My OH's daughter and her 2 children flew to the UK from Vancouver on Zoom, which has now gone bust. On the Zoom website, they suggest contacting British Airways, who are offering a deal for people in her predicament, but when we checked it, they are only offering £50 off their ticket price, which is not really a great deal, IMHO.
Does anyone here have any ideas about how she can get home, please? The only thought I have is that they could probably fly to Seattle cheaper than to a Canadian destination.
She is low-income and a single mother; she had saved for 4 years to make this journey.
Any suggestions would be very welcome, Thanks.
Posted by
Freedonia
14973 posts
Virgin Atlantic was also offering deals to Zoom customers.
I would contact every airline flying across the pond. You never know who will give you a deal.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
She also needs to contact her credit card company, or her travel agent, about getting a refund. If she paid by cheque there seems to be no recourse.
P.S. What does "OH" mean? Other husband? Old husband?
Posted by
OP
Boscombe, Dorset, UK
964 posts
Hi Norma,
OH means Other Half- but I like your interpretations better!
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
What a horrible shame. I do think that a deal will be hard to come by, I mean , its not like its ever going to be fair,, she already paid her fare !! Now she will have to pay again.
I do think the advice about contacting as many airlines as you can AND explaining that you are a ZOOM customer is a good idea..
Or, she could just stay and get repatriated when the British immigration realizes she has overstayed..( assuming she is not a citizen) .. ok, thats not a great option, ,but really this must be so frustrating, ,I think that any airline that goes out of business should be obligated by law to get people home.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
368 posts
Check www.canadian-affair.com as well. I don't think at this point any options are going to be cheap as it is so late in the game.
I got burned by Zoom as well, but I was fortunate enough to have 4 weeks to fix my tickets and only had to pay $700 more... Also paid with my credit card so I will be getting a charge back from Mastercard.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32201 posts
Maggie,
Two avenues you might try.
First, Air Transat has flights between various points in Europe and Canada. Given your location, I suspect LGW might be the best option (BTW, are you close to Bovington - was there last fall). I checked the AT website and they have regular flights departing the UK for Canada in September.
The other possibility might be Air Canada. I've received bulletins from them in the last week or so, listing "specials" to London. You might be lucky and be able to find one (even if the flight is to Calgary or another nearby point, it's not hard to get to Vancouver).
If you OH's daughter knows any good travel agents in the Vancouver area, give them a call (or send an E-mail) and see if they can arrange something. I have always received excellent service from my travel agent here, so wouldn't hesitate to ask them for help. They know the flight schedules extremely well and have connection to the Star Alliance data bases, and can probably find something much more easily. That would save you hours searching over the net. They might be able to find an inexpensive flight with Thomas Cook or another charter. It's getting close to the "end of the season", so there might be some deals and airlines trying to fill empty seats?
Good luck!
Posted by
OP
Boscombe, Dorset, UK
964 posts
Thanks to everyone here for taking the time and thought to answer. It's very much appreciated. I believe she booked through a travel agent, so we're hoping that they will help her.
I posted here because there are so many knowledgeable and lovely people in this forum, and we wanted to get as much information as we could.
Best wishes to you all, Maggie.