Transport / Norröna bunk bed idea dismissed by NorthLink chief
NORTHLINK will not “look backwards” at affordable sleeping options offered aboard Smyril Line’s Norröna ferry, its chief has said.
Green councillor Alex Armitage asked NorthLink to explore the idea of Norröna’s “couchettes” – which allow four to six people to sleep in bunk beds in a shared compartment.
The offering is a budget-friendly alternative to the cabins aboard the vessel, which frequently visited Shetland previously.
Armitage said the couchettes were preferable to NorthLink’s sleeping pods, as passengers were able to lie flat overnight.
But NorthLink managing director Stuart Garrett defended their pods, calling them a “bespoke” option for its passengers to sleep in.
“We were one of the first to use pods,” he said.
“We wouldn’t want to look backwards, I would like to look forwards.”
The comments came at Tuesday’s external transport forum, which heard NorthLink has experienced a record start to 2024.
The NorthLink chief said the operator had seen a “really significant increase” in the number of people using their pods in the peak June, July and August months.
And the meeting also heard Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and Transport Scotland (CMAL) is exploring “a different kind of pods” for two in-development freight-plus vessels, which are hoped to be in service by 2029.
However, Armitage – a vocal critic of the sleeping pods – said people “can’t get fully flat” in them.
He asked if there could be a guarantee that the new freight-plus ferries will ensure all passengers can get horizontal to sleep on their journey.
The Shetland South councillor has continually cited concerns about people not getting a proper night’s sleep before they have to drive long distances the following day.
Garrett said the pod lounges aboard the Hrossey and Hjaltland were the “best use” of the spaces, which were previously a cinema and larger shop among other things.
He said the operator was “well aware of feedback about the pods”.
But he said customer satisfaction with the pods, as reported to NorthLink, was 83 per cent positive.
Armitage asked later if the NorthLink booking system could start pointing solo passengers towards a two-berth cabin, instead of allowing them to book up a four-berth.
He said sometimes people were “rendering three berths not used” by booking a four person cabin to themselves.
And the councillor said he wanted NorthLink to “leave no stone unturned” in ensuring the ferries are as full as they possibly can be.
Garrett said the ferry operator would explore if its booking system could be more “intuitive”.
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