh for example ? dont think so ! I hope Bruxelles will one decide to come to the aid. Danglar
Dear Will, surely you know that LD lines have still ONLY got one ship on the PO/LH route and a ship that is quite old and not even remotely comparable in terms of comfort to the two that P&O operated ! (not to mention the return sailing schedule that will let you become stranded in Portsmouth till the early hours of the morning , if you are a foot passenger ).
We all thought that on this basis LD lines could not pretend to apply the same tariffs of P&O. And indeed they did not , last year . But the custom they won , they will kill off with such an arrogant business policy.
The UK government should step in and dictate the implementation of lower tariffs , tariffs that reflect the distance being covered, that reflect the comfort- or not - being provided. These high fares stop the free movement of people.
Ah but which government? The one that is allowing the rail companies to charge you > £200 for a one way journey London to Edingburgh for example ? dont think so !
I hope Bruxelles will one decide to come to the aid.
Of course I know that. I also know that LD Lines' first set of fares was a 'simplified' version of the P&O fare structure which amounted to fares that were almost identical to the P&O (and Brittany Ferries) standard tarrif, before the special offer fares came in. For late bookings or peak periods, or a non-standard size vehicle, you can still easily pay over £150-200 return. And that the ship, despite the 'improvements' made, is quite unsuitable for the route.
Despite the nonsense that is often printed about pirates, monopolies and cartels, fares are fixed by individual companies. They are nothing to do with government, though assistance from local government and from Brussels muddies the waters in some cases, and is another subject altogether. As none of the Channel crossings provides a lifeline for isolated communities, or gets goods traffic off the roads, EU assistance or intervention is very unlikely.
Don't forget that LD Lines, as with BF and P&O, gains its bread and butter from freight. Passenger traffic is merely an extra earner, and a nice one at peak times.
I'm glad you mention rail travel. I often pay more, even using 'saver' fares, to get from Portsmouth to London and back, or even not as far as London, than to get from Caen to Portsmouth and return by Brittany Ferries. Which puts the so-called 'extortionate' fares of BF into some sort of perspective.
I am not a particular fan of, or apologist for, any ferry operator. I just deal in facts, from a professional viewpoint as far as shipping is concerned.
valmont wrote: The UK government should step in and dictate the implementation of lower tariffs , tariffs that reflect the distance being covered, that reflect the comfort- or not - being provided. These high fares stop the free movement of people.
I can't believe that you really mean that, if you do, what planet, exactly, are you from ?
That's the sort of thing that China had under Chairman Mao, for goodness sake......................................get real...
please.......................................
But Bugbear, surely it's the duty of the UK government to safeguard the free movement of people, especially for an insignificant minority of well-off, middle class second home owners who regard their right to comfort as a political priority......
Tee hee, SD.
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