Neil Chapman explains how Hovertravel has paid tribute to its British heritage while overhauling its fleet
By
Rebecca Gibson |
This article was first published in the Autumn/Winter 2016 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
Officially flying 1.5m above the water on a cushion of air, Hovertravel’s hovercraft have been transporting tourists, commuters, Royal Mail deliveries, livestock and much more between Ryde on the Isle of Wight and Southsea in Portsmouth, UK since 1965.
Currently the only scheduled commercial hovercraft operator in the world, Hovertravel reviewed its business in 2011 and opted to replace its aging craft – Island Express and Freedom 90 – with two new, quieter and more efficient hovercraft worth £5 million each.
“Although there’s no reason for our older craft to retire, they’re 25 and 27 years old so they’re looking tired,” explains Neil Chapman, managing director of Hovertravel, which is part of Bland Group.
Supported by Barclays bank, Hovertravel completed analytical and economic studies to outline its objectives, then worked with Southampton-based sister company Griffon Hoverwork to develop the hovercraft.
“Griffon Hoverwork has constructed in excess of 180 hovercraft in the past 40 years, including more than 30 for military use since 2011, so it was able to adapt new technologies to meet our commercial requirements,” explains Chapman. “Unlike Island Express and Freedom 90 which both have four engines – two for lift and two for push – and fixed pitched propellers, each newbuild has two engines and variable pitch propellers. This has significantly improved manoeuvrability, while the associated cost and operational efficiencies have allowed us to add 1,000 extra sailings this summer. Plus, we’ve managed to notably reduce inside noise levels.”
Interiors were designed in collaboration with a design firm and an ergonomics company.
“Hovertravel’s unique selling point is that we travel twice as fast as conventional passenger ferries – crossings only take 10 minutes – but comfort, accessibility and visibility are our customers’ main concerns,” says Chapman. “Consequently, an interior designer helped us to maximise outside views and create a contemporary look through the colour palette and lighting scheme. Meanwhile, the ergonomics company studied how our passengers interacted with our older vessels to help us improve accessibility and comfort. For example, rather than progressing with our initial plan to have two passenger ramps without handrails, we opted for one ramp and one set of steps, both with handrails, after the research showed 84% of our passengers touched the handrails when boarding our existing vessels.”
Hovertravel also enlisted the help of customers and staff. “Our customers use the services, our staff and pilots operate the hovercraft and our engineers maintain them, so we wanted to give everyone the chance to share their ideas for the design of the new craft,” says Chapman, noting that the concept for the baggage area originated from an employee who mans the boarding gate.
Choosing the livery was simple, claims Chapman. “We wanted to incorporate our branding colours – red, white and blue – but wanted to avoid the craft looking like a well-known brand of toothpaste, so we opted for a contemporary union flag design,” he says. “Hovercraft technology was invented by Britain’s Sir Christopher Cockerell and, more than 50 years later, we’re still building and operating the craft in the UK. We’re proud to fly the flag for Britain as both a vital local community service and an international tourist attraction. The final design truly embodies our current ‘Created, built and operated in Britain’ motto.”
Quipping that it would have been easier to name a child than the two new hovercraft, Chapman explains that they were eventually dubbed Solent Flyer and Island Flyer following months of debate. He says: “Our hovercraft operate with their propellers above the waterline so we officially fly across the Solent between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, which is the UK’s only island city, so we decided Solent Flyer and Island Flyer were a perfect fit.”
Griffon Hoverwork started construction work in 2014, delivering Solent Flyer this April and Island Flyer at the end of June. Operated by one pilot and two crew members, each hovercraft has an aluminium hull and seats up to 80 passengers and features a flexible and user-friendly luggage storage area. Hovertravel began a phased introduction of the new craft in mid-July, and feedback to date has been overwhelming positive.
“Around 99.9% of the feedback has been amazing and we’re particularly proud that one journalist said our vessels are ‘easy on the eye, easy on the ear’ because it means we achieved our aim of making them look better and operate more quietly than our older craft,” enthuses Chapman. “We’ve already made small changes to aspects such as the music and volume levels in the passenger safety video based on the advice of our Hovertravel User Group. We’ll continue to refine the service over the next few months and hope to remove the older craft from service by the end of summer 2016.”
Chapman attributes the project’s success to the dedication of all employees at Hovertravel and Griffon Hoverwork.
“Commercial hovercraft have been somewhat forgotten since they ceased service on the English Channel in 2000, but thanks to the hard work of our staff, Hovertravel has been a profitable business on the Solent over the past 51 years and is now the world’s longest running commercial hovercraft operator,” he remarks. “Solent Flyer and Island Flyer offer the perfect opportunity for us to reinforce our ‘Fast, Friendly, Frequent’ motto and showcase to the rest of the world how commercial hovercraft can still play an important role in providing reliable passenger services.”