4TH JUNE 2008 -  PERSONAL STATEMENT BY :  Mr Jonathan Hinkles - Managing Director, Zoom Airlines

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ZOOM AIRLINES review : 25 July 2008 : by R Taylor

Customer Rating : 4/5

Gatwick to Vancouver return. We were in premium economy, more leg room than I had before. The attendants were helpful, food was nice and a relaxing journey. The flight date was changed once on us before we flew but we were given plenty of notice so this was no problem.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 23 July 2008 : by Christian Brosstad

Customer Rating : 1/5

This summer we have had some really bad experiences with Zoom Airlines flight from New York. We have tried to send a complaint to Zoom Airlines, but it's really hard. They are really making it almost impossible to give feedback - maybe it's a reason for that. It' can be hard sometimes to face your customers opinions. This is from their website: “Zoom is committed to caring for our customers from the time of booking through take-off to landing and beyond”. In real world this seems to be just empty words. We have tried to send a complaint to Zoom – even sent it to their managing director Jonathan Hinkles. Their customer service seems to be just a black hole. On our way to New York we had upgraded and were very happy with the service. When you pay for an upgrade you are basically paying for more space and sleeping comfort. On our way back to London we upgraded again and expected the same service. This was not the case. Yes, we got more space for legs, but upon boarding we realized that our seats didn’t recline due to the emergency exit restrictions. We told the staff twice about this, but they didn’t do anything about it. People in the economy section had this feature. We paid more and didn’t get that. Where is the logic in that? The main concern was that we were not informed by the ground staff and the failure to react from the air crew. If we had been informed, we would not have spent 300 US dollars for an upgrade. We didn’t get what we paid for. Another serious problem with Zooms aircraft is the toilet facilities. Both our flights with Zoom Airlines had very poor sanitary conditions. The toilets were blocked by paper and waste. Eight hours is a long flight with conditions like that. Our concern with this was that the staff didn’t clean or unblock the toilets upon being informed. How is the staff trained to deal with this? Maybe you can't expect much from a budget airline, but if they really mean what they write on their website - they should at least answer their customers. Agree?

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 22 July 2008 : by Ian Cave

Customer Rating : 1/5

Due to concerns over comment authenticity, this has been withdrawn.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 17 July 2008 : by Peter Carter

Customer Rating : 5/5

Vancouver - Cancun. Great food, plenty of leg room, two films, free headsets and a charming and helpful crew. It probably matched some of my best flights anywhere. The return trip also had a delay in Cancun, partly due to the late arrival of the plane from Belfast combined with an interesting saga of a passenger from the inbound plane being arrested for deeds committed in Canada. Again this aspect was not Zooms fault but to make amends we all were given free wine with our meals. I will book my next YVR-UK trip on Zoom.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 15 July 2008 : by Jennifer Palmer

Customer Rating : 1/5

Booked in April for Gatwick to Toronto return - by chance found out a month later that flight was coming back a day later - couldnt do that date and had to cancel return flight losing me £100 on my return flight to Glasgow with BA as a result. Then was informed 10 days before I was due to fly that flight would be via Montreal - adding another 2 hours onto our journey. Arrive at Gatwick to find that instead of flying at 2pm it would be 04.35am - was told that evening it would be 06.55am only to be told at 05.00am that morning that flight was cancelled. Decided to give up and head to Heathrow and pay £1400 with BA for two seats to Toronto. During this whole time Zoom staff had seemed to disappear - even the staff at hotel were being more helpful.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 12 July 2008 : by E Hudson

Customer Rating : 1/5

I had the worst experience in my life over the weekend. We had a 31 hour delay. The staff literally took off on us without an explanation, never provided us with food or beverages and lied to us on multiple occasions. I would spend the extra $200 and fly with a reliable company that will ensure you a safe flight. Zoom only has 5 planes, so if they can't get you out of the city, because of mechanical problems, then you are really stuck and unfortunately they promise you that they will take off soon, but it never seems to happen. Additionally their customer service representatives are based in Scotland and are conveniently unavailable or useless. Customers are treated as a joke and not taken seriously. Any problem that you may encounter will definitely not be resolved by them. You are literally left in the dark. Check their arrival times on their website and you are guaranteed to find at least one delayed flight by 8 hours (that is minimum). Trinidad flight was delayed by 36 hours, Spanish flight by 9 hours etc. Do you really want to suffer?

