[pradaprincess]

Hey everyone,
as of 2 pm ET today, August 28th, Zoom Airlines flights are suspended. Ive heard they have already filed for bankruptcy, and anyone flying with them from here on will not be getting a refund unless they call their banks or credit card companies. I work in the airline industry, my heart goes out to all of Zoom's employees and their families. Its such a tragedy to see an airline fail these days, but fuel prices are increasing and it really makes it hard to stay in business.

Im new to TPF, i just thought we could chat about this if anyone else is interested!

[pursecrzy]

This is so sad. I feel so sorry for all the employees and passengers.

[pursecrzy]

Here's an article:
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/serv.../Business/home


BRENT JANG AND KATHERINE O'NEILL
Globe and Mail Update
August 28, 2008 at 5:08 PM EDT

Zoom Airlines said Thursday that it has halted flights and grounded its planes, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and tempers flaring at airports.
“We deeply regret the fact that we have been forced to cease all Zoom operations. It is a tragic day for our passengers and more than 600 staff,” Zoom co-founders Hugh and John Boyle said in a statement. “We are desperately sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause passengers and those who have booked flights.”
The Ottawa-based carrier took down its website Thursday afternoon, preventing consumers from making online bookings. Earlier in the day, a Zoom sales agent said bookings were still being accepted in the morning, despite dozens of travellers being stranded on various flights.
“We have done everything we can to support the airline and left no stone unturned to secure a refinancing package that would have kept our aircraft flying. Even as late as yesterday we had secured a new investment package but the actions of creditors meant we could not continue flying,” the Boyle brothers said.

Enlarge Image A Zoom Airlines Boeing 767 jetliner lands in Calgary in this file photo. (Larry MacDougal for The Globe and Mail)


The suspension of online advance bookings followed a Thursday morning statement from Hugh Boyle, who had hoped to keep the airline's network of routes operating without disruption in Canada, Britain and the United States.
Zoom's British and Canadian operations “have sought creditor protection by filing legal notices of intention to appoint an administrator in both the U.K. and Canada,” Mr. Boyle said in the earlier statement, later superseded by Zoom's shutdown.
Zoom confirmed that it had “experienced operational difficulties” on Wednesday in Calgary, affecting 69 travellers.
“We have just had to book three tickets through Toronto on Air Canada and British Airways at great expense,” said one angry consumer in Ottawa. “No offers of future flights, compensation or alternate arrangements were offered.”
Sky-high fuel prices have left Zoom in a cash crunch, and the company is trying to get a financing done to stay alive, a person familiar with the development said. The six-year-old carrier needs €30-million ($46.3-million) – to keep its planes aloft, the source said.
Steve Hodgetts, an official at Cardiff International Airport in Wales, said about 67 passengers were already aboard a flight scheduled to fly to Vancouver via Belfast on Thursday afternoon when the airline decided to pull the plug.
He said some of the passengers were Canadians, and that many quickly booked flights home to Canada on other airlines.
“We knew that they were in administration protection, but on that basis, as far as we were aware from our legal advice, the aircraft could operate. The airline chose not to operate the flight,” he said.
At Glasgow International Airport in Scotland, about 350 passengers were stranded by Zoom when two flights were cancelled yesterday.

[HauteMama]

I don't understand why the major airlines don't raise ticket prices more to keep up with fuel increases. On a lot of flights, the bulk of the travellers are business, and many of them will continue to fly even with substantial ticket price increases. We recently were looking at tickets for vacation and found that prices weren't significantly different from a few years ago.

Sure, they are charging for drinks and meals and checked bags, but that is nickels and dimes. We had expected to see at least a 1/3 increase in ticket prices, but we didn't. When the prices on all consumer goods are increasing by 20% or more, why aren't there equivalent changes in ticket prices for the airlines?

It makes me wonder if the larger carriers aren't holding out for as long as they possibly can to force smaller airlines out of the market.

[ayla]

Zoom Airlines, San Diego's only overseas airline service, has been zapped.


Zoom Airlines has grounded its planes, stranding passengers at several airports.

* Related links:
Overseas travel returns to Lindbergh with Zoom Airlines' London flights
(Dec. 19, 2007)
* Zoom Airlines' web site

The Canadian-based economy-fare airline suspended operations on Thursday, grounding all aircraft and canceling its flights, and said it will file for bankruptcy in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The airline had been serving Lindbergh Field with twice-weekly nonstop flights to London for only two months. Airport officials had wooed the airline with about $300,000 in financial incentives, beating out San Francisco and Seattle for the service.

Lindbergh Field officials could not be reached for comment.

