Post by nosepoint on Jan 26, 2005 4:31:02 GMT -8
Ferry to offer user-pay lounge
It's a way to get a snack and something to read without standing in line, president says
Lindsay Kines
Victoria Times Colonist
January 26, 2005
Some BC Ferries passengers will soon be able to kick back with a coffee, croissant and a newspaper in a new user-pay lounge aboard Spirit of B.C., president David Hahn said Tuesday.
The new lounge will be introduced when the ferry returns in early March from a series of upgrades to the safety equipment, washrooms, gift shop, cafeteria, buffet, staterooms, upholstery and carpets, Hahn said in an interview.
"The thing that some people are kicking around . . . that we're putting in some kind of luxury box or business-class lounge is not true," he said. "What we are offering is a lounge, I don't deny that at all."
But Hahn said the lounge is really an "all-inclusive" area that allows people to skip the lineups at the cafeteria and gift shop and get everything they need at one stop.
"People will pay a fee, probably $7 is my guess," he said. "They'll get unlimited coffee, tea, soda, muffins, croissants. They'll have access to magazines and newspapers. I don't know how that's any different than waiting in line, buying those things, and getting a chair."
Asked whether the lounge represents a form of two-tier service where those who can afford to pay receive special treatment, Hahn said: "What's the special treatment? Somebody going on the Spirit, who buys a muffin a coffee and a newspaper -- it's not going to take you long to get to seven dollars. Again, I don't think it's a class thing at all."
BC Ferries is simply responding to the wishes of its customers, he said.
"You've got people who are saying: 'I don't want to wait in line. I don't want to go to (the) gift shop and wait in line. I don't want to go to the cafeteria and wait in line. I'd rather go to one place, get it all and get it out of the way.'"
BC Ferries communications official Deborah Marshall said the lounge will be open to anyone, including children.
"But the idea is that it would be more of a quiet area," she said.
The as-yet-unnamed lounge will have about 90 to 93 seats or four per cent of the vessel's carrying capacity, Hahn said.
It's being introduced as part of a $14-million refit and renovation to Spirit of B.C., which also will include putting flat-screen televisions in upper passenger lounges and children's play areas, as well as improvements to the pet waiting area on the car deck.
In addition, Hahn said renovations to the staterooms will likely be tied to discounts for disabled passengers, who will be able to use the rooms at a fraction of the cost.
"We'll see how this goes, but, again, it's kind of hard to apologize when you help people with pets and people with disabilities," he said.
The changes -- except for the new lounge -- were announced in a Dec. 30 press release.
"I don't think we've hidden anything from anybody," Hahn said.
Marshall said the company likely left the lounges out of the press release, because it had not confirmed the concept.
"We weren't 100-per-cent sure, so we didn't want to put in something that may or may not happen," she said.
Spirit of B.C. will return to service on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route in time for spring break.
In the meantime, it will be replaced by Queen of Esquimalt and, later, Queen of Vancouver.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
It's a way to get a snack and something to read without standing in line, president says
Lindsay Kines
Victoria Times Colonist
January 26, 2005
Some BC Ferries passengers will soon be able to kick back with a coffee, croissant and a newspaper in a new user-pay lounge aboard Spirit of B.C., president David Hahn said Tuesday.
The new lounge will be introduced when the ferry returns in early March from a series of upgrades to the safety equipment, washrooms, gift shop, cafeteria, buffet, staterooms, upholstery and carpets, Hahn said in an interview.
"The thing that some people are kicking around . . . that we're putting in some kind of luxury box or business-class lounge is not true," he said. "What we are offering is a lounge, I don't deny that at all."
But Hahn said the lounge is really an "all-inclusive" area that allows people to skip the lineups at the cafeteria and gift shop and get everything they need at one stop.
"People will pay a fee, probably $7 is my guess," he said. "They'll get unlimited coffee, tea, soda, muffins, croissants. They'll have access to magazines and newspapers. I don't know how that's any different than waiting in line, buying those things, and getting a chair."
Asked whether the lounge represents a form of two-tier service where those who can afford to pay receive special treatment, Hahn said: "What's the special treatment? Somebody going on the Spirit, who buys a muffin a coffee and a newspaper -- it's not going to take you long to get to seven dollars. Again, I don't think it's a class thing at all."
BC Ferries is simply responding to the wishes of its customers, he said.
"You've got people who are saying: 'I don't want to wait in line. I don't want to go to (the) gift shop and wait in line. I don't want to go to the cafeteria and wait in line. I'd rather go to one place, get it all and get it out of the way.'"
BC Ferries communications official Deborah Marshall said the lounge will be open to anyone, including children.
"But the idea is that it would be more of a quiet area," she said.
The as-yet-unnamed lounge will have about 90 to 93 seats or four per cent of the vessel's carrying capacity, Hahn said.
It's being introduced as part of a $14-million refit and renovation to Spirit of B.C., which also will include putting flat-screen televisions in upper passenger lounges and children's play areas, as well as improvements to the pet waiting area on the car deck.
In addition, Hahn said renovations to the staterooms will likely be tied to discounts for disabled passengers, who will be able to use the rooms at a fraction of the cost.
"We'll see how this goes, but, again, it's kind of hard to apologize when you help people with pets and people with disabilities," he said.
The changes -- except for the new lounge -- were announced in a Dec. 30 press release.
"I don't think we've hidden anything from anybody," Hahn said.
Marshall said the company likely left the lounges out of the press release, because it had not confirmed the concept.
"We weren't 100-per-cent sure, so we didn't want to put in something that may or may not happen," she said.
Spirit of B.C. will return to service on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route in time for spring break.
In the meantime, it will be replaced by Queen of Esquimalt and, later, Queen of Vancouver.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