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 12 July 2008 : by S Rodger

Customer Rating : 1/5

Toronto to Glasgow Premium upgrade. Flight and crew were excellent, except the seats are narrow. The return flight however was a different story. Were suppose to depart at 1100 - upon checking flights on the television it showed the flight as being cancelled. Upon checking the Zoom website it showed the flight as being a temporary schedule change. I tried to call the Zoom # in the UK and got an automated recording telling me to check their website, not very helpful when your looking for an explanation. We had paid for premium upgrade and prebooked a window and center seat on a plane which was suppose to be a 757. It turned out to be a 767 and were given seats in the center section. Flight was cold and when we asked for blankets which were supposed to be included in the upgrade we were told they had all been handed out. I didn't see them hand any out. As for the meal which was served at 600 am which I expected to be breakfast, turned out to be either pasta or chicken, not what I usually would eat for breakfast. Lastly for a flight that was supposed to come Toronto to Glasgow direct, this one came in from London half full. I found this rather odd. This is our second time flying with Zoom and with an 18 hour delay on departure this time and an 8 hour departure delay last time, I think this will be our last time flying with Zoom.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 12 July 2008 : by Laura Singleton

Customer Rating : 1/5

Awful. Would advise anyone against travelling with Zoom. Delayed by 22 hours from Toronto to Gatwick. We had to get back to the UK for work on the Monday as boyfriend had started new job (the delay meant we would have arrived at Gatwick at 7am on the Monday). They sent us via Glasgow instead, took at least 12 hours longer to get home, cost us over £200 for the tickets and they won't refund us. Customer relations telephone number on internet is a fax machine, after several emails complaining they offered me £50 off my next flight with Zoom, no refund for the train tickets! I see their is a statement from the managing director of Zoom concerning Fuel prices on this website. Schedules have been changed to save Zoom costs, however I have been left with a £200+ bill - Fair?

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 5 July 2008 : by D Stoff

Customer Rating : 1/5

Due to concerns over comment authenticity, this has been withdrawn.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 5 July 2008 : by J Davidson

Customer Rating : 4/5

Glasgow-Ottawa return. Check in efficient and friendly, flights were on time with special diet meals as requested. Cheerful flight attendants and comfortable seats in economy class. Altogether a very good experience and we'll certainly fly Zoom again.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 3 July 2008 : by C Schoen

Customer Rating : 4/5

Vancouver to Gatwick return. We did not experience any delays or cancellations. The food, drink and entertainment were reasonable, and we were able to spread ourselves out to unused seats. The crew were great. The only complaint was our efforts to call Zoom by telephone, as all the lines only directed us to the website and computer access was awkward.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 30 June 2008 : by F Compton

Customer Rating : 4/5

Excellent service - Ottawa to Glasgow return. Flights were on time, service was friendly and efficient and food was the best we've experienced on a flight in years.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 26 June 2008 : by K Gray

Customer Rating : 1/5

I cannot believe that Zoom can be allowed to get away with this attitude. All they could say was "It's in the small print". Nothing about the fact that my once in a lifetime trip for my silver wedding anniversary was blown out of the water. Luckily after many hours spent trawling through airline websites we managed to get flights on the dates we wanted through Virgin, but they cost us more and I had to find £2,000 until the refund from Zoom came through. And Zoom have the cheek to advertise - they should hang their heads in shame. In your trip experience rating you don't have a box low enough to ever begin to show how low I rate Zoom .

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 25 June 2008 : by T Wilkes

Customer Rating : 4/5

London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale premium. Out bound flight on time. Excellent service and loads of room. Flight back excellent - via Bermuda with only 50 min stop to load passengers and bags. This routing is an excellent way to get to the parts of Florida that are more 'real'. A mere 2 hours easy drive to the Gulf beaches and 30 mins to Miami.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 20 June 2008 : by D Griffiths

Customer Rating : 2/5

I find Mr. Hinkles' comments amusing. Currently the excuse for changing flight schedules is high fuel prices. What then was the excuse for changing my flight from Toronto to Cardiff (May 25th to June 16th) twice back in December?? I would love to give this airline a higher rating because our flight experience was quite good, but it's all about confidence. If I incur extra costs due to arrival/departure date changes or destination changes, then what is the point in flying with a "budget" airline? I might as well fly with a more expensive but reliable carrier! Furthermore, your customer service department is non-existent. You only responded in writing to my complaints prior to my trip when I sent a written complaint to the Canadian Aviation Transportation Authority (I may not have that title entirely correct). Even then, your response was insulting. All of this is a great pity, since your flight crews on both of our flights were excellent. Your company makes it very difficult for anyone to make advance travel plans. I will return to flying with your competitors. Your flight crews have my sympathies.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 18 June 2008 : by C Walker

