Zoom Doom: Stranded Abroad

I took the picture above on my phone four days ago, as my Zoom flight from London to New York was being prepared for take-off.

I was excited – a two week trip of sightseeing and catching up with friends awaited me. And this picture marked the beginning of what I hoped would be a fantastic holiday.

The flight was smooth, the service great. It was the fourth time I’d flown with Zoom, attracted by their affordable ticket prices and comfortable cabins. It was only half-full – a blessing, I thought, as I blagged an exit seat and stretched out for the ride.

I sat back, sipped a glass of wine and joked to a fellow passenger: “If they don’t start filling these flights, they’ll go bust!”

It seems I tempted fate.

Four hours ago, I checked my email to discover a dozen messages from friends and family.

“Zoom’s gone bust!” they all read. But not one of them was from the troubled airline itself.

I laughed it off. “Surely Zoom would tell their customers first?” I thought.

Apparently not. I went to their website, where I was greeted with a message that left me in no doubt.

Zoom had indeed gone bust. I was stranded.

The website said I should ring my bank and I’d get a refund. My bank said no.

My bank said I could claim a flight home from my insurance company. They said no.

Zoom’s site also said that British Airways and Virgin would offer money off to their aggrieved customers.

I rang British Airways - and they complained. "We don't know where Zoom got that from," they told me. Their cheapest flight home was almost £500. Virgin Atlantic couldn't help me either.

Finally Zoom’s site said that customers could claim back from ‘ATOL’ if they booked with a travel agency. But I had booked direct...

As I went through customs at New York JFK last Sunday, the official looked at my declaration slip and laughed.

“What’s Zoom?” he said. “Oh, another cheap airline!” I replied.

Perhaps he knew something I didn't. All in all, it seems this holiday will certainly be one to remember – but not for the right reasons.

By Joe Braidwood, in Providence, RI (perhaps for quite some time!)