Holiday couple escape Zoom flight plight

Aug 31 2008 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

A RETIRED couple left stranded in an airport following the collapse of a transatlantic budget airline have had their trip of a lifetime rescued.

Jack Goodfellow, 61, and wife Rita, 60 were among hundreds of passengers left stranded in airports around the UK and Canada when Zoom — a UK-Canadian operation — went bust last Thursday.

The Teesside couple, who are holidaying with pal Elaine Coulson, had already checked in for their Glasgow to Vancouver flight when their plane was impounded on the tarmac because Zoom hadn’t paid fuel bills.

Scenes of chaos followed, as some 300 distraught passengers tried to get information from staff, but were simply given a statement printed from Zoom’s website, telling them of the company’s collapse.

While passengers scramble to get tickets for alternative flights — costing some thousands of pounds — Jack, Rita and Elaine are now on their way to Canada, after their travel agency secured seats on new flights.

However, they have already lost three days of their 14-day trip around Canada.

Jack, 61, former sports development officer for Stockton Council, said: “We booked this trip a year ago through Inghams travel agency as a bit of a treat because we’ve both recently retired. And thankfully, Inghams managed to get us on British Airways flights to Canada, via London Heathrow.

“It’s a shame we’ve lost three days but we’ll still get to see The Rockies and the lakes. Others haven’t been so fortunate and we’ve seen a lot of upset people at the airport.

Elaine, of Hartburn, Teesside, said the experience had put her off flying with small firms for life. She said: “Zoom have just overstretched themselves.

“If we are going long haul again we’ll make sure we were with a reputable airline.”

It said that around 4500 UK-based customers had made reservations for travel with Zoom within the next week, prompting travel organisation Abta to call on the Government to require all airlines to provide compensation for all passengers.

Meanwhile, the collapse of Zoom has fuelled fears other companies may suffer.

UK carrier XL Airways has cancelled all flights to the Caribbean this winter, leaving passengers trying to find seats on other airlines over the busy Christmas and New Year period.