Irish Ferries Limited
IFL
Irish Ferries is the leading Irish ferry company operating sailings between Ireland/GB, Ireland/France and GB/France.
ID: 768592035827-79
Lobbying Activity
Response to Better protection for passengers and their rights
17 Jan 2022
Combined views of
Brittany Ferries
Irish Ferries
Stena Line
Aim 1)
We support efforts to improve clarity of the Maritime Regulation (the MarReg). The MarReg has not been tested in the CJEU to the same extent as the Aviation Regulation and principles remain unclear.
Aim 2)
Improved awareness and clarity will assist passengers to claim and understand what they are entitled to and not entitled to. All stakeholders would benefit from a clear timebar for claims.
Aim 3) and First Specific Objective
Enforcement regimes vary widely across Member States.
Aim 4) and the General Objective
Regulations are inconsistent. The compensation burden on Aviation differs greatly with Maritime. Aviation’s two weeks’ notice period creates an unlevel playing field for Aviation and Maritime Carriers operating in the same market and often facing similar operating and scheduling challenges. This also causes passenger confusion.
Aim 5) and the Second Specific Objective
Difficult for Regulations to address all possible situations and the emphasis should be on ensuring Regulations are clear, consistent and cognisant of the uniqueness of some routes.
Aim 6)
Regulations should be applied in the same way for mass and individual disruptions. Extraordinary Circumstances should protect Carriers from burdens in Circumstances beyond the Carrier’s actual control. Extraordinary Circumstances should not require the Circumstances to be not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the Carrier.
Policy Option 1
MarReg requires clarification through the adoption of recommendations and interpretive guidelines.
Policy Option 2
There should be targeted amendments to the MarReg including the following:
- A notice period that relieves Carriers of the obligation to compensate where a service is cancelled with sufficient notice.
- Allow Carriers to offer a choice of re-routing options. Where an early or on time option is offered this should relieve the Carrier of the burden of compensation if a later arrival is preferred by the the passenger.
- Remove the requirement that Extraordinary Circumstances not be inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the Carrier.
- Exclude consumed onboard extras from the Ticket Price to avoid a disparity of compensation between passengers depending on services purchased and still availed of.
- Clarify costs to be considered when re-routing passengers at no additional cost.
- Timebar for claims against Carriers.
Likely Impacts on Industry
Negative impacts must be considered and not assumed to be balanced by positives. Additional burdens on Carriers lead to increased prices and reduced choice.
We urge the Commission to consider the unique circumstances of some routes, and in particular the routes between IRELAND and Continental Europe. IRL as an island nation on the periphery of Europe is reliant on viable routes for not only for passengers but also for critical freight services that are provided by the same ships. Any threat to the viability of these routes is therefore a critical risk for IRL and EU.
On such long overnight routes often operated by a single ship per Carrier, Carriers do not have spare ships to provide re-routing options. In disruption, options for re-routing are extremely limited, particularly during Summer periods when services are significantly booked.
We welcome the CJEU’s finding in the recent Irish Ferries case that “Landbridge” across Great Britain is comparable. However, Landbridge is often not passengers’ preferred option. In order to offer re-routing at the earliest opportunity we expect that Landbridge will be the only option that can be offered. The alternative will be a refund.
Where Articles 18 and 19 apply concurrently the MarReg does not allow Carriers to engage with passengers and allow them to choose a preferred re-routing option without the burden of compensating passengers with 50% of their fare if the passengers’ considered and preferred choice is to travel a day or more later.
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