Thursday 28 August 2008

Zoom Airlines - all flights are suspended


UK-Canadian owned Zoom Airlines, who describe themselves as the "Low Fare Leader Across the Atlantic", have suspended all flights from today, and are now applying to go into administration. The thousands of passengers who were due to fly with them have been told to rebook with other carriers, and to contact their credit or debit card companies to see about a refund.

Zoom blames its misfortunes on the price of jet fuel, which had increased their annual fuel bills by a whopping £27 million.

Zoom has been in business for seven years, and employs 260 staff in the UK, and 450 staff in Canada. Zoom flew from Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, Paris and Rome. As well as flying to eight destinations in Canada, it flew to New York, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale and Bermuda.

BA and Virgin Atlantic are reported to be offering special fares to passengers who have been let down.

Zoom’s founders, Hugh and John Boyle, have apologised profusely to passengers, explaining that, although Zoom apparently had some financing in place, the creditors still stepped in to seize one of the planes, which then left no alternative but to go into administration.

There have been fears recently that rising fuel costs, along with a possible decrease in demand due to the credit crunch, could take its toll on the airline industry. However, some in the travel industry report that a summer of rain in the UK has kept demand for holidays and flights fairly high over the summer, especially as there are plenty of cheap holiday flights available online.

At times like these it is more important than ever to keep up on the latest news for cheap airfares and hotel deals. For promotional codes, special discounts and offers, sign up to flyairfares.com.

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