Hovertravel has announced that it will be running a single craft service throughout the month of November, with a revised timetable also in force.
The cross-Solent operator says that November is typically a quiet month and this allows for essential maintenance to be undertaken on both Solent Flyer and Island Flyer, to keep them in the best possible condition.
In order for the necessary work to be carried out, which includes scheduled skirt fingers replacement, Hovertravel will operate just 1 hovercraft between Ryde and Southsea next month. This means that if a technical issue arises with the sole craft in operation the service will have to be suspended in its entirety as the other craft will be unable to simply swap in.
Hovertravel says that it recognises that in previous years a 1-craft operation has impacted on-time performance, especially in the afternoons. To address this, a temporary timetable will run from 6th November to 3rd December creating a slightly longer turnaround time at Ryde.
The Hoverbus timetable has also been adjusted for the same period.
Whatever happened to bargain crossings??
Poor planning, why not stagger the maintenance?