Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferries has confirmed that 2014 was a record year for the company in terms of the number of vehicles carried. Assisted by growth in the total cross-Solent ferry market of 0.7% for passengers and 1.5% for cars, Red Funnel saw a 3.7% increase in customers using its West Cowes Red Jet route and carried 7.8% more passengers, 9.7% more cars, 10.8% more coaches and 9.6% more freight vehicles on its Southampton-East Cowes service.

In cross-Solent market share terms, Red Funnel increased its share of the car market to a record 39.7% (36.8% PY) and its total passenger share to 38.5% (36.4% PY).*

Kevin George, CEO, commented “We are delighted that more customers than ever are choosing Red Funnel and I would like to thank everybody who travelled with us in 2014. Our strategy of offering competitive fares, investing in our ships and terminals and training our staff to deliver superb levels of service is changing the perceptions of Red Funnel. This is making us the first choice for an increasing number of visitors. Looking ahead, this year promises to continue the momentum with Red Osprey returning to service at Easter following her £2.2m refurbishment which mirrors Red Falcon, the finalisation of plans for our new terminals in Southampton and East Cowes and there is even more exciting news on the horizon”.

Buoyed by increasing demand, Red Funnel is also pleased to announce that from the 27 March 2015 it is to add two additional return sailings to its Southampton-East Cowes service.

A new early morning, week day sailing will depart at 0240 hrs from Southampton (and 0405 hrs from East Cowes) to provide additional freight capacity. The second new sailing, designed primarily for the growing number of short-break and weekend visitors from London is on Friday evenings only, leaving Southampton at 2010 hrs and 2140 hrs from East Cowes.