Zoom Airlines in Big Trouble [MERGED]

...and into Administration go Zoom:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7586654.stm

It is important to note that at the time of posting, although in administration, Zoom which is actually 2 separate airlines, one Canadian and one based in the UK, intends to continue flying. Only two out of five aircraft have been 'arrested' so some flights may still operate and certainly if you have airline failure insurance, they won't be paying out yet.

Interestingly one of the major insurers withdrew cover for Zoom bookings in June, no doubt they are delighted that most bookings will not be covered. In these difficult times, it really is worth paying £5 to buy airline failure insurance if you can as there are other airlines which are struggling with rising fuel bills and falling bookings

It will obviously affect more than 2 flights, one plane is held at Glasgow, and apparently passengers are being flown to Gatwick to fly to Vancouver and one plane landed yesterday at Calgary where it was arrested. Those planes were obviously scheduled to operate other flights later today and I doubt in the last week of August there are many spare planes around to charter even if Zoom could do so.

As far as I know they have provided hotel accommodation for those passengers who cannot travel but how long this will continue depends on the work of the administrators who are urgently looking to re finance the business. I wish your daughter luck, if you are suggesting there is a plane under arrest at Halifax, rather than the plane she should be on has been arrested, then it sounds as if it may be too late to save the airline. There should be airline agents at the airport to offer advice, the information from Canada an hour ago suggested they were still operating their remaining aircraft. I checked the website three hours ago and it was still live, I am sorry to say it appears not to be any more. The Halifax Airport web site shows no signs of arriving or departing Zoom flights for the next 5 hours!

and it's now back with:

Zoom Airlines sincerely regrets to advise its customers that it has ceased 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.