The reply by Virtu Ferries’ Henri Saliba – ‘Real cost of ferry trip’, September 12 – to my letter of August 27 fell far short of an honest and open answer.

I had clearly stated that a mid-September ‘normal return’ trip from Valletta to Pozzallo would have cost me €433. I was completely correct because, on the very same day I sent my letter to Times of Malta, Virtu Ferries announced their special offer amounting, in my case, to €257.

A ‘special offer’ is just that... a special offer! The real fares amounted to an indisputable €433.

Saliba’s subsequent talk about economies of scale and high-speed versus conventional trips was simply smoke-and-mirrors that avoided the main thrust of my argument. He cannot deny that other European ferry companies that also have to pay for expensive fuel, salaries, insurance, port fees, etc. (just like Virtu Ferries) somehow manage to offer trips that are virtually double the distance for almost half the price.

It appears that Saliba decided his best form of defence was to attack the messenger by alleging “blatant misinformation”. Readers will judge for themselves who was economical with the truth. Moreover, his public divulging of my personal spending and travel history with Virtu Ferries was both misguided and may have even bordered on the unethical.

The only thing I can almost agree with him about is that the service offered is state-of-the-art: very good and comfortable. However, my goodness, it sure is not value for money.

He cannot reasonably deny that the company is an overpriced monopoly serving a strategic link between Malta and mainland Europe. But apart from the exorbitant costs and the ‘take it or leave it’ attitude, as a Maltese citizen I feel very uneasy that thousands of jobs, businesses and private citizens rely on one private company to service this crucial sea bridge.

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