silverorange stuff

The key to good food on zoom is to request the kosher meal.

I had a feast coming back from Glasgow. Out of halifax the food wasn't great - but I imagine the size of the local jewish community makes all the difference.

Oh, and I whole hardily would recommend zoom as well - pretty good for a budget airline.

The meal on the way back to Halifax from London was much better than the one on the way there. I had the same burnt chicken you have in your picture.

Also, I was able to completely change my reservation with Zoom three times and in total they only charged me 150$ in fees., and the airport valet driver in Halifax explained to me that he was able to switch his ticket from his name to his brother-in-law, and reverse the directions of the return flight, for no fee at all.

I agree with going with the Kosher meal. I must say though for a budget airline Zoom exceeded my expectations tremendously. The service and professioanlism was amazing. I would definately reccomend them to people who want to save money.

I took a Zoom flight to Paris in August as well and was very pleasantly surprised by the level of service and comfort of the flight. My wife and I had somewhat low expectations given the cost (half that of the comparable Air Canada flight booked back in March when tix first became available), but tremendously friendly service and 31" seat pitch make up for a lot. The food was so-so, but still better than what you'd be getting on a charter flight, and paying for drinks, headphones for movies, etc. is a bit of a drag, but hey, we were saving $600 a piece. For that, I'm happy to remember to bring my own headphones and a large bottle of water next time. The flight landed at CDG in Paris in the uninspiring Terminal 3, but again, this is how discounters operate. If you want "Terminal 1" treatment at Pearson, Dorval and CDG, you need to fly a "true" scheduled airline. And yes, the baggage limitation is a bit low, but I did observe at check-in in CDG that small overages (25 kg vs. the 20 kg limit) were being waived through without penalty or hassle. No one was being a luggage Nazi about things like that. If you're really concerned about this and the other small items, then just pay an extra $100 or so and get upgraded to first class and get the 36" seat pitch, more luggage, included extras, etc. That's far better than the $3000 first-class ticket you'd be paying on scheduled airlines, which admittedly would be a much more posh experience.

Please for your own benefit DO NOT FLY WITH ZOOM AIRLINES.

Yes, I enjoyed the on board service, food ok, and flight was semi comfortable.

The problem was that they screwed up my baggage and I got it 10 days into my 17 day trip. I cannot even begin to describe the tears, frustrations, and anger that plagued me. Zoom dealt with it terribly. They were incompetent, I couldn't get ahold of them outside of North America (terrible for a company who flies internationally), and when I did after using my credit card for long distance calls, they were unavailable.

I had to call home and ask them to contact Zoom from North America. My family spent several days contacting the airline, getting promises for me that it would be delivered, etc. Zoom located the luggage in Canada 2 days later, but shipped it to the wrong airport in Paris. Finally several days later they found it, and were supposed to ship it to me, but it never happened.

Nine days into my trip, and hearing from my familiy who was in contact with them daily that "it would be there tomorrow", I took matters into my own hands. I went out, called the airports, spent a lot of time, and within 24 hours my luggage was shipped to an airport by me. But the airport couldn't deliver it to where I was staying (hours away) because they don't have a contract with Zoom and I had to drive several hours to pick it up. Maybe this is why Zoom left it at the wrong airport in Paris and did nothing about it?

I cannot begin to describe how badly they dealt with the situation. I got home yesterday, and I have not received any acknowledgement about my baggage problems. No apologies, no how to file a claim, etc. At this point, I am worried how much they are going to reimburse me for necessities such as underwear and shirts (remember, no luggage for 10 days).

I wish I had spent a little more money with a better airline so that my trip wouldn't have been ruined. We were in Europe and planned to travel around, but we had to cut a lot of our travel plans because of my baggage situation. I refused to let them ruin my trip, but they put a serious damper on what was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime.

Please, Zoom is okay if you have your baggage, but it is not worth the risk to fly with them. I have never before encountered such bad service with such a big issue. Flying discount I don't expect airmiles, awesome food, or a gorgeous plane. I do expect good customer service and my baggage. Zoom was unable to deliver.

It has never happend with me and i have flown zoom lots of times.

i am about to travel to Toronto first time on Zoom airlines. I hope I come back with good memories!!!

Flew with Zoom from London to Vancouver.

The air conditioning system wasnt very good, developed severe respiratory problems.

Friend told me that some airlines dont use the air recycling to its full capacity because it uses too much fuel.

I paid a fuel surcharge and even though its a budget airline, I do expect safe levels of oxygen and water.

Asked for water at 4am by the time we landed at 10am, none had arrived.

Most of the staff were great. But I would rather spend more money and get what I pay for.

I flew home from Vancouver to Glasgow, we had a 4 hour delay - problem with toilets, which was not resolved - had booked seats with extra leg room for return flight and as they were in the middle of the plane, everyone thought they could 'cut through' to get to the other aisle.
If you book extra leg room, make sure they are at the side of the plane.
We are also waiting for a reply from a person, not a computer, about how we were abandoned in Glasgow for 7 hours until we could get a flight home to Manchester, in all that time there was no-one on the Zoom desk.
All I would say is - Pay peanuts, get monkeys!

My partner, daughter and myself recently flew from Gatwick to Toronto and then returned from Ottawa a week later and were unsure what to expect from a budget transatlantic airline. However we were pleasantly surprised with the service and would not hesitate to fly with them again. The downside was the very early start from Gatwick - checking in at 3am!! We also had to pay for our headphones but at £2 a set we did not feel that we were being ripped off.

All airlines loose luggage. A fact of life in travel today, and experienced travellers expect and prepare for it. If your Visa Card is upgraded to appropriate level, and you pay for your ticket with it, you have the right to purchase emergency essentials after 24 hours, up to $500.00. It is there, you pay for it, so feel fine using it.
I have spent 4 hours in a downtown shopping center in paris looking for some kinda eyeliner before she and I moved on to Cottonou. The fact it was covered did not make the experience any more enjoyable.
Zoom can be no worse then AC, or Air France in lost luggage regard.

Airlines aren't able to adjust how much air the aircraft recycles in its air conditioning system. That's done automatically by the environmental system. The air is actually heated when you're flying anyway, as the outside temperature at cruising altitudes is 56 degrees Celsius BELOW zero. Air quality is poor on all airplanes, since a lot of air IS recycled in such close quarters, and the fresh air coming in is at almost 0% humidity. As for the lack of water, just ask again.
My condolences to the sufferer of the luggage fiasco. It does happen with all airlines occasionally though, but I hope Zoom gets better at fixing a problem.

FLEW FROM GLASGOW TO TORONTO NO PROBLEMS STAFF EXCELLENT, FLEW FROM TORONTO TO GATWICK ON RETURN
JOURNEY STAFF EXCELLENT NO PROBLEMS

I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO FLY ZOOM AGAIN AND WOULD RECOMMEND ZOOM TO ALL MY FRIENDS.

First, thanks to everyone for feedback--I'm considering flying with Zoom in the near future and all your responses make me feel very comfortable that I'm making the right decision.

Second, to the girl who lost her luggage: it's not just Zoom. I have flown with Air Canada who lost my luggage on two separate trips within two months, once for a period of 8 days of an 18-day trip. There was no explanation, it was nearly impossible to get through on their toll-free phone lines unless I called in the middle of the night or decided to sit on hold for 45 minutes each time, and in the end when I made a claim for compensation they told me the maximum they reimburse is $100USD (despite the fact that I had to buy clothes/underwear/toiletries for eight days and was in the UK, where $100USD doesn't get you anywhere!).

At least by flying with Zoom you didn't pay the premium prices that Air Canada or BA would have charged :)

I flew from Montreal to Paris and back in October 2004 with Zoom. Flights were on time, flight crew great, and meals tasty (really, what can one expect?). I paid 15$ extra for the extra leg room/emergency exit seats which made the flight that much more comfortable. Beside I was flying with my girlfriend and we just raised the armrest and got a little more width room. For the price it was excellent, which at 1400CAD for 2 round trip tickets with extra leg room, insurance and taxes... is cheaper than the alternatives... and if you check, sometimes for a good rate on AC you have to fly from Montreal to Toronto then to Paris... I will fly again this September to Paris with Zoom.

I shall be flying to Vancouver with zoom next year to go on tour of Canada and the USA. Hopefully they do not loose my luggage as i will be moving about so much over a period of a month. I would have thought wether you have a good flight or not is down to chance. Also is there much difference between 31" and 36" leg room. Futhermore on the site it says you get complementry drinks thoughout the flight is this true or is it a scam? I am considering in upgrading but would like to here someone's opinion first.

Have just flown Gatwick/Vancouver return with ZOOM and I think thet were excellent. Very professional staff-we had adrama on our return flight as a woman passenger had a panic attack and we had to return to Vancouver!!! from over the Rockies!! I thought the staff handled quite a difficult situation in a very proffesional way.
In answer to Jamie,(17 3 05), we did go premium economy and it is definately worth while: 30kg luggage, free drinks (yes!), water, choice of menu, 36" seat pitch and seperate check in at both vencouver and gatwick (South treminal)

Definate would recommend and it was a nice plane- Boeing 767-300ER. Go for it!!

Denis Moore,
DO you think writing the exact same review to all the reviews possible out there on the web will deter people to stop flying Zoom. I have worked in Baggage Claims at the airport and its an every day occurance. A dutch company lost 400 bags once and I had to deal with it! It happens.

But to be so childish by writing such a review as that is very dissappointing. In a recent newsarticle, over $1 billion dollars worth of claims are made due to lost baggage. That's a lot of lost baggage. The amount of aircraft baggage going through the airport and for one to be mistaken to a different airport is normal. We are all human and we all make mistakes.

I know it was most of your trip, but there is a small amount of compensation.

Why don't you fly an airline that is like 5 times the price..and I bet you, they will lose your luggage too!

Your attitude sucks.

I don't like your attitude, Skybabe. Why do you have to be so rude to Denise (not Denis) Moore? We like to hear everyone's experience, it won't stop us from choosing to fly with Zoom or not. We are capable of making our own judgment.

Am thinking of flying to Canada from Grenada on a charte flight. Does anyone have any experience doing the Caribbean flights? How was the leg room, were soft drinks free etc?
So far all the different websites I have checked have mostly positve things to say about Zoom. Look forward to the replies.

I will be flying on Zoom in a couple of weeks from Toronto to Gatwick via Glasgow. I have purchased the premium upgrade, and I am really looking forward to the flight. I appreciate seeing all these comments, which will hopefully help when it comes time for the flight. Will post about the flight when I return

I am about to book 3 premium seats , Manchester to Vancouver, with Zoom. Can anyone reccommend best seats?

Try booking seats D-E-F from rows 1 to about 7, if I remember correctly. You will be in the center seats, but not right next to the washrooms. Row 1 is right in front of a large tv screen, though (in case you don't want that right in front of you all flight)

I am travelling to vancouver from london on 23rd and ahve booked a one way ticket. The canadian embassy informs me that all passengers must have a return ticket. I cannot specify a return date since the purpose of my visit is to be with a critically ill relative whose future is uncertain. Has anyone had an experience like this? Will I be refused entry to Canada. Please, please send any helpful info...MAureen Larkin

Can I go to canada on a one way ticket?

Kath,

The best seats in Premium are rows 2 - 8. Row 1 is great, but your right next to the galley and it could be a little noisy. Row 9 and 10 are right next to the bathroom. You can try having a row to yourself, but from what i've heard, flights are generally full. Row 8 ac and GH are great cause you have no one behind you, just a toilet, so no one banging on your seats and you can still recline.

Definately a great idea on premium for anything over 4 hours. Lots of leg room and no muscle stiffness!

Have a great flight and Zoom is a great airline!

Skybabe!

Maureen,
Call your travel agency or call Zoom Airlines reservations! I've never heard of that, and UK residents don't need a visa to get in! If you book a return flight, perhaps they could extend your ticket at no cost. Doesn't hurt to ask!

Good Luck!

Zoom's a fantastic company.

I have also purchased a one-way ticket to London from Toronto, and now I'm hoping that they won't ask me to buy a return ticket. I am travelling Europe, and have bought a one way simply for the reason as I dont know the exact day that I will be returning. Anyone with any helpful tips or answers, would be much appreciated

The people that are asking about flying to Canada with a one way ticket should check with Canadian Immigration. You will probually not get in as you have to prove to Canadian Immigration that you are going to leave and by not having a return ticket they will probually refuse you entry and send you back to your original destination. I have checked into this before and that is what they will tell you so save yourself the agravation at the Canadian Boarder and have a return ticket.

I have recently booked 2 return flights with zoom from Belfast to Toronto (direct flights). I have now received a mail from customer services advising me that there will be a stop over in Halifax. Zoom only last week added this route (Belfast - Halifax). I also checked the website again for the same flights and find that they are now £100 cheaper than when I booked (I thought that budget airline fares increased when more customers booked). I am going to call customer services and see can I at least get the cheaper fare now being offered and would like to know if any of you had dealt with a similar situation.

Thanks in advance.

I'll post again after I speak to Zoom.

I have flown with zoom several times and have never had any problems. I love zoom!!! I have however had several problems with both air canada and westjet. Air canada lost my luggage and did not find it for 16 days. They also showed my dog skip as the only movie on that flight. Luckily I was flying back to Canada to visit my parents and had clothes and whatnot there already so it was not a major major inconvenience, it is still crappy to have to wear your high school clothes when you're 25 and I was just glad they still fit (well mostly). Westjet lost my cat. I kid you not, I was attempting to fly her to Ontario from Vancouver, and they lost her at the Vancouver airport in a very hinky situation. They claim that she "escaped" from her kennel while en route to the airplane from the loading building. I'm sorry but a very scared kitty being driven in a truck with other animals in kennels is not exactly likely to all of a sudden have opposable thumbs and be able to open the lock and/or to "bash" her way out.... So if you ask me any airline can totally screw you with your luggage, but atleast with zoom, you don't pay full price for your ticket so it's less of a kick in the teeth when they do screw up...

In response to the issue of needing a return flight ticket. It is true that most any travel agent will tell you that flying to the eu with only a canadian passport and no return ticket they can refuse you entry (same with an eu passport entering Canada) however it is pretty rare that they do this. I have flown to Europe (france mostly) with no return ticket and my pretty canadian passport and they barely even glance at my passport let alone care if I have a return ticket. So if you're feeling daring I'd say go for it, I haven't had a problem yet, knock on wood. But it is true, they can do it if they're feeling mean, or you look dodgy.

I flew for the first time (ever) last year,(2004), with zoom so I dont have any other airline experiance to compare to but the service on the flight was first class. The food was good cabin crew were very profesional and didnt laugh to much when I asked for a blue Canadian lager, the food was fine. All in all I would have no hesitation in reccomending Zoom as a good airline.

I flew for the first time (ever) last year,(2004), with zoom so I dont have any other airline experiance to compare to but the service on the flight was first class. The food was good cabin crew were very profesional and didnt laugh to much when I asked for a blue Canadian lager, the food was fine. All in all I would have no hesitation in reccomending Zoom as a good airline.

Re; Lost luggage.
Flew KLM from Toronto to Cardiff South Wales In January of this year due to a family emergency.
As time was a crucial factor I had to depart for the UK the next day, after receiving the news.
My ticket cost slightly over $4000!! I had to take Business class out (no option, it was the only seat avail) and economy return flight...I have flown this airline on previous occasions with no problems.
However, on my return flight to Canada I arrived in Toronto only to discover that my luggage was still sitting in Amsterdam.
There were several other passengers in the same predicament....My bags were returned and delivered two days later....I was not given any consideration by KLM regarding a bereavement discount...and no apology for the inconvenience....'Stuff' happens!
I'm flying Zoom (Premium class) to Cardiff in September of this year.....will keep you posted.

im goin to toronto from manchester on the 11th and have never flown zoom i wanted to ask do u have to pay for headphones and does everyone have own tv screen? and just general trip info thanks

Hi Bilal,

I belive you have to pay for headsets...$5, and alcholic beverages, also $5. Complementary wine with your dinner. Everything else is free. I flew with them and you get a hot meal and a snack service just before landing. Its full service.

Hope this helps.

Just remembered,
If you fly in Premium, everything is complementary.

thanks alot sandra you are very helpful i wasnt expecting anybody to reply! if any body gets any thing else please let me know
Thanks again

i am traveling with zoom on friday. after i booked the ticket i have read the term s and condition and i have noticed that you should have the passport valid at least six months from the return date. we only stay 1 week in canada but passsport expires in august. will i be allowed to travel???
i booked the tickets on line and i remember having to put the passport expire date on the form . surely should had been noticed.also i needed avisa and the canadian embassy did not have a poroblem with that. please advice!!!

You should be fine!

A friend of mine will be travelliing alone and is 15 does anybody know if under 16 get some body to look after them or if under 16 are allowed to travel opne their own at all

Zoom accepts Minors at the ages of 5-12 that are accompanied by zoom staff on a direct flight only basis. If your friend who is 15 understands the procedures at the airport and knows to check the monitors for the gate they should be fine and if they are unsure where to go beyond secuurity tell the person to just ask an airport staffer they are always willing to help!!

Zoom is a great Airline take the premium up grade ad all will be great. Flew to London in summer 2004 and moving to Manchester in June I am dual citizen and can't wait to get there with of course Zoom

Hope that helped!!

Thanks MStockley your advice was extremely helpful as we were unsure if he would be able to go.

To people that lose luggage and whine about it. I have flown extensively for 15 years and you cannot expect all things to be 100% for 100% of the time. I had my luggage lost three times in one week. You have to treat it as a challenge, not a whinging opportunity. If you let small things like this spoil a vacation then stay at home with the safety of your wardrobe close by.

I have done a lot of flying in my life, and I've used a lot of different airlines. Zoom Airlines is BY FAR the best value for my money. Checkin is a breeze (especially when you fly premium! you by pass the line up) Everyone is very eager to help you in ensuring that you're treated like a first class passenger even when in economy. The food! It's free, which is rare, and it is absolutely fabulous for airline food. Anyone who doesn't like it is just too picky! Free drinks free free free. What I love most is that you can fly "Premium" for less than you can economy with other airlines. I've suffered a 5 hour delay with Zoom- where they didn't provide us with any timeline, But boy did they take care of us. Delicious pitas, pop, juice. Lots of personnel to answer questions as best they could. They've also made reservations a breeze. I can view all the available flights for the timeline I'm looking for. I can book online, print my ticket and check my flight times all without ever speaking to an agent. The seats are much more spacious than Air Transat and some of the extra legroom seats have nothing in front of them! Zoom has the most consistently pleasant crew and reservations staff. They are voted one of the top medium companies to work for and I vote them way up there as far as transatlantic carriers go. If you haven't flown Zoom- you won't regret it.

I was searching for Zoom on Google. Found your site. I'm just curious why the two sentences on the search page were after hearing from a few friends... the first line of the first review and Please for your own benefit DO NOT FLY WITH ZOOM AIRLINES. This gave the impression of bad reviews when in reality the reviews for the most part were that Zoom was pretty good and any lack of extras was due to its true money saving nature.
I found the reviews very useful. Carry on J wilson

My 17 year old daughter is flying ZOOM to Paris this summer. It is her first trans-atlantic flight. We did not go for the upgrade but think she will be fine in economy. Is there anything (other than a headset) that she will need money for or remember to take with her on her flight? Laura

Im flying to vancouver next month from manchester to be with my girlfriend (who is a canadian)
Like a few of you i didnt get a return ticket because i dont know how long im gonna be there for. I know with a full british passport a visitor entry is allowed on arrival, but does anyone know for how long and if there is going to be any hassles with immigration etc..

Flew Zoom to London from Toronto in Premium Economy. The staff were very friendly, food was ok, but the free alcohol was quite a bonus!! I sat in the first row window, it wasnt as roomy as i expected, so if anyone is gonna fly premium, maybe its best not sit in the first row, especially if u want a window seat. The movies were not too bad, and check in was so quick. Check-in is fast if u have up graded, if not then u better get to ur airport early. Overall a great airline, will definitely fly zoom again

Just flew on Zoom from Manchester to Toronto in Premium Economy.

First impressions were bad, the flight was 1 hour late arriving into Manchester, but two hours late departing, and the ground staff were terrible, not giving any information, breaking down in laughter when annoucing delays. Started boarding the plane, then stopped half way though because the plane wasnt ready.

However, once we got on the plane I have nothing but praise, the crew were excellent, food was good, and plenty of room.

Because of the delay we missed our connecting flight with Air Canada. As they were overbooked on every flight for the following two days, with 8 people already on standby bumbed from the flight we should have been on, we had to rebook with Westjet. Our insurance will cover it as long as we get a letter from Zoom confirming the inbound was delayed by 2 hours, so hopefully we can get the letter!

I would definately use Zoom, and Westjet again. Not sure about Air Canada though!

I've just flown Zoom Airlines to Canada from Gatwick. Departed 18 hours late on May 27, missing one nights hotel accomodation and returned after a 4 hour delay on June 3. 1 missing suitcase on arrival. Avoid Zoom Airlines. Its worth paying the extra with other airlines. You have been warned.....

I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST TO ANYONE THAT GOES TO BRAZIL, DO NOT SAVE MONEY FLYNG WITH VARIG, BUT HOWEWER SPEND LITTLE BIT MORE AND FLIGHT WITH ANY OTHERS AIRLINE COMPANY.
I FOUND THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT VERY RUDE, UNPOLITE, AND VERY TIRED TO WORK, YOU CAN PUSH THE BOTTON FOR SERVICE AS MANY TIME YOU WANT DURING 11 HOURS OF FLIGHT, YOU WILL BE SURE THAT NOBODY WILL COMES AND ASK IF YOU NEED SOMETHING.
THE FOOD IS TERRIBLE AND DRINKS LIMITED; YOU ARE NOT EVEN ABLE TO BUY ANYTHING.
ATTENDANTS ARE ALL OLD AND LOOKS RETIRED.
IF YOU WISH TO ARRIVE AT DESTINATIONS WITHOUT BEEN STRESS, THAN DO NOT FLIGHT WITH VARIG.
COMPANY LIKE THIS SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT.
MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW, BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO BRAZIL WAS IN ECONOMY CLASS, AND THAN MAYBE I THOOT THAT DEPENDING OF CLASS THAT YOU GET DIFFERENT TYPE OF SERVICE, HOWEWER EVEN IN BUSINESS CLASS NOTHING IS BEEN CHANGED, JUST SAME TREATMENT, BUT NOW I WILL NOT LET THEM GET A PENNY FROM MYSELF, OR MAYBE I SHOULD TRY FIRST CLASS TO FLY COMFORTABLE.
FORGET IT, BUSINESS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH WITH ALL OTHERS COMPANY.
SO FINALLY I’M SO UPSET THAT IF I COULD PUSH ONE BOTTOM AND DESTROY THIS AIRLINE I WILL DUET IMMEDIATELY.
PLEASE DUET FOR YOU, STAY AWAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

My Father, wife, 12 month old son and I recently flew with Zoom. We purchased the premium economy seats and received the extra baggage allowance I have have to say, despite both our departures being late the staff, service and flights (even the food) was absolutely fantastic. The cabin crew could not have been more helpful when we needed anything either for us or our son. The food and service was good and even the inflight movies were pretty good Coach Carter & Are we there yet (Canada-UK) and Hitch and Robots (UK-Canada). Our son got sick on our return trip and the stewardess went out of her way to make sure him and my wife were cleaned up, to me she went beyond just cleaning things up. Our return trip saw our baggage extremely overweight (almost 30kg total) and we were not charged for any of it.

I will flyzoom again

my friend was travelling from glasgow to toronto with zoom airlines on may 30th. when we checked out our departure times both on the internet & by telephone, we were informed that the flight would be delayed, & would not depart until 12.59 pm. we arrived at the airport on time for the flight, onlt to be told he would not be allowed on the plane 'cos he was late. we were then told the plane was departing at 11.59.----which was not true ----the plane was still standing on the runway.my friend was very upset, but not the type of person to cause a fuss. fortunately for him another 5 people turned up for the flight, having been given the same information ---that the plane would be leaving at 12.59pm. after a bit of aggravation all concerned were allowed on the plane, only to be booed & hissed at by the other passengers. i would like to point out to the unsympathetc passengers, that this was not my friends fault, & to have suffered a very traumatic situation at the check in,& then the nasty comments on board, was in very bad taste.think on nasty people, it could have been you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! although he had a very unpleasant journey home (no one would talk to him) he has nothing but praise for zoom airlines & the crew, & would not hesitate to fly with them again

I am flying premium in September to Halifax from Belfast. Was worried about the plane and not sure of the Company Zoom, information on this site has been most helpful and made me less concerned. Hope the connections with air canada are not missed if Zoom tends to have delays. Anyone who has tried the new Belfast Route please let us know how you found it.

Will be flying Zoom in a couple weeks (vancouver-london), i have a premium seat for outbound flight and economy for way home. Besides headphones for way home (and maybe a sandwich) does the airline supply the little bitty pillows and blankets for the flight?
I was hesitant to book with Zoom as I have heard very little about them but all of your reviews have helped me to relax about my upcoming flight.
Information would be appreciated.

I have booked two return flights with Zoom Airlines, and I have been very unhappy with their ground customer service - it is worth paying extra to fly with a reputable airline such as BA or AC. Both times I was flying from London to Vancouver. The first booked flight was at Christmas time, and I had to book a connecting flight to my ultimate destination. A week before Christmas, my flight was cancelled - a week before Christmas! At this time, although I had got some of my money back, I lost money on my connection and had to really scramble to find another flight so I could be with my family at this time. Their customer service was bad - the agents were smug in dealing with this, and completely insensitive. I felt, that as a new airline trying to win customers, that their way to deal with this was very poor.
However, I was willing to give them another try, and flew with them again just recently. Prior to the flight, the departing times were changed multiple times, a slight annoyance for those with connecting flights. On the day of departure, the inbound flight was 2 hours late arriving. For the departing flight, the flight time confirmation information was ambiguous on the day of the flight, with the website (and YVR departures) stating that the flight was scheduled to leave 30 minutes early, to the telephone stating that it would be leaving four hours late, and re-routed to combine with another flight. It took me ringing the reservations line to talk to somebody to get the actual flight time, but I was concerned that with such information, others would be confused and turning up early with such a wide window.

All in all, my impression is that Zoom airlines seems to be quite disorganised and amateurish, what with changing flight details very close to or on the date of departure. Now I do realize some flexibility is essential with flying, easpecially with a budget airline, however, out of the 3 flights I have flown/ attempted to fly, they were all changed/ cancelled/ etc - not a stellar record! I have flown with many budget airlines, and have never seen such an inability to get it together. That said, once on the plane, the service and staff were very good, with great movies, and the food service was as good as the more established (non-budget) airlines such as BA/AC. So, if you are willing to deal with the crap prior to the flight, or have very flexible travel plans, then I would have to say, in all fairness, that Zoom delivers good value for money. However, if you must make connecting flights, or have other time restrictions, then save your energy, and fly BA.

This issue is probably over now, but just in case anyone in the future wants to know...

My understanding (after having a ticket fiasco with my husband, who is from the UK) is that you can come to Canada with a one way ticket (though I wouldn't recommend it) but you should be able to show that you have enough money to leave again. You don't need a visa if you are from the UK (you will automatically be granted a 6-month tourist visa) but you do need to have either a ticket out or the means to purchase a ticket out. The problem is endlessly complicated if you choose a flight that stops in the US (I know Zoom doesn't, but in case you are thinking of other airlines) because even though you are continuing to Canada, the US does not consider that leaving US soil and you cannot enter the US without proving that you are leaving again.

In terms of a sick relative, lots of airlines will offer compassionate fares (I forget the exact term) that are very flexible. I don't know if Zoom does this (probably not) but they might at least offer some flexibility. To take advantage of these fares with conventional airlines you need the name of your relative, as well as his/her doctor's name and the hospital name.

Hope this helps somebody.

We are flying from Glasgow to Vancouver in a few days.
What type of headphones do the planes use?
Standard like those used on an Mp3 player or what?
Please inform.

In Premium, they are single prong. In Economy, they use double prong.
Hope this helps

Recently flew with Zoom for first time, Manchester to Vancouver. Flew Economy outbound as we couldn't get seats together in Premium. We were a bit apprehensive as to what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised. Ground staff at Manchester very friendly, as were the flight crew. The plane left on time. The food was as good as you would expect of an airline meal, and we had 3 movies to watch. As there were 3 of us, we sat in the centre, and the leg room was sufficient. However, I think I would have felt a little claustraphobic had I sat in a window seat.
Coming back we had a delay of 1 hour. We sat in premium. The seats were comfier and, obviously, there was more leg room, but I don't think there is a lot of difference between the two classes. If you can upgrade do it, but I think travelling in economy is fine. I would definitely fly with Zoom again.

I had to cancel my Zoom flight Vancouver - Glasgow - Vancouver at short notice because of my father's death. I had taken out Zoom cancellation insurance and had expected to wait months for the insurance company to pay up. It was refunded to my credit card within 48 hours. Impressive!

A cancelled flight with Air Transat a few years ago took 3 months to be refunded through RBC Insurance. I will only fly to the UK on Zoom.

I would just like to say what a fantastic flight we had with zoom. I don't usually make comments but my sister and I went out to Canada for the first time to meet some relatives that we had met on the internet. We couldn't believe the value for money with Zoom.
Flilghts on time.
Free drinks
Good food.
Hot towels
Fantastic service.
I have reccomended Zoom to all my friends and will definatley fly with Zoom again in the near future.zppaAe eFlighttn

Terrible experience. I am a frequent flyer, and am not new to airlines screwing up. Short of a week before my Manchester - Toronto flight I received a call from the ZOOM customer services dept, informing me that my flight had been put back 2 hours to 11am, no big deal, had to shuffle around for a little longer a the airport, as my ride to the airport had to be elsewhere at the new time. But it was at the airport where the fun and games began.
The flight had been cancelled, there was very little explantion, not that it would've made a whole lot of difference, but still, it's nice to know why hey?
So me, and 250 odd other passengers are told to go to another flight desk, and alter our tickets. To ZOOM's credit, they had our alternative route all planned out, fly to Ottawa with Thomas Cook at 4pm, sit around at Ottawa airport for 4 hours and then fly to Toronto with Air Canada, arriving aproximately 10 hours later than planned.
I had to wait 2 hours at this desk though just for it open, not able to go get a coffee or anything, because I still had all my baggage and a set of golf clubs.
Once the desk opened, I was given my new itinerary, checked my baggage in (yes the allowance is poor), and was given a 10GBP meal voucher, and was able to relax. No where accepted the meal voucher, but I was so tired etc, that I wasn't that up for food anyway.
Since I didn't fly with ZOOM after all, I can't comment on the flight, but I fly home tonight, so we'll see how that goes.
Anyways, in the end, I got myself transfered onto an earlier flight from Ottawa to Toronto, so not too much waiting around in the end. But the time it took to get from Manchester to Toronto, including sitting around in the airport, 19 hours.
But hey we all have these hicups, I have had had problems with an airline before, and on flying with them again it has gone smoother than smooth, and I don't doubt that upon flying with ZOOM again, I will have no problems. Deffinitely won't hold it against them.

just arrived back from my london to vancouver-abbotsford trip this morning and wanted to get in here to share my experience. I was apprehensive in booking with a small airline. Here's my experience:
Flight out to London- Very loud in the cabin, couldn't hear the announcements (possibly due to where i was sitting). a little concerned with the duct tape holding the bottom of one of the chairs... but the cabin crew were amazing! super friendly and helpful.
Flight into Vancouver- Cabin crew weren't as helpful, waking me while i slept to check i had my seat belt on even though they checked 25 minutes before when the seat belt light came on. Skipping over me with the snacks even though my tray was down and i dosed off. It was mainly just one person who did this, should have gotten her name... Food was great and it was a newer plane so no duct tape this time and a much quieter ride.
The part that impressed me the most about the cabin crew on the way home was that while waiting at Calgary for people to leave we had our opportunity to turn on our cell phones. 3 of us got text messages regarding the bombing in London that morning (~5 minutes after we took off). One of the flight attendants went searching for information for us. As a lot of the passengers left on the plane were Brits. They let us finish our phone calls. I was most impressed with our fellow passengers who didn't say a word about sitting in Calgary a few extra minutes, even when our flight was already 2 1/2 hour behind.
All in all a good experience. I kept my expectations realistic, it is a budget airline and i feel i got more than i paid for. I would fly Zoom again.

I booked 2 return flights (London to Toronto) with Zoom Airlines. The Outward flight was scheduled to leave at 9:25am, and the return flight was scheduled to arrive at 7:40am. Shortly after booking the flights, the times were changed so we are now leaving London at 5:40am and returning to London at 4:15am. Since I rely on public transport to get to the airport, I would never have booked the flights if I had known the real flight times. I suspect that Zoom knew the real flight times when it sold the tickets but chose to publish the incorrect ones in order to sell more tickets. Has anyone else had this experience?

Hi,
We recently had a holiday in the Canadian Rockies (Calgary - Jasper - Banff). We had a great time - the Rockies are fantastic and Canadians are warm, friendly people. Sadly, our holiday was marred by Zoom airlines losing our luggage. Our experiences at trying to recover our luggage were similar to those encountered by Denise Moore (post in Sept 2004). We telephoned everyday and couldn't get hold of anyone until our 4th attempt. They didn't call us back with any updates on where our luggage was etc. Consequently, we had to spend a fair portion of our time (and money) in chasing our luggage and buying replacemnt stuff - clothes, toiletries, etc. We're now back in the UK and there's still no sign of the luggage! We feel the whole way in which Zoom have dealt with us has been appalling. Needless to say we'll never fly with them again.

This past June we used Zoom Airlines to and from Montreal to Paris. All the research indicated that the airline was reliable but having only 3 planes made us a little wary and apprehensive. However, our worrying was for nothing since we found the service excellent. We had reserved our seats in advance and there were no bad surprises. The size of the seats is quite adequate in the economy section and our seats 15A & C were perfect for watching the movies on a large screen. The ground personnel and the flight attendants were professional, friendly and ready to help at all times.

If it wasn’t for a passenger who didn’t show up even after checking in, we would have departed almost on time. There was the usual search for her/his luggage and its removal from the plane and hence the delay. Nevertheless, when we arrived at CDG, we arrived on time. As an aside we had a lady captain flying our plane to Paris. On our return trip we would have departed on time if not for the line up of planes waiting to take off. CDG is a busy airport.

Bar service begins right after takeoff, coffee, tea and soft drinks are free with wine and liquor available at a reasonable cost. Ear phones available at $5 per piece can be re-used on the return flight or at home with any regular stereo system. Pillows and blankets are free for the asking.

A very good supper was served on the way to Paris, hot and much better than average especially for a discount airline, and better than what’s served on regular airlines (AC, AF, Delta, AA). There was a choice between chicken or beef, wine was served free of charge throughout the meal, as was coffee and tea. A small snack was served for breakfast and a hot towel was offered to freshen up before landing. The meal was limited to beef stew for our return trip, however it was hot and tasty followed by snack before landing. And the hot towel was again offered.

The B767-300 (GZUM City of Ottawa) used by ZOOM is a large plane and plenty of room to move around and stretch your legs. Overall, a very positive experience considering the economical price tag for flying with this airline. We would definitely use them again for future trips.

Flying out of Toronto to London Gatwick at the end of August. Online reservations were easily completed. A change in flight time was immediately sent to my e-mail and required a confirmation, which I thought was honorable despite the fact that we're now going to be waiting 9 hours before being able to check into our hotel. All in all, good service so far. I just hope there's no more changes (unless to our benefit) and that they don't lose our luggage ;)

We three couples flew to Dominican republic with Zoom and found the service excellent. The food was great. We bought headsets at the dollar store prior to leaving . The attendants were friendly and professional. No delays and a smooth , safe trip. We are now flying to Munich on Zoom. For the price, you are getting a great deal.

I have booked with Zoom to fly to Ottawa in September. I flew to Toronto in October last year and could not fault the airline. The food was great, friendly staff who saw to your every need. We had premium seats and have booked these again, for an extra £49 east coast on a night time flight offering 36" is fab, esp comp drinks as a wee night-cap.

The best seats i would recommend are in the middle from row 3DEF - 8DEF as there is a large wide screen tv at row 1. Row 1 doesnt offer you any more leg room than the the other premium seats, infact there is a bulk head there so you cant put your feet any further that say the row behind where you can stretch to the seat underneath. Having never booked online i called the reservations team, which i found is located in Glasgow, odd for a Canadian company. They were very efficient and friendly and answered all my queries.

I have had the best experience in travelling to North America in particular Canada, with Zoom and i know you will too. remember luggage with any airline can get lost, schedules can change and you get what you pay for, and with Zoom the earlier you book the cheaper the fare so its good to know in advance when you want to go. Make sure your read the T&C's, the airline as far as i know doesnt offer compassion on ground of cancellation for bearevment but as long as you have travel insurance you should be fine.

Every1 is entitled to there own opinion and if you dont try then you will never know, these opinions arent here to force you into choosing Zoom but the good reports make you want to dont they... and every1 loves a good moan, so to those peeps out there who get off on moaning you will not prevent me from travelling Zoom as i wouldnt hesistate to travel again and again.

Very happy customer :O)

Anyone else had problems with Zoom changing airports? Flight times I can handle, but we now fly out from Gatwick and in to Stansted! In between times, our flight home has moved from Vancouver International to Abbotsford and back again.
In what other industry is it acceptable to completely change the product or service offered? In theory, there is a choice to rebook. On this second change, this is not possible as the flights are full. This has cost us a lot of time and effort as well as angst.

I also have been effected by the stansted change. However the Zoom Reservations staff I spoke to in Glasgow were so helpful and understanding. Anyone who has ever travelled by a relatively new airline will know of the unavoidable teathing problems that they face. All airlines rely on the airports honouring their promised slot times and everyone knows that the smaller, less well known airlines are ALWAYS the first one to get moved.

Going by this Zoom is growing in size and BAA are well aware of this. Therefore such a change is extremely unlikely to happen again.

Many of my friends and family have travelled to Canada by Zoom and although this glitch has happened to me they have all given me great reviews. So stop moaning!!!

If Air Traffic and BAA won't allow you to go into an airport, cause the airport is completely full, there is nothing no one can do. They have chosen another option of going to another local London Airport. The other option is them cancelling those flights all together, now be thankful that you are going.

Slot times are a big issue, there are hundreds of flights in and out of Gatwick and unfortunately the little guys lose sometimes.

I was on a Zoom flight and we won in a little way, cause we apparently got the Jet stream right and Blasted right by Continental Airlines, and same aircraft type!! Totally cool..about 1000 feet above us!!

We have just flown through Travelscope with ZOOM to Toronto and back.
I think we had it all other passengers have experienced. Flight delayed outbound by 3 hours. Flight inbound changed from 20.20 to 14.20 (half a day out of our holiday missing) and instead of flying direct to Gatwick it was via Cardiff. We flew Premium economy (thank goodness) When we checked in we asked for a window seat, after checking with her supervisor no window seats available. Okay accepted until, we got on the plane there was window seats free, which unfortunately other passengers where quicker than us to spot FOOD AWFUL, All of
the staff very charming except one little hitler!

All in all a budget airline, obviously having problems, need changes in management
a good PR consultant needed as we all want
Budget airlines to succeed.

has anyone else experienced the long queues at premium checkins? on three separate occasions we were taking relatives to glasgow airport, travelling to toronto. on arrival at the zoom desk (on each occasion ) we were directed to the premium line up. there were four checkin desks, of which three were economy, every one of the economy moved quickly,while we at premium were at a standstill. on making enquiries about the delay, i was advised that premium was extremely busy, this i can understand, but only about a third of the aircraft is designated to premium passengers, so why does it take so long to get the queue down ? i am hoping to be travelling to toronto with zoom in the future, & according to my friends the flight was good & the cabin crew were all wonderful, no complaints at all!!!!!! so please zoom------ try & get it right at checkin time. i know i could fly economy, but i'd like to try premium 'cos i've heard so many good reports, & it is very reasonable.

