Soaring fuel prices ground flights
Aug 29, 2008 - 05:57 AM
By Parvaneh Pessian
DURHAM -- Travel agencies across the region are left up in the air after carrier Zoom Airlines suspended operations Thursday and filed for credit protection.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Canada and Britain when the Ottawa-based company gave notice of the decision and cancelled all its flights.
"We have to scramble like mad to try and find flights and have (passengers) re-established on another one as soon as possible," said Sharon Cameron, senior travel consultant at Algonquin Travel in Oshawa.
Ms. Cameron said the company isn't a huge seller because consultants tend to steer people away from smaller airlines to avoid problems like this.
Zoom, which flies planes between Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Europe, attributes the financial problems to the rise in aviation fuel prices that resulted in a $50-million increase in operating costs in the last year.
"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," Zoom founders Hugh and John Boyle said in a statement. "Even as late as yesterday we had secured a new investment package but the actions of creditors meant we could not continue flying."
Customers who have already paid for flight reservations for future travel plans with the company are told to refer to their credit or debit card company to apply for a refund.
This leaves more options for people like one passenger who booked a flight with Zoom through Fun Time Travel Company in Oshawa for late September.
"It shouldn't be a problem because I'm sure he'll be protected on another carrier between now and then," agency vice-president Steve Groat said.
But Zoom passengers who were scheduled to leave as early as tomorrow will now have to buy new tickets from another carrier without knowing if they'll get a penny back.
"It affects everyone in this business; it's an ongoing nightmare," said Janice, a consultant from Bowmanville Travel who did not want her last name used.
Bankruptcy must be officially declared before the agencies can decide what steps need to be taken for compensating travellers, she said. In the meantime, they continue to sit in the dark, waiting to hear more news.
"The worst part is that we don't know what's going on so we don't know how to protect our passengers."
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