Zoom Airlines - Irresponsible?

Question

I was supposed to fly back home using that airline in 1 1/2 weeks but as of yesterday, no longer in service.

I feel sorry for those who showed up at airports yesterday or were going there just to find out the flights were not operating. They likely paid for taxi, other means of public transportation or even rides that the drivers likely had their gas wasted.

I think all of this that Zoom Airlines - IRRESPONSIBLE.

I have to struggle to get a refund back and find a way to get home.

One thing, it would be nice if they gave notice in advance because it is likely that some people fly to attend funerals.

Answer 1

Put yourself in their place and ask yourself if you would advertise the fact that you were in trouble and about to go bust.

I'm certain that the management team at Zoom were working their rocks off in an attempt to keep going, knowing that their jobs and more than 600 others were on the line.

I genuinely sympathise with you and others in the same position but did you not take out insurance to cover this very thing?  

Best to stick with ABTA members.

Answer 2

It's very unfortunate, and I feel sorry for those who will lose vacations and/or money, but I'm not sure that "irresponsible" is accurate.  Zoom realistically could not announce a potential insolvency in advance. That would be corporate suicide. Everyone would stop buying tickets and potential investors would stay away. That would eliminate any hope of survival and guarantee that the airline would go out of business.

You can reduce your risk by flying on carriers that are publicly traded stock companies. Their finances are public record, so it is usually obvious when one is in serious trouble. However, many people buy tickets based on nothing more than the cheapest fare. With fuel at record levels and most airlines losing money, an unusually low fare may be a sign that the airline's fares are not high enough to cover costs. Note that many of the airlines that are disappearing are those that promote themselves as low fare carriers - ATA, Skybus, and Zoom, for example.

By the way, you can apply for a refund from your credit card company if you used a credit card to buy the ticket. If you didn't, you will want to in the future. Credit cards give you some protection from situations like this. With cash, checks, and debit cards, you probably won't get any money back. If they had any money to refund, they wouldn't be out of business.

Answer 3

I hear ya! Its unfortunate that people go through this, but thats life. I hope you find a way home though. Good luck and happy travels!

Answer 4

Just to confirm a previous post, the airline was in active efforts to obtain additional financing.   from what I can tell, that was viable up until Thursday, when the financing collapsed.  

That specific failure trigger a number of other defaults, which resulted in the seizure of aircraft and assets.  As soon as that happened, there was no other option.  Had the financing gone through, there would have been no interruption in service.