Hello My Name Is John Naismith 12 Years of age and I have Flew with zoom Airlines and evrey single one was LUXAROUS they are not A bad Airline!!!!!!!!!!!!

ZOOM AIRLINES IS THE BEST AIRLINE E~MAIL ME AT patricia.naismith@ntlworld.com IFYOU DISAGREE!!!!!!!!!

it is ag

We want to fly ZOOM from London to Edmonton soon, my husband, me and our doughter, 2 years old. Knowing how stressful a flight can be with a toddler, I'm desperately wondering wich seats might be the best for a family?!? Economy or premium? Thanks for helping!

I am going on Zoom for the first time on Monday (8th aug) from Cardiff to Toronto and then coming back on 22nd August back to Cardiff. I just have one question. Do they have tv's in the back of the seat infront of you or is it TVs coming down from the ceiling so we all gotta share?

-Adrian

1st Question: Bulk head Row 1DEF or 11 DEF. Premium is better. But if you are lucky you can get a row of 3 (ie: 29 DEF) to yourself and then your toddler can sleep in the middle of the parents!

2nd Question: TV's are all above the aisle (Fixed). and Plasma screens at the bulkheads.

OK, thanks. Not as good as alot of flights I've been on (virgin, BA, Delta) but having said that its a budget airline so what should I expect! Im going tomorow, cant wait!

-Adrian

Hi,

I will be flying on Zoom at the end of the month Montreal-Paris. I was wondering, all bad experiences happened on the Calgary-Glasgow part... any comments on Montreal and Paris?

thanks!

Marie-T

See our comments of July 12 regarding our flight YUL-CDG-YUL

Marie-T

BTW go to this site for other comments regarding Zoom

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/zoom.htm

Hi there,

I will be flying to Glasgow on August 26th on Zoom...cna anyone tell me how long the flight is going and coming from Toronto.

Many Thanks

Be careful booking with ZOOM. If you have carry on baggage, they no doubt would be fine. If you expect them to rectify lost baggage quickly, then book with another airline.

I flew Zoom from Edmonton to Manchester in June of 2005. Booking was easy, the flight, despite the small baggage allowance, was reasonably comfortable and the in air staff professional.

HOWEVER, the ground crews and its baggage service were terrible. They lost my luggage for six days of my seven day trip. They have never apologized, never responded to my queries, and never even hinted at any compensation despite me submitting bills for necessities, and despite my buying insurance prior to the trip.

ZOOM was completely incompetant in returning my luggage. Despite their luggage contractor admitting they had the bag within six hours of losing it, I did not get the bag until 6 days into a seven day conference trip. I could not contact ZOOM from overseas. The baggage return contractor lied to me repeatedly. And then delivered the bag to the wrong address. I had to go across the city to get the bag myself.

I wrote to ZOOM complaining and asking for compensation. That's why they offer insurance, is it not? No reply. Nothing.

Would I fly ZOOM again? Only if my only baggage was carry on. I would rather spend the extra money for an airline that has the clout of hierarchy at airports, and which has proper infrastructural offices to address problems.

ZOOM has a lot to do to compete on the global stage. Don't expect much in the way of ground service from ZOOM.

Julie

i flew with zoom to glasgow about 4 months ago, i believe the flight was approx. 7 hours

A friend and I are researching Ottawa-London for May 2006. Zoom seemed too good to be true but reading these reviews helped.
One question: I don't mind flying but HATE turbulence! Has anyone noticed a difference between Zoom and any other air carriers? For me that makes all the difference, especially as I will be on that plane for over 6 hours.

Thanks!

In regards to lost luggage people really should remember to read their terms and conditions. Zoom is the airline yes but but Aviance is the check in staff AND luggage handlers. It clearly states in the terms and conditions that Zoom are not responsible for the luggage as they are not the handlers. I would advise ALL passengers if your luggage goes missing DO NOT leave the airport without filling in the correct forms and chase aviance they are the ones that lost it and they work alongside all other airlines so wherever the lost luggage goes any airline will be able to locate and transport it.

Bree,

If one aircraft is experiencing turbulence, then all other airlines who are in the area will be experiencing the same thing. Turbulence is nothing to be worried about and all pilots do their best to avoid it as much as possible. If it makes you feel any better the Boeing 767 (which Zoom operates) handles bumpy rides very well. Enjoy your flight.

As far as lost baggage is concerned, it can and does happen on all airlines. It took me 7 days to recover my lost baggage, in Paris, after flying on Air Canada. I agree with zoe that you have to chase the ground agents who handle your flight, as well as the airline.

hi i am thinking of getting flights to montreal with zoom this dec, i have used canadian affair before but they only go until october, so i have been looking at other cheap flights, but after reading some of the comments i am unsure.

Kerry

What are you so unsure about??

I'm thinking of booking with zoom next june7/06 for a three week holiday to england to visit family. They already have the prices out at 329.00 one way, Do you think this is to much money and i can get it cheaper? Is it to early to be booking? Is up grading worth the extra money? Has anyone ever flown on my travel or thomas cook airline how sdo they compare to zoom. also does anyone have suggestions on car rentals. thankyou jacqueline

Hi,

I flew with zoom a month and a half ago from London to Ottawa. The flight was delayed for about one hour or two, I don't remember very well, but apart from that, everything else was ok. The crew was vey nice, the food was OK, and although we had to stop in Moncton for gas (weird), I still think for the price, is reasonable.

joe.... i have flown with canadian affair, also
with air canada. with no problems at all.
i am unsure because there is lots of 'not so good comments' about zoom!!!
i know all sorts of problems can arise with any airline. but all the same their are quite a few people saying do not fly zoom......

Hi Kerry

I have flown on many airlines around the world. I have been stuck sleeping in the airport, delayed for may hours, and had my baggage lost, bumped off flights, you name it.
The thing that you have to remember when reading a forum like this is that the majority of posters are people with complaints. Very few people with good experiences actually share with others on a site like this.
The "not so good comments" tend to be the same things over and over...lost baggage, delays, etc. All of which can happen on any airline.

I have had many family and friend travel on Zoom Airlines, from Belfast to Toronto. Every single one have had nothing but praise for the airline from start to finish.

The choice is obviously up to you, but I would take the negative comments with a grain of salt, and look closely at the positive comments.

Happy Travels!!!

also try this website

www.airlinequality.com

Booked flights Belfast to Toronto premium for mid September, daughter vegetarian, requested meal for her. Anyone else sampled these meals? Also will she be able to view screen sitting in 5a and 5j? Views from others who have travelled this route much appreciated.

I booked with Zoom in February for a trip in October to Calgary. All seemed ok, easy to use web site and good comments on several other sites like this one. Had a couple of mails over the last two months moving the departure time forward by quarter of an hour each time, I thought that was a nice touch to keep me informed. Then the first bomb shell two weeks before the balance was due a return flight switch to Stanstead, not very useful as my car will be at Gatwick and that along with my hotel was also booked. Managed to find a way round that and paid the balance.
Bomb shell number two happened this morning when following a telephone message yesterday I called the Zoom UK office. My flights both out and back had now been cancelled but they could offer me an alternative via Vancouver with a four hour internal flight wait there. There is now less than five weeks to my departure. Fortunately I have been able to rebook with Air Canada same dates direct flights from and to Heathrow and the cost just £7 more. I had booked Premium seats to get the extra leg room 36" with Zoom and have booked Economy with Air Canada 34". I get the overall impression that Zoom were OK but have lost it, so I won't be trying them again in a hurry.

We booked with zoom earlier in the year, 3 days later my wife broke her leg on some Ice so we tried to cancel ( I know I should have paid zooms extravagant insurance cost there and then but i was trying to find something at a reasonable cost, which i did eventually after 1 call) Zoom said Ok but will cost you $700+. So we change the trip to later in the year i.e. next week. I ensured that the flight was in the evening so i would not have to take a days unpaid leave. I emailed Zoom and asked them for an alternative flight they said there isn't one but I can always cancel and lose 70% of the price of the ticket. Even though they are cheapish ( however if you book now with Air Canada they are cheaper ) they have no customer service skills and no empathy. I hope the benefit of flying to Cardiff instead of Heathrow is worth it.

Sorry should have said Zoom brought our flight forward by 6 hours

I just got back from doing the Toronto-Halifax-Belfast and return flights... and have good things to say about ZOOM. Flights left on-time and even arrived early at the final destination. The stop in Halifax was scheduled for 1 hr but we left early as it didn't take that long. Food was acceptable and service was good. Check-in was fast but without the upgrades, the 4 family members were spread all over the place on the flight over (due to a full plane). Their recommendation was to ask other passengers to change seats. Did that... worked fine. Flight back was 80% full, so no problems with seat assignments. For a family budget vacation, I would recommend ZOOM.

I am looking to fly to Gatwick from Toronto over Christmas this year and I have never heard of Zoom but did read the above reviews.Still a little nervous but sure not booking with Air Canada as they are no better than any other airline (and sometimes much worse!!!!) I have flown with.

I'm hearing from a few people that the Kosher meal is the way to go. What would a Kosher meal be made up of?

http://www.airlinemeals.net/indexSpecialmeals.html

I too was aprehensive when my travel agent in Vancouver recommended Zoom in february of this year to fly back and forward to Glasgow Scotland.Well let me tell you all, I too have flown many miles, over 250,000 with the so called major carriers and I must say Zoom was great! I ordered kosher meals as I am Jewish and the food was so good, I hear some non jews also order kosher because of it. The flight crew was great, I got tired looking at them all dash about, both flights left on time and arrived early, non stop movies, great price, what more can you ask for. I have recommended Zoom to all my friends and am looking forward to flying with them again to Glasgow this November

We're getting married in Canada in October, and so we booked our return flights from Manchester to Vancouver a couple of months ago. We then had an email a few weeks later to say that our flight home would now be going via Glasgow... a minor inconvenience but not too bad. But then yesterday I had a message from Zoom asking me to call them. When I did, they informed me that our flight out from Manchester would now be departing a whole 24 hours later than we booked, and would be going via Gatwick! So from booking a direct return on the dates of our choice, we're lumbered with indirect flights both ways, on dates different to what we wanted.

Well, actually we're not because I've now cancelled (to be fair, they did offer a full refund) and rebooked with BA. We now have to fly from Heathrow and it's more expensive. But we've got a wedding boooked so what can we do. Personally, I wouldn't touch Zoom with somebody else's bargepole after this experience. It's all very well advertising cheap flights, but if you can't honour them then you're just ripping people off in my opinion. We were fortunate in that BA still had flights available on the dates we wanted. If they hadn't then we really would have been in a difficult situation. I certainly won't be using Zoom in the future.

Just this week flown Zoom from Calgary to Manchester.

All i can say is brilliant value for money myself and the wife flew in premium economy and i can well recommend them, the staff were just the best, down to earth folks you could wish for.

Infact i was so impressed with Zoom and Canada in general, i'm going to book again this week, to go next september to look at hoouses this time so i can hopefully move their.

I have flown transatlantic with British airways on three previous occasions and Zoom was the best (and cheapest) transatlatic flight i've done.

I have flown over the Atlantic a number of times.
Eat several hours before the flight...do not eat during the flight. Take a bottle of water. Do not watch the movies...try your best to sleep. I have never been disappointed.

How picky are they about carry-on allowance? My bag is about 21 inches long, although 14 inches wide, so 2 inches less wide than the allowance.

However I am 5 kilos over the 20 kilo limit. Will they simply charge me $25.00?

Thanks

Booked 4 months ago to fly from Cardiff to Toronto. In the past 6 weeks we had to amended flight times from Toronto. Got to Cardiff Airport today (19th Sept 2005) at 12 midday. Checked in nice and easy only to be told the flight couldn't leave Gatwick to collect us as there was a 'problem'. Waited an hour and we were told that the flight was delayed by 3 hours. Then 2 hours later we were told the flight would leave at 19.40 instead of the scheduled 14.30 hrs. At 1800 hrs the flight was cancelled. We had been at the airport for 6 hours. The updates in tha latter few hours were almost non-existent.

We were all called to the Departure Lounge for an announcement. Oh yeah? no Zoom Rep was to be seen - only an armed police officer (rather ominousI thought). Then by accident we looked at the TV monitor to see the flight was 'Cancelled' and still no Zoom rep to give an update to 180 passengers.

The upshot was the flight was postponed to 19.40 Tuesday 20th Sept - all passengers offered hotel, taxi and meals - so we grabbed our bags and had a lift home with the nice armed police officer (lives near us) who was the only offical person in the Departure lounge for some considerable time.

To be honest we were glad the flight was cancelled as it had already ruined our plans to be met at Toronto.

Never flown with Zoom before.......................

First impressions not very good. Keep an eye on eBay for spares for Zoom planes!

**Keep an eye on eBay for spares for Zoom planes!**

What is that supposed to mean?

I've just got back from a trip to Canada.
ZOOM provide an excellent and very affordable service.
No problems with my bags, flight times or check-in.
Food was better than expected.
I would definately use them again.

We have flown to Canada three times now, first with Air Canada, then KLM and finally Zoom. Not one of them lost our luggage, none of them changed the flight times or airports and all of them were basically ok. In terms of value Zoom beats the others, it was actually the best food we have had, the cabin crew were great and helpful with the children (15 months and 6 years on the last flight). We booked extra legroom seats, the three in the middle as the little one didn't need a seat, we put down the tables on each side and he had his own self contained play area in the middle (it also meant people couldn't cut through). Our six year old made up his bed on the floor and slept well with the extra pillows and blankets the children were given. We always take our own headsets so we didn't have to pay extra. We are now arranging our next trip to Canada next summer (06) and will most definately be booking with Zoom, most likely economy with extra legroom.

Almost forgot, the only problem with the extra legroom seats in the middle was that the armrests didn't lift up so the little ones couldn't lounge across us to get comfy, hence the older one sleeping on the floor. In fact the baby didn't sleep for the whole ten hour flight which was where the cabin crew were great.

I have flow with Zoom 3 times between the UK and Canada, the in cabin service has been excellent on each flight, but I will never fly with them again.

On my second flight in January 2005 we flew from Toronto to London without any problems, the in flight service was excellent and I and my group were very happy. On the return flight, while on the ground in Glasgow one of the baggage cars drove into the plane damaging one of the cargo doors. The flight crew was excellent, keeping us informed and making a quick decision (within 3 hours) that we would not be flying that night. We were put up in a local hotel and food was provided.

My brother who was flying us me had a connecting flight with Westjet to his home in Thunder Bay. Before leaving the air plane we spoke to the head crew member for advice on what action to take, they directed us to the ground crew, and over the following 3 hours we had approximately 5 discussion with both Zoom crew and ground crew. Ultimately it was confirmed that Zoom flight crew would contact the Canadian head office who would contact Westjet since "West jet is very good, and they will simply put you on the next flight as long as we notify them ahead of time"; since Zoom would not be providing any complementary phone calls, and the hotel wanted a $20 connection fee, we accepted this answer.

When arrived at the airport the next morning almost 5 hours before the flight time, we waited in line for almost 2 hours to check in, and Zoom was unable to honour our seat preselection and broke up our group. When we reboarded the plane we reconfirmed with the flight crew that Westjet had been contacted, and they indicate that this had occurred. The flight returning was excellent, and just before landing the senior crew member announced that for the 2 passenger with connecting with Westjet and the 1 passenger with Aircanada the airline had been contacted and we should simply go the check in counter for those airlines. After landing and before disembarking the Captain thanked all passengers for their patience and again confirmed that Westjet and Air Canada had been contacted.

At the Westjet checkin counter we were told that they had not been contacted and we were forced to pay almost $300 for a new ticket. After a month back and forth with Zoom over email (customer service unlike reservations are only available via fax or email), we received the following response.

"Zoom Airlines employees are fully aware of the policies and procedures with respect to flight delays. Additionally, our flight records and testimonials from the operating crew indicate that no such announcement was made onboard Zoom Airlines.

We trust you will understand our position in this matter and no future correspondence will follow to you.

Regards,

Zoom Customer Relations"

For this reason, and despite the excellent service I have otherwise received from Zoom, I will not purchase from them again. I can not bring myself to support an organization that would show such contempt for a customer as to call them a liar and then refuse to discuss the situation further.

I have flown most airlines,and when Wardair Collapsed,I thought that
Decent Travel was no longer available.I have though found the only
Aircarrier was Singapore Airlines that only gave Blue Ribbon Treatment.
But using Zoom ,whom I have never heard of before,was outstanding and
certanly I will Fly with them again. The only thing,when I flew back to
Canada on the 28 of October from Gatwick,the Booking Clerk,was most Rude
and Awkward and your lovely Airline,should not have this kind of bad
treatment.All your Staff on board and off,except for this one person
was most kind and helpful.THANKS for a great Flight.

Zoom was great. Unlike other charters (Air Transat) there is plenty of seating room. On our flight back, we were assured of 2 movies, but got 4 feature films. Which was good, because I was exhausted and time was going by sooo slow. Thankfully the flight was less than full and we were able to use the seat beside us to let our baby sleep. We had no problems at all and the price was right.

DO NOT FLY WITH ZOOM!!!!!
So i had purchased tickets from zoom for a round trip from winnipeg, canada, to london, uk direct with no stopovers. The price was cheap enough and makeing bookings online was easy. I had my whole trip figured as far as places to stay and things to do. Thats when zoom decides there not going to fly to winnipeg from london anymore and that the best they can do is fly me to toronto or calgary 5 days before or after my designated departure time. And then im on my own to get back home. They decide to tell me this 6 days before my trip.
So i ended up getting a refund, and 250$ voucher i can use within two weeks, like thats really gonna happen. So please do not fly with zoom! Pay the extra couple hundred bucks and go with a airline that knows what its doing. AVOID ZOOM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!

An update on my problems with zoom....
they cancelled my flight 5 days prior to my trip, and now it will apparantly take them 3-4 weeks to refund my money. which means i will not have enough money to go with a different airline when i want to go.
fuck you zoom airlines.

i got my refund on to my debit card within 3-4 working days after cancelling due to a flight change, i dont know where you are getting 3-4 weeks, and to carry on your foul language your talking BS! the voucher can take up to 6 weeks to arrive and a refund to a cc will go on staright away but wont show until your next statement is printed.

OK, airlines will cancel if the loads are not full or can't make any money or will lose money. ALL AIRLINES DO THIS. For Air Canada its a regular thing and even West Jet. They will combine two seperate flights if the loads are not past a certain number.

Unfortunatly this has happened to Zoom.

Only the real irate people will write aweful things. And to have such language...whoever the moderator is here, should remove that type of language.

Oh, and one other thing....all these complaints are probably only from a few flights...and how many does a 767 fit? So yes there will be lots of complaints, but all from the same flights...so its not like this is a regular occurance.

P.S When your a "baby" airline like Zoom...it takes time to grow and establish and gain the respect from airports who decide they can't let zoom land at Gatwick, so I'm sorry you have to go to Stanstead instead. Do you think they want all that hassle too? NO!!!

I have just returned from a holiday in Canada, I flew with Zoom (upgraded) and believe I made a good choice; this way I could afford to go. The service onboard was great, the WC broke on the flight out but there are others. The flight staff were friendly. The food on the way back was considerably better than on the way out, I ate vegetarian (Kosher). I would agree with the people who said don't book the front row seats, they do appear to have less leg room and are too close to the film screen.

My only complaints are:
1. The review on the Web page that starts 'For your own sake Do not fly Zoom'- I didn't read it until now as I was frightened of flying and afraid of what it would say. I cannot really blame ZOOM for that.
2. Although I had paid for the upgrade I still had to queue to get on the flight, this may have been my own fault maybe I was supposed to say 'hey I'm a Premium flyer' or maybe its just the check in thats faster and it really is.
3. Why don't any of the major flight finder services include Zoom?

I will choose Zoom again and I have already told as many people as possible.

My friend and I are thinking of booking flights from Toronto To London with Zoom. I'm just wondering if anyone knows if the seat widths differ between the regular and premium seats?? Thanks in advance.

Another person who will probably never fly Zoom again...

MY UNHAPPY SAGA
The flight from Glasgow to Ottawa via Halifax in August was my first experience with Zoom and a good one: arrived on time with my luggage. Returning 2 weeks later, I called to confirm the 4pm departure and was informed that there was a delay and check-in would start at 10pm.
I now know that there is no chance of getting help from Zoom in this situation - your only contact options are Zoom Reservations for a new flight booking or "Customer Relations" who you can contact by email. They respond within 28 working days.

After sitting onboard from 2am til 4am (!) we finally left for Halifax and then Glasgow, arriving nearly 12 hours later than scheduled. By the way, the earlier Zoom flight from London to Ottawa was 16 hours late. Thankfully I was not on board that one. Having as few aircraft as Zoom do, there is no way to make up time when a problem occurs. Renting an aircraft from a competitor does not seem to be an option for them. Compensating their customers in a meaningful way is also not an option it seems.

BACK TO THE SAGA, my original connection from Glasgow onwards was missed, as was the new connecting flight I had booked later when informed of the new arrival time at Glasgow.

The only positive aspect of the whole return trip was KLM, who upgraded me to Business Class at no extra charge and got me on their next flight (a fully booked one) early the next day. KLM really made me feel that there are people who care and airlines who can look after their customers above and beyond the call of duty (or contractual obligations as the case may be).

Zooms "Customer Relations" did actually respond 28 days later: According to the contract they are not obliged to compensate me for late flights. True. Actually they did provide $15 worth of coupons for use at the Ottawa Airport donut shop - the only place still open there in the middle of the night.

If you don't mind an extended adventure now and again, no problem. But if you need to get where you are going on time, avoid Zoom. If you need to get back home without possibly having to pay for expensive last minute replacement flights or connecting flights, avoid Zoom.

SO Avoid, AIr Canada, Skyservice, BA, ETC....Infact, avoid air travel all togheter and take a boat...its the same round folks.

Hey,

Have just booked a flight from Toronto to Manchester with Zoom and regardless of the meals I get, the service and any delays I'm at least 400 to 1000 bucks ahead of the game.
I've been delayed for 16 hours courtesy of "real airlines" I've had meals I couldn't eat courtesy of "real airlines" so I figure if I get those this time at least I saved some money on the deaal. Besides from the sound of most of the feedback the people are friendly and professional and the sevice great. Bring it on I say, I'll let you know how I go.

Hello. I am considering using Zoom for a trip from Toronto to Cardiff. From the majority of positive quotes, is it safe to say that the Premium service is better? One of the posters here stated she still had to queue for boarding... does one have to inform the staff that they have paid for the premium service? I have never flown before and want to make sure I know what I am doing, so advice is greatly appreciated. I can't afford to fly first/business class on any other airline, so I am hoping Zoom's premium class will be the right choice. Thanks.

HEY,

I flew with zoom last year from calgary - london gatwick, wat can i say trying to get on the plane was a hassle. check in was great, until it came to boarding we were delayed for 4 hrs then 6 then 9 then over night, put us in a room in a hotel, food vouchers and stuff not badly dealt. Finnaly got aboard the flight, comfy seats, excelent staff great flight all and all, just 2 things the tv screens were broken in one part and my head phones wearnt working. I sat in premium i wasnt expecting for much for the price, but i would have at least of wanted to hear and watch the films. But i will and have flown with them again because the service is great, better then AC, Air transat. and if ur lucky u do get home on time or earlier!!!!! but that can be expected.

Tallullah

I have flown on Zoom a few times, and I would say that premium is a nice option. There is a few more inches of leg room, drinks are included (as long as you don't go crazy), plus a few more little perks tha I can't think of right now.

As far as checking in, premium has a dedicated checkin line, which you can find by looking at the screens over the checkin desks. It should not be too hard to find.

And finally it looks like Zoom is starting Cardiff early. Flights in Feb as opposed to May. I hope your first flight is a great one!!

I just looked on their website reservations and they are now doing Vancouver - Belfast - Cardiff and Vancouver - Paris next spring!
Sounds like they are growing!!
Good Luck!

LONDON GATWICK-TORONTO (SEPT 1st 2005) and TORONTO-LONDON GATWICK VIA CARDIFF (SEPT 5th 2005). My experience with Zoom Airlines was most unsatisfactory. I booked a return flight from London to Toronto (to attend a convention) several months early because I thought by booking early and paying for the fare early, I would get a lower price. I also ensured that the flight schedules were convenient for my convention (1 Sept. out and 5 Sept. Return). I was disappointed on both counts. I discovered that other delegates who had also travelled from London on similar airlines and booked later had paid much lower fares than I (around £250 on Air Transat and about the same on Skyservice). I had to pay £410 on Zoom despite having booked much earlier. Granted my £410 included an extra £50 for the 'luxury" of a little extra legroom of a 36" pitch, but still I estimated I had paid about £110 more than they. So I do not think the Zoom fare I had to pay was that low or value-for-money. My second disappointment was that I did not expect Zoom to change my flight schedules so frequently nor to substitute such very inconvenient alternative timings. Several weeks before my outbound flight, I was informed that the departure time of my return flight from Toronto to London Gatwick had to been rescheduled to depart at 2:30PM instead of 4:50PM. This had meant I had to miss the last event of my convention in order to get to Toronto airport in time. Then, I was informed later that the departure time on the outbound flight from Gatwick to Toronto had also been rescheduled to leave at 5:40 AM instead of at 9:25 AM which was highly inconvenient. Imagine trying to get to Gatwick airport from London to be at Gatwick by 2:40 AM to check in. I called Zoom to say if I had known they would reschedule their flight to leave at such an unearthly hour, or that I would have to return early and so miss a part of my convention which was the whole purpose of my travel, I would never have booked with them. They were totally unsympathetic. All their representative did was to quote the conditions I had accepted on flying with their airline. I could not even get a satisfactory refund if I wanted to cancel my flight with them. I would have to face a hefty 50% forfeit if I wanted to cancel my booking. To make matters worse, for the return flight from Toronto-Gatwick, I called Zoom the day before to confirm the flight times and I gave them my contact number in Toronto to call me if there were any changes. As there were no phone calls from Zoom, I expected the flight to be on time. I was wrong (again). Diligently, I went early to Toronto Airport to check in for the rescheduled earlier departure time only to discover that the flight now been delayed and was leaving late! Had they informed of the delay by calling me at my hotel, I would not have missed the last event of my convention.

The meal catering on board was very poor. Several weeks before my flight, I checked another website (www.airlinemeals.net) and found that a Zoom flight attendent had sent pictures of their meals. It included a Kosher meal. When I called Zoom several weeks before to reserve Kosher meals (as Kosher meals on airlines I have found are usually better than "standard" airline meals), I was told that they do not offer Kosher meals. I said to the Zoom representative on the phone that I had seen it on the internet website and the picture had beeen sent in by their own crew, so Kosher meals must be available. Then, I was told the service for Kosher meals had been withdrawn. The only hot meal from Gatwick to Toronto was breakfast - some omelette and sautee potatoes and there was no meat , not even a sausage! That was a rather poor meal for a long eight hour flight. It seemed that all the passengers had vegetarian breakfasts even though the non-vegetarian ones like me did not ask for it!! I was still hungry after breakfast. Before we touched down in Toronto, we were each served a sad-looking filled roll. I was not impressed. On the return flight from Toronto to Gatwick via Cardiff, for dinner there was no choice of main course, just chicken (a few strips ) on a bed of pasta. I think I read on your www.airlinequality.com website that some travellers said the steak served on Zoom was really nice and I was looking forward to that. That (lovely steak) did not exist on either of my flights (sigh! ). The Boeing 767 aircraft was what one would probably expect from a low-cost airline. Not too modern , not too smart, but quite alright. Seats were average, not too comfortable. On the Gatwick-Toronto flight, I found that the "extra pitch" 36 inch seat for which I had paid extra, was next to an emergency exit. I was informed by the cabin attendent about it just before take off and asked whether I was alright to sit in an emergency exit . If so, I would need to know some special procedures on opening the window/emergency exit in an emergency. I was not informed of that when I booked the ticket and reserved this extra pitch seat. If I had said "no" to agreeing to help out in an emergency, or if for some reason I was not educated enough nor physically fit enough to be able to deal with the procedures, I wonder what might have happened? Maybe I might have been bumped into some more cramped seat, even though I had paid for the extra space. I had no choice but to say "Yes,okay". The flight attendant was very impersonal. She mumbled something quickly about the procedures and before I could ask her any questions to ensure I had understood her correctly, she had disappeared elsewhere. She was not good at giving instructions. Good job I could read the emergency procedure card and I just hoped that I read them correctly . For me , safety is of the utmost importance. Her attitude concerns me. The crew on the Gatwick-Toronto flight were somewhat unwelcoming. The cabin crew were on the return flight (Toronto-Gatwick) were generally more pleasant and more attentive and there were some friendly smiles. IFE on board was (surprise, surprise!) was below average, even though one had to pay extra for use of the headsets. On the flight from Toronto to London, there were only 3 audio channels available (plus a couple of movies) and it was reduced to two a couple of hours after take-off. The movies consisted of a cartoon/animated movie and one other movie. Not good experience overall. Will not fly Zoom Airlines again.

Wat is with you i have never heared someone complain about the most stupidest crap in the world. if u want a pleasent or if u think u will have a pleasent flight go with aircanada or BA. you took a low budget airline get over it, This is a fairly new company. they are small and not perfect. if you would rather pay out 1800 for a airline go for it, so u loose a couple of hours. at least you saved 1000 or more. i think this airline is exelent for the value you pay. I will fly with them more often as i have never had horrible problems with them, my flight was delayed over night. i did not cry. I had the best flight out of all airlines ive flown with. CHOOSE ZOOM AIRLINES

i have a flight with zoom in 3 weeks, and quite intrested about the service in economy. i have only flown premium and as there were no longer any seats availble for premium ive book economy. Can anyone tell me if its less comfortable. as i dont think 4 inches is much diffrent. How do they treat you back there lol? please reply to my fourm cheers.

Zoom economy is far better than Air Canada econmy...I know a friend who works for AC and told me Zoom was better!

I think Zoom flight attendants treat everyone fairly and do what they can to make everyone happy. Sometimes its not the case for everyone.

Don't all airlines have the same playing movies?

Don't all airlines have the same tiny food?

If you want kosher, fly an airline that will expense that....the less you get on an airline, THE CHEAPER THE FARE PEOPLE!!!

Its your choice to spend thosands on a fare or for people with not much money, spend less on a fare and more on your vacation! That's the way I think of it!

I'd just like to weigh in on the subject of the kosher meal: the one time I tried this, it was far, far, far more disgusting than the normal meal. I can't remember exactly what the meal was (I've blocked it from my memory), but I do remember whatever it having the texture of cardboard and half the taste, then being hungry while everyone around me was having delicious lasagna. Of course, I had the consolation of the little certificate assuring me that my cardboard had been blessed by a rabbi, but under the circumstances, I would have preferred damnation to that meal.

Incedentally, on a subsequent British Airways flight, I allowed myself to be convinced by my girlfriend that somehow the hindu meal would be a delicious butter chicken or some other such nonesense. In fact, again, I ended up with a totally unique, totally flavourless meal - with absolutely no beef.

When you think about it, this makes perfect sense: it's nice to think that if you order a special meal on an airline that a staff of nice, thoughtful ethnic people put together a dinner just for you in their national cuisine. This is not the case. What happens in fact is this: even less care is taken to ensure that the food is edible, since the airline/catering company is mostly concerned with the majority, not the minority of travellers. This food, once prepared, also sits uneaten for 2 or 3 times longer than the usual meals because the only people who order them are those who
a) have religious dietary restrictions or,
b) are too clever for their own good.

Anyway, that's my experience. I'm sure that somehow, somewhere, there's a good kosher meal on a flight, but on BA at least, unless you've got some sort of belief system in the way, I'd stick to the standard meal. It may not be fine dining, but believe me, compared to the alternatives...

I recently flown with Zoom and had a wounderful flight experience. From reading reports on websites like these I was a bit nervous to travel with Zoom, however it was a great service. The food was actually quite good compaired to other airlines I have travelled. The service was great, I upgraded to what they call premium economy and it was a great service for the amount of money I paid. Compared to say business class in AC, the options were somewhat similar. The flight went smoothly on both take off and landing and the flight attendents were very down to earth and not snobby like other airlines.

I say fly with Zoom and you will save money and enjoy your flight....

I had a similar experience with Zoom as many other correspondents. The price is right, the food and in-flight service okay; but wait until they loose your luggage!

I have never received such poor customer service. They do not return calls, their staff is unavailable, they do not repond to your calls. In a dozen attempts to contact them I received two correspondences: The first was from a nice woman on the phone who appeared to be genuinely concerned about my loss. The second was an anonymous email telling me that the matter was closed and they would not enter into further communication. What communication?

Next time I'm flying Air Transat. The prices are almost as cheap and I've never had a problem.

Book with Transat....Enjoy....If it is what you chose.
Last year they (Transat) lost my lugguage, two out of my three bags and I have not received the third yet!!! And I am now going on 16 months of it being missing.
Air Canada also lost my lugguage on a 10 day Hawaii Holiday. I received it the day before we left.
I may just have bad luck but it has happened to me more than once or twice. It is always a possibility with any airline you book with. It has happened in the past and it will continue happening with every and any airline you chose to travel with.
And to let you know I have travelled with Zoom both to Europe and their Southern destinations and I have never had a lugguage incident...Everything was excellent. Keep up the great work Zoom! I am travelling again with you in 2 months!

i recently flew with zoom this year vancouver to glasgow i have nothing but good things to say regarding this airline we left vancouver a little late but arrived in glasgow half hour early As i luve in calgary i had booked with west jet return ticket on going i booked early to arrive in vancouver to connect with zoom on my return booked a flight way later for west jet just in case of delays west jet staff were very helpfull when i explained to them i was connecting on an international airline i was able to book on an earlier flight on west jet on my return this west jet does for free so on a whole both airlines were terrific i will most definatly fly zoom again but will wait for direct out of calgary as they only fly certain months

I've just discovered the zoom prices on the internet and can't believe my eyes. However, after reading on, is it correct that we have to rent a motor home for at least a week? I'm hoping to travel in the summer and have been looking for cheap flights to keep the cost down but the van hire seems a lot! Can anyone clarify if I need to hire a van to get the cheap flights?

I have flown on Zoom many times and have never heard of renting a moter home to get a better price. Is this some kind of promotion and where did you see this, because I cannot find any reference on the flyzoom.com website.

The opening statement in the website was a grabber for me..considering that we are contemplating flying Zoom to London in March/06. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the positives far outweigh the negatives. In fact most of the negatives were trifling and frankly, indicate how little those authors have travelled. I am not a jet setter but I have travelled a bit in my life and frankly, I have learned the cardinal rule..the hard way...when you travel you have to be flexible because anything can happen...with the flight, hotel whatever...and it doesn't matter what airline, somewhere along the line, there will be a screw up. Another thing I have learned is to carry a complete change of clothing..preferably Tilly type stuff which can be washed and will dry by morning. One last thing...for goodness sakes, take off the opening statement for the website and put up something that is more representative of the comments. Have a great flight.

having just discovered this page whilst looking for the zoom site to book my trip to canada this year, having flown zoom last year for the first time, what drew my attention to this was the headline "DO NOT FLY ZOOM!!" having read all of the views expressed here my alternative headline would read "DO FLY ZOOM (BECAUSE CRAP HAPPENS NO MATTER WHO YOU FLY WITH) i never saw anything to complain about nor heard anyone complain before during or after my experience with zoom last year, my previous trips to canada having been with airtransat (the most uncomfortable seats i have ever had the displeasure to sit in AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE FOOD) i have recommended zoom to everyone i know and quite a few have used zoom because of this and the thanks i have received have been 100% not a single complaint, i guess we could all be just really lucky, but i prefer to look at it from another perspective, what happened to us was the norm, what happens when things go wrong is unavoidable, at some time in our lives when travelling we will meet with glitches and annoyances, the trick is to accept it because no matter how much you whine and bitch about it, the only thing you can be sure about is you will make yourself and the circumstances seem a whole lot worst than they actually are, at the end of the day we are humans and humans are prone to making errors, having said all that i bet my flights are delayed and my baggage is lost this year...hahahahaha!! but rest assured i will still be going to canada again next year with ZOOM!!!!!!!!!!

First and last time we fly zoom airlines. Flew from Calgary to Manchester december 22nd-29th. Flight down the food and service was awful. Luckily I brought some oranges, chips, etc. (my husband laughed at me for doing this but in the end was grateful) Movies were terrible and boring going down. coming back our side of the plane had no sound so it was a long and boring flight to calgary. I will say the food and service was better returning than going. Take my advice and pay the extra for leg room as the people behind us had a small infant on their lap and with the person in front reclining their seat left it very cramped even for a small person. needless to say I will not fly with zoom again, its a shame as their prices are good and the direct service is nice but as we fly several times a year to the Uk I will be using AC or BA from now on, it is definately worth the extra money.

We are booking with Zoom to fly from vancouver to London -Gatwick in August. The flight is quite long and we were told that we can pay extra and recieve extra leg room in economy. Does anyone reccomend any seats?
Thanks

My cousin and I are going to Scotland in a few months and probably booking with Zoom... I was just wondering if there might be any layovers anywhere or something?

Thanks for any help!

I'm looking at going with Zoom to Vancouver in August. I'm presuming the flight will fill up so there'll be no need to cancel it. Last year we were delayed 4 hours with Virgin returning from Orlando - the flight had already been put back 2 hours (because of BST - how does the clocks going forward 1 hour put a flight back 2?) and when we got to the airport we foind there was a 4 hour additional delay. My mum told me later she had seen this on the website that morning (i.e. 3 hours before we checked in at Downtown Disney) so why didn't they tell us then?

I accept there may be a delay, but hope there won't be. I'm glad most poeple seem to have a positive experience - a colleague had her case lost by BA going to Warsaw and it was over a week before it got back to her.

To reply Sandy, I would not recommend your paying extra for extra legroom
to go on Economy in Zoom. It is not worth it. What they did to me (wheh I paid extra) was they put me in the emergency exit. The width of the seat was still cramped. It might be better if you can try to ask for an (ordinary) aisle seat, without paying the extra. You will find more space that way as you can sometimes "stretch" in the aisle space (but be careful of trolleys, etc.!). I found Zoom airline's seats to be very uncomfortable for my back. Also the food was very poor. If you'd want my recommendation, I would just avoid flying Zoom altogether. Check the fares of other airlines, eg Air Transat, Skyservice, etc. You may find that Zoom airline fares may not be so cheap as claimed. Only their (Zoom) service is cheap in my view.

Reply to Sandy and Superflyer

Yes you can pay for extra legroom in economy, and yes it is likely going to be an Exit seat because they are the seats requiring more room. I would suggest that if you are not too tall, ie under 6', don't bother. However superflyer's suggestion of getting an aisle and stretching out into the aisle is crazy!! You are creating a serious hazard where someone could trip over your feet (I have seen it happen) and possibly hurt themselves on an armrest, or someone else.
As far as the seat comfort is concerned, I (and many family members) have flown Zoom many times now, and the seats are very comfortable, comparable to Air Canada I think. If superflyer is recommending Transat, or Skyservice over Zoom, he/she is nuts. Zoom does not cram them in sardine style, like the Transat or Skyservice. Zoom holds 270 people vs Skyservice 320+ people on the exact same type of aircraft. Sorry I have done the comparison and there is none. I will always fly Zoom for the value and service!!

Joe,

Do you mean to say there are Canadian airlines even worse value than Zoom? I had thought it had taken the biscuit for low airline standards but at a not-so-cheap fare (correct me if I am wrong but some of its round-trip fares are only around £50 or so less than Air Canada/British Airways but much more expensive than Skyservice/AirTransat ). Maybe I am more used to travelling to South-east Asia and within Europe where airline service standards are generally better and you can get really good fares. That's what I'd call value for money.

