Ferry compo failures damage Tasmania's tourism image

Tasmania's image as a welcoming tourist destination has been hobbled by failures from ferry operator TT-Line. 

TT-Line cancelled ferry sailings by Spirit of Tasmania 1 from Devonport to the Australian mainland during the week, leaving some travellers high and dry. 

Worse, ferry passengers were denied overnight accommodation and food vouchers when they were forced to spend extra days on the island. 

Spirit of Tasmania 1 travelled to Singapore in July as part of its scheduled maintenance program. 

Its departure from Singapore was then delayed by faults and paperwork problems, meaning TT Line had to cancel several services. 

People booked to sail on August 5, for instance, told the Hobart Mercury their sailing had been pushed back to Thursday."

Remember that the Spirit ferries are the only option for people travelling between Tasmania and the mainland with a vehicle. Unlike with airline passengers, there are no alternative sailings. 

TT-Line refused the delayed passengers any compensation, leaving passengers to fend/pay for themselves for the period they were delayed. 

They did offer to refund fares - which was absolutely useless for those travelling with a vehicle. 

A spokesperson for TT-Line told the newspaper that "no compensation outside of refunds would be offered".  So basically an FU to customers.

    
Perhaps because caretaker Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff has a totally unneeded stadium to pay for. And budget bottom lines are out of control in Tassie (see below). 

TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, trading as Spirit of Tasmania, is a Tasmanian Government-owned business enterprise that has provided ferry services between mainland Australia and Tasmania since July 1993.

As it refuses to accept any responsibility when it lets its customers down potential users might want to make sure they have travel insurance. 

The team at Tourism Tasmania must be pulling their hair out in frustration. 

* TT-Line and TasPorts are the entities responsible for the fiasco regarding the two new Finnish-built ferry vessels currently on their way to Tasmania from Europe. These vessels cannot be used until a new dock is completed in Devonport - at the earliest sometime next year. The budget for the dock project has blown out from $90m to $375m during delays. The two new ferries were originally promised for 2021. 

The Tasmanian Government last week increased the debt limit for TT-Line after learning it would exceed its existing cap.

Tasmanian Treasury advised presumptive treasurer Guy Barnett that the TT-Line would breach its $990 billion debt cap in September. The approval enables TT-Line to borrow up to $410 million more from state financier TASCORP.

Happy days. 

Another airline teeters on the brink

There are always risks associated with booking flights on small, independent airlines.

This week, Brazil-based Azul formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.

It issued a securities filing, aiming to restructure over $US2 billion of debt, travel news hub Travel Mole reported.

There is a commitment of $1.6 billion in financing as well as up to $950 million in equity financing after exiting Chapter 11.

The airline says it has agreements with existing bondholders, lessor AerCap, and airline partners United Airlines and American Airlines to help support its restructuring.

The airline’s financial issues date back to the Covid-era shutdown.

“We had too much debt on the balance sheet that principally came from Covid, said CEO John Rodgerson.

"We now have an opportunity to clean it all up.”

Azul had been exploring a merger with Gol, and it is unclear how the bankruptcy filing will affect this.

The airline was founded in 2008 by David Neeleman, who also started the airline JetBlue in the US. The airline offers affordable flights to places in Brazil that other airlines do not service.

Azul has 166 planes and flies to 162 destinations, Wikipedia says.

Debt-ridden airline "on the brink"

If you have flights booked with Pakistan International Airways then you'd better keep your fingers, and toes, crossed.

The Pakistan flag carrier could be on the verge of ‘total collapse’, travel industry website TravelMole reports.

PIA has been cancelling dozens of flights daily for several days due to its lack of funds to purchase aviation fuel.

Some media reports said Pakistan State Oil has suspended fuel deliveries due to unpaid bills, although this has been denied.

PIA, which has been flying internationally since 1955, has been looking for another government bailout, but the Asian nation has serious debt issues.

Political and economic uncertainty has sparked inflation and fuel prices have surged.

This has in turn led to widespread protests, causing more turmoil.

PIA is currently on the market for privatisation but the fact it has cancelled over 300 flights over the past 10 days is unlikely to encourage potential buyers.