Goodbye P&O Portsmouth -Bilbao

[BJSLIV]

Not directly a French matter, but P&O have today announced that the Portsmouth to Bilbao service will end in September.

This is yet another sign that the ferries are not having an easy time at the moment.

[Will]

The charter agreement for the ship comes to an end in September which is the prime reason behind the closure. The route hasn't been economically viable for some time, and as it's P&O's only route from Portsmouth it makes it even less feasible to keep a presence there just for a handful of crossings per week. The gap should be more than filled by the extra services to be operated by Brittany Ferries' latest ship, though that goes to Santander rather than Bilbao.

Remember too that it's freight that makes the profit, particularly on a long route like that. P&O tried to fill the ship with cheap booze cruisers, but only with a limited amount of success.

[Martin963]

Still have to pinch myself that P&O had to pull the Le Havre crossings about eight years ago.

For those of us who live in the West of Britain and who cannot/will not pay BF prices it's a long haul to Dover (but financially well worth it!)

[Will]

If you really aren't prepared to use Brittany Ferries then you can still travel to Le Havre and Dieppe from Portsmouth and Newhaven respectively. Either will be closer than Dover for those in the west.