Joe, if you say Zoom service is not that bad ( in spite of its poor catering -imagine, a meatless main meal with small portions on a long trans-Atlantic flight flight, a seat that hurts one's back which was also quite tight width-wise, a not-so-tidy cabin with an airline magazine with pages ripped off left in the seat pocket left by a previous passenger,a lower baggage allowance than most North American airlines flying trans-Atlantic, schedules that changed again and again), maybe you have a higher tolerance level than I have. I just called that kind of service cheap and not value-for-money. I don't think I am nuts. However, I do think I was nuts to have chosen to have flown with Zoom.

If Joe thinks that Zoom seats,( which I think are not comfortable) are as good as Air Canada's but SkyService and AirTransat cabins seatings are more crammed, I am worried about the quality of all these Canadian Airlines, including Zoom. Are so many Canadian airlines so poor in comfort compared to the world's airlines? Oh dear. Maybe that's another topic for discussion!

Another reason I would not give any "brownie" points to Zoom Airlines is, after I had paid my fare, they changed their schedules by several hours to a very inconvenient departure time, the airline refused to give me a choice to have my ticket refunded. Even Ryanair , a low-cost airline here in Europe which is usually known more for its low-cost/low-fares than comfort and friendly service, it had offered passengers to refund their tickets if they wished when the airline changed its schedule by only half an hour after the tickets were bought. But Zoom would not do that. Now, can you blame me for having a low opinion of Zoom Airlines? You call that good and caring customer service? Sorry about expressing these views but I simply cannot agree with you on Zoom's value, Joe. You fly Zoom and good luck to you. I'd rather fly other airlines and hopefully have less hassle.

What about Zoom's safety record? Does anyone know? The only thing that I can see post here about safety is the concern about the air quality. After what happened to the Helios jet last summer this concerns me. I care little about food, not much about comfort and very much about safety as I am a nervous flier.

Zoom have the same high safety standards of any Canadian airline and an unblemished record in their four years of flighing. Skyflyer lighten up, you sound like a real travel snob, and you are not really objective in your complaints. You think the seats are uncomfortable, as a person who has flown hundreds and hundreds of times I assure you they are fine and compare favourably with other carriers. Airline food has deteriorated in the past years, but at least Zoom feeds you and the food is adequate. Most people seem happy with them and the value for money. There are plenty of airlines in Europe and Asia that are much worse than Zoom. Even the major airines contract out baggage services now, and luggage gets lost all the time, go to the baggage company at the airport. One bad experience does not a bad airline make. Why are people so obsessive, write irrational comments and then put less experienced travellers off? You should change the search engine reference to Zoom, this is not a fair representation of the comments. If Zoom were aware of this you they would be entitled to insist you remove it.

Flybe in Europe charge you for each and everybag you bring!

Looks like Mr GiveZoomABreak does not allow free speech and for people to express their views on their flying experience. There are people on this site who give Zoom a "thumbs up" and there are those who give it a "thumbs down". So, is it okay to praise Zoom but not okay to say the opposite? Why, are we supposed to live in some kind of a dictatorship that can only praise but not do otherwise?

Actually, there are more people expressing their views on Zoom Airlines the following website, (and to GiveZoomABreak )but pleased be warned, not all of them are complimentary ones. The website address is:

http://www.grumbletext.co.uk/vt.php?t=448&subj=complaints+Zoom+Airlines+complaint

One of the travel writers in the respectable UK national newspaper, The Times,
indicated in one of his articles that Zoom Airlines was "Perfectly comfortable. (But) It just wasn't all that cheap". It was just £50 less than British Airways from the UK to Vancouver.
(available online at: http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,10294-2000779,00.html )

So how can Zoom be considered a "Low Cost Airline"?

I have booked Zoom for Aug 06 Manchester to Vancouver. I have booked for the premium upgrade and im looking forward to it. I understand that not every flight is perfect so im not put off by a small percentage that have had a terrible time. I also have been delayed by 24 hrs with no hotel or food offered by a major carrier (Monarch, who offered a free set of headphones as compensation, big deal!)There must be a law to hold airline companies more accountable. If you or I ran our companies with such disrespect, we would go bust over night!If any you lawyers out there want to take up the mantle let me know.

Hah. If every airline offered meals and a hotel room to every passenger delayed due to weather or mechanical, they would definately go bust.

Hi...just wondering if people can comment on the departure times. Are they reliable in that sense or do you find they change the scheduled times alot? And cancellations...do they cancel flights often?
Thanks!!

Hi
I am travelling to Vancouver this Summer. I have always taken Air Transat Premium before, but Zoom Premium has been put forward as an alternative. Has anybody had experience of the two premium services? Do they differ very much? I am tall (6'4"), so the legroom is VITAL for me - how do the seats compare and is one more 'comfortable' than the other? Any help - or tips re where to sit - or any other commenst or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

It is hard to know how often Zoom cancel their flights unless someone has access to information to all their flights over a year (at least). From my experience, they did not cancel my flights but they changed my schedules three times ....once for the onward flight and twice for the return flight.

As Zoom is really a relatively small airline, the big disadvantage it has over much bigger airlines like Air Canada or British Airways is that Zoom has just a few aircraft. If a Zoom aircraft is delayed due to whatever reasons, the may cause a domino effect for other flights down the line and maybe this will force them to cancel one of the fights, who knows. Air Canada/BA has many more flights across the Atlantic than Zoom. If one flight is cancelled, they are in a better position than Zoom to put you on the next flight(s). Besides, if you shop around, you may even find that these schedule airlines fares are rather competitive compared to Zoom's. Do some research and phone around for the best fares and think carefully before you book.

Help! Does anybody out their understand why after booking and paying for your flight upto a year in advance, packing the family into your car, turning up 3 hours early, spending a small fortune in duty free only to be told that your flight is still 3500 miles away with a broken thingabob and you wont be sitting on it for a least 10 hours. I know things go wrong and they will! Solution: Call the customer and tell them of the delay before you arrive at the airport. The airline wont have you clogging up the departure lounge and are not respondsible for feeding or watering you! nor running the risk of housing 250 plus demanding customers. I know, before you all run to your keyboards, that there is not a lot you can do if it goes belly up in front of your eyes but surely they must know if some bloke with is name stitched onto the front of his overalls decides that 10 hours before you are to board, the broken bit is going cause a delay. Just a thought!

Hi there! I'm 16 and have booked to fly Zoom on my own from LGW-YWG and back again in July to meet a friend who lives there. I've upgraded to premium economy. What's the premium economy like? Is it worth the extra money? I've reserved a window seat on it too.

For the air conditioning system, aircraft use bleed air from the engines to supply the air to the cabin - this uses fuel to bleed the air, so airlines often recirculate air in the cabin to save fuel. It can be controlled by the airline, and on some aircraft via the cockpit, but on 767s (the aircraft Zoom operate) they cannot - it has to be controlled by an engineer. Because there is very little oxygen in the air outside at 35,000+ feet, the airlines also have to feed in extra oxygen and water vapour, and there's only so much of this they can carry. As mentioned above - airline air quality is always poor.

To Tim Johnson....

Zoom has also done something like that to me. I was in Toronto. They changed my schedule twice. The first time was before I flew over to Toronto and they told me the return flight schedule would be changed to leave Toronto EARLIER than the original schedule. It meant that I had to cancel an important engagement but I had no choice. Zoom would refuse to refund the full fare as if it was my fault they changed the schedule. Then, the day before I went to Toronto airport, I confirmed with Zoom Airlines to make sure there was no change in schedule. I even left my contact number just in case there would be any additional changes, for them to contact me. As they did not contact me, I thought there was no change in the departure time. When I went to Toronto Airport, I was told that the Zoom flight was several hours late. Not only that, Zoom did not offer a voucher for a snack or a drink to wait the extra time at the airport. I know airlines do get delayed but I can't see why this airline could not be bothered to call passengers who left the number for them to contact for delays, etc?

I was really glad to find this forum - offering opinions on Zoom. I had never heard of Zoom, and being a nervous flyer, I wasn't so sure about trusting an unknown. My husband, son and daughter (teenagers) are all flying from Edmonton to London this summer. Prices for the flights we want look great - but I am wondering how long I should wait before we book them. Also, should we really consider the extra expense of upgrading to premium. I have only flown domestic, so I'm not sure how much the extra knee room is needed on longer flights.
Any comments and insights would be appreciated.

I want to fly into Ireland this Aug, there will be three of us. Is it better to book early or wait.
I don't want to miss booking a flight. I have to fly into Belfast as it's the only direct into Ireland.
Any thoughts?

mjmj6 and RLM

I would strongly advise to book early to get the best prices if you are traveling in the summer. June through Sept are the peak travel months, so the chances of any airline offering a great last minute deal are not too likely. Shop around a bit, but don't wait until the summer to book. July and Aug will be the most expensive.

As far as leg room is concerned. I prefer premium as I am over 6', however I have also travelled in economy and not had any problems. Economy is similar to Air Canada and WestJet economy while premium gives you an extra 6 inches of knee room, the seats have more cushion, drinks and headsets are free, more baggage allowance, and priority checkin is nice (I have never had to wait to checkin (premium) as others have mentioned).

I hope this helps. Happy travels

Tim Johnston,

Whenever I am travelling I always check the airport website and the airline website to check for possible delays. They are always up to date with regards to arrival and departure times. This is the first place an airline will post delays. Most people do not give their away contact number to the airlines. Imagine the manpower required to contact every single passenger when a delay occurs (and they do happen at every airline both big and small). I do not understand why people can't take a little initiative and check before you leave for the airport (and the day before is not good enough).

I had a flight on Air Canada about an month ago. They completely cancelled it. NO PHONE CALL (they had my contact number). If I did not know this and just showed up for my flight I would not have flown that day. But because I checked the flight status earlier in the day, I was able to catch it and have it changed to an earlier flight.

Moral of the story: Check the flight status before you go to the airport!!!

Joe
Thanks for the advise, that's what I thought. I was wondering if any had flown as to Belfast with
Zoom as well? Let me know how it was if you have and what it was like..

RLM

Yes in fact I have flown into Belfast with Zoom (and Transat). I much prefer Zoom, way more room, better service. It is non-stop to Belfast from Toronto (last year went through Halifax) and now Vancouver. My wife and I have many relatives in and around Belfast. Just about everone has used Zoom at least once to visit. A minor delay here and there, but all have been pleased so far. We all hope Zoom keeps up the great work and sticks around for a long while!!

Dear Joe, your advise is good and customers check their flights well before they depart for the airport. But sadly airlines do not 100% of the time tell you of any delays. To suggest that airlines, for whatever reason, delay or cancel flights cant contact their customers in todays enviroment is nonsense. When you book flights they get your telephone number(s) and a email address. If you have never arrived at a airport to find a lengthy delay, you are a very lucky flyer!

We are planning a trip with our 3 children - can anyone comment on their experience with Zoom travelling with kids (ages 13, 11 and 5). I suppose we pay full fare for the kids - what has your experience been?

Don't forget to order Childrens meals!

Could anybody help. I'm going on my honeymoon in may and have booked to fly with zoom. Can you buy bottles of champagne in premium and what are the perks of premium? i.e is there seat back t.v's and where is the best place to sit? Thanks

Windown or Aisle row 1-8. no champagne and your not allowed to consume your own alchol. they have wine. But perhaps call them and they can arrange a deal with a bottle of champagne!

nothing to do with Zoom, but there are folks on this thread who are in the know about air travel...

I live in Toronto and have found an all Air Canada journey: Detroit-Toronto then Toronto-Heathrow (and return) that is appreciably (C$140) cheaper than just Toronto-Heathrow and return.
Question: can I book the flight from Detroit but join the journey in Toronto, i.e. skip the Detroit segments?

Steve,

The best premium seats are rows 2-8 (A/C or G/J I think), window seats. Not row 1 if you are tall because your at the bulkhead and there is no seat in front to stretch your legs under. Rows 9 and 10 are close to the lavs, so can be somewhat noisy.
As far as Champagne. I do know that they do not offer it on board, I am not sure if you can specially request it or not. The problem is that the catering companies have to board it, and if it not the norm, then they will likely miss it. They aren't really paid enough to care if your Champers makes it or not, unfortunatly. However, make sure that you let the crew know that you are going on your honeymoon. You never know what they can conjure up.

As far as I know if you no-show your first segment, then say goodbye to the second segment, unless you prearrange.

We are thinking of flying Toronto-Glasgow early August with a 8 year old. My wife is concerned about 'low discount' airlines. Any idea as to age of planes etc. It seems there is a variety of opinions of ZOOM airlines. Is this not true of most airlines regardless of price. Also is it really worth it to upgrade to premium seating. Even with the upgrade to premium it is the same price as Air Transat. The problem is only they and ZOOM fly directly to Glasgow from Toronto. Air Canada goes to Manchester which is a option.
My only other concern would be cancellation or delay because the flight is not full but I would think in the summer this would be a small possibility. Any input would be appreciated ! Thanks.

Do you know how old Air Canada's a/c are? How is that a factor to buying a ticket? All airlines have to conform to Transport Canada's rules and I'm sure an airline will not purposly indanger a flight. THat's too costly. I think upgrade to Premium is worth it if you need the extra leg room, you think you'll be over the 20kg baggage limit per person or if you want a choice of meal. Your at the front of the plane and you get priority check in.

Air Canada has cancelled flights. ALl airlines can cancel flights. I hope that the aircraft is almost full so that they do go! All airlines have delayed flights.

Food for thought

Re Zoom, transatlantic: Please do check cancellation policy before deciding whether or not to proceed with investigating Zoom. If you want cancellation only in case of emergency, i.e. to avoid being stranded across the pond should anything untoward occur, you'll be out of luck. However if you want the full insurance, proceed and discover if Zoom fits the bill for you. I had gone thru all the hoops and was on the verge of paying for my flight when I discovered I couldn't get the type of cancellation insurance I had decided upon. That is, I didn't want the full package, health etc. I had really wanted to try out Zoom in preference to Air Transat, and the price etc was attractive. However, I have booked, reluctantly, with Air Transat again, because I wanted to use Gatwick.

Joe
Thanks for the response - I appreciate it ;-)

I believe I need to clarify some misconceptions that keep popping up in the reviews that I read so far and I hope you will find it useful. I myself work (fly) for an airline, but we are not competing with Zoom, so you can rest assured that I have no bias towards, or against Zoom.

General.
Zoom is a fairly small airline and they concentrate on the Canada - UK market and have started to advertise Canada - France flights, altough no Frnace flights were available to my knowledge in the winter season 2005/2006. A fair share of their cockpit crews used to fly with the now defunct Canada 3000 and are seasoned veterans in the business. They operate B767-300 aircraft, a proven model, in an all Economy version. Front rows are Premium Economy with larger seat pitch, but still 7-abreast seating (actually 2-3-2) like the rest of Economy.

On-Time Performance
Due to the fact that they are a small airline (4 airplanes apparently) they do not offer daily service between city pairs and usually operate only once, or twice a week on a given route. If the schedule gets disrupted due to weather or technical delays it can be quite difficult to regain the original schedule and departure times may shift on short notice. Overall, on-time dependability seems to be about average for an operation of this kind, but keep in mind that one large delay can affect the schedule for days to come. As they operate out of Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal Halifax and other airports Zoom does not concentrate flights at one base and substituting aircraft is usually not an option. Due to the low fares, there is also not enough margin in the ticket price to transfer passengers to other flights, or chartering other aircraft, although in extreme cases it will probably have to be done.

Ground Handling.
As a small airline Zoom has to contract out a lot of services. Thess services include ground handling (check in, passenger service, baggage service/lost-and-found), engineering support, catering. That means that in all likelyhood you will be talking to third-party personnel until you are on the airplane. In case of delays, third-party personnel have limited authority to make decisions and have to depend on their Zoom Ground Handling Manual (if available) or whatever instructions the Zoom Movement Control Centre gives them. In case of technical delays there will be only a very limited amounts of parts available (except at Zoom's home base) and this can mean additional delays while waiting for the arrival of necessary spare parts.

Established carriers like Air Canada or British Airways are usually not interested in helping Low Cost Carriers (LCC) like Zoom out, since they see no point in supporting a direct competitor that tries to take business away from them through cheaper fares and more limited passenger amenities.

Baggage Handling.
If your baggage should be mishandled, the representative of the ground handling agent can only fill in a PIR (Passenger Irregularity Report) and send out a few tracer messages to see whether the bag has been located. If they have, they will need to find a flight that they can put it on. As mentioned efore, competitors like Air Canada or British Airways see no reason to help out and may not accept such baggage for carriage, so baggage services may have to figure out a more roundabout route to get the bag to you, or you may have to wait for the next Zoom flight over that particular route.

Inflight Entertainment.
The Video equipment is standard and you may have to pay for the headset unless you carry your own, or travel Premium Economy. PVS (Personal Video Systems) are not installed and the Video system consists of the earlier system of screens in the front of cabin zones and you have two choices. Watch the movie, or don't. If you want to slleep stay away from front rows, because the light and flicker radiating from screens might make sleep difficult.

Catering.
Catering will have to be contracted out and may vary wildly from station to station. Inflight meals quality control for an small airline like Zoom is difficult. Working for a scheduled airline myself, I know that some stations produce outstanding meals, while with others I prefer to stick to fruits. Remember, all hot meals on board are essentially reheated meals, so adjust your expectations accordingly. It all depends on how much the airline is prepared to spend (and charge you through the ticket price) and how good the caterer at the departure airport is.

I hope that helps you to get a clearer idea of what to expect.

Cheers,

Tecumseh

Some travel advice: Zoom is fine - you get what you pay for. 1. Always assume they will loose your baggage, pack your "essentials" in your hand luggage including some clothes 2. Carry your own water, and some "trail mix" in your bag to snack on. 3. Avoid achohol on the flight and fizzy drinks, also stay away from starch 4. Dress in loose fitting clothes 5. Take a book or 2 to read ad an ipod. 6. take your shoes off on board (your feet swell). 7. Don't sweat the small stuff or what you can't control.

Hi I am thinking of using zoom airlines to travel to winnipeg this summer. Anyone out there who has flown this route with zoom before??Any comments appreciated!!
Incidently just back from Australia having flown with Japan airlines. Had an absolute nightmare with a cancelled flight from Tokyo to sydney!!!! was hoping to avoid a repeat performance to canada!!!

HI
I HAVE FLOWN WITH ZOOM HALIFAX TO GLASGOW RETURN TWICE A YEAR SINCE THIER FIRST FLIGHT. I AM BOOKED TO FLY WITH THEM AGAIN IN MAY. NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS,ALWAYS ON TIME OR EARLY.WOULD RECOMMEND THEM ANY DAY. DIRECT FLIGHT APPROX 5-6 HRS. NOT LIKE AIR CANADA 12-14 HOURS

I am considering booking Zoom from Toronto to London for a family wedding in August.
And so far Zoom is $250 cheaper than what I have found with either British Airways & Air Canada.

I am planning on booking Premium class for the extra leg room etc.,

As my family are not little people and they will be able to sit on one seat no problem.
Can anyone tell me what the seats are like or what is the shoulder room like and but space is like?

Nothing worse than being wedged into a seat for 6 - 8hrs on a trans-Atlantic flight.
Thanks!

I am considering booking Zoom from Toronto to London for a family wedding in August.
And so far Zoom is $250 cheaper than what I have found with either British Airways & Air Canada.

I am planning on booking Premium class for the extra leg room etc.,

My family are not little people and will be able to each sit in one seat no problem.
Can anyone tell me what the seats are like or what is the shoulder room and butt space is like?

Nothing worse than being wedged into a seat for 6 - 8hrs on a trans-Atlantic flight.
Thanks!

Planning to fly next Sunday to Belfast at 11pm.
5 hour stop in England:-(.......First Zoom experience.. Thanks for all your posts and reviews... Will def. upgrade to Premium! I 'am only 5 feet so the extra space is not needed(LOL)the advantages of being tiny and short finally pay off on airline flights. The seats are never too small
for me on any airline.

The extras look like it would make it worth the while to upgrade.

Hello,
I have to admit,reading this forum has been informative if somewhat addictive. I am flying on Zoom in three weeks from Montreal to Paris and am wondering if someone can tell me the waiting time(providing there are no flight delays) at customs in Paris as I am also booked on another flight at terminal three with Easyjet two and a half hours from the scheduled arrival time. I am planning to bring only carry-ons as well and would like to know if they are 'rigid' on the weight limit.
Thanks in advance,
Natty
After reading all the reviews I am anticipating my experience!

To:va founder
Easy jet have strict guidelines as to the size of carry on luggage. I believe it cannot exceed 21 inches nor weigh anymore than 5kg. A no frills airline that have hit the ground running. A very good airline providing nothing goes wrong. There website is www.easyjet.co.uk. Good luck!

Actually the weight limits for Easyjet (and Zoom(30kg in premium))are 20kg for checked luggage, and no limit for carry on, however it has to fit in their luggage sizer. You can find this online.

2.5 hrs should be enough time to connect in CDG. There are inter-teminal busses that run fairly frequently. Be aware that if the Zoom flight is delayed and you miss your EZ flight(or vise versa on the return), you are SOL!! I think there might be some kind of insurance you can purchase from EZ to protect you though. 2.5 hours is about the shortest connecting time I would allow for myself. usually I use around the 4 hour mark, to be safe. Good luck, and Happy Travels.

Tammy,

Zoom seats are similar to AC or BA economy. Premium just has more leg room and a slightly more padded seat. As far as butt and shoulder room, fairly standard. If you really need more room, I would book 3 seats together for 2 people (ie. seats D,E,F) and avoid the bulkhead seats as the armrests do not go up.

Just wondering, I am planning to go to Belfast from Vancouver in late August. Are there any stopovers that I should be concerned about? I don't fly that often as I am a nervous flyer as well so any recommendations as to what to do in case of an unexpected stopover as I will be in unfamiliar territory and being a single gal doesn't help! Also, anyone else going the same time care to travel together(friendship) in case of that?

Travelled Zoom to GB in 2005. Yes I experienced some problems but on my return wrote to Zoom and they refunded the extra I had paid to upgrade. Staff on board flights in both directions were some of the friendliest I have ever encountered, and yes, I will use Zoom again this year for my GB flight.

I just checked my booking for July and found that we are flying into Stanstead instead of Gatwick. Isn't Zoom supposed to let me know of changes? I'm not concerned about the changes in times or location but more concerned about the lack of notice. Has this happened to anyone else?

My wife and I are planning on booking a flight to London in August. I was wondering which aiport was better; Gatwick or Stanstead? This will be our first flight with Zoom so we're just trying to cover all the bases before we book.

hi

Im flying with zoom in june. Was wondering if anyone new how the staff on board the flight handled little ones. I am flying with a 7 year old 4 year old and a 1 year old do they help u in any way to entertain the children

I am surprized that Zoom would not inform you of the change to Stansted. I am sure the change will be emailed to you as it likely just happened.

Dbl D, LGW or STN depends on if you are travelling North (STN) or South(LGW). Both have lots of airlines flying out if you are travelling onwards. Also they both have good train service into London. So either does not really matter.

myrisa, I would advise bringing entertainment with you (books, video games, etc.) Make sure you order kids meals too. The movies are pg, but that is the only entertainment, and the kids may not like them anyways. Even though they are very nice and friendly, the FAs are busy with services, and don't actually have much spare time. If the flight is overnight, then likely the kids will sleep (mine did) most of the way. If there is a stopover, ask if the kids can visit the flightdeck while you are on the ground. If there is time they likely will let them. Good Luck!!

I found Zoom plane to be very dirty ... there was chewing gum stuck to the floor carpet & on the tables infront of me. There was alot of crumbs & food garbage on the edges of the plane, like months had past since a vacuum.
The seating was really cramped & the leathery seats felt very hot & uncomfortable. Their was oilyness & greasiness on the headrest, which made it very uncomfortable to lean back. The pillows were disgustingly dirty.
My table couldn't be used for eating, drinking or writing because it was broken. I noticed some others around me with this problem.
The chair was going backward on it's own & passengers behind kept complaining when trying to use their table.
After serving the meal, which was cold, tasteless, colorless & awful ... the flight attendants took about 90-120 minutes before picking up the garbage. People couldn't move their legs & go to bathroom for this time since the tables had to remain open & most of them were falling down & resting on legs anyway.
The flight attendants were unprofessional ... making loud casual conversation with each other, passing food & drinks over passengers, running out of snacks down the isle they catered for, shouting to co-workers in search of more snacks.
There was an extremely false niceness about them also ... the type of forced pretensive smile where they would stretch their closed lips coldely from ear to ear.
The movie was heavily of adult content in a flight with mostly families.
It took an hour to get suitcases. The time from check-in to departure was 5 hours ! There were no flight attendants present upon exiting as is normal.
It was a bit confusing doing the trip planning, because the travel agents were confused about baggage allowance due to Zoom's website information. There was no direct number in the area to call & make queries. I was given incorrect baggage information at the Ottawa number.
I might take Zoom again coz the saving will be about $300 to $600.

Just booked Zoom, Manchester-Toronto for september 2006. This will be my first time on Zoom, last time was 'Canadian Airlines' about 10 years ago. They were excellent so having read the comments and reports on Zoom I am wondering if they will come up to my expectations. Apart from the scheduled there are three charter airlines operating the MAN/YYZ route. Air Transat is the other Canadian and Thomas Cook a UK charter airline operates the third under the 'Canadian Affairs' banner. I chose Zoom because only they have a 2 seat configuration where the other two have 3 seats from window to aisle and there are only two of us travelling. Thomas Cook operate a full 36 inch seat pitch on their flights out of Manchester but I prefer the privacy.
As always, if you book London to Canada scheduled its far cheaper than Manchester-Canada scheduled because they charge the earth for the British Airways shuttle connection from Manchester to London to connect with their flight. However an hourly shuttle operates from Heathrow to Manchester and back again (55 minutes flying time) and there are about 4 or 5 flights a day Gatwick to Manchester all by British Airways, very cheap after 9.30am. Also Easyjet, www.easyjet.com and Ryanair, www.ryanair.com fly you for as little as 99 pence (C$2) plus taxes if you catch them at the right time online, to Liverpool John Lennon Airport ( Less than 20 miles from Manchester Airport) from Stanstead, Luton etc. Worth knowing if you are being met, as parking at John Lennon is much easier and cheaper and anyone coming from the North West to meet you will know how to make the journey to Liverpool the same distance as if they were meeting you in Manchester. Its all to do with our motorway system in the North West.
So upon my return I will add my opinions of Zoom to this site.

Dear Ready Money, a very thoughtful letter thanks! I am travelling to Vancouver from Manchester in Aug 06 and I will pass on my thoughts on my return. Interesting comments you made about air travel from the north-west though, I would bite the bullit and travel from Manchester. Directish flight and you dont need to make Mr.Stellios any richer, also, the roadworks on the M56 would slow you down,and with you travelling this route rarely is it worth all the extra effort booking flights,parking just to save a few quid.Have a good time in Toronto

Zoom Airlines by bar surprised me with the level of their service onboard. I just got back from the UK a few days aga and the onboard staff were ever so kind, always smiling. I paid little and got alot for my travel. I would definitely fly with Zoom again and I would recommend. For those who had a terribel time. Life has its ups and downs but overall you got there and back safely on Zoom

I'm departing from Toronto on May 21st to Paris via Montreal. Has anyone taken that rout or a similar one and has any pointers or sugguestions ?? On the way to Paris I have the Premium seats on teh way back I fly economy.

Flew Zoom overnight from Toronto to London. Take off was a bit longer than expected, but only about half an hour. Stopover in CArdiff was very fast, flight was comfortable. Didn't get served meals on the overnight so can't comment on that. CErtainly well worth the price.

Has anyone else who flew with Zoom been forced to backpack around Europe without their backpack? No? Just me? I understand that airlines lose luggage and I have travelled several times now on a variety of carriers and never had any major problems...until now. When i arrived in London from Toronto via Cardiff my backpack did not. The man at the Aviance counter had me fill out some paper work and assured me that the bag had probably just been left in Cardiff and would arrive that night or the next morning to my hostel. Okay, shitty but managable, right?
The next day when the backpack had still not arrived I refered to the invoice that the man had given me to call in the event the the bag had still not arrived. The next man I talked to now told me the bag was just now leaving Toronto and would be in Manchester (not London) that night or the next morning. This was day 2 of my trip. I had no clothes and had to try to find clothes for the theatre that night and pay for them out of pocket. The next day when my backpack had still not arrived, I became sceptical about its return. The only contact numbers for Zoom were numbers at which you could leave your number on a voicemail and since I was staying at a hostel there was no number for me really to leave. I finally had family back home in Canada leave a contact number, but those calls were only returned after family contacted the travel agent I had booked with and the agent had called Zoom personally.
On day 5 I finally was able to speak with Zoom directly from Paris. The woman with whom I spoke told that they were "looking for the bag". She offered no compensation for out of pocket expenses and assured me that everyone was "looking for the bag." I found her not only rude but completely unreasonable.She basically told me to go and buy the things I needed to carry on with my trip, and finally offered me $100 dollars US to pay my out of pocket. Wow. I had already spent twice that in London buying a few things to shower and such with, so her offer to me in my opinion was a slap in the face. Try to imagine yourself in a foreign country where you dont know the language trying to replace things that you didnt lose at 2 or 3 times the cost of back home. Oh, and in this senario imagine being on a budget.
Again I tried to push through on my trip but I felt like a dirty camper in the some of the most prestigious cities in the world with essentially no help from the airline who lost my luggage. And while Zoom was telling me how hard they were working to find my bag for me, Aviance had now told me that they had looked everywhere and now had nowhere else to look.
I pushed on to Venice but on day 10 developed a cold that turned into a fever, still without most of the comforts that I would consider reasonable, still without reasonable compensation from my airline and now an overwhelming desire to cut my losses. I had already spent nearly $500 trying to replace only a fraction of my belongings and decided that it was time to fly home. Family at home had phone to change my reservation and I was told to phone the airline to confirm my change in flight home. When I phoned Zoom directly they (surprise) had no knowledge of my flight change and told me that i would have to pay for the flight out of pocket. I already knew there was room on the flight and didnt see how it would be unreasonable to want an earlier flight home on the same route from the airline who had lost my bag in the first place, had me scramble around Europe trying to replace my things at my own cost and left me so stressed and improperly prepared for my trip that i had now become ill.
I think the best talk I had was with the reservations supervisor, who again, told me i would have to pay for the flight myself if I wanted to fly home early, told me to continue buying things at my own expense and that they would be "considered" later, and my favorite, to grow up. In my humble opinion growing up means being responsibly for your mistakes and being accountable, but hey what do I know,apparently I'm just a kid. I work in customer relations and never in my life have I spoken to a guest with the level of condesension or sass as any of the Zoom customer relations/resevervations staff spoke to me. No further compensation was offered although i asked many times and explained the many expenses i had already had due to there mistake. It was only upon speaking to my very assertive family back home that Zoom finally agreed to fly me home early, 10 days into my trip still with no backpack.
I notice on this forum a small group of individuals who respond very defensively to the negative remarks that are posted on this site, but keep in mind that people are entitled to their opinions and experiences. Mistakes happen, they always do, but the manner in which you mend with them shows a great deal of character. Being rude to customers who you have wronged is in very poor taste and while contactually there is little that must be done on the part of the airline, there is no contract in life that percludes you from being a decent human being. Inevitably Zoom ruined what was meant to be one of the greatest trips of my life. As of today, the $100 is the only compensation I've received. I have not received my backpack.
Upon speaking with many travel industry professionals including my own travel agent, I have been assured that that behavior demonstrated by Zoom is extremely unprofessional and unrreasonable, even for a low cost carrier. If you are comfortable packing only things enough to carry on board and never have the good fortune of dealing personally with the "customer relations" department then fly with Zoom. If you like the comfort of flying with a company who will treat you with at least the slightest bit of respect and address your concerns with reason and understanding, then fly with Air Canada, Westjet, Air France, or anyone, anyone else at all.

Ah west Jet lost my baggages and didn't have a clue what communication was and had no idea where my bag was lost!! AC lost my bag on another flight too!!! I know how you feel, but this is the airlines for you!

So all you people who write a negative comment about your one trip on Zoom and you tell everyone never to fly Zoom? Perhaps your expectations are far to great for little ol' Zoom, or any airline for that matter.

You pay what...$199 for a trip to SAFELY take u to the UK, and you have to complain about all the little petty things? Yes I agree everyone has an opionion, but it would be nice to add something a little positive with your negative!

I know why most clients for Zoom are from europe...there is so much low fare competition inbetween all the european countries, and then you get on Zoom for example and whoah, you get a free meal, with free drinks and free wine at dinner and a sandwich 90 min prior to landing? For all those who ask for more than that on a fare as low as you get! People...fly a FULL COST carrier.

I find it funny that on a majority of reviews that I see for Zoom, you always have to mention Air Canada, BA etc... I go to their reviews and never see the name of zoom in their reviews. Air CAnada is a whole other league....If you want to name other carriers, name Air Transat, or skyservice, or Thomas Cook...that's Zooms competition not Air Canada or BA.

Okay, well in that case, ive flown with Air Transat and had a fantastic flight, and ALL my luggage showed up. And to further comment, when we had a medical emergency that detained us in the Dominican, Air Transat was more than able, helpful and friendly in finding us a return flight at our earliest convience. Regardless of the cost of an airline, it does not cost anything extra to employ people who are friendly, courteous and respectful. With whose customer relations department is Zoom competing with? Stalin's?
I am more than happy to comment when a person or company has gone above and beyond, and if you'd like an example of this, you are welcome to contact The Body Shop, who kindly outfitted me at no cost with makeup and toiletries when Zoom dropped the ball. I would gladly have paid for my "meal" if it had meant that my bag would not have been so irresponsibly managed. However, you are absolutely correct in pointing out that perhaps AC and BA are not suitable competition for Zoom. They will likely both be in business 5 years from now;)

If you check out the loads on their website, I'm afraid, they will be here longer than you would like. The only reason why AC is still here, is cause the gov't of canada use them... they backed them up 100% if it wasn't for them...it would be gone down the drain just like Canada 3000. That should happen and West Jet should take over canadian skies...

I guess the government likes knowing that their bags will arrive at their destination when they do:D

I'm sure people can attest to that!

Well having recently flew with Zoom Airlines out of Manchester to Vancouver (Arrivinng back in manchester May 15th)I can say that i was very impressed with most of the service.We paid for Premium seating and got very comfortable leather seats with lots of leg room.The staff were friendly (one of them taking time out to talk to a little Canadian lad who was a soccer fan).Our luggage didnt get lost and the extra 10kg we got really made a difference (we were in Canada for a month)
The movies were not the greatest ever, but who really cares as there just a time filler.Overall i had a good experience with them.The only fault being (Luckily it didnt turn out to be a serious one) was that we booked a diabetic meal for one of our party and they didnt supply one.When i got in touch with customer services they basically said that they dont actually have to supply one (they do it as a courtesy) and that she should have probably made her own arrangements.
But if you want a relatively inexpensive way to travel and are not too bothered about poor food and Jennifer Lopez Movies :) then You'll find it difficult to beat Zoom.

After flying Manchester to Vancouver on 7th May and returning 26th May I have nothing but praise for Zoom airlines.

We flew premium and were glad of the extra legroom - it also meant that we could recline our seats without worrying about restricting the room of the people behind us. The extra room was great for me as I get quite claustrophobic on planes. And seat pre selection was a nice extra - we sat in seats 8H & 8J both ways which meant we didn't get the sun shining in the window all the way there and we got more darkness on the night flight home - there was only one row behind us which were classed as 'lower standard' and didn't have windows (we had 2 windows!) and couldn't recline their seats. The economy toilets were not directly behind row 9 on our flight but were halfway down the economy section.

The food was fine - actually quite nice and it was the first time I had been able to bring myself to eat food provided on a flight! Having the choice of meal premium offered over get what you're given in economy was good too. There was a mix up on the outgoing flight with food which was announced before the meal and meant that we only had the hot part of the meal and a kit kat - but this was due to a mix up at Glasgow and they said that waiting for a full meal (an extra bread roll and a salad) would have delayed the flight for 3 hours and I was happy to have the meal offered over a 3 hour delay.

Free drinks were good and my partner managed to consume quite a lot of red wine which aided sleep on the way home!

The leather seats were comfortable - the arm rest did not raise the whole way up but that was because there wasn't a big space between the seat backs for it to go into - this meant that it offered far more privacy and we couldn't hear everything that was going on in front of and behind us.

We had 3 movies in premium both ways (King Kong, Yours Mine & Ours, Memoirs of Geisha outgoing & Fat Mommas House 2, Last Holiday & Fun With Dick & Jane
incoming) although only 2 were announced each time so unsure whether economy only got 2 movies to watch. Ok these weren't brand new movies and were all either just released on DVD or about to be - but it's a budget airline! The staff were brilliant on the flight, really friendly and polite.

Priority baggage collection was good and our bags were among the first on the carousel both ways.

Both our flights left slightly late but arrived early so that was hardly an issue!

All in all our flights were exactly what I expected (well better than expected)and I wouldn't really have expected any more from the higher priced airlines.
I am recommending Zoom to anyone that will listen!

Silly question but i will ask anyway, how long (in hours) is the flight from Manchester to Vancouver? Thank you for your comments Paula.

Its about 9 - 10.5 hours...depending on winds etc...

Flew Premium Economy with Zoom TO to Belfast and back...leg room was excellent...food was standard...movies were standard...flights were smooth both ways...price was great...seats were comfortable. During the
outbownd flight from TO, one air hostess acted like she was too good to work so sat down the majority of the flight while another younger AH worked like crazy and provided great service...she must have been exhausted at the end of that flight...On return flight, our AH's were both attentive, professional, and hard working. There were no personal temp. controls so had to request cool air to be turned up due to ++ heat on both outgoing and return flight. Bathroom door not working in front of plane on return 'city of Toronto' flight...another passenger complained that this was the third flight he had been on with this specific plane and that the door was still not fixed on this flight...air hostess noted she was not an engineer and shrugged her shoulders...another passenger noted that the staff probably prefer that the bathroom door is not fixed so that passengers are not up in their prep area the whole flight. Along with another passenger, we had requested that a wheelchair was available upon landing in TO...apparently, the TO ground staff who organize the chairs said the zoom staff did not bother to call in any message to have any wheelchairs available...this was after we reconfirmed about 3 times during the flight that our request for a wheelchair was taken care of...this could have been handled much better by the airline. All in all, we were generally satisfied with our flight.

Hello, I am about to book a flight from Manchester to Calgary. As it is a last minute flight I only need to purchase an economy ticket. I would normally fly with Air Canada however my visit is only a quick one for a funeral and I'm not willing to pay £950 as apposed to £370. I am quite a small person at 5 feet and I'm just wondering if the 31" seat pitch is really small? Also could someone please let me know if economy is a bad way to go?
thanks

If you go to this website:
http://www.airlinequality.com/Product/seats_americas.htm

You will find all the seat pitches you need to get a general idea of what airlines offer. It looks here that Zoom is 1" less than Air Canada, so if you were fine with AC, then you'll be fine with Zoom.

I have booked a holiday to canada skiing and we are going to fly with zoom air I have just read a posted commment from myself on this site .however I have not had my holiday yet! so how can I write about the flight. I hope this is not a bad omen .? signed the real Gail Camm

For those wanting to travel to Canada on a one way ticket. Book to Greenland then find a rowing boat or some equally unseaworthy craft, make your way to the Newfoundland Coast, flag down a Canadian Coastguard ship and claim refuge status. You will be taken in, found a nice house to live in, a job (should you want one), and given enough in benefits to save for a great pension....and all courtesy of the Canadian Gov't and Zoom Airlines...God Bless their cotton socks. And after 3yrs you can even apply for citizenship

What does Zoom have to do with you getting into canada. Gees people....airlines don't have anything to do with your papers. Zoom offers a one way fare, however perhaps the gov't is a little more suspicious with just a one way. They need to know your departure.