“We deeply regret the fact that we have been forced to cease all Zoom operations,” said Hugh and John Boyle, founders of Zoom, in a prepared statement. “It is a tragic day for our passengers and more than 600 staff.”

The Boyles blamed the soaring cost of fuel and the harsh economic climate for the airline collapse. The company was profitable last year, but the surge in oil prices resulted in Zoom's fuel bill jumping by nearly $50 million in one year, according to the statement.

“We could not recover that from passengers who had already booked their flights,” the Boyles said.


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Zoom had secured a new investment package to try to keep the airline aloft, but creditors forced the closure, according to the statement.

The airline's abrupt grounding left an unknown number of ticket-holding customers in the lurch. Zoom refered travelers to their credit or debit card companies to apply for a refund.

The company also said that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic agreed to offer special fares to assist Zoom customers that have been displaced by the suspension of flights.

Since British Airways halted its nonstop flights to London in October 2003, San Diego's airport had no airline that provided direct service outside North America.

Zoom flights departed from San Diego on Mondays and Fridays at 4:25 p.m. andarrived at Gatwick Airport in London at 11:10 a.m. the following day. Theydeparted from London on Mondays and Fridays and arrived in San Diego the same day.

Local tourism officials had hoped the new international airline service would give San Diego better access to European travelers, who tend to stay longer and spend more.

Tourism is the San Diego region's third-largest industry, but international tourism makes up less than 5 percent of that.

“Zoom is disappointing news,” said David Peckinpaugh, ConVis president and chief executive officer. “The United Kingdom is a prime driver of international tourism and to have that nonstop flight was going to be a big assist for us.”

Zoom, which launched its San Diego service June 20, indicated that it was well-received, and had talked about adding a third nonstop flight next year, said Peckinpaugh.

“You'd have to have your head in the sand not to be concerned about the health of these airlines, particularly those with long-haul flights,” said Peckinpaugh. “Fuel prices have impacted those routes more than others.”

Earlier this week, Southwest Airlines, considered one of the U.S.'s strongest airline carriers, announced that it will eliminate nearly 200 flights early next year, six of them departing from San Diego. Numerous other airlines have also announced flight and route cuts to deal with fuel costs and the weak economy.

Zoom, founded in 2002, offered trans-Atlantic flights from New York, Fort Lauderdale, Bermuda and several Canadian cities to London; Paris; Manchester, England; Glasgow, Scotland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Cardiff, Wales.

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/b...-bn28zoom.html

[MissThing]

Originally Posted by HauteMama

I don't understand why the major airlines don't raise ticket prices more to keep up with fuel increases. On a lot of flights, the bulk of the travellers are business, and many of them will continue to fly even with substantial ticket price increases. We recently were looking at tickets for vacation and found that prices weren't significantly different from a few years ago.

Sure, they are charging for drinks and meals and checked bags, but that is nickels and dimes. We had expected to see at least a 1/3 increase in ticket prices, but we didn't. When the prices on all consumer goods are increasing by 20% or more, why aren't there equivalent changes in ticket prices for the airlines?

It makes me wonder if the larger carriers aren't holding out for as long as they possibly can to force smaller airlines out of the market.

as far as I can tell, prices are/were going up in the UK. my mother and colleague are lookign for winter flights and seeing fares in the £1000 region!

[moi et mes sacs]

This is what happens in the recession. Small or budget airlines try to carry on at lower prices and then lose. If they were to raise prices they would lose business and the result is the same.

[LV-PRADAfanatic]

that sad.... less choice for passenergs

[pradaprincess]

it is definitely sad, but at the same time the airline should be help accountable for all the stranded guests!
my good friend recently went to paris, by herself, with no credit card or cell phone
and she was travelling all over, not returning until late october and she is stranded there now. I told her she was crazy before for not going with someone or bringing a credit card or cell phone, but now what?
its not fair to their guests

[moi et mes sacs]

Originally Posted by pradaprincess

it is definitely sad, but at the same time the airline should be help accountable for all the stranded guests!
my good friend recently went to paris, by herself, with no credit card or cell phone
and she was travelling all over, not returning until late october and she is stranded there now. I told her she was crazy before for not going with someone or bringing a credit card or cell phone, but now what?
its not fair to their guests

That sounds scary. Maybe she should go straight to the embassy for assistance.

[pradaprincess]

Originally Posted by moi et mes sacs

That sounds scary. Maybe she should go straight to the embassy for assistance.

She may have to, Zoom advised all their guests to call their banks and credit card company's if they wanted their money back.
if the company decides to file a claim 11 bankruptcy (i think thats what its called) then they dont have to give anyones money back