The French shipping company said it had nearly 189,000 passengers booked to travel on its summer 2022 services by the end of October – a 48% rise on the same booking period in 2019 for summer 2020 departures before the pandemic struck.
Brittany’s UK to France services saw a 40% rise for next summer, while UK-Spain passengers were up by 35% on two years ago. France-Ireland reservations also increased by 234% over the same period.
The boost in passenger numbers comes after Brittany received a grant of €45 million from the French government to compensate for the disruption caused by travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of Brittany Ferries, said: “The storm clouds are beginning to lift and I welcome the boost in reservations for next year.
“We are so grateful to our loyal customers and, of course, to the French state for acknowledging our plight. The support of French government combined with the loyalty of our British and Irish customers will allow us to continue the beautiful voyage of this company.”
But Mathieu also urged “a note of caution”, with “much work” to do in the coming years, including having to repay a €117 million loan granted in 2020 and finding further “efficiencies”.
Brittany will be further boosted by the introduction of a new ship, Salamanca, in 2022, which will be first vessel in its fleet to be powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas). Salamanca will sail on the route between the UK and Spain.
The operator only carried a combined 480,000 passengers during the summer 2020 and 2021 seasons, compared with 982,000 passengers in summer 2019 alone.