All airlines offer one way tickets, it just happens Zoom offers a cheaper one way, cause with major airlines they need to fill that space for the way back and thats why its more expensive for other carriers. Cause they have different ways....

Stop blaming airlines for things you should of checked before you even left your country!

Amen, and recognize that everything can't be just the way you want it. With 200 to 300 people on board, crew have to keep everyone happy - more or less. Not just you. People need to start taking responsibilities for their actions. For example, if you forgot to ask for a Vegiterian meal when you booked your ticket, don't expect a flight attendant to whip one up, because they don't got a gourmet kitchen back there! Grow up and own up to your own damb mistakes instead of embarassing yourself amongst other passsengers who would more than likely like to see you arressted for air rage and fined 30,000 for your ever so rude behaviour just because of your own mistakes you can't own up to! BE INFORMED OF REGULATIONS AND DON'T EXPECT TO BE SPOON FED immigration REGULATIONS FROM AN AIRLINE. Go to your local govt ! That is your job as a traveller! STOP BLAMING THE AIRLINE FOR EVERYTHING AND STOP POSTING LIES, ABOUT AN AIRLINE NOT INFORMING GROUND STAFF ABOUT WHEEL CHAIR ASSISTANCE CUZ MOST OFTEN ground staff ARE LYING TO YOU ABOUT WHY YOU DIDN'T GET UR WHEELCHAIR. Don't be so gullible. Also! most airlines don't even have their own ground staff! so those ever so rude ground agents are in fact the local rude airport employees. Airlines sometimes contract ticketing and baggage out and use companies like Globe Ground. Maybe you should be blaming those guys instead hmm? . And there's more! I agree with other people on here who say, "you want more! then go pay for it! Obviously use that advice!, go pay more to get somewhere just so you can tell ur friends "Ohh i paid so much more to be in economy on air canada, and mmm the food was soo much better than some charter airlines ( even though your lying to yourself to make yourself feel better for spending too much on an economy ticket)but oh well oo la la its air canada and my ticket said free booze! im a celebrity!" C'mon on now! The food u get is the same food that CARA and CLS caters to all airlines. It's not a restaurant in Economy Class, no matter what airline u fly with! That is a service you pay extra for in air canada's executive class! Your paying economy for a reason. When u fly on a low cost airline, just cuz you upgraded from its Economy, to lets say a premium economy, again, do not expect 5 diamond four seasons hotels and resorts meals. Cuz guess what! where's the chef and his kitchen team onboard the low cost airline hunny! cook urself a 5 diamond meal and bring it onboard or take a cruise ship to ur destination, if they don't toss you overboard first. Just cuz you didn't get a choice in meals, like the upgraded section of the plane doesn't mean you are missing out. Cuz chances are ur friends in economy on air canada are picking from a choice of 2 meals from the same quality, that Cara made for all airlines that use their catering that day! If you feel ur missing out, guess what, PAY FOR IT, UPGRADE dummie! You want that same meal choice, pay extra or pay double extra on Air Canada. Did u even take into consideration that it also varies what airport u fly out of? in terms of what food is offered? So one day you can possibly have a choice of 2 really bad types of food. Its economy! forzen casseroles reheated, no matter what airline u travel with they are not going to give you restaurant quality food! No matter how you look at it. It is reality! It isn't even that great in executive class! It is reheated food with loads of artificial this and that! you want the real thing!? wait till you land and then head on over to the fairmont hotel for a real meal. Do not complain about the food, you dont like it? then dont eat it! complaining will not change the way airlines prepare food hunny! not unless they find a way of bringing onboard each flight a kitchen staff and Emmerill! Onwards, the only reason you get free alcohol in economy on air canada is that they charge you for it in advance in ur air ticket! that makes ur ticket more expensive. you think you get more flying with the larger airline. They hide the costs so you don't see it and trick you! So if you only order one gin and tonic normally per flight, they don't care, they are going to charge u a one flat fee to make profit! Look if your a VIP , looking to save a buck or two. Don't fly lost cost, u can afford executive class, so stop complaining. Instead stick to your own league of flying and search for deals on other airlines that offer full service that you are used to. If u are a normal middle class individual and choose to fly low cost, do not expect the four seasons darling! expect a reasonable ,afforable, and satisfying experience without having to pay in advance in ur ticket, for extras such as alcohol that you may not even ask for. And if you want those tiny lil' extras but not expecting true lie flat beds or amenities kits, than upgrade to the premium section if the low cost carrier has one. U'll get ur free booze, but at least u can say " i had a choice wether I wanted to fly air canada and pay a flat rate to get unlimited alcohol on my flight which i probably won't use to my moneys worth cuz eventually the air hostess will cut me off or have authorities meet me at the airport when i land cuz i got drunk, or i can just pay as i go and buy just the amount of alcohol i want and save on my airline ticket!" hmmm that is a tougher guys! As the saying goes, " a flight is what you make of it: go in with a good attitude and open mind, and you will enjoy urself" that is all people across the world, let us hope we are all better informed now. and if you disagree with any of this, that is fine. It is your own ignorant mind against the rest of us that are satisfied with the services offered onboard. You are just clearly living the life of i dunno some 1960's airline service that you experienced ages ago and this is ur first flight since! or you dont travel often and think 5 diamond cuisine is offered everywhere! if that were the case, emerrell the chef would be serving your meals onboard and u would be paying 9,000 to fly each way. peace!

I am flying with Zoom in two days time (friday) from glasgow to vancouver. Can anybody tell me how long the flight actullay takes. I keep getting told it is about 11 hours but then on their website it says it is about 12? Please can somebody reply quick as i want to find out before I go as I am travelling with children

Ewey, I also are flying to Vancouver but from Manchester and I have been told allow 9.5 to 10 hrs. Dont they make a stop into Manchester from Glascow? Perhaps that would explain the slightly longer flying times. Have a nice flight!

Thanks Tim

Hi there, expect a 10 hour flight. There is a stop along the way in Manchester. Hope that helps :)

OMG! I can't believe some of the comments......you can surely pick out the experienced travellers from the non-experienced....I am flying to Paris on Saturday..then onto Nice..I have made this trip 7 times....this being my first time with Zoom.Iusually fly KLM, or Lufthansa ..which I can tell many stories about each airline...if you are looking for 1st class..then hire a private plane.... I decided to go at the last minute so my travel agent put me onto Zoom...(premium class) which by the way we travelled first class with AC in March to Cuba..and I wasn't overly impressed!My main concern is safety..and several pilot friends I know have assured me that Zoom has a perfect track record...small fleet..but has had no major problems. So suck it up people...as long as you get there..the seats are relatively comfortable...they have some kind of food..(not an issue with me) and pleasant staff..then I'm sure it will be fine..happy flying...

I'm flying from LGW to YVR on the 31st July - it'll be the third time I've made the trip, first time with ZOOM as previously I've used Transat. I must admit, all these posts comparing ZOOM with Air Canada - why?!? I certainly won't be comparing it to my experiences travelling with BA etc, but more with the times I've flown RyanAir or EasyJet! Hopefully I'm going to have a good trip!

Just wondered if anybody knows, the flights from London to Vancouver - do they make a stop off in Cardiff first? I've seen mention of stops in Cardiff in postings above, but don't know what flights they were on.

Cheers.

On your itenary it should say if there is a stop or not. If your in doubt, just call up Zoom reservations and they will know and tell you.

on another point, You'll be far surprized to have a comparision with Easy jet and Ryan Air, I too have flown those two companies and its a totally different concept. If you want to compare, do it against Transat.

Have a fantastic flight and please be open to the ideas of Zoom!

Yay Zoom is adding another boeing 767 to their fleet in march 2007!!! For those of you with question, please ask me, i am more than willing to assist you with any questions about Zoom Airlines. :)

Hi Flying to Paris August 25 and wonder are Zoom flights usually good at taking off when they are scheduled (weather cooperating, of course) and what are the films for August. Can we use our own headphones.
Thanks

All Aircraft have to be able to take off good, if not, no one will fly them and soon they would go out of business. All airlines have to meet standards of their country and Transport Canada are one of the highest and now accidents are at an all time low.

You can use your own headphones, but i dont know the films. They are probably going to be family orientated.

Hi Normie,

the schedualed departures with zoom are usually on time. Sometimes, as with all airlines, there are delays due to many reasons. Airport congestion, due to other aircraft. Sudden weather changes. Ground services forgetting to give our airplanes something. Airport construction. Unruly passengers having to be offloaded ( that requires ground services having to go into the cargo hold and find their bag and offload it too) and sometimes the groomers ( not zoom employees) take far too long grooming the aircraft, and that will make us leave late. If none of those things happen, Zoom is on time. Zoom is also early sometimes. But beware just because we are early, doesn't mean you will get to the gate faster, sometimes airports are weird and don't have space for us, so we will wait for a gate to open up for us, that usually requires anywhere from 15-20 minutes of time. Also be warned that at London Gatwick, if there is a problem inside the airport with passenger congestion at a gate for some freak reason, the airport will send buses to come pick you passengers up and that will involve you waiting in the airplane for another 10 minutes or so. Again, not a Zoom airlines policy, it is the airport's. So as you can see, this occurs to every airline. So this is an explanation as to what happens for other airlines too.

As for headsets on Zoom aircraft,

you can use your own headset, but if it has only one prong, you will only hear sound from one ear plug. why you ask? because the aircraft is designed by Boeing. And they designed in a way where you need a special headset that has two prongs. You will notice on the aircraft that there are two holes in the passenger armrest. Each hole represents either the left ear, or the right ear.That is why, in order to hear sound from both ears you need to bring a headset that has two prongs or buy one onboard for 3 quid, or 4 euro or 5 dollars canadian.

Movies are to be announced for August, sometime this week. I haven't even recieved any information as of yet. I will keep you updated. The movies shown are usually family orientated, and usually are filmed in or in some parts of the destinations we fly to. They are airline industry standard and that means that every airline in Canada is playng those exact movies. So no comparison there, i'm afraid :( hehe
I hope this clarifies a bunch for you all . :)

Just a friendly flight attendant helping out. :)

Do leave me a message and I will do my best to Zoom you a response as fast as i can. Thank you and best regards :)

Hello, can anyone offer assistance? We are travelling from Manchester to Vancouver this Friday (4th Aug). The plane is due arrive at 2.20 local time and we need to catch a Harbour Air seaplane at there Richmond base at 3.50pm. I am reliabily informed it is approx a 15 min taxi ride away from the main terminal. Will we have sufficient time to get through customs and collect our luggage? Does Premium seats offer a quicker route to your luggage as advertised? A quick responce please.

Does anyone know if I would be able to change a flight that I have going to london leaving from montreal to a flight one week later leaving from montreal again and this time arriving in Paris???? PLease help . I need to leave later but I am not sure if zoom airlines allows for this change. Has anyone ever had to do this? I do not mind paying a mediocre fee?

In response to Tim,

as advertised your luggage will be offloaded first. However, it is beyond Zoom's control if the baggage handlers at Vancouver International Airport work slow that day. They are not Zoom airline employees, but Globe Ground Services employees. They are the ground services for all airlines coming into Vancouver. Also please be aware that there are other airlines arriving into Vancouver international , so the speed through customs greatly depends on how many passengers you will meet at the line up through customs. Eva air, Lufthansa, Air China ,Air Canada, Cathay Pacific ect. are all examples of airlines that may be offloading passengers the same time you are offloaded in Vancouver. Not to mention that US arrivals all go through the same customs. So i wish you best of luck, and usually the baggage claim is rapid in Vancouver, and you said you have a departure on Harbour Air seas plane at 3:50pm? If there isn't a huge line up at customs, you should be fine. But for future reference, for next time, book a connecting flight as far apart as possible to avoid any problems. I would say at least 6 hours apart to be safe. It is always better to be waiting a long time, than to arrive and be late for a flight.

Good luck sir. :)

Dear Elana in distress,

my dear, that is a seperate flight you want to change to. My answer to you is this,I took the liberty of going through our website and pulling up the information regarding changing/cancelling flights. You may find this information on this link http://www.flyzoom.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubDsp.dspFaq&intPageID=4#Booking10

Here is what my company's policy is:

7. Can I change my traveling dates once I have booked?

You can change your traveling date for a fee of £25 in the UK or $50 in Canada per change up to 29 days before departure. However, the price applied to the changed reservation will be the price at the moment the change is made. In order to make the flight change there must be available seats on the date that you want to travel. If the change is within 29 days of departure it will be treated as a cancellation and cancellation penalties will apply.

Now Elana, as a heads up, wether or not they allow you, depends solely if the flight from Montreal to Paris is solidly booked. There will be nothing Zoom can do to facilitate your request if that flight to Paris is fully booked. But if you reserved at least 30 something days away from todays date, you may be able to just cancel your reservation and get your money back without paying any cancellation fees. However if your departure is less than 29 inclusive days away, you will be subject to penalty fees. The following explains this, i also got this off the same link above:

10. How much do I need to pay if I cancel my flight?
Cancellation penalties vary depending on factors such as (but not limited to) number of days prior to departure and whether Cancellation Protection was purchased. Please see our Terms and Conditions for more information.

Elana i wish you the bets of luck with this matter, and hope to see you in the air :)

Best regards.:)

To the Zoom flightcrew: Thanks for your advice. Sadly this is the latest seaplane flight available. Perhaps the flightcrew respondsible for the Zoom573 from Manchester this Friday is reading this fine forum. Please, keep your toe on the pedal and both ahead full. I will post my thought on my return.

Not a problem Tim, I am happy to help. If you have any questions, I am always here to help. :) I am sure you will be pleased with the quality of service offered onboard. I am not working on your flight sadly, but I hope other crew who are working your flight send a message to the captain to step on the gas. LOL. Enjoy your flight and enjoy your stay in Beautiful British Columbia :)

-A friendly Flight attendant-
~Cabin Crew, doors for arrival and cross check~

I flew with ZOOM airlines for the first time in May. We bought brand new luggage just prior to the trip and on the return flight one of our large bags came out with the entire bottom corner ripped off leaving a hole big enough to put my hand through. The frame was also bent in about 4 or 5 inches. I just received a response from my luggage claim "They are not responsible for defective luggage". I sent in digital phots of the damage as well as the receipt from my purchase. How is having the frame caved in and the corner torn off a defective piece of luggage. That's like renting a car, crashing it into a tree then saying you are not responsible for the damage because the car was defective. I have been flying for 30 years and never seen any luggage damaged as bad as mine was and this is what their answer was. I will NEVER FLY ZOOM airlines and would NOT RECOMMEND ZOOM to anyone. You are most definitely TAKING YOUR CHANCES with ZOOM. This reply tells me that they will NOT consider ANY complaint for ANY reason - reservations, meals, luggage, food, flight times, flight delays, etc. BAD, BAD, BAD customer service from this airline. Shame on ZOOM for treating their customers this way. Shame on ZOOM for putting their employees in a position where the general public thinks negatively of them. Shame on ZOOM for not doing the right thing - the moral thing.

Here's an interesting thought.I've just scoured the web for discount flights to Ottawa. How come Zoom wasn't mentioned by any of the search sites?......the cheapest flight was £467.00 compared to £168.00 on Zoom. Methinks there is a grassy knoll type conspiracy somewhere if I was bothered to uncover it. Well Zoom.........why don't you appear on the cheapo sites?

Hi, this is in response to Bob Dagg.

Dear Bob, how are you? i'm sorry but airlines have no jurisdiction in the condition of your luggage. If there are rips ( because of cheap fabric or over stuffing) scratches, dents ect., they will not be held liable. It is in the fine print of ANY and every single Airline company's luggage policy out there. Look it up, you will find it. Here's an example.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/baggage/checked.html

Can you imagine if an airline decided to take responsibility over luggage that was damaged by an airport employee? They would all be bankrupt! Only in a perfect world! An Airline's responsibility is to offer you a safe and comfortable flight to a destination and carry your suitcase in their cargo bay. It is not like they monkees in their cargo bays ready to rip through your luggage. Remember it is not Zoom Enployees that are retrieving your baggage from the aircraft. Once again I have explained to this matter to many people. Airports have companies such as Aviance, Globe Ground, ect. that handle all the nitty gritty work such as refuelling airplanes, checking in passengers, loading cargo, and offloading baggage. If a baggage handler employed by Globe Ground or Aviance decides to be negligant in their work, then it is not Zoom's or any airlines fault that your bag is damaged. It is only an airlines fault when your baggage is completely destroyed, we are talking all your belongings are gone and ur baggage is ripped in half and charred. That is what happened to me when i flew with KLM royal dutch airlines. They replaced my luggage because it was completely destroyed. I sympathize with you. Don't get me wrong. This has happened to me with American Airlines and Air Canada AS WELL. But it is only the airline's responsibility if your bagagge fails to show up at your destination. That is called "Lost Luggage". However in your case, your bag was ripped by a third party company employed by that airport. File a complaint or rally against that airport. You said have been flying for 30 years and never seen this amount of damage? I doubt you have flown as often as i have. I have seen countless bags get damaged because of ground services. Regardless, luggage is replaceable. Have you taken into thought that they sell insurance for luggage now adays?
Now my final thought in your matter is this, don't say you will never fly with Zoom again, because what you should be saying is, you will never fly to or out of that airport where the airport employees damaged your luggage. That is what I think you meant to say. Because what happens if the same thing happens on your next journey with another airline does that mean you will never fly with them too? My dear you will run out of airlines to fly with and be forced to swim across the atlantic. Remember it is not the flight attendants grabbing your bags and throwing them against concrete.

So sorry this happened to you, but once again, it happens at every airport, not all the time, but by chance. Don't worry i see some bad karma heading towards that baggage handler that ruined your bag. Cheer up life is too short to worry about such minor things. :)

~ From A friendly flight attendant, trying to make everything clear in life for others~

Dear Noel, how are you? Okay so you are wonderign why Zoom's tickets are not for sale on cheapo websites such as expedia.ca, travelocity.com ect. Okay I can help you with that question.

I had the same question once before! :)

First of all Zoom Airlines is a private airline but that doesnt really matter as to why they are not listed on cheapo websites.

Second of all, this is the real reason. All those airlines you see on those pages, pay those websites to publish their airfares on them. It is like a giant Phone Book for the airlines to reach the public!

Zoom and like other airlines, don't see the point in paying those websites to post their airfares. They have their own website where you can buy your tickets. This results in a cheaper fare for you!

So again, why is it cheaper on Easy jet's or Zoom's websites? cuz you are not paying for their fee that Expedia.com charges that airline! Simple as that.

That is the conspiracy! The airlines that publish their tickets on expedia probably include a fee in those tickets to help cover their rent. You will also notice you get charged a service fee as well for using those websites. So if you are smart, and care about your money, who would you rather book with? A so called cheapo website, or go to a low cost airline's website and get ur tickets much cheaper.
Don't get me wrong though, sometimes those cheapo website have great fares for destinations that low cost airlines don't fly to, or they may have even cheaper fares than the low cost airlines. But on majority that is not the case.
Hope that helps!

Ciao bello!

~ Doors for departure and cross check~

Hi I just got off Zoom flight 773 Glasgow to Vancouver. I have to say, Zoom you do an excellent job in providing a great onboard experience. I love your whole "economy concept" onboard. The flight attendants are caring and friendly, not stuck up or old as other airlines. Airline food was just like any economy airline's food. I didn't expect food on a silver platter, so i was not dissappointed. I was in economy with premium supplement. Great service. Many people think that it is first class, but that is not the case, some people are just too stupid to understand it is not a first class.Maybe they are just too old and should travel by boat! Lol. The service is super, you get extra leg room free liquer and hot towels and a choice of meals. Way to go Zoom! I arrived in Vancouver safe and sound and got through customs. Sure there was a delay but that was because other airlines were offloading people there too, makes a lot of sense no? But i got my bags and sure there were scuffs, but that is expected with every airline i travel with. I would recommend this Airline Zoom Airlines to anyone who doesn't mind travelling in a premium economy or economy class cabin. That is Zoom's concept and i think it is unique in Canada, because Air Canada charges way too much for their economy services, some of which are unnecissary such as free liquer in normal economy, that is bull because it isn't free, they sneak that cost into your ticket price! Other airlines focus on having a business class and a economy, but Zoom you guys cater to just the economy class. So Zoom, since you do that, that sets you apart from other airlines! No hidden costs. So if anyone has a complaint that there was no true lie flat beds then that is your fault! You booked with an" economy " concept airline! Il ove Zoom, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to travel for less money and spend that extra money in a nice hotel!

~Shirley~

Bob Dagg, ohh Boo hoo, cry me a river! You must have invented the damaged baggage concept! This has been happenning for ages on every airline, which is why they invented damaged baggage insurance. And why on earth would you be complaining about this still , if you flew during May? Do you beat your wife or something? What is this repressed anger for. Your review of the airline was nothing but a giant bash. A good review is supposed to have pro's and con's. What you gave was absolut "merdre". Start your own website where you may bash airlines. Maybe you work for another airline and just decided to have no life and come on here and start some trouble. A perfect example of a good review on this website would be like the original post above made from day one by Nick Burka . Have a read you fool.

Thanks again to the Zoom Crew (Lol) for your kind assistance. I will post my Zoom experience when I get back.

Dear Flight Attendant: Thanks for your response. We are so looking forward to our trip and are grateful you took the time to respond. Maybe I'll see you on board when I start complaining that my headphones are functioning properly ;-) Normie

Sounds good! I appreciate any feedback, because any feedback is constructive feedback. :D

I am thinking of traveling with Zoom from Gatwick to Toronto in early december...The prices on the website seem pretty good at the moment but I was wondering if it is worth waiting to see if they go down nearer the time or if I should book now, are there ever any special offers or lastminute deals? Also, is it possible to upgrade to premium economy when I check in on the day of the flight for a given price?

If you know you are vegetarian, and you cannot eat all foods then why don't you pack your own mean. Sometime the agents don't make a note of it. When you come on board and it doesn't show that you ordered a vegetarian meal. That means we don't have it for you!!! The flight attendants can't go to the back and make you one because all these foods are premade. PLease people, we are there for you safety, not to make sure you have your veggie meal. Please pack ahead and bring some food for yourself just incase we don't have it.

I have flown Zoom at least 6 times in the past 2 years and have no complaints whatsoever, all staff are friendly and courteous including those who looked after my son last christmas even though he was far too full of xmas spirit..literally.As for those people who have had the misfortune to lose luggage and had a bad meal, it happens on every airline.

I am flying with Zoom to Halifax from Gatwick in September. I am booked in Premium. We flew with Zoom 3 years ago to Calgary. Perfect flight there but real hassle coming back. Ended up in Vancouver hotel for couple of hours. We were a whole day late getting back which caused us a lot of trouble.

But I believe in giving people a second chance and I sooooo hope that this flight is better. My other half will neve forgive me if it isn't!

Help! Yikes, I made a big boo-boo when reserving our seats. My wife and I are in different aisles and I wonder how complicated that could be to change. Has anyone ever had to adjust their seating arrangements after purchasing a seat reservation with a ticket?

I have changed seat reservations by phoning Zoom. No problem.

Hi Guys, sorry i haven't been in touch recently, i have been away. Very Tired hehe, ok Karnit, hi, um in regards to you message, BOOK NOW, the further away you book, the cheaper the price. Also, economy with premium supplement always sells out, you will never be able to get a seat at the check in counter. I garantee you, so book now and be happy later :) However if lets say your on the plane, and you notice there is a seat available, i think it costs something around 199 canadian, or pounds, i am not too sure because not too many people do that onboard. But my advice to you is just book ahead.

Oooop. DIdn't quite understand how to sign on, apologies for the above nonsense.

I'm due to fly on Zoom in about 2 weeks, Gatwick-Vancouver. I have booked a Premium Economy seat which I will be sharing with my 11 month-old daughter (!)
Just wondering whether this means she will be literally sharing my seat for the whole journey or whether Zoom can provide one of those basinette thingys for babies to sleep in? Does anyone know?

Zoom Does not provide Bassonettes. She is to be with you at all times, however, if the flight isn't full the flight attendants normally accomidates a mother with an extra seat IF available. I just recently saw a mother bring her own fold away sleeper thingy which she placed on the floor.

Premuim has plenty of room in front of you to be able to place your child on the floor...but please cover with plenty of blankets to cover the carpet. Also if the seat belt sign goes on, you have to hold your child.

Food for thought :)

Hello, Zoom Flight Attendant I will be flying with zoom on Sept7 from Edmonton to Gatwick. Can I upgrade the weight of my luggage?...or do you think it's too late...I'm flying cheap class of course, looking forward to the trip...let me know thanks!

Hi Michael, how are you? Okay so from what you said, are you asking if you can just pay a fee to just upgrade your bagagge allowance and not upgrade your seat? Well in that case yes, our policy is a charge of $10.00 CDN, 6.00 GBP, 8.00 Euros or $8.00 US per kg will apply for any baggage carried in excess of the free allowance of 20 kg (44lbs) in total per passenger travelling in economy regular.
So think of it as an "upgrade fee per kg". Lets say, for example, you are planning on bringing a total of 40kg of checked baggage, mathematically that will cost you around $200 canadian because its an excess of 20 kg charged at $10/kg. My point is you might as well just upgrade to economy with premium supplement, it is $199 to upgrade.
I just checked your flight for you, sadly that departure on Sept 7th is full in economy with premium supplement. All you can do is pay for the extra weight you are taking with you. In a way you will be paying "just" what you need upgraded.

I know it's not fair that airline's get to charge you a fee for extra baggage, but consider this. Every extra Kg loaded onto the plane, adds an extra required gallon of fuel for the plane to fly and stay in the air. It is all about safety Michael :) . Fuel is expensive thanks to countries at war. And so many airlines will either do 2 things, charge you on a "pay as you go" system (ie. $10/kg), much like Zoom's, or right away give you a lot of kg allowance but include it in your airplane ticket cost fooling you into think that you just paid for top knotch service! ....more like thanks for paying for our gas service , much like some other airline's not naming any due to legalities.

I hope you are not packing your whole house in 5 suitcases, that's an exaggeration. :) I think you will be fine. Although I am not working your flight, have a pleasant journey, and I wish you the best.

I am not speaking on behalf of the Globe Ground INC. Airport service people that will be checking in your luggage in Edmonton, they are a seperate ordeal. Be careful! Try and check in with the agent that looks most happy with their job. I had to personally suffer from them while in Paris, as Paris has Globe Ground Inc. doing most of the airlines's ground work. i was forced to check in my small carry on. They insisted it would not fit! They were rude about it. I gave in ofcourse, last thing i need is secret services questioning me frisking me because I decided to argue with a check in agent hahah. But once on the plane, i saw it with my own eyes, they were wrong , an Airbus 319 can carry a lot in the overhead bin's! but anyways, their rules not mine, just be careful!

A friendly flight attendant, making the world of flying ever so much clearer!

This posting is in regards to Jackie Hughes. :D

So sad that happened to you. It's happened to me. Yes i do agree, and hope it does not ever happen to you on any airline of you choosing , even Zoom Airlines. Unfortunately, it will continue to happen in the Airline industry because airplanes go mechanical. It is unpredictable and out of human control, much like fashion. One can only hope the universe does not pick any one of us to suffer a delay due to the airline world. But that is the risk one must take when flying. I personally prefer to set sail on Royal Caribbean, across the atlantic. Such fine and reliable travel, and it only takes around 5 nights! yep. no icebergs in that!

Thanks for the great response Zoom Flight Attendant, I'll keep that all in mind when I pack my 5 suit cases. Remember, I'm a guy...I could stick everything in a safeway bag...*smile*. Hey that would be a cost saver, maybe I could do that..a 5kg safeway bag, get $150 money back for the kg I'm not using...why didn't I think of that earlier....just jokes.

Thanks again for the tips

I was just on an Air Canada flight and they have dropped their Economy weight from 32kgs right down to 23kgs! So I think flying with Zoom your not that far off. I also know that when travelling with Zoom your not paying a Fuel Surcharge, hence why they will get you if your over!

well, it will be just me and my backpack for 3 weeks in europe. Worst case,anything extra I buy, I'll just send it home.

I haven't even taken off yet, and I'm already disappointed with Zoom. We were supposed to leave tonight at 7:30pm for Paris from Calgary - and our flight has been delayed until tommorow at 11am! We are missing some stuff planned for tomorrow evening in Paris AND have lost a night (an expensive night) of accomodation. We are students and only had two days in Paris before moving to our next destination. When I called the customer service to inquire about the flight time and I expressed my concern about the delay (and arriving in the early morning hours), I was quite teary, and all I got was a "hang in there". I understand the issues with London flights, but other Zoom flights to London / from London were only delayed a few hours. Therefore, I was led to believe on the phone this was techinal issues with our plane... comforting. I know this is a charter flight, but I still expected more.

Meg,
It is very unfortunate that these things happen. Look at how many airlines were force to cancel their flights. You are likely at the tail end of the "catch up game". Just because you are not going to London does not mean that it will not affect you.
If it is a "tech issue", well then these things do happen as well. It does not mean that Zoom is a bad airline, it actually means that they are a SAFE airline!!
I would rather be delayed a day that have to be in an aircraft that was not up to standards!!!! Try to get by this problem and do not let it ruin your holiday. Make the best of it, because it could have been worse!!

My point exactly Michael. The fuel surcharge, that is what most airlines are doing which in turn allows you to have that extra allowance for baggage. However if what you said is true that air canada's allowance is 23 kg and you are still paying the sur charge, that is barbaric. I am sure you can draw your own conclusions with which airline gives you a far better deal. The whole concept at Zoom is pay for the the exact amount of weight that you will actually carry. I think what Zoom has in place is good because that way you will pay for whatever you actually do use, not what you don't. Makes sense.

In regards to Meg. I am sorry this happened to you, but as the other person mentioned, it is not the airline's fault, but the after effects of what happened in London. This is not a charter flight nor a measley charter airline. Zoom Airlines, if you read the title from the main website states " schedualed flights, low cost,full service" We are not sky service airlines. What could you have possibly expected more? For Zoom to buy you a ticket on another airline that was not delayed. Unless you were a diplomat, I am sorry but that is just nonesense I am sorry to say. It is not Zoom's fault that the terrorists decided to screw up the flying to europe. I think this is all just repressed anger in your post towards the terrorists, it is ok honey, just let it all out. My trip to Italy and Spain while i was still in school, got cancelled due to 9/11. I know how you feel, but I am not blaming a company for it. As far as I know, I have not recieved any memos from anyone disclosing a " technical issue". I think you drew your own conclusions there dear. Cheer Up, everything happens for a reason. Like i said before, this kind of thing happens to all airlines, and if your not content with the risk, then im sorry but find your own means of travel across the atlantic and back.

~doors for arrival and cross check~

This just posted on our website @ http://www.zoomairlines.com :

Aug 10, 2006 2:32 PM- Raised Security Levels

Please be advised that all Zoom Airlines flights are operating as scheduled, however due to heightened security at all UK and Canadian airports, delays are expected. For specific flight information, please refer to the Arrivals and Departures section of our website.

All passengers are advised to allow additional time for check-in and security. For all Canadian departures, please be advised of the following notice issued from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. [Read]

For all UK departures, please be advised that no hand luggage is allowed on any flight with limited items allowed to be taken on board in a transparent plastic bag. All passengers will be hand searched. Items being carried by passengers will be X-ray screened and passengers' footwear will be examined.

More exciting news in our media section @ http://www.flyzoom.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubDsp.dspMedia

NEW ERA FOR ZOOM AS BANK OF SCOTLAND TAKES STAKE IN LOW-COST AIRLINE

Zoom Airlines, which operates low-cost scheduled flights between Canada and the UK, today announced that Bank of Scotland Growth Equity has acquired a minority stake in the airline as part of a $12 million investment package.

As a result of the investment, Zoom - which is owned by travel entrepreneur Hugh Boyle - plans to expand its operations to other worldwide destinations.

Bank of Scotland Growth Equity’s investment will provide additional funds for the start up of a UK-based airline for the Ottawa-based carrier, as well as assisting with a rolling fuel hedging package.

Zoom Chairman, Hugh Boyle, said: “For such a prestigious organisation as Bank of Scotland to take an equity stake in our airline is a tremendous vote of confidence in the success of Zoom which, for the past three years, has pioneered the low fares concept on a transatlantic basis between eight Canadian destinations and six European airports.

The investment by the Bank of Scotland will assist in setting up Zoom UK which will enable us to expand our operations from the UK to non Canadian destinations. This is a red letter day for the airline which bodes well for our future prospects”.

David Wilson, Director of Bank of Scotland Growth Equity, who negotiated the deal said: “We view Zoom as a successful and innovative carrier with a considerable reputation for quality as well as value for money. It is an exceptional growth opportunity and we are delighted to have made an investment in the company and to assist in its long term profitable expansion”.

Hugh Boyle made his mark in the travel business with his brother John by starting Direct Holidays in the UK which they built up before selling to Airtours eight years ago in a multi-million pound deal. Hugh is now Chairman and Principal Shareholder of Ottawa-based Zoom Airlines and Go Travel Direct.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will keep everyone up to date with new news that I am at liberty to indulge you in.

Hi all,

I just browsed the wonderful world of the internet and discovered www.airlinequality.com. They rate airlines. I am proud to say that Zoom Airlines , such a young company has recieved a 3 star rating! http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/Z4.htm take a look!

~Cabin Crew..Seats for take off~

http://www.carsurvey.org/air/airline_Zoom.html

Ahh yes i have seen that review website. There are far more happier reviews than upset reviews, those are usually the people who are never content with anything and do not have much flying experience. For example, that last review on http://www.carsurvey.org/air/airline_Zoom.html
says near the bottom that they are not a frequent traveller. Obviously through this person's review about my airline was not what they were looking for. They wanted First Class Qatar Airways, Zoom is an economy airline, no business nor first class onboard. The reviewer was misinformed, ignorant, and proceeded to further assume that the 2 hour before landing snack was breakfast. It is not a breakfast, it is a light snack. Totally uninformed passenger who knows no better. Do they have no comprehension as to what "economy" is? Furthermore, at Zoom, the sooner you book, the cheaper the ticket, this person went on to complain that they booked 2 weeks before and paid almost $1400 Canadian. That is your fault and i highly doubt it came to that much!
I decided to do some research. I went to a much larger carriers website in Canada and tried to book 2 weeks before a date and heres the price i got: $ 1175.96w taxes! and thats not for Premium Economy, that is basic economy. And heres something else, its a 7 hr flight to London with that larger airline. Now with Zoom, in a much more comfortable seat, in Economy /w premium supplement, with taxes and everything came to $1068.40 . That is a difference of $100 and a difference that you will spend 7hrs in a 31 inch seat pitch seat with that "other" airline and with Zoom, for a hundred dollars LESS , you would get a 36" inch seat pitch 1 meal with a choice, just like the other more established carrier. With Zoom you still get a light snack, i doubt you get that with that other airline. So there you have, i do not believe that the person who left that last review on http://www.carsurvey.org/air/airline_Zoom.html was well informed. Perhaps Zoom should start banning people who complain from flying with Zoom, that way forcing them to spend more of their money on another carrier, for the same kind of services, if not better! In addition, i am not done, for whoever that person was, for their info, i know many fa's who work for that larger carrier, and they themselves have told me that some of their 767's are in no better shape than that of Zoom's. You cannot compare us to a large air carrier's, thankyou, thats all.

I have recently returned from holiday in Ontario. I booked our flights with Zoom Manchester-Toronto return after reading all the posted reviews. I was happy to pay the rather small sum of 400GBP each in school holidays and take my chance with a budget airline.

The flight out was on time, check-in was quick, friendly and helpful. The inflight food was fine, cabin crewe excellent.

On our return from Toronto to Manchester our plane had a problem and our flight was postponed from 9pm to 7pm the following day - yes, 22 hours! Zoom put us into a good hotel and fed us well. We stayed in and around our hotel until an hour or so before our plane left. Yes, we were inconvenienced but we were treated well and had no complaints about how the airline dealt with the situation. Despite the delay, I would recommend Zoom and will definitely fly with this airline again.

In response to Meg(above) I suspect the Paris flight was cancelled because that aircraft had to be diverted to Toronto to get us home!

Hi,
I'm a passenger of flight 617 departing from Paris to Montreal scheduled on saturday the 12th of august 2006. the flight was delayed and then cancelled (because of the events in London). I was scheduled on a flight going back on Tuesday morning wasting two working days...
My personel choice was to buy the first available ticket bringing me back home. it was on sunday the 13th of august with Air France (cost 2000$), saving to ZOOM two nights and 6 meals at the Hotel IBIS out there in France.
On that week-end, the informations on the flights were contradictory between Toronto and France, the web, the airport, and the phone where giving different informations.. we didn't know what to do (go to the airport, register etc)...
Today I'm still having difficulties for gettig information on the 100% refund of my Zoom return ticket (497,85$) promised by the Zoom representent in France.
I don't understand why the customer relations don't reply to my request emails?(The emails were received).
How can I communicate with the customer relation, more efficiently?

I would like to mention that outside this current situation, all my previous travels with ZOOM have been very pleasant.

Hello, I have just returned from Vancouver on flight 572. The flight out was spot on, full stop. For a economy airline they were outstanding. Our flight arrived 40 minutes early which it allowed us plenty of time to catch our connecting flight to Vancouver Island. Sadly during our stay, all the problems started in London. This resulted in a 11 hour delay. Of course this delay was posted on the Zoom website and I took a moment to call them for confirmation. I asked if Zoom would provide a hotel room during the delay but was told no as the delay was less than 12 hrs. Has being a reasonable person I didnt argue the point. I took it upon myself to book my family into a hotel near the airport for a few hours rest. We popped down to the hotel restaurant to find a large party enjoying dinner and wine. The annoying bit was they were all Zoom passengers from our flight. This very morning I faxed a copy of the hotel bill to Zoom who have promised to look at it.

I am concerned now with the flight delays. I guess Zoom are playing catch up but I have noticed the Sunday flight to Halifax has been seriously delayed and I am very worried that it still will be when I fly late September.

Any advice?

went on zoom airlines from cardiff to vancouver return, on way there was a brand new boeing 767-300 screens down every 1 or 2 aisles got 4 movies!!!
all brand new, there was, Over The Hedge, Mission Impossible 3, The Pink Panther and firewall, food was quite nice, cottage pie, mmmm, free soft drinks throughout flight, cola etc, because of economy headsets were $5 or £3, on way back unluckly we got old plane with screens at top of plane in middle of aisle almost impossible to see, only 3 movies, not very good ones either, akeelah and the bee, ice age 2 and failure to launch food was awful coming back and service was louchy , probably because it was an 11 hour flight coming back at 8pm there was better service on the flight to canada, from cardiff, better service as it was 10 am, got a bit jet lagged but hey what the heck, zoom airlines was better than i expected i was expecting some easyjet trans atlantic type thing but it was much better, choose zoom!!

Hence why Zoom is Scheduled, Low Cost, FULL SERVICE!

I have flown with Zoom a few times and they are not bad. Certinly it is very difficult to find anything cheaper to Canada. Their planes must be atleast 20 years old which is ok as long as they are well kept. I think I had delys on 2 occasions but was not too concerned since what ever happens you get there in the end.

I have noticed that they are now charging MORE if you book one way tickets as apposed to return tickets. At least the prices are accurate which is more than can be said for canadianaffair who seem to think people are too stupic to notice the £50 increase between the flight selection page and the one after (not tax).

Overall I would say zoom are good but flying across the Atlantic isn't really something people should be doing just for a holiday given the environmental cost.

I do apologize for my ranting when our flight was delayed for a day. I was frustrated. We got charged for the night stay at our hotel that we did not use, which was to be expected... but the worst part was arriving in Paris at 6am, very awkward, and we ended up sitting around waiting for our hotel to open.

As for the flights themselves, I have no complaints. Very good crew, good food, great service.

Regarding this comment:

"As far as I know, I have not recieved any memos from anyone disclosing a " technical issue". I think you drew your own conclusions there dear."

