Ticket hike has damaged Alderney’s tourist industry
UP UNTIL now, the discussion about Aurigny and Alderney has been based on airline economics. Even though from the Alderney side, we are never privy to detailed management accounts, occupancy figures and overhead apportion, it has been firmly told to us that the airline operation on Alderney has overspent by £600,000 with a total subsidy of £2.6m., in addition to earned revenue. However, the recent announcement, two days before an election, of a £5 hike on the Guernsey ticket and £25-30 on a Southampton ticket, has moved the argument from economics to making Aurigny a political football.
Firstly, there was no need to make any announcement at all. Aurigny frequently has fare increases and these are loaded up on to the website for all to view as and when. Result, the island immediately experienced a wave of summer rental and hotel cancellations as the headline £450 figure frightened them off. Likewise, there are many fare ‘families’ in the Aurigny system, so it would seem that the rise is on the fully flexible ticket fares which all airlines ask daft money for. So why the dramatic announcement?
Has anyone ever seen Ryanair or easyJet grandstand price increases? Never. It is about tempting people on to their sites with low fare propositions.
Finally, if one can actually make sense of where the extra £5 ticket (£10 return) lies between the islands, the largest passenger grouping on that route are medical patients using transferred health services. So that extra £10 will now be paid for by an already-strained Guernsey Health budget. So all P&R have done is to rob Peter to pay Paul. I bet the health president is secretly seething.
Was politics at play? An entirely needless announcement from an airline’s point of view, but very handy for some politicians to wield greater influence for subliminal reasons. No regard for optics and the very real collateral damage it has done to Alderney’s 2025 tourist industry. The latter lack of consideration of the knock-on financial effects is not helpful to anyone.
EDWARD HILL
Alderney