Back to the future for transport links

It seems as if we're heading back to the future in terms of the transport links between Ireland and Britain, following news this week from Irish Continental Group (ICG), the owner of Irish Ferries, that it plans to add a new car ferry to its Dublin-Holyhead route.

Once upon a time, if one wanted to travel to our nearest neighbour, the standard route was to roll on to a ferry in Dublin and roll off again on the other side – 4½ hours and two sickbags later.

Then Ryanair came along with its cheap fares and no frills, and enticed the masses into the skies with affordable air travel. Much is often made of the mauling Ryanair has inflicted on Aer Lingus. But many people forget that Michael O'Leary's first competitive victim was the Irish-British passenger ferry sector.

Now, for the first time, Ryanair seems unsure of itself. Two profit warnings, an admission that its irascible approach has alienated consumers, and an acknowledgement that fares are heading back upwards again.

Are we on the cusp of another major shift in consumer behaviour that might mean a bigger slice of the pie for more comfortable cross-channel travel?

ICG certainly seems to think so. Epsilon, a 186m car ferry, will take to the seas between Dublin and Wales in December. It will have capacity for 500 passengers and will travel back and forth twice each day.

That is 1,000 passengers, or more than five fully-loaded Ryanair aircraft, in each direction.

The budget airline, which flies to numerous British airports from Dublin, would be wise not to dismiss this latest competitive threat. The natives (the consumers) appear to be restless.