I did not draw my own conclusions, I was told that on the phone, at the airport, and on the plane that morning all by ZOOM EMPLOYEES - there was a technical problem with a plane. At the airport I was also told that our delay would have not been more than a few hours due to the terrorism, except for the TECHINAL issues (now, I understand that this may have been a airport employee contracted by Zoom, not a direct Zoom rep.)

Anyway, if you don't worry about delays... fly zoom. Service is way better than Air Canada etc. However, I still do not know if I will rely on Zoom in the future.

i am traveling from man-yvr next year i am wondering if you get your moneys worth and is it an overall good company (this excludes lost baggage).

plz write back

jo aka

are the cabin crew pleasent?

Hello Meg,

ok my apologies. If that is what you were told over the phone, and by other flight attendants oboard then so be it. I just need you to realise that I feel your comment "However, I still do not know if I will rely on Zoom in the future." is completely invalid. Why you may ask? I want you to understand that mechanicals happen with every airline. It is a random occurance, one of which should not be used to judge the quality of an airline so new such as Zoom. May I persuade you with a suggestion that I have posed to others before you who had the same frustrations? If you cannot afford to take the risk of taking an airplane across the atlantic then by all means book a cruise or charter a boat. That is full proof. Or book with Air Canada, pay extra and not fly direct from Vancouver to Paris. If there is a mechanical with their aircraft, you might have a back up plane that can take you over to your destination. But also here is a thought, why did you book with Zoom Airlines to begin with? Was it because it was cheaper to book with? Well, I guess you might as well go back to booking with Air Canada, because i guess they are immune to delays. I am not sure if I want to rely on the revenue from passengers such as you. ...That's all.

-Zoom FA-

~...pour votre comfort et securite....~

Dear mr or mrs akajo,

before you ask questions about Zoom Airlines, I ask of you to ask yourself a few questions. 1) What type of airline are you looking for, first class or economy? 2) How much are you willing to pay to fly full service across the atlantic 3)What are airlines are you used to booking with to fly to Canada? You do get your money's worth with Zoom.

As for the question " is it an overall good company?". I do not know how to answer that because a good company is what you make of it. Be MORE specific, what is your criteria of a good company and perhaps i can help.

Zoom Airlines offers an economy class throughout its cabin. There are 60 seperate seats in fwd section available which are called "economy with premium supplement" seats. These allow you to recieve free headsets, free alcohol, a slightly more baggage allowance, priority baggage retrieval ( meaning your bag will be offloaded first before normal economy), you will recieve a 36" seat pitch seat,a hot towel service, a light snack, a meal ( you get to choose from two entrees). All of this at a much lower cost than more established carriers.

Flight attendants all over the world vary in terms of friendliness. Sometimes you will fly with nice flight attendants and sometimes not so much. Unfortunately flight attendants are not all consistant in their kindness. They are human not robots. It is all in how you treat them, if you are not rude to them, you will recieve the same complimentary treatment. Be considerate as we are not your slaves, a kind " please and thankyou" when asking for something will grant you the respect you well deserve in the airline world. I hope I have been of some assistance. cheers.

~ladies and gentlemen Zoom Airlines welcomes you to....~

In Regards to Paul Smith,

unfortunately after a brand new 767's or any aircraft for that matter, inaugaral flight, the plane's cabin interior, no matter how many times you refurbish them, get damaged each flight by passengers who have no respect. A plane full of 270 passengers breathing and perspiration contributes to the yellowing of the panelling of the aircraft which may lead you to believe that this aircraft is as old as perhaps one's "trailer park home".
This is the lovely world of aging. For your information, Zoom Airlines operates a fairly young fleet of 12 years old, this is a normal age. What difference would it make if you flew on a 767 that was brand new or 12 years old? sure you will get to sit in a newer seat and newer carpet under your feet, but will it make the airports make your food better? No, absolutely not. It is isnt a cruise ship where you will be seeing the interior for 7 days. You will probably only fly on it once every 2 years or if your not that wealthy, once every 5 years. I think a newer aircraft would only be beneficial to you if you were an interior designer looking for designing inspiration onboard a plane. I think one should focus more on how their own dwelling looks rather than being concerned about scuff marks on a aircrafts cabin interior. By the way, how come no one has come forward and complained about the foul smells onboard? Could it be that it is you the passenger that provide us with those lovely smells of not washing yourselves before coming onboard or farting in the aisles? Hmmm very interesting that these same people complain about how the plane looks. .....That's all.

~to infinity and beyond!~

Zoom Flight Attendant - your responses are becoming just rude in your round about way. We can all read 'between' the lines what your are implying. You have to much free time on your hands obviously!

Dear Zoom Flight Attendant

I think your response was spot on and very funny. Customer service is always difficult because of the customer. My Mum always said to me "Always treat people how you would like to be treated". I am always disgusted at how some people speak to Flight Attendants. They have a hard job to do and deserve to be treated with respect.

to all the whiners....
STOP CHECKING YOUR BRAINS ALONG WITH YOUR LUGGAGE.
AIRLINES ARE NOT CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION AND IF YOU ALL LIKE AIR CANADA AND BRITISH AIRWAYS STOP BEING SO DAMNED CHEAP AND PAY THE $2000 FOR A RETURN TICKET. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT FOR $199 O/W...JEEEEZ!

Dear Zoom Passenger ou Cher Zoom Passenger,

my apologies, if you percieve my response to some of the rather irrational comments provided here, to be "rude". That is not the context in which i am writing them. I am speaking in a calm matter. This is the internet, why would you say that I am writing with a angry tone of voice? Alas, I use a very satirical tone of voice rather. Anywho, in regards to your comment about me having "...too much time.." on my hands, may I ask you a question? Do you have too much time to be on here as well? for you just left an invalid accusation against me when i have been nothing but a helpful and friendly flight attendant informing people of truthful facts. Not to mention clearing up some of society's ignorance about the airline industry. I am allowed , by human nature to include humour, be it twisted or not, in my comments, just like people who leave rather nasty comments on here. I leave it up to you to percieve my comments in which ever way you choose. If you choose to pick a dispute, please by all means, will i reply back and forth, ....probably not. And perhaps you should not speak for others, when you say you speak for all, for you are not the "world", just own up to your own comments. ....That's all. Auf Wiedersehen :)

~...we will be flying at 35,000 feet today`~

Zoom Flight Attendant. Please just mind your P's and Q's as this forum is seen by many.
Thanks - K.W.

Hi all,

Many of you already know why I came on this website from its initial start. My mission was to try and help people who had questions about this company. I did not know this was a forum where I had to just defend the company, therefore I regret to inform you all that I dont feel my services are needed here. What is needed is actually not possible, and that is for people to simply smarten up and as many have posted before " quit your whining". I vowed to myself, the second that i felt resistance on this website, I would end my endeavour to try and help. That day has come. I've failed. I think I will just stick to being the best i can be on the workplace itself to avoid passengers from leaving nasty comments on websites such as these. It's what I am good at, i love my job :). So this is goodbye mes amis. I just can't handle answering constant, rude and ignorant comments, especially after I have already explained the same situations to others in hopes that others will spread the word to try and solve their own situtions. So in summary, Zoom Airlines is by far the best airline in Canada in its class, and if you fly with an open mind, your trips with any airline will be a success. Peace, au revoir et bon voyage.

~...thank you for flying with us today~

Dear Flight Attendant

That is such a shame. You have done an admiral job at making people feel more confident at flying Zoom and I feel sad that certain individuals have made you feel this way. Zoom Airlines should be very proud to have you as a loyal member of their team.

I thank you for your support of the customer and wish you well.

Have recently had the pleasure of flying with ZOOM airlines. I travelled from Montreal to Paris then back a couple of weeks later. I was travelling with my infant daughter and even though I did not buy a seat for her, the flight attendants changed my seat so I could have a free seat beside me. This I appreciated as the airplane was almost full. My return trip was also good. We left a little bit later than scheduled but the captain explained that this was becuase of air traffic control, something about a slot time(?). Anyway, we still arrived 10 minutes early in Montreal and it was one of the smoothest landings I have ever seen. I would travel on ZOOM again without hesitation.

We flew from Glasgow to Vancouver on 1 September and back on 15 September.

On the flight out we had a delay of at least 3 hours due to a technical problem the day before. Once on the plane the flight was fine. We were Premium Class and service was good. On our return the flight was more or less on time and again service was good and flight attendants were excellent. The food was not great either way but about standard for flights.

Although travelling Premium Class there was no priority to our baggage at either Vancouver or Glasgow, in fact it seemed to arrive later than most baggage.

I was on the same flight back on Sept. 15th. Fuuny our flight was 45mins early! I guess that is "more or less on time". Food on Zoom is quite good - and we had a choice of ginger chicken or cottage pie. At least you get food - and a sandwich before you land with a sweet! I fly from Toronto to Vancouver on a regular basis on AC and have to pay for a sandwich and the flight is 5hrs! And far more expensive then my Vancouver - Glasgow portion even I fly Zooms plus economy. The flight staff is great with no attitude like AC. And the 767 they fly is very comfortable and quite up front. Problem is they always seem to be full and hard to get a seat on!

dear users,
i dont think that zoomairlines crew should have to put up with the abuse given for just helping us coustomers. their job is hard enough and they should not have to put up with the foul comments. i no it is only a few users but please think about otherpeoples feelings before you post messages after all they are only helping you and explaining things to you they dont have to do this but they want to for us customers. so please think first.

yours sincearly

jo rindoman

Zoom Flightcrew and all
I fly on a regular basis out from Glasgow to Calgary, and in the past i have flown with various charter/scheduled airlines.
I just got back from Calgary actually flying out with Zoom and back with Transat
Heres a quick rundown

AC has got a real bad attitude and takes me 14 hours to get to my destination and changing flights
Air Tr*nsat is just nasty. Seats are a chiropractors nightmare, food is non edible unless you are desperate, but i have to say the crew are helpful and polite.
Continental flying tincan. enough said
BA arrogant attitude from crew and nothing special.

Zoom Airlines - first up...staff were soooo nice!, seats actually felt like seats, not some narrow knees up to the shoulder torture device. Food was palatable. What can i say, i enjoyed the flight. By far one of the best airlines i have flown to Calgary with.

Please people, this is a review site. This is not somewhere to moan to no end to the Zoom Aircrew who have so nicely posted replies. If you want to moan at the airline speak to their customer relations department.
A little common sense also goes a long way, hence the luggage thing please read and understand the above.

Zoom Aircrew - Helluva job! keep it up and don't let the few moaning/arrogant/insulting folk spoil it for us all.

Enough said

D'boy

I flew from Paris to Vancouver in September the flight was miserable because a child (18months) screamed and cried the whole way and the flight attendants did nothing to help the father who was doing his best to calm a child who wouldn't be calmed. The attendants should have offered him children's Gravol(is there such a thing?) or something to calm her.The passengers,including me) did our best to help entertain the little girl.
My other issue is that they sell duty free alcohol on the plane and don't let people know that if they have connecting flights they can't get through security with it!When I called to tell Zoom what happened they immediately went on the defensive saying I should have known that!How much would it take for them to remind passengers of this,especially at the end of a trans-atlantic flight when people are tired and not thinking as clearly as normal.I have flown with Zoom several times and find their service has been slipping, probably because they don't have to work as hard to find customers as they used to.

This is the most frustrating and unfair complaint letter I have seen on this website.

I agree with Frustrated. This has to be the most rediculous complaint against an airline that I have ever come across. Not to be harsh, but seriously Irena, suggesting that the flight attendants were incompetant because they didn't offer to sedate a screaming child with drugs??? And are you so out of touch with reality that you are unaware of the current restriction of liquids on-board aircraft at the moment? Did you also post this comment "at the end of a trans-atlantic flight when people are tired and not thinking as clearly as normal"? Because that is possibly the only reason I can find for your childish and mindless whining. Get with the program, and post things of relevance, or else find a good shrink to complain to about the unfairness of the world. Better yet, maybe it is you who should consume the gravol on your next flight- that way you won't have to suffer through the inconvenience of sharing a space with others and of having to think for yourself.

I flew from Gatwick to Edmonton Sept 28/ 06...the Zoom crew was awesome. I would especially like to thank Rebecca our flight attendant. Zoom Flight Attendant could you please pass this on to her supervisors and herself that would be great....flight was comfortable and awesome.

Rebecca handled the children and service with great Professionalism...and a sense of humor.

Hope she got her pizza in Edmonton.

thanks

Mike

Mike,

Thank you so very much. Rebekah did receive this message, and was overjoyed! She adores her job as a flight attendant with Zoom Airlines and has been praised for her strong work ethic, great attitude, and amazing customer service skills. Thanks so much for posting your comments. And yes, she did get her pizza in Edmonton!
Thanks for flying with Zoom

My wife and I flew Belfast to Vancouver on 9th Sept returning on 9th Oct 2006 and following some of the very negative comments on this board we were apprehensive to say the least but I have to say that the airline we flew with must have been a different airline to some of the whingers above. The flights were on time, we were well fed and watered throughout the whole flight and the flight attendants were great, very pleasant and attentive and worked their socks off for the full nine hours of each flight. Thank you Zoom from a 62 year old first time flyer and I hope to travel with you again soon.

We flew Zoon to Manchester and returned via Gatwick to Toronto, only issue was they changed our return route to include a stop in Manchester not scheduled. However, we found all their staff VERY friendly including in flight staff. Frankly the meals both ways were good for an airline meal and wine was offerred (inclusive) with 2nds if you wished. 2 movies both ways, not big names but what you would expect (entertaining anyhow).

Great flight, great staff. Zoom is doing it all right. Keep up the good work.

My wife and I left Manchester (uk) to Vancouver in September.
I can honestly say that we found Zoom airlines to be first class.
The meals were good, plenty of in flight movies for everyone to watch - and the staff are excellent.

Don't be put off by anything your read here - book now and save yourself some cash!!
P.S. If you can afford it - upgrade as I'm 6ft 3inchs and the legroom on the upgrade was brilliant, I could srtrech right out which made the (almost10hr) flight all the more enjoyable.

9 out of 10. (Nobody gets 10!)

Please whatever you do do not fly with Zoom, they are a complete joke and their levels of imcompetance are a complete joke.

I had a ticket booked for 4 months, returning to london on the 8th november confirmed by zoom themsleves which i printed off for my e-ticket, Im now in america and have a return to vancouver for the return flight home.

I recieved an email saying the ticket had been rescheduled for the 15th november becuase the flight was cancelled, so I phoned and asked if there was anything i could do. I could get a refund or choose a different flight.

I dont wanna spend a week in vancouver and said is there anything on the 8th, I got told there was a flight on the 8th so I said thats the one Im on anyways, she told me no - youve been rescheduled from the 11th to the 15th.

I argued until I was blue in the face that I was booked on the 8th and even had the porint out in front of me, still I got told no, i was booked on the 11th, eventually I received an apology and was booked onto the flight I origianally booked on about 7 months ago - What a complete joke!

To top it all off she said she was gonna send me the new conformation email, but it never arrived, once again I had to chase these things up, pathetic!

PLEASE SPEND THE EXTRA ON AIR CANADA OR SOMEONE ELSE, AT LEAST THEY WILL KNOW WHEN YOU WANT TO RETURN!

Owners of zoom airline!!Change your customer relations department staff!!!!!The airline itself may be good and average to any other low cost airline. But, Be warned!! if you have any problems with your baggage and you have to go through their customer relations department, bear in mind that they can be very dismissive, not helpful at all. They have closed my file so I can not dispute the response given to me and I am being ignored completely. I have my bag damaged in the transit from Vancouver to London this August and a solid handle was yanked off with the luggage tags on it. A complaint was made about it but the only response given from Zoom airlines was that as this was a normal tear and wear, they were not responsible of the damage. If this is a "normal" what will they call "abnormal". Please carry with you a bullet proof suitcase otherwise if you have the bad luck to have your luggage damaged you will not have any reason to claim anything. Very disappointed with the company and not looking forward to flying with them again.

My spouse is travelling TO-CDG on 12/1 for a weeks stay with our daughter. We are all veteran air travellers and have logged several million miles over the last 27 years. I researched Zoom (3 children in college) and am amply impressed with all the blogs and comments, positive and negative, you have voiced in this arena. However, safety for our loved ones is first priority and Zoom appears to be right on with that as well as being economical. Therefore, after her trip we'll post comments from the other end of the contingent which dictates economy flying hence forward!

just want to reply to : hiu kuan lo
The baggage handlers who work for many airliners are not actually affiliated with the airline and therefor the airline like zoom does not carry the responsibility for baggage damage. Many times its companies like globeground who hire these guys .. who get paid 10 bucks an hour to do the heavy work, and in many cases they throw those bags around like crazy. I myself have had my bags ripped open, stuff stolen, wheels broken, and pieces torn.. and its not the airlines fault.. its the luck of the draw on who's working back there that day.

I MUST SAY THAT YOU ALL WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT LOST LUGGAGE, BAD FOOD, BAD FLIGHT, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE ETC., SHOULD BE AT LEAST THANKFUL THAT THE AIRLINE CARRIER GOT YOU FROM POINT "A" (DEPATURE) TO POINT "B" (DESTINATION) SAFELY WITHOUT ANY AIRCRAFT INCIDENTS/ACCIDENTS. I TELL YOU, IT COULD BE WORSE. SO JUST BE THANKFUL! GO ZOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

WOW this was my second trip on Zoom and totally enjoyed it. I flew to Trinidad and the staff were so great. It was actually nice to see the staff was so diverse. I think I one Flight attendant from every major ethnicity was represented.........including the cute black guy. Anyways, jsut got back form london a few days back and the service was great. The flight was bumpy and the tea took a long time to get to us as they cant serve hot drink during turbu,ance. I would fly Zoom again. In comparison to other low budget carriers in Canada like Air Transat, Skyservice.........Zoom is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better......

I flew to Vancouver and back long haul with Zoom in July/August. My first flight in 20 years as flying scares me. It was a great flight, comfortable, as cheap upgraded as the Air Canada flight I took 3 weeks ago and not so noisy!!! Bear in mind British Midland are charging three times as much economy as Zoom charges on the upgrade!!! OICH!!!!!!!!!!!!

From London to Toronto. 6th time in 2 years. A great flight with Zoom. We have done Air Canada (nasty crew but OK seats) BA - pretty much like Air Canada but In-flight crew more courtious - and just have a knowledge about what 'class' is.
Air Transat (nasty) + nasty all attitude French crew, where do they get off going to London? - crew and horrible seats --- even the Flight Crew troubles to speak English. They do but not fluently in English. They stutter in a French/English but it ends up mostly in French.

Hi, I am looking to book a flight from Toronto to London Gatwick (over Christmas). Has anyone used Zoom over the holidays? Did it arrive/leave on time? Am a bit converned about he lost luggage stories (even thought it can happen on any airline). I am deciding between Air Canada (with changing planes once during the trip) and Zoom (direct flight from what I see online). There is approximately $75-100 difference (not a huge difference, but still makes a difference). I would appreciate any comments to help me decide.
Thanks so much,
Nat.

My experience with Zoom was sadly simply very poor customer service. In fact, it was the worst customer service I have experienced of any company. We booked our flights with Zoom (which were not cheap as peak period) to Canada. It was to be a special birthday celebration with relatives for my brother who has never been to Canada and the reviews I read about the in flight service were very good. We were all extremely excited and a lot of preparation and planning of birthday events took place. Relatives travelled across Canada for the occasion. Sadly, our flight was delayed. We were initially informed by Zoom that this was due to a terrorist alert in London. Subsequently, we were then informed by BAA that this was not the case and that it was a mechanical issue.

The delay in itself was disappointing and meant that we missed the birthday celebrations. I appreciate, however, that we need to fly safely and could have accepted this delay had we been treated differently. My grievance with Zoom, is not the delay in itself, but relates to the way we were treated by the customer service representatives. Despite continual and expensive telephone calls with Management in Canada, we were not offered any hotel accomodation at the airport during the considerable delays, no alternative flights despite availability with Zoom or other airlines and no compensation for the wasted hotel, car hire or party costs. Most upsettingly, we were not, despite repeated requests offered or provided with disabled assistance or facilities during the delays which in the end meant that we had to cancel our flight. This was a considerable disappointment and costly experience for us and unfortunatly the customer service staff were rude, disingenuous and uninformative.

The response we have received from Zoom has been equally unsatisfactory. When any company faces adversity, its ability to deal with matters is what makes the difference. No gestures of goodwill or offers to rebook our flight to compensate for the disapointment or financial loss have ben made. On the contrary one of the Canadian Hotels has offered us a free voucher to stay at their hotel should we rebook next year. What a difference!

I'm about to book a zoom flight from London to Toronto next summer for me, my husband and son (who will be 4 yrs old). TWO QUESTIONS: IS THE PREMIUM WORTH THE EXTRA EXPENSE? and , if we go with the premium seats, WHICH IS THE BEST LOCATION TO RESERVE THREE SEATS? I'm rather dreading the flight with a very active little boy, so anything to make it better would be fantastic.

It is often difficult to assign blame for lost baggage to airlines, as it is the airports baggage handlers who are often to blame. That said, when you have a problem with Zoom airlines the customer service is abysmal.

I flew on Zoom recently, and although it was a direct flight, my bicycle (in a bag with pedals off bars turned and tired deflated), did not appear. I suspected it was the Gatwick baggage handlers and wanted to start an investigation immediately before their shift was finished. I had to go it alone as there was no representative at the Toronto airport.

Luckily I did. By bike arrived at my house in the middle of the night with the tires pumped up and the bars turned. Ready to be biked away at the end of the shift. It was in another airlines box instead of the bag I'd put it in.

Zoom refused to respond to me. They later sent me an email informing me that my baggage had been returned and they would not enter into further correspondence.

I fly Air Transat again. So far I've been lucky.

If you think that you will save by flying Zoom - think again. True,
the fare may be some $100 or even $200 lower than BA, but Zoom will
find a way to cost you, be it charging you to check your carry on (not
allowing any carryons at all for you), or not checking your baggage
through to a connecting flight so you miss it (despite what they say -
falsely - in their advertisements, they are not a real airline, as
they staff confirm, they are a charter, and thus can not put baggage
through to any connecting flights), or just providing very poor, rude
service, and the least possible - and then even less - of service and
amenities in air.

Not worth it. Fly with BA or other real airlines and you will save -
both time and money, and will not be cheated or ripped off, and will
be treated like a human being.

MORE DETAIL:

Incompetant, rude ground staff try to cheat you. For passangers whose checked bags are close to 20kg, they tell that NO carry on whatsoever - other than passport and coat - is allowed, and force to check carry on (although it is small size, well under maximum, and has laptop, camera, etc. fragiline items), so that they can charge for it. It seems that the airline is not doing well financially, given to the dishonest tactics it resorts to try to squeeze more money out of passangers - disallowing any carryons with no justification, just so that they can charge for it.

Ground staff (at least in Vancouver) are contract workers from a very low-end handling company, who are incompetent to the degree that they take over 5 minutes to check is UK in the EU, as they don't even know such a basic fact (and say that a visa is required for an EU citizen for the UK!). The ground staff (in Vancouver) are also very rude, poorly managed, and poorly trained. Obviously, Zoom went for the cheapest contract out there for the ground/checkin staff.

The planes itself are very aged, cheap Boeings, of the same type as other low-cost/low-end airlines, no better and no worse than, say, Uzbekistan Airways.

There is no choice for food whatsoever - it is the same vegetarian (meatless) dish for all - and for drinks only artifical apple juice or artificial orange juice or water, nothing else (not even available for purchase).

The seating is super tight - both in the width and the depth.

Sorry I have not been around for a while.

I have just returned from another excellent Zoom flight. On time, great attendants, no problems all around!

to Real1:

You are talking shyte. Everything you said is utter rubbish.

Zoom does not check baggage to any flight (read the baggage info), even if you are late connecting. It does not happen. There was a short period of time with the heightened security at all airports, where you could not carry anything onboard. This has since returned to (somewhat) normal. Ground handling is done by Serviceair, Aviance... the same ones who work for most of the airlines.

Their 767s fly alot, and do show signs of that. But they are Boeings, so they can handle it. Food is average (mostly chicken and sheppards pie, but I have seen steak), service onboard is outstanding, seats are comparable to most large airlines's economy (econ is 32", prem 36"). I wish they had a frequent flier program, however the money I save by flying Zoom far surpasses any frequent flier miles.

Zoom is a good, hard working, small airline (not a charter), that I hope has a long future ahead of it.

Real1

how much room do you thing are in the galley's of an airplane? how about you write to boeing and request them to have room for a fresh juice squeezer.. that way maybe zoom can order thousands of oranges an make freshly squeezed juice for you.. and not serve the "artificial" .. oh wait 100% orange juice not from concentrate for you! also have you seen air canada's boeing 767's? how about you pay a little more and go fly with them and watch a movie on their 1 projection screen for the back cabin.. then go complain to them. Zoom's fleet are about half their age.

adding on to veteran traveller

as far as i remember on the bars there were more than just juice or water. I remember seeing all types of pop which were free, and alcoholic drinks for purchase.
some people just have nothing better to do with their time then to make up B.S.

This guy has gone to great lengths to spread his nasty review to many other sites! I'm sure other people with good judgment will overshadow this W*n*e*.

Just arrived in France from Montreal
The flight was slightly delayed by half an hour due to the plane arriving from london and the fog problems they had there. Overall though the expeirnce was fine. In terms of quality-price, there is no way you can beat it. Staff was friendly, we got our bags no problem, and had no problem with our carry ons.
I would recommend zoom for anyone that wants to save some bucks

We've been flying Zoom, along with Air Canada and occasionally Thomas Cook or Canadian Affair, since whenever they started service and can offer these comments.

Our impression - no we don't keep statistics - is that about half the flights, everything is fine for the essentials of getting us across the Atlantic in one piece with our luggage on the day and within an hour of the advertised time. For instance, on the way over Dec.23 from Glasgow to Toronto there wasn't a glitch but on the way back one of our cases, along with the luggage of about a dozen other passengers, was left behind in Toronto, so we are awaiting its delivery, supposedly today. Zoom operates as a low cost carrier so they don't seem to have extra people available to deal with anything unusual, which in true Catch 22 manner, is exactly when one needs assistance e.g. when my daughter's flight home from Paris on Zoom was cancelled and re-schedlued for two days later. Back in October, our return flight from Ottawa to Glasgow was delayed by about 4 hours and one bar in the Ottawa airport ran out of booze, causing a bit of a stain on Ottawa's reputation among the Scots. Zoom did distribute those familiar micro juice servings and granola bars in the lounge.

The most annoying thing about Zoom is the 20kg checked bag limit (vs Air C's standard 30kg) and the 10kg cabin bag allowance. They do check and charge for overage so beware. No doubt that's one of their profit centres. We use the scales at home and take soft nylon bags (it's easy to use up 5kg just on the wheely case). I wish the airlines would institute a "total flying weight" per person limit, i.e. luggage and person combined. Compared to some of the people we see flying who like their poutine too much, we'd be able to double our luggage amount no doubt.

The best thing about Zoom, apart from the fares, is direct flights to places like Ottawa and Halifax, and avoiding Toronto and especially Heathrow. Going through the hassles and extra time (30-40% longer for an Ottawa-Glasgow trip) of connecting is a big negative.

In comparison, Zoom is about as good/bad as the other airlines for the actual flying experience but generally ahead on fares and links.

Well done Zoom one of the first airlines(19th Dec) to demand additional tax from passengers who booked before Gordon Browns announcement of the 7th Dec 2006

ok you are dumb, READ THIS BEFORE SPEAKING, BE INFORMED PLEASE it's black and white on Zoom's website! We even noticed it before travelling and i do believe that all proceeds go to her majesty's govt. and all airlines flying out of the uk are obliged to comply with this. TA!

Reference: Air Passenger Duty (APD), United Kingdom

HM Revenue and Customs Treasury board announced on December 7, 2006 that they will be doubling the Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax. This increase in tax will affect all airlines with departures scheduled out of a UK airport. The new rates will come into effect on February 1, 2007 and apply to the carriage of a passenger on an aircraft which begins on or after that date.

As such, all passengers who are currently booked with a departure from a UK airport on or after February 1, 2007 will be required, by UK law, to pay the increase in the fee.

What is Air Passenger Duty (APD)?

APD is an Excise duty which is charged on the carriage, from a UK airport, of chargeable passengers on chargeable aircraft.

What is the amount of the increase in APD that you are required by UK law to pay?

Economy Passengers: £20 / $46 CAD / ?35
Premium Economy Passengers: £40 / $92 CAD / ?70

Payment of the increased APD is required in full prior to departure. Passengers currently booked with Zoom Airlines for flights scheduled on or after February 1, 2007 are invited to log into the My Account feature on our website to make their payment or contact our call center at one of our toll free numbers:

North America: 1-866-359-9666

United Kingdom 0870-240-0055

France: 0800-213-266

For additional information, we invite you to visit www.hmrc.gov.uk.

It may be rubbish but a treasury spokesman said Quote "A spokesman said the chancellor had taken into account economic and social as well as environmental factors.

He said the Air Passenger Duty was not a tax on passengers but a tax on airlines for the number of passengers they carry. It was up to the airline to decide whether they pass that levy on to passengers."
British Airways said in the interests of fairness it will not be charging passengers who pre booked prior to 7th Dec. They have the almost the same terms and conditions regarding passenger duty as those mentioned by Rubbish

Ok now do u honestly think that all airlines are going to pay for the extra levy, hell no. thats nice that BA is going to pay for those pax booked before feb 7th, what about after that? people are going to have to pay for it, its either that or airlines will increase the air ticket price. Zoom is a new company right, do u honestly think they can afford that same conveniance that british airways is doing for their pax booked b4 feb 7th? yeesh give them a break, instead of saying that zoom is not fair. As you said ""treasury spokesman said Quote "A spokesman said the chancellor had taken into account economic and social as well as environmental factors.
He said the Air Passenger Duty was not a tax on passengers but a tax on airlines for the number of passengers they carry. It was up to the airline to decide whether they pass that levy on to passengers""

Well wake up sleeping ugly, all airlines are going to pass this tax on to the passengers in way or another. so what if BA is only doing it after feb 7th. some people wine too much or are way too hard to pleaseeeee. and are just too cheap and complain about every god damb thing. I say, if u can't go big, go home.

Hey what's going on with Zoom why can't I use the website to purchase my ticket from canada to trinidad or any caribbean destinations, biased behaviour Zoom? really now that cant be fair.

Have just read for first time this blog site. I could accept the odds of misplacing luggage and minor late departures and arrivals but the idea that Zoom might change airports or announce changes of several hours in departure/arrival times (thinking of the effects, not only to me but to our "pick-up" party,) is not acceptable.
I got a hint of what might happen when I asked the Zoom booking agent which gate would be used in Toronto ( some seem to be miles away close to Hamilton and I am handicapped} and was told "we don't know until just before the time of departure. We take whatever gate is made available.

That is enough to discourage me from considering Zoom as a carrier

hi iv booked zoom airlines on 15th jan 06,will the tax be added to the fare or will i have to pay at airport b4 departure

To Helen

If you have booked online the taxes have been added to your fare.This came into effect 19th Dec. 2006 See web site http://www.flyzoom.com/ Flight News on the left hand side.

Regards

In response to RESH, I belive a tour operator handles those flights and NOT ZOOM directly. IF its not on ZOOMS website, you can't purchase them. For example: You want to go to Cuba. You look on Zooms website and its not there! If you go to Go Travel Direct you can purchase a seat with whomever Go travel decides to use to take their clients down there. Zoom happens to be the chartered aircraft. Zoom has ZERO biased behavior..whatever that means?!

so in conclusion, Zoom is a chartered airline too...which means, any tour operation can use that aircraft to go where ever that tour operator wants with a purchase thru that tour operator. So if you are in Georgetown and see Zoom at the airport, TALK to the people at the airport (preferrably the reps) and find out who you can call in order to purchase a ticket! ITS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH ZOOM!

Mr Acton. All airlines take what gate is free. That is normal. I have been on BA and waited in Toronto because the gates still had planes at them. If you have a mobility problem they will provide a free ride right to the gate.

Have just read most of the comments which were very interesting. Having flown Zoom last year Gatwick-Toronto and back and found everything was great - staff, flight crew, service, food etc. Have booked return flights for 9th April 2007 mid January and informed without explanation or apology that flights both ways are extended by 2 hours with a stop-over in Halifax. Customer Services at Zoom does not exist. I have tried email, phone and FAX to try to get someone to communicate with me without success. On this point alone I doubt I will use Zoom again. We have family in Toronto so are frequent flyers but having used BA, Air Canada & Canadian Affair (who left us at Gatwick for 10 hours with no information once) I think next time they may win our business.
If Zoom management read this blog - PLEASE PLEASE do something about your apalling customer services department. Start by sacking all the staff at the UK call centre. I have never been spoken to by such a rude female ever before.

I found that if you show up to the head office (in Ottawa) and ask for the right people you can get some answers ;-)

Also gotravel direct and Zoom are the same company.

Just received a call today looking for the payment regarding the Air Passenger Duty tax. Just wondering if anyone else has received a call regarding this. I thought you could pay this at the airport.

Never Ever again!!!! My husband and I booked our family (his daughter and two small children) on a flight from manchester to Toronto. The flight was delayed due to technical problems. Do you believe after almost 20 hours sitting at the airport they finally put them up in a hotel for 3 hours only to face yet another delay. As a result we had to pay to rebook the connecting flight in toronto twice as Zoom changed their departure times twice. they gave them a measly 7 pound meal vouture to cover the 20+ hour delay!!! What nerve. I contacted Zoom via email as they have no live person for you to talk to, and they responded dear valued customer, (bull#@%^!!!) we do not take responsibility for delayed flights. What kind of micky mouse airline is this!!! I understand delays due to weather but to me if it is a problem at their end it should be their responsiblitly to provide compensation for our out of pocket expenses. It ended up costing us an additional $515.00 dollars. Had we known that we would have booked on BA or AC the cost would have been the same. I am angry with the response or the lack of live people to handle complaints, I think they do this on purpose just so people get frustrated and let it go.

My advice to anyone planning to book on Zoom to seriously reconsider your options, it could end up costing you far more in the end.

In the end 36 hours later, two changed connecting flights and 1 night hotel expense in toronto, they finally made it to Edmonton. I have to say WESTJET were more compensating to our situation than Zoom/globespan. To bad they didn't fly to the UK!

What a nightmare experience!!!!

Never Ever again!!!! My husband and I booked our family (his daughter and two small children) on a flight from manchester to Toronto. The flight was delayed due to technical problems. Do you believe after almost 20 hours sitting at the airport they finally put them up in a hotel for 3 hours only to face yet another delay. As a result we had to pay to rebook the connecting flight in toronto twice as Zoom changed their departure times twice. they gave them a measly 7 pound meal vouture to cover the 20+ hour delay!!! What nerve. I contacted Zoom via email as they have no live person for you to talk to, and they responded dear valued customer, (bull#@%^!!!) we do not take responsibility for delayed flights. What kind of micky mouse airline is this!!! I understand delays due to weather but to me if it is a problem at their end it should be their responsiblitly to provide compensation for our out of pocket expenses. It ended up costing us an additional $515.00 dollars. Had we known that we would have booked on BA or AC the cost would have been the same. I am angry with the response or the lack of live people to handle complaints, I think they do this on purpose just so people get frustrated and let it go.

My advice to anyone planning to book on Zoom to seriously reconsider your options, it could end up costing you far more in the end.

In the end 36 hours later, two changed connecting flights and 1 night hotel expense in toronto, they finally made it to Edmonton. I have to say WESTJET were more compensating to our situation than Zoom/globespan. To bad they didn't fly to the UK!

What a nightmare experience!!!!

This flight was scheduled to depart manchest on the 2nd of February, ended up leaving the 3rd of february. As it was our family had a 2 hr drive from where they live to the airport so couldn't go home and come back. They were basically stranded.

Wow... I stumbled on this website coz I was about to book a holiday that included a Zoom flight and just wanted to know the route. What an eye opener ! Some of the complaints do seem a bit trivial but it's probably because there's nowhere else for customers to express their disappointment. The impression I have is that Zoom will get me there although there's a chance there might be a delay or some other problem (like all airlines have) but the really discouraging thing is that if something does go wrong it seems I'll be on my own coz there'll be no support at all from Zoom.

One question I do have is, does Zoom Flight Attendant really work for Zoom or is he/she another disgruntled passenger pretending to be a Zoom employee to make Zoom look even worse ? How could Zoom management let someone with no customer service skills like that 'represent' them ?????

Hi, I have flown between Glasgow and Vancouver on Zoom five times. On four other occasions I have either flown British Airways or Air Canada. I will NEVER fly Air Canada again. British Airways is great, however, why spend the money when there is Zoom!

Zoom's customer service is on par with British Airways in addition to always leaving on time, often arriving early, never wait long for baggage, and the attendants are great. Very polite and helpful.

You must admit the fare is reasonable.

The only thing that has bothered me recently though, is the prices change on the internet. I booked my daughter's flight at Xmas and then a few days later the prices fell quite a bit. They then changed her flight to include Manchester and that was very upsetting. I also think in the summer they block certain flights showing that they are already booked and then later open them up for selling. That bothers me.

When we first started booking with Zoom, in 2004, calling the offices was a delight. More recently customer service is not quite the same when calling from Scotland. Is it possible they are outsourcing to call centres? Do they have their own call centre? It's just they have developed that 'call centre' feel now, which is too bad, because before you felt as though the staff really cared.

Cheers!

Hi again,

I'm sure flight attendant is great, BUT I don't agree with her response to noel vaughan.

I was licenced as a travel agent in Canada.

The reason you do not see Zoom listed on cheapflights type websites is because Zoom does not pay a commision to Travel Agents. Most Travel Agents will not promote Zoom. Customers can book their flights directly with Zoom, and that is one of the reasons why the fare prices are much lower. You could consider Cusomters are paying wholesale prices.

Once, I was unable to book my own flight while in the UK and went to a Tavel Agent. They put a fee on top of Zoom's published fare.

Cheers!

I have the most bizarre question. This "Noel Vaughan" Where's he from? If he's from liverpool, please let me know. Thats my uncles name and that would be SO weird if your talking about him.
Cheers,
Sarah

To J Hopper It may be worth looking at http://www.which.co.uk in the travel section, which details compensation as laid done under EU law for flights departing from EU airports.Go to the travel and leisure section and click on "Flights Rights" and they have a template letter which you can download.

Regards

In reading over the reviews here, I'm led to think that the service on Zoom is about average. Over the years, I've flown a number of airlines, from United in the 1970's to American in the 80's to US Airways in the 90's to Southwest in the last several years. Really, a single word can be applied to all of them: Mediocre. Over the years, more has been contracted out, and the level of service on all of these airlines has declined accordingly (with the possible exception of Southwest, which has always been no-frills).

I'll be flying Zoom to Cardiff in May. This will be my first transAtlantic flight, and while I've seen lower prices, I was able to get a round-trip for US$600 direct into Cardiff. I found no other airline that did so, and would have paid at least $200 more for the cheapest alternative (Northwest via both Detroit and Amsterdam).

In reading some of the reviews, I'm reminded that it's always a good idea to pack at least one change of clothes in one's carry-on bags, just in case. In the past, I would also have carried any fragile items that way, but recent changes in prohibited items makes this impossible. Thus, I will likely have a fair amount of packing peanuts or wadded-up newspaper in my checked bags to cushion those fragile items.

One thing I never saw mentioned, however, was how the airline treats portly individuals. I am, by no means, a small person. While I'm sure I'll be able to fit into a standard seat without having to raise the armrest (I reserved a window seat in Economy), I will likely need a belt extender for comfort purposes. I have been assured by Zoom's customer service people (who were quick to answer my email and seemed friendly) that this will pose no problem, and, unlike many US airlines, Zoom has no "passenger of size" clause in its terms and conditions. The general friendliness of cabin crew also gives me reason to hope.

Still, if anyone has insight into what a larger person (width, not height) can expect, I would be very grateful.

