Zoom Airlines cancels all flights

Zoom Airline tickets with Cheap Tickets Canada.com will be refunded

VANCOUVER, Aug. 28 /CNW/ - Cheap Tickets Canada.com is reassuring all individuals who booked Zoom Airlines tickets with them, their purchases are
insured against supplier default. Unlike tickets bought directly with an airline such as Zoom, Cheap Tickets Canada.com is licenced with the BPCPA (Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority) of British Columbia."While we are in the process of rebooking all of our customers affected by the closure of Zoom Airlines onto alternate flights, we want our customers to know that we are a registered member of the BPCPA which will ensure they all get refunds for unused Zoom Airline tickets booked for today onwards," reports company CEO, Normand Schafer.  "With the collapse of other airlines such as Oasis Hong Kong earlier this year and Jetsgo, Canjet and Canada 3000 a number of years ago, we are pleased to continue to provide protection to consumers buying travel on our website or through our call centre," adds Schafer.
View the website footer at www.CheapTicketsCanada.com for more
information about travel protection.

For further information: Normand Schafer, Cheap Tickets Canada.com,
Ph: (250) 412-0844

CUSTOMER ANNOUNCEMENT

Zoom Airlines sincerely regrets to advise its customers that it has suspended operations with effect from 18:00 UTC on Thursday 28 August.

All flights scheduled to depart from have been cancelled and Zoom's aircraft have been grounded.

Both Zoom Airlines Inc and Zoom Airlines Ltd, the Canadian and UK airlines, will be filing for insolvency proceedings in their home countries today.

For customers who have future travel plans involving a Zoom flight for which reservations and payment have been made, you should refer to your credit or debit card company to apply for a refund. We have set out details of other airlines who operate the same or similar routes to those flown with Zoom in the hope that this may assist you in making alternative travel plans to replace the flights that you had booked with Zoom.

If your travel arrangements have been made as part of a holiday package originating in the UK and booked through a holiday company, you may be able to make a claim under the CAA's Air Travel Organiser's Licence scheme. For information on this, please consult the CAA ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.

Hugh and John Boyle, the founders of Zoom, said today: "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.

"We are desperately sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause passengers and those who have booked flights.

"We have done everything we can to support the airline and left no stone unturned to secure a re-financing 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 collapse of Zoom is a result of matter beyond our control. Only last year Zoom Airlines made profit, but that turned into a loss in the last year due to the unprecedented increase in the price of aviation fuel and the economic climate. The price of oil resulted in our fuel bill jumping by nearly $50 million in one year and we could not recover that from passengers who had already booked their flights.

"We would like to thank the many thousands of passengers who chose to travel with Zoom during the last seven years and efforts of the airline's staff."

We have been advised that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are graciously offering special fares to assist Zoom customers that have been displaced by the suspension of our services.

Hundreds of Zoom Airlines passengers were stranded in Canada and Britain when the cash-short Ottawa-based company suddenly suspended its operations and cancelled all of its flights after creditors took actions to get money owed to them.

Zoom said the economic downturn and the unprecedented rise in the price of aviation fuel had made it impossible for the privately owned company to continue operations.

Even before the company issued its official announcement, passengers knew there were problems because their flights were cancelled. But it took several hours before Zoom confirmed it had suspended operations due to money problems.

Zoom's founders apologized for the inconvenience caused by the airline's demise after it failed to pay bills to government, airport, supplier and aircraft creditors.

In Halifax, 213 people were stranded after baggage handlers apparently refused to load Zoom's aircraft because their company hasn't been paid.

A flight was grounded by court order in Calgary and another one was being delayed in Glasgow, Scotland.

Rising fuel costs added $50 million in operating costs for the airline in the last year, it said.

It's a problem that has hurt all airlines and forced several U.S. carriers into bankruptcy.

The Halifax airport is attempting to help 213 passengers reach their destinations with other airlines after the plane destined for Ottawa was grounded following a flight from London's Gatwick Airport.