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Zoom passengers seek new flights Zoom passengers seek new flights
(about 1 hour later)
Hundreds of travellers left stranded by the collapse of transatlantic budget airline Zoom are attempting to continue their journeys. Hundreds of people have been left stranded and up to 40,000 have lost bookings after the collapse of the low-cost transatlantic airline Zoom.
The carrier suspended all flights after running into financial difficulties. The carrier suspended all its flights - blaming the economic downturn and steep rises in fuel bills.
Two planes were held on the runway in Glasgow and Cardiff, and the BBC has heard from travellers stranded at other airports in the UK and Canada. Zoom, founded in 2001, flew mainly to Canada from Glasgow, Gatwick, Belfast, Cardiff and Manchester airports.
Thousands of people due to fly with Zoom in the coming weeks have been told to rebook with other carriers.
Zoom said BA and Virgin Atlantic were offering "special" fares for passengers whose flights had been cancelled.Zoom said BA and Virgin Atlantic were offering "special" fares for passengers whose flights had been cancelled.
'Horrendous' costs Thousands of people due to fly with Zoom in the coming weeks have been told to rebook with other carriers.
The company, which has flown since 2001, employs 450 staff in Canada and 260 staff in the UK. The airline had gone bankrupt and that there would be no more flights Gabrielle Wilson class="" href="/1/hi/scotland/7587449.stm">Creditors blamed for collapse class="" href="/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7587131.stm">Stranded passengers speak out class="" href="/1/hi/business/7587190.stm">Analysis: More turbulence ahead? Jonathan Hinkles, UK managing director of Zoom, put the airline's troubles down to the "significant" increase in the price of fuel and a slowdown in the economy.
It operated flights from London Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Belfast, as well as Paris and Rome. The pilot was left to tell all the passengers that there would no longer be a flight Would-be passenger Danielle class="" href="/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7587131.stm">Stranded passengers speak out class="" href="/1/hi/business/7587190.stm">Analysis: More turbulence ahead? He said the airline's fuel bill had increased by about £15m over the past year, representing a rise of about £80-£90 on the cost of a return ticket price on a trip to Canada.
And it flew to eight destinations in Canada, as well as New York, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale and Bermuda. Mr Hinkles said 20,000 people in the UK had bookings with Zoom from now until the end of 2009 and there were a similar number in Canada.
The company says its problems were caused by the "horrendous" price of jet fuel, and the economic slowdown. He said: "There are several hundred passengers hoping to travel over the next few days whose plans have been hugely affected by the closure of Zoom. We have seen that a number of other airlines are stepping in to offer special fares to help them complete their journeys."
It is now applying to go into administration and its passengers are advised to contact credit or debit card issuers about refunds. He added: "Any customer who booked their ticket using a credit card will be able to obtain a refund from the credit card provider and that covers the vast majority of our passengers.
In a statement, Zoom's co-founders Hugh and John Boyle said they "deeply regretted" having to suspend operations. "A number of debit cards are covered under these circumstances and people need to check with their card provider to see if they can obtain a refund.
"We are desperately sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment that this will cause passengers and those who have booked flights," they said. "Anybody who has booked a flight with us as part of a package holiday would be covered by the package holiday company. The licence that they hold, called an Atol, covers eventualities such as this.
The announcement came after one of Zoom's planes was detained at Glasgow Airport for non-payment of air traffic control charges. WHAT SHOULD ZOOM AIRLINES' PASSENGERS DO? Any Zoom flight you have booked will not be departing. If you still wish to travel, Zoom recommends contacting other carriers and lists several on its website If your flight is part of a package holiday originating from the UK, you may be able to make a claim under the CAA's Air Travel Organiser's Licence (Atol) scheme. If you have paid for a Zoom flight, contact your credit card or debit card issuer to see if they can refund your money Source: Zoom Airlines Mr Hinkles said the collapse was brought about by one of the leasing companies which owned one of Zoom's aircraft taking action to seize the plane.
Meanwhile, passengers on a flight from Cardiff were told to get off their Zoom plane, which was then impounded. He said that "set a chain of events in motion from which it was impossible for us to recover".
One traveller, Danielle, from Sheffield, told the BBC she would have to take three flights to get back to the UK from the Canadian city of Halifax. He added: "We have been working on a financing deal for the company for two months and we have been making very good progress with that.
"We had boarded the flight and sat for an hour and a half," she said. "We were then told we all had to disembark again. "We fully expected we would be able to continue flying but the problems that we encountered during the day yesterday, however, with a number of aircraft being seized by airports authorities, such as the one in Glasgow, made it very difficult. Clearly you can't run an airline without aircraft."
"The pilot was left to tell all the passengers that there would no longer be a flight and the reasons for this." In a statement, Zoom's co-founders Scottish entrepreneurs Hugh and John Boyle said they "deeply regretted" having to suspend operations.
WHAT SHOULD ZOOM AIRLINES' PASSENGERS DO? Any Zoom flight you have booked will not be departing. If you still wish to travel, Zoom recommends contacting other carriers and lists several on its website If your flight is part of a package holiday originating from the UK, you may be able to make a claim under the CAA's Air Travel Organiser's Licence (Atol) scheme. If you have paid for a Zoom flight, contact your credit card or debit card issuer to see if they can refund your money Source: Zoom Airlines
Gabrielle Wilson, a Canadian student, told BBC News that she spent the whole of Thursday at Glasgow airport waiting for her flight home.
"We showed up at the airport at 9am. We were supposed to be on an 11am flight and were there until 6pm hearing almost every hour, 'More information to come, more information to come'.
"The information that did come at 6pm was that the airline had gone bankrupt and that there would be no more flights."
William Mooney, who had hoped to fly to Canada with his wife for a holiday, spent Thursday at Glasgow airport.
He said: "BAA started to issue leaflets telling us that Zoom airlines had gone into administration and basically we should go home.
"This was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime for my wife and I. I have just retired from the fire service after 30 years, my wife is 50 this year and we were going to have a celebration holiday."
A number of other budget long-haul carriers have gone into administration in recent months, including Hong Kong-to-London carrier Oasis and business class transatlantic firms Eos, Maxjet and Silverjet.A number of other budget long-haul carriers have gone into administration in recent months, including Hong Kong-to-London carrier Oasis and business class transatlantic firms Eos, Maxjet and Silverjet.
The rising cost of oil - which topped $147 a barrel in July - has led to aviation fuel bills soaring.
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