Also, perhaps someone could settle a bet for me. My best friend is of the opinion that these planes have been retrofitted with digital-based sound systems (i.e. the audio programs are mp3 based) while I'm sure that they're still the tape or CD-based systems in use when the planes were in service with KLM/Air France...

Lots of information on the site, but still didn't find an answer to my question. Which airline would you prefer to go with, Air Transit or Zoom??? Air transit are offering slightly cheaper prices on an Airbus A310 which i believe is meant to be a nicer plane than the boeing 767. So for all of you out there which one airline is better?

Based on what I've read on this and other review sites, it all depends on what you're after.

Personally, my only choices came down to Northwest/KLM or Zoom. I went with Zoom not because it was the cheapest (though it was) but because they run the ONLY scheduled direct flights to Cardiff from North America.

Were I going to London or Manchester and price was no object, I'd likely go Virgin Atlantic... But that's just me.

I would choose Zoom over Air Transat. I have flown both and prefer Boeing 767 over Airbus 310. I find Boeing planes more comfortable.

Zoom Airlines - by Richard Desmond
20 March 2007

We have yet to fly with Zoom but already are less then impressed with the airline. We booked flights from Toronto to Gatwick (non stop and direct), with upgraded seating and also booked the actual seat locations (windows). After receiving electronic confirmation we assumed that things were settled, even though we read the small print ( we assumed this was to cover exceptional circumstances only). Well two weeks later we received notification that the flight was now stopping in Halifax and would be leaving two hours earlier, also that our seats had now been changed. 2 weeks after that we were told that the return flight would be leaving a day later and now was stopping in Cardiff and also that our seats were changed to non-window seats. When we phoned to complain we were told that the "small" print applied. Apart from the fact that we are still flying in a plane and that the departure/arrival cities are the same, everything else had been altered.

I think because they added halifax on their summer routes they added it on to their only flight that didn't have a stop already.

I believe they've added a Halifax Paris and it starts in Toronto too.

We flew Zoom to the Dominican Republic this month and they were great. The check in was as easy and quick as any other airline, the flight was early (!) and the crew were very professional, cheerful and polite. We'd fly with them again anytime.

Zoom Airlines - by Michael Leckey

26 March 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 2 Star Rating

Manchester - Toronto - Manchester in Economy. Be careful if you plan to fly with Zoom based on your experience of previous flights in their aircraft. They are now subcontracting flights to another carrier, Flyglobespan. You'll book through Zoom but you'll find a reference to Flyglobespan if you check the booking details carefully. The outbound flight was delayed well over 5 hours because of a problem with the Zoom aircraft. Inflight service was average for Economy. The return journey was a bad experience all round. Again the flight was delayed by several hours because of a technical problem with the incoming Zoom aircraft. It was extremely difficult to find the check-in desk at Toronto. The Zoom desk was deserted. When I approached two check-in staff sitting at an unmarked desk and asked if they were for the Zoom flight to Manchester they said No and offered no help or suggestions. As I was about to turn away I asked, on the off chance, if they were connected with Flyglobespan, they said Yes that's us. What is wrong with these people do they not understand that passengers keep them in a job??? Many of the other passengers also could not find the desk and were left to wander around unassisted. Flyglobespan's plane was grubby and unacceptably tight on legroom, and the service was poor (one example being that there were no pillows or blankets in Economy). My son travelled the same 420 and 421 flights (but on 20 December 2006 and 29 December 2006) and had exactly the same problems, except in his case the 5-6 hour return flight delay was because the pilot was "indisposed" - whatever that means. We won't be flying with Zoom or Flyglobespan again, at any price.

29 March 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 2 Star Rating

Recently flew Glasgow - Vancouver : service on the way out was very poor. It is a dog-leg flight via Manchester on the way there, and there was no service at all in economy for the first 3 hours. Many people had not accounted for this (Zoom advertise as having a scheduled flight level of service) and were quite thirsty by the time the trolley came around. The meal was extremely poor quality, probably the worst I have ever had on any long haul scheduled or charter flight. Fortunately I had brought sufficient water and food to see us through the 12 hour flight. Others went hungry. Seats were OK, 31" , old style. No in seat entertainment, you had to view on old style screens, not all visible and purchase headphones £3. We were a large group, some of whom had paid more for premium seats, and supposedly better service. These people complained bitterly about the level of service. Food on the return was slightly better, but there was a delay due to mechanical problems with the plane. Loos were not kept clean. I guess that we would not have felt the service was so poor if it were not for the fact that Zoom advertise as having a better level of service than a charter flight. This is certainly not the case. I have complained to Zoom with no response. So no surprise there either.

4 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating :**** out of 5

Have travelled with them twice recently between Gatwick and Toronto due to family issues in Windsor near Toronto. Both have been quick trips at short notice and the Zoom prices were way below Air Canada, Air Transat or BA for the journey I needed to make. Service has been fine, 767 aircraft clean and comfortable and crews have been very friendly (probably better than Air Canada from past experience and streets ahead of Air Transat). Food could be better though but this seems to be a common issue with Canadian carriers - Transat's is awful. Flights have all left within an hour of the scheduled time. My bookings were both made in the week or two before the flight and so they probably had no opportunity to change the flight times! On balance, I've nothing bad to say about Zoom - they seem to provide a reasonable service at a good price. Although I'm hoping not to have to make the trip again so soon, I'm content to use Zoom again if I needed to travel to Canada.

Hi

I was a little nervous cause I want to go to Canada and saw an advert for Zoom on a billboard in the London underground. I checked the flights, and found that it would be really cheap to go (half the price of going home), thus affordable. I then had a panick attack as what happens if after I pay my fair they go bust or something. However, reading these comments have put my mind at ease, and I just want to respond to a few of them, from my perspective as a Zimbabwean (Mugabe has done an effective job of normalising the abnormal)

Delays:
4 hour delays are wonderful, compared with the delays experianced by Air Zimbabwe passengers, where there are delays and they don't even tell you, and these delays are such that you can be stuck in a city (24hours+) in which you don't have friends or family to put you up, and what's complimentary accomodation? It doesn't happen. I know of a friend who travelled to Harare from Bulawayo, and was stuck there overnight with no option of accomodation, on here way to London.

No Plane:
Air Zimbabwe's planes are habitually grounded through not paying airport tax.

Cancelling flights:
At least Zoom cancels some flights so that they can keep operating, Air ZImbabwe is well known to be in debt, and yet flew with one passenger back from Dubai to Harare.

Lost baggage:
Both coming over here and going back home, I flew via Jo'berg International Airport, and because it is notorious for losing luggage, I packed a few extra clothes in my hand luggage so that I could continue my life in either place waiting for my luggage to appear. Touch wood I've been fine both times, but I'm not going to take chances.

To Weng Fu Leong who found the delay unacceptible:
I know that I am going to be delayed on Air Zimbabwe, so I payed the extra to go on South African Airways, because I had a job to come back to. If you have a reason to get from a to b in a hurry, then pay extra for an airline that won't do that.

I'm sorry, but no matter what posts are put on here, I've read enough posts to cause me to want to fly Zoom. The customer (ground) service may be a little tacky at times, but it looks that they are by-en-large a good airline. I just hope that I am proved right, which I think I will be.

Oh yah, and the 'small baggage allowance':
PLEASE I had a baggage allowance of 20kg, moving MY WHOLE LIFE FROM ZIM TO THE UK, not just for a 2 week holiday. And on the way back I HAD TO take presents, because culturally we CANNOT go home without them, or else your name goes to the mud. I had in the region of 10kg's of presents, which I was able to post some of, but I still managed to take the presents, plus luggage for 2 weeks. People complaining of 20kg allowances need to learn how to pack, and maybe how to use a washing machine in a foreign country/wash by hand.

Yah, still no sympathy coming from me

I am flying to Paris from Vancouver in June. Could anyone tell me if the seats have those built in head supports, ie two wings that pull out of the head portion to support your head when you sleep. Also best seats to see the movies and not be on top of the toilets

No they do not have those two wings, i suggest bringing a kneck pillow that supports your kneck. best seats vary per aircraft, two of thier aircraft config are different from the other two, call an agent and ask them that question.

I flew Zoom Calgary-Gatwick, with a stopover in Glasgow in March and returned Gatwick-Calgary with again a stopover in Glasgow. I cannot rave about Zoom enough. We left right on time from both ends, and landed early both times as well. The staff was extremely courteous. My headset didn't work, and my steward had a new one to me (in the middle of dinner service I might add) within minutes. They come around quite often to make sure everyone is comfortable and offer water. 3 movies, good food, and pillows.

As for check in, it was a breeze! I arrived at the airport on both ends 3 hours prior to the flight, and never waited for more then one person to check in. The line up in London for all other departing flights was an absolute mess. Arrive early and you should have no issue. (That should be said for ALL airlines however!)

As for flight times being changed, this didn't happen to me this trip, but our upcoming flights to and from Paris have been changed by a couple of hours. I have also had times change on me from Air Canada, Air France, Alaska etc... they all need to arrange schedules sometimes. It is a fact of flying. It IS in the not-so-fine print, that times are subject to change.

so we are planning on going from Edmonton to London this July, and boy are we confused.

It seems Zoom has some loyal followers. Has anyone had some experience with the Edm to London Trips? Do they do last minute changes like make it go to Halifax last minute and make the plane ride longer?

The reason I ask, is that we will be with our 22 month old child, and this is what is making our decision difficult. If it was just my wfie and I, we wouldn't care, we would just book the cheapest zoom flight and voila, London/France here we come. But we don't want our Son to Suffer.

Any advice would be great!

I'm thinking about flying with Zoom, premium economy, between Gatwick and Toronto this fall. My concern is that on the return leg from Toronto, the flight stops over in Belfast for 45 minutes or so thereby making the duration of the flight longer than if I choose to fly direct with Aircanada or BA. Seeing that I have teenagers flying with me, is it almost better to spend an hour longer on the plane on an overnight flight cross atlantic so that when we land in Gatwick at 9:55a.m. (assuming it's on time) we feel more refreshed? We always fly direct to Canada by Aircanada or BA depending on the cost, but I have just heard of Zoom, and its premium class is definitely cheaper than AC/BA economy. It's just that there's this issue of stopping over in Belfast....(there's no other choice on the day we must return to London)Please help!

Having just finished my 10 day trip to Cardiff, I can say that I was eminently satisfied with Zoom, and I got exactly what I paid for.

The flights were on time and the crews were more than friendly. On the way over, they even moved me to an empty row so I'd have room to be comfortable. Unfortunately, the plane was full on the way back, so I didn't get to do the same. That said, next time I fly with them, I'll pay the extra to get a seat in premium economy.

Back in 2004 my family used Zoom to travel from Halifax to Glasgow, Scotland and return. We we really delighted with everything. So much so, I can't think of anything negative to say about our experience. Our small daughter was even given the royal treatment: on the flight over, we traveled overnight. The friendly flight crew even made a little 'tent' for her between the seat in front of hers and her own, so that other people's reading lights wouldn't bother her sleep. AND the great flight attendant even managed to find enough fresh milk to fill my little girl's sippy cup. We will go out of our way to use ZOOM in the future... they were GREAT! (AND you CAN'T BEAT THE PRICES!)

This is supposed to be a budget airline the earlier you book the better the price Yeah! My wife and I booked a flight seven months before departure in the fond hope that we would get a good price. I checked today and the price has dropped FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS I PHONED THE HEAD OFFICE. HARD LUCK was their response. We are repeat customers, but will look to Globespan in future. You can fly all over Europe for peanuts compared to to what north american airlines charge, budget or not.

We are going to NY end October 2007 from Gatwick. I can get Zoom's outward dates and pricing but coming back beginning November - nothing. Does anyone know how long you have to wait before return flights are on screen?

Well if you think Zoom are bad, check out Fly Globes span at http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/flygspan.htm
see for youself!

If you book with Zoom you may end up flying Globespan anyway or vice versa. As they have a codeshare agreement, which means they can sell tickets in their own name for each others flights. See http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/rulings-decisions/decisions/2006/A/433-A-2006_e.html

Our experiences with Zoom were a huge disappointment. On 8th June 2007 our outward flight from Manchester to Toronto was cancelled due to 'operational requirements'(perhaps this was because the flight was less than half full?) and we were transferred to a Thomas Cook flight from another terminal flying several hours later. We were advised by a Zoom rep that our pre- booked seating would be available- it wasn't! We had booked premium economy seats as my husband is v.tall so this really was bad news. Staff in the new terminal were uninformed and the whole departure descended into chaos. I don't recommned Zoom and I won't be flying with them ever again.

I am thinking of taking a Zoom airlines flight from Paris to Calgary. But still hestitating as the dates are not matching my travel plan. The last comment says that they actually cancelled their flight. Did anyone else have the same experience coz I do not wanna lose my vacation days.

Any comments?

Undecided

Harry Smith...Every airline has seat sales, I would be very surprized if you could find one that would refund money to those who bought pre-seat sale.

Watcher...Zoom no longer has a codeshare agreement with Globespan (good thing I don't think that they would want be associated with that airline.

Marie...Sometimes flights get cancelled. EVERY AIRLINE DOES IT!! There must have been a very good reason (a half full flight is not a reason, because the aircraft have been scheduled far in advance. That means that one cancelled flight means two cancelled flights, or an aircraft flying one way completly empty (to pick up the schedule). So the fact that Zoom paid to get you where you wanted to go, vice, delaying you 24 hrs or more is a good thing. I am sure they paid premium dollars to get you there, and think about it, Thomas Cook has already sold their own seats, so you are getting what is left (at last minute $$$). Good job for Zoom to have gotten you on your trip. I am sure it cost them to do it! Ask NICELY for a refund of your premium upgrade and I am sure that you will get it. Don't be an A..Hole about it, nobody likes to be talked to rudely!!

Smokescreen...Flights do not get cancelled very often. Don't worry about that.

We've booked a return flight from Calgary > Paris. We didn't opt for the seat selection :( If we check in real early, do they allow you to choose your seat then or is it always assigned no matter when?

Also, I've read other places where the Calgary > Paris flight sometimes stops in Halifax, is that often? Reason why I ask is because we want to book a connecting flight to Rome a couple of hours later that day. I hope we don't get ourselves stuck in a rutt.

Comments apprecaited!

I would never book a connecting flight that close in time. Unless your ticket to Rome is Flexiable, your gonna get yourself into trouble. Due to terminal changes, customs, collection of bags and re checking into your new flight plus if your tight on time, most check in desks close their flight 30 min to an hour before the flight! I would say at least 3-6 hours. It can take up to an hour at times for bags depending on the time of day etc.

Good LUck!

Calgary-Paris is always a non-stop flight, because it originates in Vancouver. The Halifax-Paris flights originate in Toronto.

I have to agree (especially for CDG connections. GIVE YOURSELF LOTS and LOTS of TIME!!!!!! Nothing is easy at CDG. There are many line-ups to be had. I have waited over and hour to check in, then 30++ minutes at passport control, followed by 30++ at security. And that was when there was no strike on!!

Give yourself minimum 4 hours connecting time. Know which terminal you need to get to, (and how to get there,)the airport is huge!! Be prepared, it will shorten the time required!!!!!

Hello

I appreciate everyone's feedback.

Our ZOOM flight arrives at CDG at 13:45 and I am looking to book with Vueling to Rome (FCO) which departs at 17:45; reason with Vueling is because they seem to be the cheapest. Does anyone know of any others?

Looks like I may be tight on time, eh?

Thanks.

4 hours should be enough as long as things are on time, you know where you are going (at CDG) and how to get there.

Also check out this website for low cost airlines in Europe.

http://www.attitudetravel.com/france/lowcostairlines/

Or to be on the safe side, get a hotel close to the airport. The town of Roissy (I think) has most of the airport hotels. Take the train into Paris for the evening, get a flight out in the morning.
Good Luck

My patience paid off and got a last minute reduction from zoom airlines. I chose the premium economy class with good seat pitch and well nothing of great importance else. The service is great, got a delay of 20 minutes but I suppose this should not be of concern. Food was ok. So I would recommend everyone to be patient with zoom to wait for last minute fare. I was fortunate to fly on a route where I could still get a last minute offer but don't wait till the you dont find any seat!
But I would highly recommend Zoom for transatlantic travel, although for long-haul, it would be better to have a reserve food in your bag.

Hey,

The Calgary to Paris flight was delayed for 3 hours yesterday and I called ZOOM to find out what the reason was and the lady told me that there were no notes for the reason for the delay.

I'm just concerned for my Aug trip if there is such a big delay w/o no reason.

Zoom Newbie aka Worried Flyer.

Like the previous poster said, Book a flight for the next day and enjoy Paris if your worried. Or else fly with another carrier.

If you fly BA, their on time rating isn't good. I heard that in one day they had 16% on time flights so that means 74% of flights were delayed! Its not just our airline that delays, its most. You can thank your stars, that Zoom doesn't have a reputation to cancel flights.

Hi,
Thinking of flying from JFK to Gatwick with Zoom later this year. Has anyone done this route yet? I usually fly BA and have had no problems with them, but Zoom is at this point $100 cheaper. Thanks in advance.

I have flown with Zoom previously, from the UK to various places in Canada, and had always enjoyed the journey. I got given a promotional voucher, as Zoom has launched a sister company based in London, flying to New York and Bermuda intially, the fares were unbelievable!! The last time I flew to Bermuda (in June last year) I paid £850 odd pound for 1 economy ticket! Zoom came in at £350 with taxes, I really think this will be a success for them.

The flight was very comfortable, 32 inches in economy (just standard, not a special leg room seat) and at the time of booking there was an option to upgrade to premium economy for just £190 extra return, wish I had, it looked amazing!

That said, the economy was just fine, very comfy seats, and the cabin crew were fantastic, naturally on edge though, as there were many press and Bermudian/UK officials onboard, all of whom commented on how great the flight and service was.

Entertainment was on overhead screens, though these were plentiful and enough for the 7 hour flight. I'm sure in time they will install PTV's eventually. I was talking to the crew, who were very down to earth, and grinning ear-to-ear, and they mentioned various other routes they have planned, such as Brazil, San Francisco etc etc, and I sure hope so.

My only whinge would be that the drinks in economy should be free (although all the soft drinks are) but I guess I will upgrade to Premium next time as ALL drinks are free there.

Thanks Zoom, I will be booking Bermuda with you again as soon as possible! Well Done and I hope it works out!

I have flown Zoom several times now. It was only on the first (!) trip that they lost my luggage, sending it from Calgary to Glasgow - when I was going to Gatwick a few hours later. I was disappointed by the Gatwick Zoom baggage people's attitude ("Well, it's a bank 'oliday, innit?") but they did get my suitcase delivered to me in Cambridgeshire within forty-eight hours.

Generally, I have been most pleased with the equipment, service and price. I continue to recommend Zoom to anyone who'll listen.

We tried to move our flight to a different date when our dog became terminally ill. Any other carrier would allow a change with a small charge, but not Zoom! When they realized we didn't use our outbound flight they sent us a an e-mail asking us to confirm if we would be using the return seats. They implied that if I informed them we wern't that they would send a conformation document and we could possibly get a refund from "my insurance company". Of course they wanted to sell the seats twice knowing full well we couldn't get a refund. I'm sorry I ever booked with them, Air Canada was just as cheap and they are far more reliable and flexible than that ratty little airline. I suspect they will be bankrupt in the not to distant future due to all their small print,upcharges and flight schedule upheavals. One can only hope so.

OFF TOMMOROW FROM GATWICK WITH ZOOM;WITH MY 3 CHILDREN LOOKING FORWARD TO FLYING WITH ZOOM WILL WRITE BACK AFTER TRIP;

i'm considering flying zoom from gatwick to heathrow and wondered about the seat space and whether you can select the seat because i get terribly claustrophobic unless i'm on the aisle seat. Thanks

If you come to the airport three to two hours ahead of time you can select your seat whether its aisle or whatever.
If you don't want to come early then once the plane has leveled off and the seatbelt sign is off you can trade seats with someone if they let you.

To all potential passengers of Zoom Airline...read the Ottawa Citizen, today, August 7,2007. A great story on how a carribean trip for a couple of sisters went downhill. Mechanical problems plagued the aircraft again. My husband and I stopped flying with them and the packages from GoTravel a few years ago. Food poisioning, bad flights, hotel not all-inclusive as described. NEVER AGAIN, TOO MANY OTHER OPTIONS!!!

yes karen it happens to every airline . did u also mention how zoom didn't just cancel and strand their passengers. they sub chartered another carrier to take them. as well as put up all the passengers in hotels who showed up to the airport for the flight. they take care. ur Bitter.

To Curious: I've flown Zoom several times from Gatwick to Toronto and each time have had huge disappointments and severe delays, even at times of upgrading, I never got the priority seating or priority luggage delivery. I had to wait for my luggage and a very expensive Strat Guitar which was labelled as fragile, just like everyone else, these came out on the regular carousels. My husband and I recently (June 2007) tried their new route Gatwick to NY return and experienced delays on both legs of the journey. Over an hour on the outward journey and nearly 2hours on the return journey with no information from ground staff. Someone commented about Zoom offering refreshments and headphones etc for free.....Not anymore! You can expect to pay £5 for blanket, headphones, neck pillow and eye patch and you pay for all your refreshments, unless you upgrade to Premium! On the return flight, we never got a proper morning snack as staff started serving late and had only got to the middle of the plane when the captain announced that it was time to prepare for landing. Myself, 6months pregnant at the time and many other passengers were literally tossed a cheese croissant without even the option of a hot drink. They seemed very disorganised and I was not impressed with this level of service, especially on a long haul flight!

Zoom that fly from Canada to the UK is one airline.
Zoom that fly from the UK to the States is another airline. (sister companies)
They are a totally different company, hence you'll notice a lot of different things. The only similar thing is the aircraft in same colors, the same name and same reservation system. THATS IT! oh and runned by the same owner.

Reason for delays with Zoom UK, ETOPS.

to sum it up...DIFFERENT COMPANY!

Read the zoom letter on teh website to US travellers... www.flyzoom.com
Zoom Airlines offers its most sincere apologies to passengers whose travel plans are affected by these short-notice changes. Whilst we recognise that this may cause inconvenience, actual flight times recently have encountered a number of delays as a result of an operational issue and knock-on delays caused by severe air traffic congestion at New York’s JFK airport. By changing flight times, the airline aims to ensure that passengers have an accurate representation of the expected departure and arrival times of each flight. This is designed to ensure that customers can make or adjust their onward travel plans accordingly before the day of travel.

We will be aiming to contact all customers booked on the above flights by e-mail or telephone (depending on the contacts given at the time of making their reservation) to notify them of the changes.

Zoom is presently operating longer routings across the Atlantic around Iceland, Greenland and the US Eastern Seabord, which leads to longer flight times than normal. A specific approval (known as “ETOPS”) is required to take the shorter, direct routings and this matter is being progressed with the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Both parties are working together with the aim of completing this during early August.

The moves to change timings have been implemented for flights departing up to and including 10 August. We do not anticipate that further timing changes to services after this date will be required, but any further updates will be given on the website and passengers notified by e-mail in the unlikely event of any such changes becoming necessary.

Members of my family, myself and others I have recommended, have been flying back and forward from Glasgow to western Canada with Zoom airlines several times a year for the past 3-4 yrs. We have all found the service very good until this summer, we have been very disappointed by the amount of delays and the poor communication received about these from Zoom staff. My daughter's flight arrived 18 hours late from Vancouver to Glasgow at 4 am on 17 July, & required me to drive the 50 miles from Edinburgh at 3 am to pick her up - very disruptive to us all, with all of us missing a day of a much anticipated holiday. But even worse was the delay encountered last weekend on 5 Aug to her return flight. At 6:00 am the Zoom website indicated that the 10:25 scheduled flight from Glasgow to Vancouver was running 3hrs late, we phoned Glasgow airport and were told she needed to check in at the usual time at 8:30 am. So we drove to Glasgow airport in the pouring rain, checked her in for the late flight, left her on her way to the departure gate at 10:30 am and drove back to Edinburgh (1 hr drive). After only an hour back in Edinburgh she phoned in a very distressed state at 1.00 pm to say she had just found out by her own devices, i.e. looking on an internet site at the airport, that the flight was delayed until the following morning! This required me to drive back to the airport thru huge traffic jams, fog and rain to pick her up which I did at 3:30 pm and brought her back to Edinburgh. She and my husband then had to get up at 2:30 am the next morning to drive back to Glasgow airport again, in the dark, fog and rain, having been told to check in at 4 am on 6 Aug. This experience caused us a great deal of distress and left us all feeling very angry about Zoom's service and communication with customers. It was very irresponsible of staff to tell us to arrive for check in at 8:30 am that Sunday when they knew that the flight to Vancouver had not even left Canada. Even more reprehensible was the decision to let her think the flight would leave 3 hrs late at 13:35 - which resulted not only in her going to the departure lounge on false pretences, but my husband and I returning to Edinburgh thinking she was on her way, only to discover that we had to drive back again to pick her up because of further delays. It was only by happenstance there was an internet site in the departure lounge where she found the upsetting & unexpected news about further delay until 4 am the next day. This disruption and upset could have been minimised if we had been informed of the probable delay when we called at 6 am before setting off in the car to Glasgow airport. Another chance to minimise this was at the check in desk, where Zoom staff let passengers check in when the flight had not left North America. No staff appeared in the departure lounge to inform passengers who had been duped into thinking the flight was leaving at 13:25, about a further 15 hour delay. What has happened to make Zoom's reputation sink so dramatically this summer?

I've booked flights from Gatwick to Toronto for 8th Sept. Stoopid me didn't check the reviews for Zoom before buying, was too enticed by the low offers. Has anybody flown this root recently? I had a quick look on Zoom's site to see if they offered an explanation (if any) for their appalling service, however each time I click on a link, it sits there for ages and then comes up with an experiencing a error message. Hmmmmm, sounds a lot like their airline service! Better make sure I have my insurance in place, looks like I'll probably be in for a bumpy ride.

Flew Zoom for first time this year YYZ-MAN-YYZ after years of dissatisfaction with AC, esp their geriatric stewardesses ~ 'the hounds of hell' as we came to call them.

Fares were very reasonable despite all the usual hidden surcharges and fees etc etc etc. Flights were on time or near enough.

Seat was very cramped and frankly did not even feel like 31". Despite evident interior refurb the a/c felt v.v. old (where did they get them from?), the toilets stunk (the rubber lining sealing the door was hanging off). The service was OK, but only compared to AC.

Check-in staff at YYZ were horrific. Miserable bitch of an incompetent girl. Zoom if you are reading - this was check-in for 458 at YYZ on 28 June at 20.40. Accompanied by an slovenly, obese man who looked like he had slept in his clothes for the last 3 days, but who at least could straighten out all the girl's check-in errors, before returning to his feet-up / newspaper-reading mode. Worst check-in experience in 20 years of flying.

Overall Zoom deserve to succeed. Hopefully they will be able to get some decent a/c like 777s or 787s soon. HOWEVER, AC seem to be reacting at last to losing all their clients to Zoom and Air Transat. My family are flying from MAN-LHR and then on within Canada in Dec/Jan for about £600pp return all-in. That is what we were paying back in 1994! On new 777s too.

Might be enough to make me jump back.

To PRH

Air Canada are still flying 767s, Forty one of them, with an average age of 15.5 years and one of them flying since 1983. These aircraft make up the majority of AC long haul craft. see http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=calcop&opp=Air%20Canada You can also see the history of the zoom fleet on the same site.

Having just flown Zoom from Gatwick to Bermuda on the 1 July and JFK to Gatwick on 12 July 2007. I can only ssay that this airline while being reasonably prices does not deliver any other way. We had long delays 6/7 hrs on both flights and landed up missing connecting flights.
Also I am concerned that SAFTEY standards are not adhered to on flights with a elderly lady unable to walk unaided and clearly with a bandaged arm is seated in a exit row seat next to the door.
Also no where on the web site does it also state that the flight time to Bermuda is a lot longer than that of BA
A miserable experience all in all.

Just returned from a trip to England. Used Zoom and flew JFK - Gatwick. I thought they were great. Slightly delayed on the way out but nothing unusual about that. Food was decent, tea was drinkable (that is a first) and the staff were really helpful and even sweet. Highly recommended.

Zoom UK is not the same as Zoom that flies to Canada but only fly Gatwick to JFK and Bermuda. Gatwick airport is a nightmare but the flights were great value, cabin crew the nicest I've met and the food excellent for airline food. Seats comfy in premium and definatley worth the extra. Highly recommended

Is it that bad on this airline??
I am going tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

:(

Zoom is a truly appalling airline - an amateur, toy-town company that seems incapable of departing on time. Both of our fllights - to and from JFK in New York - were 2.5 hours late. On our return flight, the ancient and crappy plane was filled with people who Zoom had been unable to fly back the previous day due to one of their many mechanical faults (they flew the others back at 1am.....8 hours after the scheduled departure time). The staff are poorly trained kids, on the whole, and JFK airport clearly thinks the airline is a joke as they kept the plane on the tarmac for about 30 minutes so that the proper, adult airlines could fly off first. AVOID AT ALL COSTS - the relatively cheap tickets are not worth the hassle.

That plane was built in 2001.
I hope you never fly zoom again.
People like you aren't grateful,you went back and forth safely. You expect everything for nothing.

* No.. seriosly its not that bad!!!! :-) *

I flew Gatwick - New York JFK via. bermuda.
The flights were late each timie we flew, but i didn't mind.. we got cheap flights!!

At least we got there safe and sound, with no major problems. The one minor thing that bugged me was the fact they leave it very late on the screens to tell you what gate to board at, but like i said, its only minor and if you put it into perspective, it really didnt matter.

So, i would deffinatley fly with zoom again, the food wasnt too bad as long as your awake when they serve it hehe.. (on the way back we were both asleep when they came around for dinner, so we didnt get any, which meant we were very hungry laning in london -but thats alright)
anyway the flights are cheap and they get you from A to B.. thats what matters!

I agree with ^ person above me, people expect everything for nothing and take wayy to much for granted.

- oops forgot to add how much i liked the flight attendants.. they always brought a smile to my face :-D thank you!! x

SCARY! Anyone reading these postings should think twice whether any rave/favourable reviews about Zoom are from real passengers or from Zoom staff. The reply to my posting (see above) strongly suggests that it's from one of the Gloom neanderthals - who else would know that the plane was built in 2001 or say "I hope you never fly zoom again" (of course I won't!...like most people on the flight). In every way, Zoom is the AEROFLOT OF LOW-COST AIRLINES. Let's hope they go out of business swiftly or, better still, that they're taken over by a proper low-cost airline such as JetBlue and they're incompetent management fired.

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone knows what days does Zoom fly from Vancouver to Paris. I am thinking about going there in December, but can't seem to find a schedule or rate on Zoom website.
Any good cheap airlines tickets tip from Vancouver to Paris in December would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

Hello Christy,

unfortunately Zoom Airlines doesn't fly to Paris out of Vancouver past Oct 31. It resumes in May again. This is because of an airport restriction Canada has which does not allow any carrier to fly direct from cdg to yvr all year round to protect passenger flow through toronto and montreal.

I'm due to fly to Toronto from LGW in three weeks time. I'll post my experiences here.
Does anyone know what films are being shown at the moment?

Its scary your assuming I work for the company!
Its in acutal fact you can find aircraft facts online.
This is where I got my information!
http://www.jetphotos.net/census/aircraft2.php?msnid=767-27686
The only other operater was Air Europa and you can see that it is a 2000 model 767.
Dont assume!

I flew with Zoom Aug 20 and returned on Sept 3 with them as well.

I have to say, after reading the negative posts about Zoom here, most of them are a "one in a million" type of experience. I quite enjoyed my flight with Zoom.

On the outbound flight, we were delayed about 30 mins, only because the flight before was delayed and the plane wasn't able to pull in. Once the plane pulled in, we were boarding within 15mins. I ordered the diabetic meal (hearing that we would get it first), it was a good meal, no complaints. They offered refreshments and snacks about 2 times and offered one last small meal before landing. The plane was a Boeing and I didn't find any problems with it.

On the return flight, were were delayed about 30mins again, not a big problem. (I think it may be common nowadays in the aviation industry).

The onboard crew was very very friendly and everyone had a smile on their face.

I would recommend anyone to fly with Zoom and I would fly with them again.

zoomer,

After reading your comments I'm a bit more reassured about my upcoming flight.
I've also ordered the diabetic meal (I'm trying to avoid sugar for health reasons). What were you served, and how did it differ from the standard meal?

Just arrived back yesterday morning after taking a round trip with Zoom to New york. I had read all the reviews on here and can say withough ANY doubt that I will never pay Delta's extortionate fares from Gatwick, nor suffer their CRAPPY service EVER AGAIN thanks to Zoom.

The remarks about the flight attendants posted above are well earn't, they were fantastic! simply the best aircrew I've ever come across, no miserable faces, very chatty if you wnated to talk to them to pass time, and genuinly interetsed in passenger comfort and VERY safety conscious.

I took particular interest in that, as the very rude comment above suggested it was an issue. I observed them moving passengers from exit seats that must not have been suitable.

The food is very good (I was in economy) and the comfort pack they sell onboard also have an eye mask and pillow aswell as a blanket (van't remember the cost of them).

I have had to endure narky old US flight attendents for years, and Zoom has a real range of ages onboard which was refreshing to see, also thta they actually enjoyed their job!

We left and arrived exactly on time both flights, they showed shek 3 and some other movies on the tv's and plenty of drinks were served.
I'm going back to NY in November and have just re-booked my tickets with them, thanks guys! you just got $600 of my cash coming your way!

if there ARE any Zoom staff reading this, especially high level management, then please pass my upmost thanks to the staff on flights travelling out Aug 30 and back Sep 4th - WELL DONE!!

We're flying out with Zoom on Wednesday - Gatwick to Calgary. If someone out there has flown on Zoom to Canada recently...can you tell me...are there personal TVs for entertainment (i.e. on the back of the seat in front of you)? I've flown Zoom before, a few years back, but can't remember. It's just that it would be nice to have your own channels, etc to choose from. Hope someone can help, Thanks!

I think that Zoom uses 767's, so they probably won't have the seat-back screens.

Completely awful airline. Was delayed 20 hours outbound and 4 hours on the way home. No apology was offered. No flow of information regarding the delay. I was told I could "possibly" claim a refund if I was to contact their customer relations. COMPLETE LIES! If you ask them for a refund or compensation, you'll be told that your terms and conditions state "Zoom Airlines does not offer compensation for inconvenience or loss of personal/business time caused by schedule changes or flight delays." AVOID if possible!

I posted a comment on 14th August about my concerns with Zoom after reading unfavourable reviews about them. Well....we flew out on 8th Sept from Lon-Gatwick to Toronto. Plane left a little late (about 10 mins), but arrived 10 mins. Inbound flight left on time and arrived 20 mins early. So punctuality for this flight, good. Meals, I had a vegetarian meal that was pretty decent (better than Virgin anyway) on both inbound and outbound flights. Cons however, having to pay £5 for the pillow and the rest, I think not. You can buy travel packs and any cheapo discount shops for less. My biggest bugbear was the weight allowance, the night before our flight, my Mum and I kept re-weighing our luggage because we were fretting about being overweight. In all my times of oversea travel, I've never had to waste some much time on my travel preparation on weighing luggage. BTW, the planes weren't in very good nick either, but at least we made it there and back in one piece. Although we were lucky with our overall flight experience, I will be flying with another airline, as the luggage allowance just isn't enough especially when most others offer a maximum of 23kg. If you want cheap and cheerful go with Zoom, if you want something more, go elsewhere.

Have just returned from a two week holiday in Canada and flew with Zoom out of Gatwick to Calgary and then back again from Vancouver via Manchester. Must admit was a bit apprehensive about booking with them after reading some of the reviews but have to say I can't fault them. We paid the extra for premium which was way cheaper than the same class on other airlines, ok so you don't get seat back tv's but I can live without that. Both flights were on time, plenty of leg room, food ok (normal airline meals), friendly staff, weight of hand luggage was not checked on either flight and suitcases appeared very quickly at our destinations so we were able to get through the airports in no time at all. Ok so the planes may look a little bit tired inside but considering the saving you make flying with them does it really matter. Would thoroughly recommend them.

I plan to ski in Europe next year. The Zoom Airlines website is unclear about skiis and baggage. They say that they transport skiis for free. Does the weight of the skiis still have to fit within the 20kg baggage allowance weight?
I have been unable to contact Zoom, and any help would be invaluable on this subject. Thanks

Sept 2007 used Zoom Airlines to fly from Gatwick to Bermuda and return for the first time. All I want to say is a big well done, very clean aircraft, the food was good and hot,(which makes a nice change)and the crew were 1st class.Great value for money.

I flew to Toronto on September 22nd from Gatwick, and returned on the 29th.
Both flights took off more or less on time. The food was ok for a 'budget' airline, though fairly dry especially on the outbound flight.

They showed three films each way - Shrek 3, Oceans 13, Blades of Glory, Fantastic 4, Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

The service was friendly and attentive (unlike some airlines). I would definately fly with them again.

The worst thing about the whole trip was having to queue for nearly an hour for security checks at Gatwick, but that's down to the airport's inefficiency

I am flying Zoom in November from Toronto to Glasgow and then return from Gatwcik. Have things improved much in terms of the delay. Anyone know if the T.O. to Glasgow is known for delays or is it mainly other routes. I did Gatwick this summer with Globespan so I am prepared for the late checkin and lineups etc. I know several people who have taken Zoom and all said it was fine. How about some good packing tips to get the 20kg baggage allowance.

hey does anyone know why i can't book a flight from vancouver to cardiff or belfast in june july or august? have these routes been axed?

In Reply to Help

Zoom in Toronto have just told me that they have scrapped the Cardiff/Belfast/Vancouver and Manchester/Vancouver flights for next Summer. No reason given but I am surprised given that I travelled Belfast/Vancouver twice this year and last and the the flights were almost full each time.

OK, where to start. We flew economy from London Gatwick to JFK on October 18th. Outband flight had no real problems. The plane was a little tatty and the seats a little uncomfotable but for the price no problems, good value.

On the way back disaster!! We where scheduled to leave JFK for Monday 22nd 5.30pm. On arrival to JFK we were told that the flight was delayed until 11.30 pm. Check in was a joke, two very junior staff checking the entire flight. There were problems with the computers and are our eventual arrical to the desk we where informed that they had been on for 19 hours! Apparently the JFK route had problems all week. We took our $15 food vouchers and headed to the bar for 5 hours.

Anyway we took off around midnight. However around an hour into the flight the captain announced that we would be heading back to JFK duie to a minor fault in the with the navagation equipment. As this was a safety issue the passangers took this very well and the on board staff did a good job making everybody comfortable. However it was on return to JFK where the real problems started.

Despite the Captain's efforts the ground crew had gone home. We were effectly stranded. The flight crew scrambled together some hotel accomodation which was 'co-ordinated' by an airport junior. Please bare in mind that this was 5am (IE 12 hours delayed we are still at JFK!). As there was no ground crew or Zoom rep there was no indication of the leaving time for later that day.

The hotel was passable but hardly compensation for the delay. What was most irratating was the lack of information or represenation from Zoom. The retutrn flight time was effectlively established with conversations from the passangers. At the very least we should have had e-mailed and fax updates to the the hotel. The retrun flight was scheudled for 11.30pm (later delayed to 2am the next day). As Zoom refused to pay two days accomodation we had to check out a 7pm, meaning another long wait at JFK terminal 4.

We eventually returned on a Zoom Canada plane. The Candian arm is effectively a different company and much better. I arrived 30 hours later than expected (my work were suitably unimpressed)tired and annoyed.

In summary Zoom offer a cheap, fairly good option (when it runs to time and this applies to Canada only) and I cannot fault the in air crew. However the ground crew couldn't organize a drunken night in a barn. I will cough up for Virgin next time!!!

