Airline’s demise leaves travelers panicked

Stranded travelers flooded Treks and Travel at the beginning of September after Zoom Airlines folded on Aug. 28.

The transatlantic budget airline flew out of ten North American airports, including Calgary International, to European destinations including the U.K. and France. It announced it would suspend operations starting Aug. 28 citing difficult trading conditions and the increasing price of fuel.

Patricia Theriault-Marrek, owner of Treks and Travel, said about 15 people who had flights booked with Zoom came into the office looking for help following the announcement. 

“The moment the news hit, right away the website was closed, the phone lines were closed,” Theriault-Marrek said. “Of course everybody hit the panic button because they spent thousands of dollars.”

She said one young local family with children was trying to get to England for a wedding and had spent $5,000 buying tickets from Zoom. “I had to get them brand new tickets for $4,200, and they didn’t know if they were going to get their money back,” she said. 

Theriault-Marrek said travel agents typically get better deals than people booking online because they are better able to search for the best deal. “Ninety per cent of the time we can beat the prices on the internet,” Theriault-Marrek said. “People came to see me and I had to book them on another airline and got them a cheaper flight.”

Competitors’ rates jumped as much as 60 to 70 per cent once the airline’s announcement came. “They know people are stuck,” she said. “It’s their opportunity to make extra money.”

Some stranded travelers asked Theriault-Marrek why Zoom wouldn’t add a fuel surcharge to compensate for the additional cost, like other airlines have done. “They were in financial problems to start,” she said, adding she’s seen this happen before. “It’s not the first time for us, people come in, they’re panicky, they have nowhere to turn except coming to see us where we feel they should come and see us first.”

Though people with tickets through Zoom are expected to get  at least some of their money back, it’s unclear how much and when. “Airlines come and go so you have to be very careful,” Theriault-Marrek said.

When agents book travel arrangements, they have back-up options in case something goes wrong. “We don’t take any chances, we stick with the people we know will function,” she said. “It’s just a sad scenario.

“The punch-line is,” she added, “trust your travel agent.”