Customer Rating : 2/5

This cancelling/changing flights scenario seems to have been going on for some time with Zoom, and is not just linked to the rising cost of fuel methinks. I booked return flights with Zoom 9 months in advance from Gatwick to JFK for April 08. About 5/6 weeks before hand they left a message on my phone to say that the flights had been cancelled. I spoke to Customer Care and was offered alternative dates or a refund. I chose a refund and rebooked with another airline who charged about £55 more than I was originally paying. The refund from Zoom did come through quickly. All in all, I would not book with them again and would pay an extra odd £50 to go with a bigger airline.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 18 June 2008 : by L Mcguffie

Customer Rating : 1/5

Our flights to Bermuda changed several weeks before we were due to fly which resulted in us having to change our connecting flights at an extra cost and also a nights stay in a hotel in Gatwick before flying to Bermuda. The same happened to my brother who had to pay for an extra night in Bermuda (not cheap!!). He received a courtesy call after landing back in London. When he complained about the changes and extra costs he was met with a cheeky attitude and told bluntly it was part of the terms and conditions. I did send my complaint through their so called customer concerns page to be given a standardised response that has obviously been copied and pasted having not read my complaint.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 17 June 2008 : by Jan Tyler

Customer Rating : 1/5

My husband and brother in law were due to fly to Vancouver yesterday 12 June with Zoom. Notified 10 days before flights (which were booked at the beginning of 2008) that outbound was cancelled and they would have to have a flight three days previous or cancel. An alternative flight from Glasgow via Toronto was on offer but it was stated that the cost of flights from Gatwick to Glasgow would be at the customer's expense even though the original flight booked and paid for was direct to Vancouver from Gatwick. As my husband and brother-in-law were unwilling to pay the extra cost and inconvenience of travel to Glasgow and were both unable to add another three days holiday and incur the extra costs for hotels, etc, I spent the next couple of hours trawling the net for alternative flights which we managed to find. However, this was at a higher cost than our original flights and it meant that they had to travel from Heathrow, also incurring extra costs for my brother in law travelling from Guernsey to Gatwick. We were told that this was basically tough and we should read the small print - definitely lacked Customer Service skills. We cancelled the Zoom flights and received a cheque seven days later. I feel very concerned, particularly after reading the comments on this web site and comments made by a former Canadian colleague about Zoom. They seem to be notorious in changing flights/seats/destinations. It was our first booking with Zoom and I had hoped to travel with my husband to Fort Lauderdale later this year with Zoom. He also travels to San Diego and was about to book. I think we have had a lucky escape. We will never use Zoom again.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 17 June 2008 : by A Campbell

Customer Rating : 3/5

Vancouver-Glasgow via Calgary in enhanced economy. Punctual departure but a 1 hour technical delay at Calgary. Otherwise a reasonably satisfactory flight although the very small extra legroom (and no extra width) in the enhanced economy section makes the extra cost hardly worth while. Meal indifferent and entertainment had poor sound quality.

ZOOM AIRLINES review : 17 June 2008 : by T Rooke

Customer Rating : 5/5

Ottawa to Gatwick. The cabin crew were attentive and friendly. The food was good. Liked the idea of the survey draw that the winner could spend £25 in the duty free bar on the same flight. Great idea! The cost of the flight was almost half that of Air Canada - the other choice on the route.

4TH JUNE 2008 -  PERSONAL STATEMENT BY :  Mr Jonathan Hinkles - Managing Director, Zoom Airlines

"Firstly, I'd like to offer my sincere apologies to those customers whose travel plans have been affected by recent changes to Zoom's flight schedule. We have recently made a number of changes affecting a total of five flights per week from Gatwick to Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and New York services over the course of the summer season. Other routes are operating as scheduled. These changes are solely in response to the unprecedented increase in fuel prices, which has seen oil more than double in price in the last few months. We note that a number of other airlines have made similar moves, including American completely withdrawing its services from Stansted from July and Delta withdrawing its Gatwick-New York flights from September. Whilst I recognise that it will come as little consolation to the customers affected, the need to make changes to advance flight schedules to respond to fuel prices is by no means unique to Zoom. Our reservations team are making every effort to offer suitable alternative flights to those customers booked on these five particular flights but if the available travel days offered are unacceptable then we will offer a full refund of all monies paid. Once again, I apologise to those customers whose plans have been disrupted and offer my assurances that my team and I will do our very best to assist with your travel arrangements. I can only ask for your understanding that the current fuel price situation is extraordinary and one which is affecting every airline."

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