New York JFK to Gatwick on 26/10/07
Arrived JFK, flight cancelled for technical reasons. Bus to La Guardia - kept waiting around for 4 hours, then put on Air Canada Flight to Toronto. No Zoom rep at Toronto to meet us as promised, had to speak to every airline at Toronto before finding out that Zoom had blocked booked us all on Air Transat (Who were fine). Flown to Heathrow (arriving 8 hours late) - again no one from Zoom to meet us - had to make own way to Gatwick

ZOOM LEFT 40 PASSENGERS STRANDED IN PARIS!!
this happened just 2 weeks ago.

I've used zoom to go down south with great service, but I've never to go to europe.
Recently a close friend went to Paris from Ottawa.
While trying to leave Paris they sent a plane that was only big enough for their Montreal passengers and their Toronto first class passengers.
The Paris agent only spoke French.
Only 2 people on the flight were fluent in French.
They put them up in a dingy hotel where no one spoke English.
The next day at the airport, they only had vague plans of flying them home from Belfast (but no plans to get them to Belfast)and she needed to get back.

She found a way back through another airline -
Cheap is great - but it ended up costing her more because she had to be back.
If you go with them, make sure you are prepared to be a little flexible.

Wow this review is dated. Back in 2004 I am sure the fleet was new but on my last trip in november the seats were heavily stained, with one actually being wet (I dont want to even think...) and my life jacket actually slid into the aisle on takeoff. They are all heavily stained, the stewardesses have the life weary demeanour of inmates and for my return flight there was no electricity down the right hand side of the plane! Absolutely awful, its only a matter of time before one of these falls out of the sky. Avoid avoid avoid.

That aircraft you just flew with underwent a refurbishment this November, all new leather seats. And Zoom has a great safety record, they have a rigarous maintenance program. You do not see Zoom's planes acting as gliders to an airport like air transat had on one of their flights to portugal. Sometimes audio systems in seats need repairing, it happens on every airline, it is called wear and tear. it does get fixed.

to zinc

How do you know which aircraft Nik P was on. Are you an employee of zoom, if so aren't you in breach of the data protection laws as you must have been accessing the flight manifests. Also you have not addressed the lack of lighting on the starboard side of the fuselage. Rigorous(with an o) maintainance ???

that was the only plane in zooms fleet that hadnt undergone a refurbishment watcher, i work in the airlines, not zoom and i don't feel i owe it to you how i get my info. alright. also, things break down, and it wasnt the lighting it was the armrest controls for the audio. i already addressed the armrest controls issue in the previous post. Why would zoom leave that issue unresolved? as i said before zoom airlines doesn't not place the lives of passengers in jeapordy. Safety is their number one priority, it is part of the their corperate tenants. Also questions for you, do u work for zoom? also how can someone forsee a snag on an aircraft, aircrafts at any airline always have snags here and there, its always an ongoing process, provided the airline, like zoom, takes actions to correct any issues, be it esthetic or comfort issues such as an armrest control unit buttons not working in a few rows. That has happened on so many airlines that i have seen maintenance work on. Have you seen Zoom divert back because of an engine fire, much like Globespan did out of Hamiliton, not once but twice. so before you slander a reputable low cost carrier about their safety, do your homework first, does zoom not have regular maintenance checks? does zoom always have mechanicals every week, do their employees feel unsafe? research all this before, making any judgement on safety. When Zoom takes a delay, they will delay the flight even if it is something they can still fly with as per transport canada, because they do not risk safety. Cosmetic issues are dealt with after every flight. The crews report all issues in the cabin and maintenance resolves these after each flight. Their safety standards are regulted by transport canada, and like every airline in canada, nowadays, canada has a very elite safety standard for avaiation compared to other countries. many thanks.

To Zinc
I wasn't going to reply to your post but as you have asked a question here goes.
In reply to your question no I do not work for Zoom. I am what some companies don't seem to like but have to tolerate. That is, a fare paying passenger. Why some companies can't see that keeping people like me happy is very necessary and good business acumen as backsides on seats is what its all about or they go bust. Here is an example, I flew to YVR premium economy and the seat I had did not recline I askd the FA for assistance and she came to the conclusion that there was a fault with the seat. Some weeks later same seat same aircraft on a night flight the seat still did not recline and I had to sit up all night, not very comfortable but I suppose that you will say "tough, the seat was fixed but it broke again just before you boarded"
I have read my previous post and I would like you to point out the portion that slanders anybody

Regards

Hi, Watcher,

right so, perhaps the airline's maintenance team hadn't had a chance to rectify that seat issue, or perhaps it was deferred in the maintenance log book to be fixed once the plane is in its schedualed slot time for regular maintenance work and therefore would only be fixed till then as it does not impede in passenger safety. A cosmetic issue which would no doubt be resolved at a later time. Yes I understand that you were inconvenienced by not being able to recline. But in the "big" picture, it is inevitable one will be inconvenianced by an airline in some form or another, it does not mean that specific airline is a "bad" airline. One must look at all the factors their experience. Am I right?

I am pretty sure Zoom Airlines strives to appease their customers, and unfortunatly some people are impossible to please. Believe me, try flying in Pearl Class with Etihad Airways, as impecable as I found it, you will still see how people pick apart something and make it bigger! They live in a "bubble" one might call it, and I am not saying that is you at all. I just think people should not expect everything to be perfect all the time. There is nothing except a diamond that is such. Right?

The portion where I interpret slandering the airline is where you state " Also you have not addressed the lack of lighting on the starboard side of the fuselage. Rigorous(with an o) maintainance ???"

Kind of sounds sarcastic near the end, implying you don't think Zoom is very good with maintenance work.
Are you agreeing with the previous poster "Nic"? Things break down with wear and tear and everything needs replacing at one point or time,and no doubt sometimes a passenger will go through the ordeal of being inconvenianced when this happens because things will break down at anytime as with anything on this planet. Sometimes part's take time to arrive in order to fix something, much like at home. So how does that go against Zoom's thorough maintenance program? It doesn't.

Hi I just wanted to respond to your post 'Watcher'.

I don't believe an airline goes bust over a bad review, I mean it is related in an extreme scenario, but ultimately, what dictates wether an airline will go bankrupt is tied in with the economy and how competitive their fares are with competitors.

Flyglobespan seems to still have bookings, despite their deplorable reviews and/or bad press. Harmony Airways had excellent service, but they went bust because of reasons including poor fund management, as well as, air canada and west jet coming in, saturating the market, and lowering their fares. People are not stupid, the lower the price, the better for their pocket, ergo, away we go with Air Canada or Westjet to Hawaii and Toronto!

Unfortunatly this is the way of modern day thinking in regards to air travel. Airlines' always satisify passengers to some degree, as well as dissatisfy them. Airlines' always have those individuals that they cannot satisfy, no matter what you do for them, as stated by 'zINC'. For an airline to not have any bookings which would in fact render their sales in the pits, they must reallly be reallllly 3rd world or something. They must not have a customer service department, and they must really not try to better the situation with an unsatisfied client. That is very rare in aviation hunny.

There are cases where a client does not get the resolution they want, and that will be everywhere in every product out there, from dry cleaning to a restaurant. However good companies know how to resolve complaints and keep them to an industry low. For airlines such as Zoom Airlines, West Jet Airlines, Air Transat,and Skyservice to still be around after 5,10,20 years despite bad press, bad reviews, and flucuating economies, I bet they are keeping some people satisfied and keeping the number of complaints to a low. But ofcourse, that is not the final say on wether the airline will remain flying in an economic crisis such as 9/11. Anyways that is my analysis from a finance perspective.

-Bev knight

watch out for them changing schdules after you've boarded. Ive just dropped my wife off at Caglary for a flight to Glasgow. Its then due to carry on to Gatwick. They told no one on boarding, but they have cancelled the GLasgow stop thus wrecking everyone's plans. Nothing on their web site - still says its landing at Glasgow. No one will answer the phone as they are closed until 0830 - ive tried to canada and uk numbers. Icant get any confirmation of this but the much earlier expected arrival on Gatwick's web site seems to confirm it. Total lack of consideration for people as usual and only care about how much money they can screw out of the flight. You get what you pay for with these budget airlines, so be warned. They are ok when things go ok. They are useless when it doesnt.

Actually the passengers, such as your wife are not screwed because everyone carrying on to Glasgow, was put on a 1630 flight on British Airways flight number 1486 London gatwick to Glasgow. Zoom is not globespan , they do not strand their passengers.

Please don't fly this airline. I understand not everyone has awful experiences but dear God, I have had nothing but horror from this company.
Delayed for three days. (And from looking around online, I'm not the only one) No monetary compensation, just fobbed off. Lied to about legal advice, flights cancelled, dirty plane and broken seats. I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

am just about to book flights to Ft Lauderdale for my self and my family. i understand this is a new route to zoom. has anyone any feedback on this route!?!? am a little worried after reading some of the comments regarding delays any comments would be most useful thanks
amanda

My husband and I just returned from the U.K. We started traveling on Zoom when they first started, after a bad flight with Air Canada (more than once) I must say, that there has been very little upset in all the times that we have flown back and forth between Toronto & Glasgow. Our only problem was we were unable to watch the movies from our seats three years ago due to a broken set.
We always have the upgrade for the weight, space, food choice and drinks. As a matter of we just returned on Monday from Glasgow and we have sent a letter in commenting on the winderful flight we had and the excellent service by the staff, especially oneof the staff named Darren. The flight and staff are usually good, but we must say it seemed exceptional.
I am traveling back to Glasgow in August with my family and am certainly looking forward to the flight.

To all current, and potentially future Zoom customers:
Our family of four has been saving for sometime now to fly to the UK to visit family in Wales and Northern Ireland. We haven't even boarded the plane yet as our trip isn't until May, and already Zoom has caused us multiple headaches! Our original flight was from Toronto to Gatwick, then coming home from Belfast. Zoom called us in the autumn to change this arrangement, because the Belfast flight was cancelled due to low demand. They offered us a round trip flight via Cardiff, which worked well for us, and we decided we would book a regional flight with BMI Baby to handle the Northern Ireland visit. It was a little inconvenient for us, and a little more costly because we needed a round trip flight now to Belfast. But, we rolled with it anyway.
Now Zoom has called us again to change our flight, as apparently out of the blue there is this sudden surging demand again for Belfast flights! So now we get the distinct pleasure of stopping over in Belfast for no purpose whatsoever! And I have the added bonus of knowing I paid extra for a regional flight that I didn't need. And Zoom's answer to all of this? Too bad, that's the way it is son. No offer of upgraded seats, and certainly no compensation! They have offered to change our return leg to a Belfast flight which is a useless gesture since they know BMI Baby isn't about to refund my money! And even if I could get my money out of BMI Baby, who is to say that Zoom doesn't do this to me a third time!! How does one plan anything with this incompetent airline???
What a lovely way to start our vacation. I only hope and pray for no more surprises!
You can be sure no matter what the flight service is like, we won't be flying Zoom ever again! What a pathetically insensitive way to treat a customer.

did you ask for compensation, you should keep contacting them.

Yes, I did ask for compensation, and when I was refused compensation, I then inquired about a seat upgrade. I was once again told that wasn't possible.
At one point during my conversation with the supervisor (she gave her name as only Helen), I noticed she was simply reading the terms and conditions of my ticket. At times she was simply talking right over me as I attempted to state my case. Clearly, customer service is of no interest to these people whatsoever. I've filed a complaint with Transport Canada through their website. But realistically, I know there is little hope. I would like to send a letter to one of the founding partners of this airline, Mr. Hugh Boyle I believe, but so far I haven't found an address to which I could send a letter. There are very few services that we as consumers pay for, where the service receives full compensation up front before the service is delivered, and yet in this case the customer has virtually no rights and the airline can do as they please. I find this tremendously disturbing and it is shocking that we as the paying public put up with this. Being a discount airline shouldn't give them free license to do with you as they please. I held up my end of the bargain by promptly paying my fare, they should be held accountable at their end.

Sorry that happened to you. But I have travelled several times with zoom, and with other of their competitors, and i guess these things just happen, scheduals change, a reality of the airlines i guess but not all the time. zoom is usually a great airline, too bad you didnt get a chance to get that perspective.

I have flown with Zoom last spring and I will be flying with them again Calgary to London in march. They are a reasonable airlines, much cheaper than Air Canada. Zoom occasionally has delays and cancellations, but it is rare, once in a blue moon. Most people do not realize that scheduals are bound to change, and this is with all airlines. I would like to draw everyones attention to Air Canada's conditions of Contract, which is the same as Zoom's.
7. Carrier undertakes to use its best efforts to carry the passenger and baggage with reasonable dispatch. Times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. Carrier may without notice substitute alternate carriers or aircraft, and may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket in case of necessity. Schedules are subject to change without notice. Carrier assumes no responsibility for making connections.

I like Zoom and wish them every bit of success. i would never say " i will never fly" with this or that airline again because a delay or cancellation can happen to any airline. we as a passenger take that risk when flying.

a loyalist

I think some of you are missing the point. I too have flown with a number of other airlines over the years including a few of Zoom's direct competitors in the "budget category" of airlines. And likewise, I have experienced a multitude of delays, cancellations, and changes over the years. But never have I encountered a change like this twice on the same flight before we even get off the ground! How utterly incompetent are they, if they couldn't figure out the need for a stop in Belfast? This sudden demand occurred over a 60 day period after previously stating there was no demand! That's a load of nonsense. Somebody made an obvious mistake, and they are making their passengers pay for it. No offer to even upgrade our seats was made. This is at best, very poor business practice. Other airlines have made offers in the past to help resolve the situation by way of upgrades. This airline isn't even willing to listen to a passenger's concerns as was evidenced by their supervisor speaking right over top of me in some sort of "volume competition" over the phone! And for the record, I did not use profanity or any derogatory terms. It was however a struggle to remain calm. I think it is sad indeed that most of us (like J Min have)have such low expectations we simply pay the fare and put up with practically anything from a company like Zoom. Until we demand better these types of business practices will continue to prevail in the airline industry. I, for one will pay more next time to avoid this airline. At least that way I'll have some ability to plan a trip! At the very least, if you are going to fly with Zoom, I would advise that you ignore their multicity feature. They don't seem capable in that area at all. I would also advise you to research Zoom's performance on the web. More than most airlines, this one seems to have a multitude of horror stories attached to it. In flight comments are generally good, but scheduling, administration, customer service, and even destination issues are unbelievable! I'll be sure to do my homework next time.
By the way, one final point with regards to our willingness to pay up and shut up. In the U.S. there is currently a bill before the House of Representatives regarding a passenger bill of rights to govern these very situations in the airline industry in that country. We should be taking notes!

In a hypothetical and possible situation, I wonder what you would say if say in the future this happens to you again, but with Thomas Cook or Air Canada, or even BA. Won't fly them ever too? In my opinion I do not think any airline is perfect and when something bad happens with one airline, we become biased and say " well i will fly your competition next time, because they would never do this to me" When in fact, they would and could. You should just know what your rights are and aren't and accept them for what they are when you are placed in a situation such as this.

I don't think, in my opinion, it is fair to generalize an airline's quality based on what was offered or not offered for compensation after a snag like a schedual change twice.

You have to look at the whole product to form an accurate opinion of wether or not you will never fly with an airline again. Or some may choose to be 'unwise' and not.

It is just like saying all the apples in the basket (A) are bad because one or two are bad and then switching to basket (b) ,(c), and (D) because you think they are better and maybe won't have any bad apples. Only you find out that they too have the same problems in the long run. You just never know every time how the situation will be from one day to the next.

It is just a matter of how high your expectations are. And remember a negative aspect about something will always go noticed and certainly reported on a website such as this, whereas a good aspect or positive comment is always overlooked and forgotten and may not always be published. Reviews are very biased, so you never know how many positives there are about something.

..Just an opinion, nobody kill me.

I think a car is more consistant than a vacation trip and thus auto reviews might be more realistic to follow.

You MUST be a Zoom employee! Your basic argument is you are unfairly judging an airline if something bad happened (ooooh like say a flight being cancelled at the last second on peak season ensuring that you cannot get any other seats on another airline because they booked up months ago, thereby ruining a holiday) and you dont get compensation or even an apology... because that can happen to any airline??? You must be in Zoom management!

This is an awful airline, and you pay the cheaper proce for it at the risk of losing your holiday or having it substantially knackered by incompetence. Its far more ridiculous to say because it is cheap and unreliable they all are! Kind of makes review pointless doesnt it? Lets see, applying the same principles to auto reviews: "Hiring an Audi: Well, My audi broke down last thursday, so all Audi's break down, oh and every other car belonging to a competitor may well do too, so take your pick."

Ive changed my mind, youre the Managing Director of Zoom.

To Homework,
I think you've missed the point, or you at least didn't read all of my previous post. I stated that I have had similar problems with other airlines. But the biggest difference is the willingness of other airlines to make an attempt to rectify the situation. Other airlines realize that destination and departure points are rather important details when a passenger is attempting to plan a vacation months in advance. So again this is relevant to good business practice (ie proper customer service...Zoom has none), and the competence of the airline in question (see above Re: sudden change in demand for Belfast passengers in less than 60 days). If a passenger can't have some degree of confidence that the airline in question will look after their most basic need of getting to a given destination and returning from a given airport, then why on earth would anybody book with that airline? I'm not even talking about extras! Never mind the meal, the seats, or the staff! And I'm not talking about delays or even cancellations, which admittedly happen to any airline from time to time. These incompetent buffoons can't organize lunch! And if this is the benchmark or expectation that we all have for every airline in operation today, then that is truly sad.
One final point too....I am the type to compliment good service, and I am generally quite forgiving when things go sideways. I accepted the first change without complaint and made alternative plans. But twice to the same passenger is just unbelievably bad business practice!

K, I think the amount of energy you all are putting in writing anti zoom comments on this meaningless website could be spent trying to contact the company's customer service management and speaking to the manager directly. perhaps that will get you somewhere, or why don't you go to a newspaper, that usually provokes a reaction from a company. common sense people.

with that said, can someone plz post a full and proper review and not a bitter and vindictive review, the rest of us are trying to read un-emotional reviews, thx.

I have Always had a great impression of British airways and I have flown with them twice this year and twice my flights have been cancelled on the day they where due to go.
To be fair the first was down to terrible weather and all flights where cancelled.
However the second time was terrible form start to finish, i was due to fly to London for a connecting flight to go on my holiday and arrived at the airport 2 hours before the flight was due to leave around 30 mins later the checking was closed and the flight was cancelled due bad weather (but a BMI flight 5 mins after my flight with BA left to the same destination).
I stood in a queue of 4 and a half hours waiting to be seen at the BA desk where they never had more than 1 person working for well over 200 passengers (as that is all hey had trained to use a computer) and on one letting people know about the situation or what was happening, when i finally got to the desk the woman who was serving, had a terrible attitude and could not care less about your holiday look on her face, all they could do for me was book me onto the same flight the next day however as the cancelled flight was due to weather conditions (only effecting BA flight) they could not offer me a hotel (thankfully I had family in the area).
I had a similar problem the following day due t a backlog of passengers i could not be guarantee my flight which I thought was a disgrace, and ended up delayed 7 hours at the airport before finally leaving.
And finally i did get my flight the staff on the plane where helpful the food was of a good standered, the cleanliness of the plane was a bit to be desired for but leg room and all was good.
But still not worth all the hassle of the rest of there inabilities
My opinion of BA as seriously reduced thy have went from 5 stars to in my mind and i will never fly with them again

In reply to Bob Hope

Just a very small observation, the title of this forum is Zoom Airline reviews. Is it possible that Zoom Airline have bought over BA

Thank You

i think the zoom airline is well nang, innit!

Hi. I am travelling to Vancouver this summer(working) and have previously flown Air Transat 'Club'class (which I have found to be very good on each occassion). Any thoughts/ views from anyone as to how Zoom's Premium cabin compares. Of particular importance is the leg room as I am 6'4''. Thanks for any thoughts. Steve

Dan - I believe you. I been emailed today by zoom to call them re my flight from London to JFK. Both dates have been cancelled, and I'm being asked to fly a day earlier and a day later - costing me more hotel £. The sales helpfully told me that this "is because there is due to be congestion because of something happening in New York and so we've reduced the number of flights to make things easier. You'll also be stopping in Bermuda for 45 minutes."

I'm sorry, but YOU WHAT??? There is nothing on any website about any congestion, let alone what must they think I am believing that a commercial airline would reduce the number of flights per week due to "congestion"??

The lady then went on to say "there is so much fear of congestion that we cancelled all flights in February".

Anyone else scared that zoom airlines is going bust?

that is zoom airlines ltd aka zoom uk you are referring to. They share the same name from the parent company. I think the congestion she is referring to is that jfk is considering putting in place a cap on flights to jfk, plus zoom fired the company that does it's ground handling in jfk as they were rude to passengers. They are renegotiating slots in new york. so they are just fixing the situation all flights to new york are resuming in late march.
i think they are just going through some growing pains. its a new company, just started last year, as opposed to its sister company zoom airlines inc aka zoom canada who's been around since 2002.

Found this in the news. thought it might be of interest.

http://news.cheapflights.com/airlines/2008/01/zoom-to-start-f.html

Low-cost carrier Zoom Airlines will reinstate its service between the U.S. and Bermuda later this year.

Flights between Fort Lauderdale and Bermuda will begin in March, replacing the previously suspended route between New York's John F Kennedy Airport and the island.

All flights from the U.S. to Bermuda were cancelled last year due to a constantly delayed schedule, thought to be due in part to congestion at JFK.

Jonathan Hinkles, Spokesperson for Zoom told the Bermuda Sun that a pledge to resume service by May at the latest will now see flights reinstated on March 14.

He confirmed: "The aircraft are ready, the operational details have been finalized, we will resume flights to Bermuda on March 14."

However, he said that the airline will probably cut flights between January and February when demand for tickets is low.

Zoom will launch a nonstop low-cost service from Fort Lauderdale to Gatwick Airport in London in May.

"K, I think the amount of energy you all are putting in writing anti zoom comments on this meaningless website could be spent trying to contact the company's customer service management and speaking to the manager directly."

Zoom actually refused me at the airport, the lady said the flight was overbooked and upgraded economy was full as well. I had connecting flights on other airlines which meant I had to rebuy the whole passage, including the zoom portion which I flew BA but missed the connecting flights. When I got back and asked Zoom customer service for compensation, they quoted terrorism legislation which meant they could refuse passage to anyone and that I would not be compensated for my inconvenience but also neither for my missed flight with Zoom. Basically they told me to stuff it.

If you are questioning the basis for these reviews, think how many people are internet savvy these days. If you google a zoom airlines review this is the first return. Anybody looking to gauge Zoom Airlines will read how bloody awful they are, how bloody awful they continue to be and choose (wisely) another airline. You really are taking a risk booking with Zoom, 90% of the time youll be fine, the other 10% of the time youll have extra expense or a completely wrecked hols. Its up to you if you think its worth the risk.

I have to say I sympathize with anyone who has been forced to deal with this airline's outright incompetence! The onboard experience ranges from adequate to fairly good value (I've flown with them twice), but on both flights I've experienced there were a multitude of scheduling problems, delays, and utterly abysmal/nonexistent customer service.
My advice? Spend the extra money if necessary, but definitely avoid this airline at all costs! I particularly sympathize with Dan. That's a horrible start to a holiday you haven't even had yet! Zoom should be ashamed of themselves.

I can quite understand why p****d off would be p****d off, and why others with, for example, lost baggage would be unhappy, but you only have yourselves to blame.

I just went to Europe for the fourth time with ZOOM. I was away for six weeks. Between the transatlantic ZOOM flights I had six other flights, and some of these were connecting flights. I was concerned about flights being delayed and missing connections, so I took out "trip interruption" insurance for $75.00. It gave me peace of mind. My daughter and I flew from Amsterdam to Milan on December 23rd with the cut-price British EasyJet airline. I also flew EasyJet from Manchester to Bonn for about $0.02 plus taxes, etc. My daughter's backpack was slightly ripped and one of the main buckles was damaged beyond repair by baggage handlers. We went to the EasyJet desk, and spent 30 minutes filling out forms, etc. My daughter has just received a brand new (and more expensive) replacement backpack in the mail.

I have had my baggage lost twice - both times in Toronto, both times with Air Canada. When your bag doesn't show up, you go to the airline desk before leaving the airport. You fill out forms. You are then entitled to purchase clothes, toiletries, etc. up to a certain value to use whilst the hunt for your luggage is underway. The limit used to be something like $200. If the value of the contents of your luggage is over the luggage handlers' limit, take out insurance. It's YOUR responsibility to cover your butt, not the airline's!

It doesn't matter what you pay on an airline, unless you're in first class (maybe), things can and do go wrong. If I could change anything at all, I would seat all the parents with kids together in one part of the plane next to a loo. You could pay $1,800 to cross the Atlantic but it's going to be very unpleasant if you happen to be next to an obnoxious, sticky, noisy kid who has never been taught that other people don't want to hear them, and who wants a can of pop or to be taken to the loo every half hour because they're bored out of their minds.

I'd like to also put all the fat people together in another part of the plane so that they can bulge over each other instead of over people who fit comfortably into their seats.

When I boarded the ZOOM flight in Montreal in December, I had just had a bellyful of two horrible brats with ear-assaulting, chirpy Donald Duck voices all the way from Ottawa to Montreal. I begged the flight attendant to move me to a seat away from children if I happened to be unfortunate enough to be near any, and if the flight was not full. Don't get me wrong, I like children. Just not the way they're dragged up. In Halifax just before take off in a plane with perhaps 12 vacant seats, the attendant came to find me and suggested that I change seats before the plane took off. I had a whole row all to myself and away from bratty North American kids. I will be eternally thankful to ZOOM for this act of attentiveness and kindness.

It doesn't matter what you pay, the plane can still do a bellyflop (BA at Heathrow last week), or get caught in extreme air turbulence such as that which caused a number of injuries during an Air Canada flight the week before. Flying is no fun these days, and I don't expect it to be with all the stressful security and incredible crush of people.

All in all, I find ZOOM to be very good. It compares well with other airlines I've travelled on. Pan Am was my very worst experience. ZOOM staff are friendly and helpful and not at all stuck up - something you do tend to find on "certain" airlines. The information provided by the captain tends to be more informative than other airlines I've flown with lately. The food is airline food. If you're not a TV Dinner person and don't like it, take responsibility for your pallate and pack your own food. You CAN do this, you know. If you don't think much of their movie selection, take your own or (heaven forbid!) take along a book to read.

Long flights are tedious, so plan ahead of time and take along things to amuse yourself with.

If you don't like being charged for excess baggage, then take only the weight allowance. If you are overweight, you pay. The airline didn't pack your bag, for heaven's sake! You did! So why blame them for following regulations that are very clearly written on your ticket? Learn to read the small print! Of course, I agree that it is a bit galling if you weigh 130 lbs and pay for 6 pounds of overweight baggage when a baby whale weighing 260 pounds next to you has exactly the same checked luggage allowance and is not charged extra for their personal bulk.

I wish that both passengers and their baggage were weighed on the scales at the check-in because I don't like being discriminated against. Why should overweight people get the same luggage allowance when they weigh twice as much? It takes more fuel to move a 260 pound person than a 130 pound person, so why are they not charged a higher fuel surcharge? Why do they get the same baggage allowance?

(Like anyone is going to do anything about such injustices in this overly politically-correct country where the norm is fat!)

Anyway, I've flown ZOOM four times, I am very happy with their performance, I am happy with the flight attendants, I am happy with their being on schedule, and I will fly ZOOM again soon.

And if any ZOOM people are reading this, thanks for doing a great job! (And don't listen to the whiners above!)

I wonder why Ann types a huge message of support for Zoom. The previous poster had a point, if youre happy with Zoom do you go onto review sites to express that happiness? Ive had many good flights with Air Canada, but my first reaction on landing is not to go onto the review site and say how brilliant they are. The point is the majority of people fly zoom without a problem. But if youre in the (large as any review site on zoom shows) minority that Zoom screws, then you have just wasted the price of your fare. pay that bit extra and fly a reliable airline.

I think we have Zoom staff putting up reviews. For a start, if youre expecting zoom flights with empty seats to save you from brats, remember we are talking about a budget airline here, empty seats arent something it wants. on my flight the Zoom staff were nowhere to be seen. As to entertaining yourself, you'd better remember to bring plastic bags and cushions (to replace the dirty seats), food (to replace the gross meals) and your own entertainment (like we used to the 70's) and whilst youre at it, enough cash to buy another flight when Zoom cancel on you.

Ann, its the weekend so i know you wont be reading this, but when you get back into the Zoom office on monday, be sure to post an outraged reply under a different name. And if youre seriously considering flying with Zoom and you think Ann has a point, do yourself a favour and google 'Zoom Airlines Review', you will find that this is not the only review site on Zoom and they all say the same thing, DONT USE ZOOM. Theyre absolutely awful.

Actually, Haha, I do not work for Zoom. In fact, I work on greening school grounds and other planting projects (with kids!). I feel really bad about flying anywhere due to the GHG emissions - but I wanted to see my family in Europe. Why did I type such a long message? Well, firstly, I talk a lot. Occupational hazard. Secondly, I just happened across this website on December 2nd when I was looking for the Zoom website to check to see if my flight from Montreal was on time. There was a huge snowstorm travelling eastwards from Colorado. I was actually hoping it was delayed so that I could afford to stay at home for a bit longer to deal with a frozen and burst hot water pipe in my basement. The Zoom website said the flight was on time, but it ended up by being delayed by four hours in Toronto due to the storm. C'est la vie. It's winter.

I most definitely didn't seek out this website to make a positive comment. Why would I? If I had something good to say about Zoom, I would send it directly to Zoom and not to a gripe-fest.

It really bothered me to see so many negative comments about Zoom when I had only had good experiences. If you skim-read through a few of the comments, you'll see truly stupid concerns such as Zoom being more prone to turbulence than more expensive airlines, and maybe if you pay more the flight won't be bumpy. Some people are not seasoned travellers so they wouldn't necessarily know about claiming for lost or damaged baggage before leaving the airport. I thought that might help people. I added the bit about insurance just to help those frustrated and out-of-pocket flyers who missed connecting flights. You must admit that there is an awful lot of whining in the comments. Granted, I was whining about the whining . . . A lot of the "whines" could be easily prevented if people took more responsibility for themselves. And maybe lowered their expectations?

I guess one of the problems is that when air travel started up it was "special". I recall TWA having china Made in England (not China) plates, metal cutlery and cloth serviettes - and a choice of three items on the main menu. A special trolley with a choice of desserts was wheeled around - I mean whole cakes like Black Forest cake and cheesecake which were sliced right there and served up to you on a china plate with a paper doily. Things have changed. As costs have risen, airlines have cut back on services. Aeroplanes are just flying buses with wings and TV Dinners now.

I agree with what a lot of people have to say about airline food. I find the air quality and dryness of the air much more disagreeable than the food, though.
Apart from Pan Am, I haven't had a bad experience with any airline. Air Canada lost my bags twice. On the same round trip from Ottawa via Toronto to Sudbury, in fact. Big deal. I reported the loss at the airport and went immediately to purchase the stuff I needed for that night and the following day - at their expense. They found the first bag and delivered it to me at my hotel the next day. On the return journey, I also had to report the lost bag. It was found and delivered to my home. I didn't get upset about it.
I don't think any airline (that I have travelled on) is particularly "brilliant", but I didn't think that Zoom deserved quite so much abuse.

Know what? I don't have much spare cash and I have to scrimp and save to afford the fare. My family is in Europe and I badly miss them. Their coming to see me isn't an option due to old age and infirmity. So I choose the cheapest flight I can find. Zoom's low prices give me the ability to go home. When I compare the inconveniences of low cost travel with the benefits to me personally in this regard, I find I cannot justify complaining. The journey home is miserable (it takes me about 24 1/2 hours for the whole trip from Ottawa to a remote place in Wales), but I want to get there so much that all the negative stuff pales in comparison.

I'm just thankful that I can get an affordable flight. Europe's cheapies such as TUIFly, German Wings and Easy Jet are absolutely bare bones. No "free" food or drinks. Everything is at extra cost, and expensive. And the seats are small. But, hey, they get you there just like a bus or train. Just like Zoom.

And, no, I'm not on a weekend shift working for Zoom!

Can someone please explain to me why anyone would book a flight with an airline that doesn't seem to know from one day to the next where its planes will be landing?? I mean, Ann's devotion to this airline is unusual, but seems to be the result of some good experiences. Or maybe a relative works at Zoom. Who knows. But there are many other posts here and elsewhere, complaining of constant schedule changes at Zoom. All other issues aside, doesn't that make it tough to plan anything?? I'll stick with the other guys thanks. Who knows where Zoom would put me!

To confused:
I think you answered your own question! But your point is well taken.

Wow! Two massively long posts by Ann defending Zoom! And you say you don't work for them? You must have something at stake with this airline. All I'll say about Zoom is this. Check out some reviews on the web. The horror stories regarding this incompetent outfit are unbelievable! And no, I'm not talking about the petty stuff (lost luggage, delays etc.). Once they get your money, they stop caring. Do your research folks. And save yourself some serious headaches. The good news is, they likely won't be around too much longer.

god , just cancel ur flights with zoom already and go book with air canada or something, quit ur god damb whining already. wut is it ur mission now in life to keep posting how zoom changed your life ever since they changed your flights twice? honestly wtf.

hey J dont speak for everyone alright, i flew with zoom before, no issues, so out of the millions of passeners zoom flies, those few negative people that write into these websites, are a very small percentage, your thinkin small scale dude. your just bitter. so go fly someone else. i dont think they are going under, but perhaps why don't u sue zoom if ur so mad at them. can u afford a lawyer, obviously not cuz ur flying low cost. i got friends who know people that work at zoom and i dont wish them or their families any harm, so thats my reason for supporting them. just my two cents

Hello,
Arguing back and forth isn't helping. People like getting a "rise" out of people and look here...its working!
this website doesn't have a "moderator" to check the post before it gets posted and has no rules on what should be said here.
Everyone has an opinion and feel things should be said here.
I'm so sure Zoom people read this, and I'm sure they write on here, cause perhaps they care for the airline and don't like to see these types of thing, cause they probably strive hard but sometimes other things out of their control, slips.
If someone is angry, I guess this a good place to vent!
Cheers

Too bad it isn't just a small percentage (I'm talking to ..). Don't take my word for it. Do a little internet research! And as far as anyone cancelling a flight, you do realize don't you that flight cancellations even at an early date with lots of notice cost a bundle? I believe you lose something like 50% of your money. Not sure who you were aiming that advice at, but it's not such a good idea. People fly a budget airline because maybe they can't afford BA or the other big guys, then the airline (Zoom) screws them anyway! Zoom takes advantage of people who can ill afford it the most! That's the great shame of it I suppose. Anyway, I just flew with them and it won't happen again. To those loyalists out there, best of luck to you!

Okay. I'm done trying to balance others' bad Zoom experiences with the good ones I have had. I've been flying for 42 years. My absolute favourite airline was the Canadian Ward Air, followed closely by Canadian Pacific, and then Aer Lingus and BEA. Three of the four are unfortunately no more. My preferences today are Lufthansa and KLM, but they are out of my price range. If you check websites with passenger feedback on these two top-notch airlines, you'll find negative comments there as well.

"J", I'm not "loyal" to Zoom. Doubtlessly, things could be improved, but I'm not going to kick the only airline from Ottawa that offers me a price I can afford to go home. I haven't had a negative experience on one of my eight Zoom flights, but this is not to say that one in not lying in wait for me, however. Others seem to have had problems.

Let's home that Zoom is reading everyone's comments and trying to make improvements!

I notice that a few people think I may work for Zoom, or have a family member who works for Zoom, or that I have a stake of some kind in Zoom.

None of the above. Why is it in today's world that anyone making a positive comment about any corporation is automatically deemed to have a vested interest?

Couldn't I equally ask anyone making negative comments about Zoom whether they have vested interests in the competition? Do people who have posted negative comments about Zoom work for Air Canada?

Actually, you know, my favourite colour is blue and blue planes are better than planes of any other colour . . . .

"i got friends who know people that work at zoom and i dont wish them or their families any harm, so thats my reason for supporting them. just my two cents"

LOL, ok. Well, thanks for being honest. I personally think its inevitable that any airline gets bad reviews. But its not about weighing up the good reviews with the bad, its about how many bad reviews zoom seems to get. Look at the sheer quantity of people having a bad experience with zoom, on this site and a couple of others i regularly use. As the post says, just google it. It would certainly seem to me the wiser option to fly anything but zoom unless its the only option you can afford. What is far more worrying to me is their very poor attitude to customer service, the sign of a company that is run on the cheap.

I have to agree with the post by "NC". The recurring theme with Zoom airlines on this site and many others seems to be the incredible lack of any form of customer service! Every airline has its problems from lost luggage to delays and even cancellations. But it says a lot about an airline when they give their response to these situations. In Zoom's case their response is one of complete indifference! Do they realize they are in a "service" industry? Imagine if you ordered a very substandard meal at restaurant, and after voicing your complaint to the staff, the manager told you he doesn't care! Would you return to that restaurant? Furthermore, both "Dan" and "p****d off" (among many others) have been left with no confidence that this airline could ever fulfill their most basic obligation of getting you to your destination!(as opposed to who knows where) I'm avoiding this airline for these reasons. "J" is likely right in saying zoom won't be around much longer if they continue to operate like this. Even a budget airline must make some attempt at customer service!
That's it for my input. A very informative thread! Thanks to all for the information!

Well thanks for the above, I was looking for a cheap flight to canada but I can see this airline could end up costing me more than just the fare! I mean currently a return to vancouver on air canada costs £458 and with zoom its £350 which would be a good saving if it werent for the fact they could end up cancelling the flight/losing my luggage/overbooking! Also they fly from gatwick which is £30 to get to because its outside london compared to the £6 to get to heathrow from anywhere in london and all in all i'd rather fly a premium airline with crazy things like food, clean seats, working electricity on the plane for the extra £70 and not land at 3am. But if youre really strapped for cash I suppose its worth the risk and you can buy dinner or something with the cash before you get on.

To the sleepy one
I understand what you mean. I have in the past two years flown with Zoom Belfast to Vancouver(with no problems) and then on with an internal airline to Edmonton where I have Family.
In December I tried to book again for this year and no flights were shown Cardiff/Belfast to Vancouver so I rang customer services and was told that "We are not flying that route in 2008" So I booked with Air Canada who are star alliance partners with BMI and discovered that I can fly Belfast to London Heathrow then LHR to Edmonton with our luggage being booked right through Belfast to Edmonton. Which is very handy. Then after Christmas I discovered that Zoom had changed their mind and were going to fly this route after all. I did a price comparison and the difference is £19 more with Air Canada and I would now worry that if Zoom do not fill their flights they may just change their minds again. Its all about confidence

To Fred:
You've said it much better than I could. "It's all about confidence". Well done.
Couldn't agree more. I'm off to take some Tylenol for my headache as I see Zoom has sent me another email about my forthcoming flight. What have I done?

I had a terrible experience with Zoom flight z4-482 . Booked to attend a family member funeral in Trinidad . Instead of leaving as schedule at 11.15 p m 10th January, 2008, the flight was delayed without explanation to 2.00 pm 11th January, 2008 which was 2 hours after the funeral was to start. Of course it was useless to go ahead with the trip.

After numerous communication with customer relations, zoom has not resolved my situation as to a refund or issued me a coupon for flight on the airline at a future date.

The real issue here is how much longer will we as a paying public allow zoom and the airline industry to hold us hostage to increase their profits. I would like to suggest that as In situations where paying passengers, when Zoom changes the product that was purchased, and it is no fault of the customers and they can supply no creditable reason, that they be made to compensate the paying public for their incompetience.

It's up to us , to be empowered as far as using our collective power to insure that Zoom improve their overall performance or get out of the business.
I will NEVER use zoom again. I wish you all luck with zoom. I pray that you never have my experience

Can anybody explain to me why Zoom customer services is toll free in Canada and UK customers have to pay a premium rate.

