Ok, but what is Viking doing now ?
Selling of Mariella was ok, but already selling of Amorella was too much fleet-reduction.
Many days next year Gabriella on the Helsinki-route is already full !
No space anymore for cars/campers or no normal cabins available anymore.
Has Viking already a secret "buy-option" for another younger used ferry ?
Bithia is available for less than 30 Mio. ... .
With her high speed Bithia could operate daytime 2 (winter) or 3 (summer) roundtrips
Kapellskär-Mariehamn and then in the night continue the evening-dep. up to Turku and in the night return to Kapellskär.
Possible thinkable night-timetable: 19:00 Kapellskär 20:40/20:50 Marieh. 1:00/2:00 Turku 6:10/6:20 Marieh. 8:00 Kapellskär.
Then 2 or 3 day-shuttle Kap.-Mar.-Kap. until 19:00.
Would be very attractive - specially also for freight and campers - cheap alternative to the new Finnlines-ferries of which i believe that Finnlines will offer it to "upper-class-customers" (type professor reading a book in a quiete lounge, his wife relaxing in Spa-Wellness) - instead of a cheap Viking "party-tax-free-boat" for "normal mass-people".
And especially in the nights all ferries to/from Turku are very very good booked - so there is now space for 1 night-ferry more in the market.
Times 1:00/2:00 in the night are not so attractive for everybody - but there are f.ex. Finnlines and TT dep. at this time to/from south-Sweden- year around good booked.
Any other ferry thinkable for Kapellskär-Mariehamn ?
HONFLEUR ? 1 P&O Pride ? - very cheap available now ... ?
Viking could charter Honfleur also for circa 3, 4, 5 years until the next Viking-newbuilding is there, SIEM would like it to charter out more than selling. Day-Pax-capacity is 1680 - little bigger than Rosella.
1 truck-deck could be used as XXXL Duty-free-shoppingcenter.
But 1000-times cheaper it would be with a "Pride of" P&O channel-ferry:
- Big day-pax-capacity
- Space for a XXXL-Duty-free-shoppingcenter on a car deck
Or the "WOW" solution:
- Viking buy 2 Prides of P&O (Canterbury + Kent) for Tallinn-Helsinki, sure, the Tallink-ships are better, newer and faster, but Viking can offer cheapest tickets "without end" then. And i doubt that there are so many people who have now in this times extra-money for to buy expensive ferry-tickets if there are cheaper-ones available at the next pier beside.
- Then the fast (27 knots) Viking XPRS move to "my" above explained combi-timetable-proposal Kapellskär-Mariehamn-Turku.
Would be these positive results and improvements:
- 4000 Pax instead of 2500 today and 3850 lm instead 1000 lm today for Viking on Tallinn-Helsinki for to hold better against Tallink.
- A new (used from 2008) ferry on the Mariehamn-route, much much better than today with the 43 years old Rosella (and the old competing Eckerö from 1979).
- A new route from Kapellskär to Turku in the night for to hold better against Finnlines and Tallink - as it was similar with the route Kapellskär to Naantali in the 80ies and 9oies.
Because of limited cabin-capacity (only 732 beds) this route is especially recommended for freight, campers etc. .
Would be then the new "Kapellskär-Mar.-Turku-battle" with Baltic Princess, Viking XPRS and the both new Finnlines XXL-ferries.
There was many reports this year about the new very good actually financial situation of Viking - so they could buy a modern used ferry without problems now alone from the money of the sold ferries (Mariella 20 Mio., Amorella 19 Mio., Rosella 7,5 Mio. (???)). Because of the fleet-reductions of Tallink and Viking they get much more money every day than in the years before.
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