Fast, stress-free trip to Michigan

Lake Express opens fourth season April 14

THIS MONTH Ken Szallai opens his “highway” to Michigan for the fourth year.

Szallai, president and chief executive officer of the Lake Express High-Speed Ferry since its inception in 2004, is confident that the exceptional service offered by the Lake Express ensures that it will continue to grow in popularity and profitability in the year ahead.

But he wasn’t always that certain. It took the large crowd that greeted the ship on its maiden voyage to convincing him that the new ferry not only was state-of-the art, but also “tapping into history.”

Szallai said in an interview that the crowd reminded him that the Lake Express was carrying on a tradition established by the Milwaukee Clipper, which also ran from Milwaukee to Muskegon until 1970. Now berthed in the harbor at Muskegon near the Lake Express terminal, the Clipper was a refurbished steamer, streamlined into the first design of its type in the world. Similarly, the Lake Express is the first high-speed catamaran style auto-passenger ferry ever built in the U.S.

“We’re carrying on the tradition with a very new concept and ship,” said Szallai of the Lake Express, which carries 46 vehicles, 12 motorcycles and 248 passengers across Lake Michigan in 2.5 hours, half the time required by other vessels.

Although ships like the Lake Express operate overseas in Europe and the Far East, it is the only one maintaining a regular schedule in the U.S. Szallai, formerly the port director in Milwaukee, sees several reasons for the success of the program:

•  Customer service is the main element of the Lake Express business plan. “With us, the real measure of customer service is how we handle adversity,” says Szallai. “There’s not much we can do about the weather and we don’t lie to our customers.” When cancellations are required (less than 5% of the trips last year), Lake Express provides alternative bus transportation to Muskegon and “absorbs the cost.

•  While 80-85% of the 100,000 plus passengers served each year are personal or leisure travelers, a growing 15-20% are traveling for business. “They find the speed and the amenities of the ship make it more cost-efficient than the alternatives,” points out Kay Collins, director of sales and marketing for the Lake Express since its inception.

Szallai and Collins believe the advantages of taking the lake instead of the highway become clear when travelers consider the stress involved in drivingthrough Chicago and northern Indiana and the much higher cost of commercial air travel from Milwaukee to Grand Rapids.

Collins notes that the Lake Express has really caught on with groups, especially motorcyclists and car enthusiasts. “If you are taking your prized 1967 convertible or brand-new Harley-Davidson west, the last thing you want is to drive them through Gary, Indiana,” she points out. Groups headed for rallies or similar events also enjoy the lake crossing because it provides a time to talk about their hobbies with fellow enthusiasts.

Lake Express is owned and operated by Lubar & Company, a Milwaukee private investment firm. Szallai says the organization is considering other possible ferry programs, using the same service-based model. Also under consideration is the use of two smaller vessels on the Milwaukee-Muskegon route to further tailor the program to the needs of travelers,

From April 14 to April 26 this year and again from October 1-31, the Lake Express plans two Milwaukee-Muskegon round trips. The summer schedule from April 27-Sept. 30 calls for three round trips beginning in Milwaukee at 6 a.m.

For ticket information on the Lake Express, call 866-914-1010 or visit www.lake-express.com