OTTAWA – With the busy Labour Day weekend ahead, passengers stranded by the collapse of Zoom discount airlines were being advised to turn to their travel agents or credit card companies for ticket refunds.
Zoom Airlines said in a news release Friday that “the vast majority of passengers affected by the suspension of the airline’s services should be able to secure alternative flights and will be entitled to refunds.” The airline said 80 per cent of its passenger bookings were made using credit cards or through travel operators, which carry a high degree of protection.
But, said a spokesman for the agency that regulates air travel, “That is Zoom optimism.”
Jadrino Huot, with the Canadian Transportation Agency, said passengers have to do their own legwork.
Most, though not all, credit card companies will be prepared to void charges for the flights, he said, adding: “It depends on your credit card company and the type of protection that you have.”
“Same thing if you bought your ticket through a registered travel agency, specifically in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. Those provinces have protection funds in place for such situations.”
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In Ontario, Huot says passengers should contact the Travel Industry Council of Ontario at 1-888-451-8426. In Quebec, calls should be directed to the Office de la Protection du Consommateur, at 1-888-672-2556, and, in B.C., to the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority, at 1-888-564-9963. In the remaining territories and provinces, people should contact ministries that deal with consumer matters.
Huot also recommends that stranded Zoom passengers keep good paper trails.
“Keep everything. It could prove very, very useful as evidence in support of any potential claim in the future. . . If you are caught stranded abroad and you have to spend an extra night at a hotel and pay for additional meals, keep those receipts as well. If you have a conversation with someone at the desk, write down the name, the hour, the date, everything.”
Zoom estimates 40,000 passengers had bookings with the failed airline over the next year. Most were for 2009 departures, although thousands had made reservations to travel within the next week. An estimated 650 passengers were due to travel from a variety of Canadian and U.S. cities over the next three days.
“We are trying to make as many passengers as possible aware of their options in terms of alternative flights and the possibility of securing refunds for the flights they booked with Zoom,” Hugh Boyle, the airline’s chairman, said Friday. “We have been in contact with other airlines, including BA (British Airways), Virgin, and FlyGlobespan in particular, and they have made clear the availability of alternative flights.”
Zoom Airlines Inc., whose Canadian operations are headquartered in Ottawa, abruptly shut down operations Thursday after suffering about $50 million in unanticipated costs, mostly related to high fuel prices. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Canada, Europe and the Caribbean, and resulted in job losses for 450 staff in Canada and another 260 with its U.K. sister organization, Zoom Airlines Ltd.
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