Red Funnel shortlisted for Ferry Operator of the Year

Red Funnel has once again been shortlisted for Ferry Operator of the Year at the prestigious 2015 National Transport Awards; the latest success in an already exciting year for the Isle of Wight ferry and holiday operator.Red

The news closely follows Red Funnel’s announcement in May 2015 that it is bringing the building of aluminium high-speed ferries back to the UK, having commissioned a brand new fast ferry from a shipyard on the Isle of Wight. Costing £6 million, Red Jet 6 will be the first vessel of her kind to be built in the UK for 15 years and is set for delivery in July 2016.

Red Funnel has also recently invested £4.4 million in the refurbishment of two ro-pax ferries in its fleet, the Red Falcon and the Red Osprey, following a record breaking 2014 which saw its car market share increase to 39.6%. Last year the company carried over 3.3 million passengers per annum on its routes between Southampton and East and West Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Kevin George CEO for Red Funnel, commented, “We are delighted to be nominated for Ferry Operator of the Year for the second year running. We believe this is testament to our ‘customer first’ strategy and the significant investment we have made in delivering an unrivalled experience for cross-Solent travellers. We are pleased this work has been recognised by the judges and we look forward to the awards ceremony in October”.

Other recent initiatives that Red Funnel has implemented that were part of the company’s awards submission included:

·       Introducing life-saving medical kits across its fleet which exceed statutory requirements, and training staff in how to use the new equipment.

·       Financially rescuing an integrated bus service in Southampton which carries 1m people per annum between the train station and the ferry terminals - it faced closure due to the withdrawal of local authority funding.

·       Working with local young people, using Red Funnel employees’ skill, experience and confidence to instil enjoyment in STEM subjects.

·       Investing in extensive customer service training for employees, introducing user group forums and the deployment of customer greeters, which have resulted in a 113% increase in compliments and 16% fewer complaints in 2015 vs. PY.

Red Funnel is shortlisted with five other UK ferry companies for the title of Ferry Operator of the Year at the National Transport Awards ceremony in October 2015. The awards, which are supported by the Department for Transport, celebrate the successes of national and local transport projects, and how they have added to the successful development of the nation’s transport infrastructure.

For more information on Red Funnel, visit www.redfunnel.co.uk