Ok, I think I've read enough! I've been thinking of booking a flight with Zoom for a trip to Canada. But after some late night web surfing on this site and others, I can see that would be a monumental mistake! Looks like I'll be paying a little more to fly with the big boys!

I booked a flight to Puerto Plata on zoom that was to leave Ottawa at 7 am. We got off the ground at 11:30 PM so lost a day of our vacation. My understanding is that Zoom only has 7 or 8 aircraft. So any time their is a problem with a plane, you wait and wait with out any compensation for your time . If you book Zoom you are taking a chance. With any luck they will fold soon,and stop taking peoples money for very poor service..

I just flew from the UK to Calgary and back with a group of 5. The outbound flight was delayed with mechanical problems, and there were minor issues both going there and coming back (same plane). One of our seat cushions didn't fit the seat - so there was a big gap in it. Another of our seats didn't recline, and the baggage compartment kept coming open in turbulence/landing. None of these problems were fixed on the return flight 10 days later, so they don't seem to care about these kinds of problems. The TV screens were flickery as well. The food was a token effort.

I wish i had read this site earlier! I booked a flight on Zoom for a friend who was visiting from India. When she tried to board the plane to Canada a zoom person refused to let her get on the plane because he thought she was pregnant! Whilst a little overwieght admittedly, this was just crazy! Apparently, according to him, if my friend was pregnant and had her baby in Canada, the airline would have to pay. I cannot put into words how embarassing an incident this was, but despite not being pregnant Zoom have refused a refund or compensation because they reserve the right in the contract to refuse to let you fly. My friend flew Air Canada the next day, all I can say is that I do not care about not getting my money back in the same way I would not want to meet a criminal who burgled my home, this horrible horrible little company will disappear into the dirt from where they came one day, hopefully soon.

OK, British guy here, and I have no association with Zoom but some of these comments make me p*** myself with laughter! In europe we have had low cost, no frills airlines for over 10 years, so we know what we're getting.......it does exactly what it should do...gets you to a destination in one piece, and guess what you lot moan your arses off at the slightest thing! Surely SAFETY is paramount when flying, and no doubt Zoom, along with everyone else has the necessary certificates. But the moaners pay hundred of dollars less (or pounds in my case) and you frequently compar it to BA and Air Canada! Isn't that absurd?!

At the end of the day flying is a form of carriage and exactly the same as going on a bus, a train or riding a donkey, and really doesn't form part of a holiday (or it shouldn't!). Why do so many people place such an imporant emphasis on poor food for example?! - If the average zoom flight is 10 hours then is it so important to be fed to a high standards? I mean do we really need to eat in a ten hour period?! I am sure most will not waste away through starvation.

And also customer services and rudeness?! if a plane is delayed it isn't through the fault of the customer services,or check in staff! so lack of information or continually bugging the poor girl about times will not alter the final outcome....Planes get delayed!!! FACT! (and to be honest, most of the staff on the ground know as much us the passegers....sod all!

The best comment to sum up all of the moaners is an early one on this thread, which I copy and paste:

'The air conditioning system wasnt very good, developed severe respiratory problems. Friend told me that some airlines dont use the air recycling to its full capacity because it uses too much fuel'

As we live in blame....'there must be compensation' culture, everyone wants a refund....simple fact..if that happened you wouldn't have an airline in the first place!

My advise is, if you pay hundreds of dollars less then be realists! But I doubt you will all now disagree.

Julian, London, UK

To Julian

If you dont work for Zoom you must have somebody close to you who does. Did you read the post immediately above yours.

Regards

Fred and Dan are the same person.

LOL.....Maybe I should state my agreement with John or Charles too! That way the conspiracy nuts will really come out of the woodwork! Who knows, maybe I've posted here under 20 different names!? How's that for dedication!?

There we go Fred! Eactly what I wanted to aviod hence why I made it clear I have no affiliation to Zoom or its Staff! But ofcourse if i'm a minority then it must be because I have connections hey?! What a load of bullshit, I'm a plumber, london born and bred! The only association I have had with airlines is I once installed heating into the home of a Virgin Airlines pilot lol

And yes I did read the earlier comment, it all sounds very fishy, but I must admit it doesn't really concern me as I'm a fella and I don't know if you know but it's impossible for me to get pregnant!!!

Julian,

Cheers for the point of view of Zoom Customer Service. Doubtless youre the only one who actually bothers to interface with the public, in fact judging by the reviews of people trying to contact zoom, you ARE the Zoom customer service dept. No wonder you do plumbing on the side, so much free time outside the office.

Anyway youre completely missing the point. Everybody knows what to expect from a budget airline, there are plenty out there and the majority of them are a fine way to save money and fly without the trimmings. Nobody is comparing BA with Zoom or any airline youd pay 4 times the money and saying why isnt it that good. What Zoom is compared to is OTHER budget airlines, and a couple of things are obvious about zoom. OTHER budget airlines stick to schedules and dont cancel flights willy nilly. Zoom fails. OTHER budget airlines compensate customers for their mistakes. Zoom dont even want to talk to you when your standing holding your dick having missed your transfer on the first day of your holiday because they didnt get enough passengers to take off. OTHER budget airlines would at least react when at 20,000 feet theres no electricity on one side of the plane, or your seats are wet, or covered in gum sticking to your clothes or theres a distinct smell of puke and a suspicious bulge in the seat pocket. Zoom treats it as something you should expect because hey, its a budget airline.

Zoom is just complete rubbish, and unless you can find no other alternative, should be avoided like a clap ridden prostitute promising you a good time for a dollar. Zoom is cheap, but I never fly an airline where the best thing you can hope for is youll live to regret it.

Hey Julian I just want to know one thing..........how do you know that the airline pilots who's house you did the plumbing in was a virgin?? Or is plumbing a euphemism for sex?? Hahahahahaha

Anyway I am getting ready to book a flight to the UK for April 18th and after reading all the complaints and comments on here about Zoom it is clear to me that I should bring some wet wipes, and my own lunch??

And you know what?? I'm cool with that.

I have flown everything from Air Canada to KLM to BA to Airtransat to you name it to the UK and other countries and I have yet to have a trip end and me brag to all my friends about how good the food on the plane was, and how fresh the bathrooms smelled 4 hours into a 5 or 6 hour flight.

In fact if the best that I can come out of my trip with is the amount of complaints I had with the airline that got me there.......well then I spent way too much on the destination as well because that probably sucked too!!

The way I see it is quite simple. Pay the thousands and thousands of dollars to be fed with glass plates and real dinking glasses, and then stretch out on your nice bed and sleep the money away, or sit in the cattle car squished with the other poor 200 or so passengers that are eating their rotten food, and complain in unison and possibly make a friend for life.

Well I'm not rich so who wants to be my friend??

All I ask is that whoever is flying the plan gets me there and back in one piece. If they do that, then all the rest really doesn't matter now does it?

P.S. Happy flying all.

I'd appreciate some advice from people if possible as I'm really unsure what to do.

I purchased a Zoom Airlines return ticket from the website about 2 months ago for the from JFK to London Gatwick leaving yesterday morning supposed to be arrive today.
I checked my invoice and everything seemed to be in order, I had a booking number, the correct dates and times for the flights and also the prices were correct, so I had nothing to be concerned about.

Due to me being far away from JFK and the destination I need to get to, I also had to book tickets for 2 other airlines ontop of that.

I arrived at the airport yesterday and got to JFK well on time. I arrived at the Check-in to be told that my booking number was invalid and that I was not able to fly on this flight. I had all the proper information, invoice number, booking number as I'd printed off the full itinerary but they told me that I could not fly on this flight and the most that they could do was put me on another flight for friday at which I have to pay the full cost.

So I had to pay a few hundred dollars for a new ticket and then I had to pay for another ticket with the previous airline just so I could arrive home.

I paid 700 dollars for a return with zoom, 200 dollars for a return with AA and then another 130 dollars just to reach my home and 100 dollars for a flight with easyjet from Gatwick to inverness.

I arrived home and double checked my Invoice as I was so confused as to why I was being refused. I went onto the site and brought up the flight I was supposed to get on. The flight number for the actual departure I was supposed to be leaving on was a completely different number to the one that was on the invoice.

I phoned up Zoom Airlines and they stated that my booking number was for a one way ticket which had been used weeks before hand, and they could not do anything for me.

So now I'm out of pocket by nearly 3000 dollars because I'm going to have to pay for the return home aswell because my "return" ticket was invalid. and I can't recieve compensation for the other flights I was supposed to get on, meaning I have to pay for new ones.

Does anyone have any idea how this could have happened because Zoom can't seem to give me any answers and I really don't know what to do.

Never flown Zoom before but thinking of in October from Toronto to Rome for a cruise I've booked with Carnival. I'm concerned about their light carry-on restrictions of "You are allowed to bring one piece of carry on baggage not to exceed 5 Kg (11 lbs) and dimensions 23cm x 41cm x 51cm (9” x 16” x 20”)" I just bought a new 20" expandable upright carry-on but even though it's touted as "30% lighter" it still weighs 3.5 kg empty! Just doing a test pack of a simple change of clothes, a pair of running shoes and some toiletries put me over 6 kg. The dimensions of my carry-on are pretty much EXACTLY within the limits, but would exceed them if I made my pack expandable.

I'd like to hear other Zoom customers' experiences with their carry-on luggage and any problems you may have had on their flights. Thanks very much!

Booked with zoom a while back. Was interested to try something different as I always fly BA. So I got an email saying that my flight from Gatwick to Toronto has a time change no big deal I thought. Unfortunately it is 24 hours, I am somewhat lucky as Ryanair will only charge me 50 Euros to changed the connecting flight. So I lose a day of holiday and 50 Euros.
I have to say that I am nervous about flying with Zoom now, I leave Tuesday and will keep my fingers crossed. I will post when I get back to Canada to keep you all up to date. If it ends up being only 50 euros and loss of one day that is ok.
As I said I always fly BA as I hate Air Transat and AC, but I am paying for me and my girlfriend so I wanted to save money. Ultimately I am dissapointed in myself as I think that you get what you pay for and I should have paid more.
But as I said I will post more after I get back to let you know the rest.

Booked with zoom 3 times, last trip was to New York last week, was delayed by 45 minutes out of JFK, but arived at Gatwick early.
Never had a problem, I've also never read such a bunch of moaning drivel...some of you need to get a life.

P.S. For the person who thinks it costs £30 to get to Gatwick from the centre of london..you are an idiot, I did it last week for 5 quid, and it takes less time :)

"Dave" I live in London and if you got from gatwick to central london for a fiver, you walked and bought a packet of fags on the way and it took you a day. There arent any tube connections at gatwick so the next cheapest option is the train, one way £15, return £30, travel time 30 mins. So as youre a zoom customer service idiot, quit trying to hype up zoom on the net and go serve some customers, I know that will be an alien concept for you but give it a try.

"John" (funny how Zoom customer service people arent very imaginative with the names, eh dave) if you that wiping down your seat before you sit down is standard on a budget airline, wow - you need to travel around europe a bit more, we aint in papua new guinea matey. you might want to try easyjet or a host of budget airlines who interpret 'no frills' as basic service, not as 'no guarantees of having a dry seat/plane flying/being allowed on board'.

"Confused and Concerned" I feel for you, unfortunately trying to contact Zoom customer service to get them to admit a screw up is like the famous monty python sketch. "Its not dead, its just sleeping". Basically prepare yourself for 'we are not liable', 'it is not out responsibility' and 'we will get back to you later'.

Be warned people, fly Zoom at your own risk.

Nik P

I guess P must stand for plonker, either that or you don't know how to ride the bus for a couple of stops and have no understanding of how to use a price comparison website, nor an offpeak rail fare finder..but hey if you want to argue the toss, be my guest mate :)

I should add Nik P that its slightly worrying you feel that an organised campaign to discredit your negative comments regarding Zoom is taking place...perhaps you also take the view that man didn't land on the moon?

I'd have thought that if Zoom customer service (and the airline etc) were so crappy...the staff wouldn't have any spare time on their hands to be on here, they'd be toooooo busy making sure they alienate as many passengers as possible.
Then again.......mayby it is all a big conspiracy.....are we even here?

"Dave", oh dear, your idiocy is there in black and white now. "I did it last week for 5 quid, and it takes less time" - there is no way the bus is going to take 'less time', their own website says 75 minutes with 'frequent delays'and theyre trying to sell you the ticket - so youre clearly lying, which is unsurprising from someone who clearly has no clue about london or luton airport. Train takes 30 minutes, tell me boy wonder, how did you get a Bus which stops at 4 different destinations to get you into london quicker than that?

We have already established Zoom Customer Services dont deal with customers - so what else do they do? Lets see, hang around on boards like this trying to talk up this shitty airline? Either youre someone so enamoured with Zoom you hang around the forums defending them or you work for them. one way your a sad git, the other youre paid, I do agree its a bit of a toss up. Dont worry, im sure "John" will be back on in a second agreeing with you.

Folks, dont let him distract you from the main point, Zoom Airlines are dirty and unreliable, read through the reviews, search for reviews on other sites and use another carrier! Because this one is rubbish. Unless like "Dave" you work for them or live in an alternative reality, in which case you have a lovely flight and all of Londons traffic will stop... just for you.

Hi Nik,

Indeed "P" must stand for pillick, or perhaps ignorant, or mayby even stupid...as there appears to be a rather large hole in your argument..which BTW gives you a big fat "0" for credibility.

Anyway Lets take your words..."so youre clearly lying, which is unsurprising from someone who clearly has no clue about london or luton airport. Train takes 30 minutes, tell me boy wonder, how did you get a Bus which stops at 4 different destinations to get you into london quicker than that?"

You see Nik my dear fellow, I didn't travel by bus or train to Luton, I travelled by Bus and Train to Gatwick....and after having a quick look on Zooms rather difficult to navigate website, I can confirm to you sir that Zoom don't fly from Luton.
The train I took to Gatwick took 20 or so minutes from Clapham Junction (lets be honest though...I suspect it might take 25 minutes during peak times) and the bus to get to Clapham Junction covers the 4 stops from my front door in about 5 minutes :) FWIW I live in Zone 1, which for someone who claims to be familiar with London Nik..should give you a reasonable idea of where in London I live.
As you can see Nik, you comr across an imbittered individual who lacks even a basic understanding of what you are arguing about...but hey..keep going..its fun winding up an idiot :)

Nik..again you show up yourself...

A couple of quick notes here pulled straight off the TFL Journey planner website http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk

Clapham Junction to Gatwick (yes I managed to spell it)

Journey Summary
Departing: Wednesday 30 April 2008 at: 13:30
From: Clapham Junction
To: Gatwick Airport Rail Station
Restrictions:
Route 1 Depart Arrive Duration
13:23 13:48 00:25
Route 2 Depart Arrive Duration
13:38 14:08 00:30
Route 3 Depart Arrive Duration
13:53 14:18 00:25
Route Depart Arrive Duration
4 13:54 14:22 00:28

And Nik as you seem to think Clapham junction is 30 minutes from central london.....I've put in a little journey from Clapham Junction to Victoria (which is about as central london as it gets...Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The Palace of Westminster, Horse Guards etc etc etc)

Departing: Wednesday 30 April 2008 at: 13:37
From: Clapham Junction
To: Victoria
Restrictions:
Route 1 Depart Arrive Duration
13:33 13:40 00:07
Route 2 Depart Arrive Duration
13:37 13:44 00:07
Route 3 Depart Arrive Duration
13:40 13:48 00:08
Route 4 Depart Arrive Duration
13:44 13:53 00:09

As you can see, using a little brain capacity will a complete a the journey from Gatwick airport to Victoria (central london) in around 30 minutes (or in my case to my front door in Zone 1with a minute or two to spare).
Use the website....do the maths...book in advance...and do it for a fiver each way!
So Nik..Tell me again, where did I say I lived in Clapham Junction? (if I recall I think I said 4 stops away..which certainly isnt where you think it is). Tell me again how many minutes Clapham junction is from central London?
And Nik tell me again how much more convenient Luton (thats the place you got confused with) and Heathrow is for those of us who live south of the River..in Zone 1..which is classed (By TFL)as central London.
BTW, I dont personally give two sh*ts about zoom, doom, or any other airline for that matter...I'll travel with whatever airline that will give me the best deal.
Now Nik, I've taken the time to point out the LARGE holes in your argument and indeed show you..and everyone else reading that you clearly have little in the way of sense, integrity, imagination, or indeed basic brain function, mayby its time for you to rethink your plan of attack.
Oh and for the record...I work for a commercial bank :)

its 10 days before i fly to canada with zoom from glasgow i started off flying from gatwick .....here lies a story ....i was flying on the 11th of may 2008 gatwick/hailfax ..they changed the day to the 10th of may so i changed the hotel/parking at gatwick ..then they changed the return flight by 1 hr ..i changed the parking ..getting to 3 weeks before i go .....an email from zoom airlines ..please ring us ? so i did ...they cancelled the flight!!!!!!!! the only one that we could use was in ..glasgow so i have lost the hotel/parking at gatwick and had to re-book at glasgow ...10 days to go ........they couldnt change or cancel our flights again could they ................ nice solictors letter will be landing on there doorstep so far they have totally ruined our hoilday and we havent set off yet ........will post a reply when we get back .....thats if we ever get there haha

So I posted a while back and said I would repost when I got home.
So I flew Toronto to Gatwick return. Checking in at Toronto the guy at the counter was very helpful and friendly. I booked seats such that my girfriend was besides me but across the aisle, he moved us together but kept his in emergency exit seats which I paid for.
On the flight out the food was average but better than air canada food, the crew were fine but definitely not friendly, the plane was cold so we had both jackets on as you have to pay for blankets. BUT we had lots and lots of room, delighted i paid for emergency seats.

On the way back the women at check in was great they did not have us in emergency exit seats when I told her I paid she was great at helping out. The flight back was wonderful, food was good, staff were really warm and friendly and it was about 30% full. (Maybe why they change and cancel a lot of flights).
We even had more leg room than before, smooth flight, good snacks.

I am 6ft 5 so far me room is number 1, I can live with medicore food and films and even service. Zoom is a risk as they can cancel or change flights but for legroom the flight was great, and service was above average. I will definitely fly them again and hold my breath that they don't cancel any of my flights.

Dave I cannot be bothered to discuss with you anymore. I am going to presume you are right. People, you can avoid having the Gatwick Express take you from Victoria to Gatwick by - booking weeks in advance, waiting for a mainline train to Clapham junction, (being sure to avoid rush hour because these are commuter trains and you wont get on with luggage) then get off at Clapham Junction with your luggage, wait for a train to Gatwick, board that train and arrive Gatwick. That'll save you the £7 it cost to get on the Gatwick Express at Victoria and just arrive Gatwick. If youre that desperate for cash, you SHOULD fly Zoom.

Mark, I think that pretty much sums up Zoom - you roll the dice and you either have an ok trip or you end up like Sharon. If it was me (as indeed it was) and had I known all this before booking on Zoom I would have weighed up the 'value' aspect and decided if it was worth the risk of screwing up my holiday. Next time im paying a little more for a more reliable service.

Boy Sharon must be mad now. That May 11th flight from Glasgow to Halifax/Ottawa was diverted to Goose Bay after a passenger died, it landed hard on the short runway and had to have engineers look at it It now will not even be leaving Glasgow until at least 1:30am GMT, arriving in Ottawa at 5am.

I know this 'cos my brother is supposed to be on the flight, they gave him lunch/dinner vouchers and a room at the airport Holiday Inn. He said they have stayed in touch and treated the passengers well.. The web site is updated regularly.

He booked his flight in October, was supposed to be flying out on the 10th May, but that was changed in Nov to the 11th. He will end up losing two days of his Canadian vacation.

But, as he says, shit happens and you just have to smile and move on.

Premium economy return from London to New York.

My Wife and I booked online and travelled over the weekend of the 3rd of May.

SEATING; There is no seatback TV, only a large LCD screen at the front of the cabin. The seats themselves were comfortable, I'm 6"2 and my Wife is 5"9 and we both found that the legroom was very good for the price.

FOOD; I have to say that this was pretty standard airline stuff, It was warm, edible, and ok, but not fantastic. About an hour before landing the cabincrew came around with icecream and cookies, which is a nice touch.

CREW; The crew on both our flights were the same both ways! This made for an enjoyable and fun flight, particularly on the way home as our Purser was able to compare some of the bargins she bought with some my wife had! I have flown on other much larger airlines, and without a doubt the Zoom crew were a credit to themselves and to their airline.

PUNCTUALITY; The flight left London 10 minutes late but arrived 5 minutes early into New York. On the return we left the gate on time, but took around 45 minutes to takeoff, the crew told us that this is very normal for New York, a bit like Heathrow I guess.

BAGGAGE; Our bags took nearly 30 minutes to arrive in New York but back in London they were already on the belt after we had cleared customs.

Overall, I tend to agree with most of the positive sentiments on here, we booked a week before the flight and got a very good deal, we also paid by credit card which gave us the assurance that we had travel insurance to cover any cancellations. On the strength of our experience we will definitely use Zoom again, bearing in mind that they are a budget airline, so we did't expect overly high standards.
My only real gripe was the lack of seatback TV's, if Zoom had these, I'm sure they would attract a lot more passengers

*********WARNING********* shit doesn't just happen!

On May 8th I flew from Ottawa to London. About an hour into the flight a woman passed out near the front of the cabin and a doctor was summoned. Passengers were asked to change seats so she could lie down. Several minutes after this a second woman passed out and was treated by the same "medical student" in the same manner. An oxygen tank was used and judging by the distress of the stewards it seemed that lack of experience and training contributed to the medical emergency. The woman lay in her husbands arms unresponsive for the remainder of the flight, her greyish palor suggested she was dead.
I am aware of the practice of lowering the air quality to save fuel, this increases carbon dioxide in the cabin . Airlines like Zoom need to be held accountable and stop this practice. I was distressed for the whole flight and had a terrible headache for several days after, people with respriratory problems should avoid this airline.
A similar incident occurred on a flight my son was on last summer. Has anyone had similar experience.```````````````````? I have a return flight with Zoomm and am afraid of the health consequences as I have been experiencing chest pain.
I have flown with zoom in the past and the service is good but if they have implemented new cost cutting practices at the expense of lives I prefer to pay more and put up with bad service.

Mylene,

Turbofan jet passenger aircraft are pressurised, there is NO way that a pilot/airline/or aircraft can reduce the amount of oxygen available in the cabin.
Pressurised air is taken from the compressor section of the engine, it is then cooled, filtered and then circulated around the cabin. The air that you breath has EXACTLY the same proportions of Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Carbon Dioxide that you would breath whilst on the ground. The big difference is that because an aeroplane flys at altitude, so you the passenger breaths pressurised air, typically with a partial pressure equal to about 6000ft above sea level, which has the effect of requiring more breaths to extract the same amount of oxygen, and if you are not particularly healthy, a smoker, or suffer from respiratory disease, it can be more difficult to breath properly.
As far as your headache is concerned, you probably got yourself dehydrated. Typically air on the ground has between 75% and 95% relative humidity in a temperate climate. Pressurised air, on all airlines/airliners has a relative humidity of about 5%, all because the air taken from the outside atmosphere at 36000'ft has little or no moisture. You can lose up to 1 1/2 ltrs per hour just in the act of breathing in this dry environment.
So just to reiterate, airlines DO NOT control the oxygen, because they can't, its not physically possible.

I took Zoom Airlines to fly from Montreal to Paris two year ago and everything went perfectly. However, this time, I'm going to London from Montreal (round trip) and Zoom has changed my come back date already 2 times in 2 month. Every time, they just send an email entitled "Schedule change". The first time, my comeback date was move 3 days ahead. This time, my comeback date was moved back 1 day. When I called to ask what is going on with them, they told me they couldn't give me a definitive date for the moment because the changes would only be final the next day. That was just after I received the email explaining the last change. I am very used to travelling but I've never seen such a badly managed operation department.

Mylene

At least Sharons flight was diverted. Sounds like for Mylene's flight they spent the better part of 11 hours letting this person die. Remember people - if youre going to be ill be sure youre not on a zoom flight! Jeez and I thought losing a couple of days holiday because theyre useless was the worse that could happen...

It takes 7 hours to fly from Ottawa to london on a bad day, 6 and a half on a good day.
Where did you get 11 hours from Nik?

I have used Zoom in the past and been impressed. However, having booked flights from London to Toronto a few weeks ago we have now had the dates of both inbound and outbound flights changed (twice) and the same has happened to a friend. We have incurred extra accommodation and connecting travel costs yet no recompense is available. Apart from this being inconvenient and expensive for us, it gives us concern that the airline may be in trouble and that we may yet lose our flights (in mid and late June) completely. Have others had similar experiences recently, and is there assessment available as to Zoom's continuing viability?

To Peter the Pilot

You were very quick to rubbish Mylenes post ref the air quality. While it is not possible to alter the air quality manually I am surprised that you did not mention the possibility of a "fume event' which is air drawn from the engine being possibly contaminated by burning oil.(Should a pilot have to be told that??) That is why the UK CAA is going to spend a lot of money randomly testing aircraft for poor air quality.

Firstly, the worst aircraft for giving off what you call "fumes" would be a BA146 or a B757, Air quality is particularly bad. However, all cabin enviroments must meet a strict Boeing or Airbus standard.

We obviously know people like the airline and others don't like the airline.

I, Nik P, am an ex Zoom worker and throughly enjoyed every moment I worked there. I took pride in my job. For people to wish an airline to go under, is simply sad. Think of all the lives that would be disrupted, not just the consumer, but the airline staff. Things happen, flights get changed, flights have medical emergencies, but that's the nature of the industry.
Take BA for an example, they've had a serioulsy rough ride, losing THOUSANDS of bags, canceling flights left right and center. The point is, they are all the same. Some with more financial capabilities, therefore recovering a bit better. I've had flights canceled on me, but I don't go onto a forum and make sure I create the doom of the airline. Your a sad sad person. Get a life.

Fred,

Clearly you have missed the point, or rather that was your point?
As for the chances of a fume event occurring, that is as likely to happen on an American Airlines Aircraft, British Airways, United Airlines, First Choice, Monarch, US Airways, as it is likely to happen on a Zoom aircraft.
The two aircraft principly seen as responsible for these events are the B757, and the BAE-146.
Of the two, the 146 has had far in away the most reported events, something in the order of 15 to every 1 reported on the 757.
For those that don't know, the genesis of these fume events relates to the combustion of synthetic engine lubricant that then creates a potentially toxic vapour that can enter the cabin via the airconditioning system when for example a seal or filter fails to operate correctly.
Zoom Airlines as far as I am aware operate two 757's powered by the Rolls Royce RB211-535E4 engine variant, which is a different engine to the RB211-535C variant that the small quantity of events on the 757 have been recorded.
How do I know this? well I flew the 757 for British Airways for 15 years, and as such for the first 10 years of that time, our 757's were powered by the 535C variant of the RB211. In those 10 years I am aware of 2 fume incidents on those aircraft, both of which were caused by faulty seals.
Fred, I would find it difficult to believe that in the light of Rolls Royce identifying the problem on the 535C some 17 years ago, and then rectifying it on the 535E4 variant of the RB211, to find that Zoom (who operate 2 757's) would be the unwitting operator causing health problems when there are over 1000 other 757's operating worldwide with other operators.
As for the CAA randomly sampling air quality, that Fred is nothing new, the CAA regularly audits all carriers who enter UK airspace for this very issue. The key difference that you have either misunderstood, or are ignorant of is that the CAA along with a host of other national regulatory authorities are still trying to agree on the actual definition and determination of a "fume" event.
As for my response to Mylene, and indeed all on here that would seek to speculate on the basis of a lack of knowledge, all I can say is do the research, its all there in black and white. Mylene's example of ill health is typical of a proportion of passengers who respond poorly to low humidity levels combined with high cabin altitudes.

Nik & Peter

Its Paranoia. I did not blame Zoom, if neither of you understand the meaning of the word Possibility theres nothing more to say Goodbye

Why you should not fly Zoom airlines....
They just cancelled my return flight to Vancouver! While I write this, I'm on vacation....they gave me the option of cutting my vacation short (and forfeiting my prepaid room) or staying several days longer (at my expense). Apologies? Check the terms and conditions. They can do it at their whim.

What makes me stupid is that they did it to me last year too. That time, I paid for an empty hotel room in Paris because of a last-minute change. And silly me, I forgave them. Considering the losses... I'd have done better to go with the name-brands. I'm NEVER flying Zoom again.

Took the plunge and booked 3 seats in premium economy to Fort Lauderdale from Gatwick.
With all the scary reviews on here I am happy to admit that I was a bit apprehensive, the whole thing pleasantly surprised us.
The flight was about 90% full, and we left Gatwick at the scheduled time. Inflight the service was efficient and friendly, it was also a surprise to have a British crew as I thought Zoom was a Canadian airline.
Our flight stopped in Bermuda for 45 minutes to drop off and pick up passengers, which was a little annoying, but for the price, we can't really complain.
The second part of the flight from Bermuda to Fort Lauderdale took just under 2 hours, and we arrived almost exactly on time.
I had previously arranged a hire car for the week in Florida, and the cost of this was covered by the savings we made booking on Zoom compared to last year when we flew Virgin to Miami.
The drive to our Villa in Florida is around 5 miles more from Fort Lauderdale than Miami, but we were through customs, collected our bags, and had picked up our hire car in the same time as it can take to get your bags at Miami Airport.
The return flight last Thursday was more of the same, it also had a British crew.

Bad Points : The Stop in Bermuda, which can be a bit frustrating.
Good Points: Price, Avoiding Miami Airport, Being able to afford premium.

I don't doubt that things can and do go wrong, my view is that when you fly Low Cost you accept the risk of disruption, having a sensible attitude seems to help as well.
On the basis of my Florida holiday, I have just booked another trip on Zoom to New York, I shall report back in early August.

Regards

FV

I have just booked again to fly with Zoom to New York. I have flown with the several times and they have always been brilliant.
With regards to the complaints some people have. What other airline would call you to inform all passengers if there was just a 15 minute flight time change.
And regards to the cancelled flights i'm sure they gave you a reason. You not think they would prefer to operate rather than lose money on the flights.

Flew to Toronto to visit my sister last month. For the price you can't fault it.
Its cheap easy and comfortable.
Stop moaning you lot!

I am writing detailing my experience having flown with Zoom Air last week. What started out to be a possibly great handling of a medical emergency turned into a most unpleasant experience where I felt mislead and treated very unfairly on a number of occasions by representatives of Zoom Air. I don’t believe the chairman of Zoom would condone my experience and wrote to Hugh Boyle to make him aware of it.

I work in public relations and first started to document this experience because I was impressed with the response to the emergency. My purpose was to audit the procedures and respond with a document that would be of some assistance and considered for the future. As well it was intended as an exercise for me to build capacity. As the event unfolded I did not feel affected by them and would therefor give a fair assessment. It was not to be. The events had a peculiar way of unfolding and it was my feeling I became a victim as well, I could not provide the feedback I was hoping. This is what happened.

22:00 hours, May 10, 2008 Saturday.

Boarded flight 622 Zoom Airlines in Toronto for Glasgow.

After fifteen minutes into the flight the flight crew identified that we were going to need to make an emergency landing. The landing would be at Happy Valley / Goose Bay Labrador due to a medical reason. A person was ill and needed medical attention. We would land and the person would be sent to the hospital. We would continue on with our flight.

After landing at 1:10 p.m. and waiting for 2 hours with the repeated promise we were going to take off shortly, the passengers were informed we would have to stay the rest of the night and would depart at 3:00 p.m. the next day. The reason was the person who was to inspect the aircraft so we could take off was in Toronto. We would have to wait for him to return to Labrador. Accommodations have been arranged for us and they would be in the barracks on the base. Meals would be provided in the morning from 7:00 a.m. with shuttle service to the mess hall every hour on the hour from the barracks. We had to wait until the buses arrived to transport passengers to the barracks. My feeling at this point was that this was known much earlier and the truth could have been told to us. A member of the flight crew said if anyone had a problem to speak to them. I told a member of the flight crew that I was going to have a problem because I was going to land in Glasgow at 2:00 a.m. and without transportation to my destination. Normally I would use the public transport, would have all day to arrive at my destination. She assured me after consulting with the pilot (Capt Monteith) that there would be a ZOOM rep available at the ZOOM check-in desk that will provide assistance to me in Glasgow.

04:40 a.m. local time

We got off the plane and on the bus, where we were then shuttled to the checkin. More standing in lines were we had to sign for our keys. Back on the bus and shuttled to the accommodations.

05:20 a.m. local time

A little sleep.

The meals were great, the people in Goose Bay were service oriented and what could had been worse these people made it very comfortable. Thank you. I was also able to inform the people at my accommodations in Stirling, Scotland that I would be arriving later than planned with the use of the bank of phones. Thanks again.

The drawback here was there was no more communications from anyone. The primary source of information was the grapevine about, phones available, later pick up for shuttle to the plane, take-off times etc.

15:40 hours local time Goose Bay.

We were back on the plane and shortly in the air bound for Glasgow, Scotland.

01:40 hours, Monday arrived in Glasgow.

Proceeded to the check in desk for ZOOM and there was nobody there. The telephone number displayed did not put you in touch with anyone.

There were about ten people who reported to the check-in desk and we waited. After a period of time one of the Aviance employees James Callandar came by. He said the ZOOM rep was up at the plane and would be down shortly. He spoke to him by radio.

We waited, and waited and waited.

More promises and more promises.

He had to get the flight out where people had been waiting since 7:00 a.m. this morning.

Oops, items missing from the first aid kit on the plane and he had to address this.

04:30 a.m. Finally, Paul Lavelle arrived at the Zoom desk to talk with the passengers who were affected by the delay in arriving at Glasgow. By this time there was just myself and one other person still there. The others had gone to sleep in the terminal, gotten taxi’s or arranged for their own accommodations. I still hoped I would get to my accommodations in Stirling.

I told Paul my problem. The reason I chose Zoom was because it afforded me ample time to arrive in Glasgow, a city I had never been in before, I had arranged for transportation to my destination over an hour away, and accommodations guaranteed for the previous afternoons arrival, and seminars to attend on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. His response was I could take a taxi, find a place to stay and submit the costs to Zoom. But from his experience it is on a “case by case” review and they would not approve my claim or I could take my chances. That was not something I could risk. He explained that this is what you get when you fly a no frills airline.

Something that I found very hard to believe about the flight he worked so hard to get off was that these passengers had been waiting since 07:00 hours. Apparently they didn’t check beforehand to determine if the flight was on time. When Paul was asked this he said that he didn’t know when the flight was arriving until we landed??? There seems to be a serious lack of communication.

It was very clear to me by this time in speaking with Paul Lavelle that I was not going to get transportation to Stirling after asking him for it, I was not going to get accommodations in Glasgow, a city I did not know anything about. He did say that he could get us a deal on accommodations but that was the best he could do. I asked him if he could at least get us some coffee and he gave me two coupons for 5 pounds.

On the return flight.

11:00 hours, May 19, 2008 Monday local time.

Boarded the return flight from Glasgow to Toronto. As I entered the plane the member of the flight crew I had spoken about my concern asked very cheerfully how I had made out with my trip. I told her not very well. The person who was supposed to meet with me when we landed at 2:00 a.m. did not show up at the Zoom desk until after 4:30 a.m. She said that he had to get the flight out and that was the reason he was later getting there.

On the flight just before landing the same attendant came to my seat around 12:05 p.m. She was going to document my displeasure because she felt I was not happy with the service. She was right!

I wrote to the chairman Hugh Boyle to tell him of my experience…..but I am waiting….sound familiar?

UPDATE:

4:00 p.m. Thursday May 22

Received a telephone message from a ZOOM customer service representative who wanted to discuss my experiences. Somebody is listening.

UPDATE

9:31 a.m.

Zoom apoligized profusively and asked me to call them before I travel next time. They would help me with my arrangements. The bottom line in preparing for any trip is “I should have bought travel and trip interruption insurance”. Remember that the times on your ticket are not written in stone. And the most important thing to remember is according to the Zoom rep is “You have to be responsible for yourself”.

Have you had any experiences like this and how was it handled?

Well, I'm back from my trip to the UK, and I have to admit, the service on Zoom was a pleasant surprise! The leg room in regular economy was ample, which is saying something as I'm 6'3". My wife and kids found the flights to be great, especially on the way home from Cardiff, when we found the staff to be exceptionally attentive to all of the children on the flight. Unfortunately, I have to come back to the same problem.
I've flown many of Zoom's low cost competitors, and not once have I encountered the scheduling problems that Zoom seems to have. Delays I can live with, but destination changes, and arrival/departure date changes are a big problem. If I incur more costs with hotels or connections, then what's the point in flying with a budget carrier? I sincerely hope Zoom works out their problems in this area, because their flight crews are fantastic.
Until Zoom gets its act together with flight scheduling, I'll have to regrettably fly with another airline. It's all about confidence.

We bought two round trip tickets to travel to Calgary-Paris. The trip to Paris was smooth and problem free. On our return we arrived at the airport with plenty of time. At Zoom’s front desk we were asked for our passport, e-ticket and since we’re not Canadian citizens we were also asked for proof that our immigration status in Canada. We turn-in the requested documentation and waited with no explanation. 30min later Zoom’s “Security” personnel appeard with our documents and an armed officer of the French Police. He explained us that there was a problem with my wife’s passport and we needed to go with the police. Turned out that the “Security” personnel though that my wife’s passport was fraudulent. We were there for almost two hours while they were deliberating weather the passport was fake. The police brought two “experts” to examine the documents and within 15 minutes they both agree that the passport was a valid and original document. We were told to come back to Zoom’s front desk to board our plane. just to find Zoom’s security personnel again. He told us that no matter what the police said, in his opinion the passport was fake and he would not let us board until we provide a new passport issued by the consulate. He also mentioned that if he was wrong the airline would pay for our extra expenses which turned out to be: 4 nights lodging, new passport, two new flight tickets, etc. We filed a detailed report of the above and was told that it was our fault and as stated in the contract “Zoom is not responsible for travel missed due to lack of or improper documentation”. Then I called Zoom’s Customer Relations Dept just to be told the same thing: The airline was not responsible for any of this nor my expenses and also that what happened to me was a common thing. What bothers me the most is that the same airline took me to Paris with the same passport, so the documentation was not incomplete!. Does this mean that an airline can take you half way of your trip but and then dump you there at their discretion?.

DON'T FLY ZOOM... the schedule changes will lose you far more vacation time than the ticket price saves! In January a bought tickets for a summer trip. In March they changed the return date, extending my trip by 4 days. 4 extra days in London... costly, but, OK, they're a discount carrier. I booked the rooms. Then in mid-vacation I saw there was a message left on my cell phone. It took me an hour on the phone (from Germany $$$) to find out that the new flight had been cancelled. they gave me the choice of staying LONGER AGAIN (at my expense of course) or cutting the trip shorter that it originally had been. No compensation for the prepaid hotels, No allowance for the extra costs. Not even an "I'm sorry" or an explanation for what's going on. When I look at the extra costs they caused-- and the value of my ONE ANNUAL VACATION... I'd have been much better going with a larger carrier. At least if a big company cancels a flight they'll have another one nearer than a week away.

BrunoD - Oh my God, virtually the same thing happened to me! We were in the UK though and a Zoom Airlines person said that my girlfriends passport was fake. Cue forward 2 hours and having had a discussion with British Immigration who cleared the passport and WISHED US A HAPPY HOLIDAY and Zoom refused to let us board the plane!!!!! When we asked for a refund they said it was our responsibility to ensure we had the correct travel documents!!!! ZOOM are a piss pot of an airline, staffed by morons and incompetents who will screw up your holiday despite the experts telling them otherwise. They probably overbooked the flight, they really are a pathetic bunch of retards and the sooner they all drop dead the better this world will be.

Return flight to Calgary from London.
Gatwick airport has improved since the last time I travelled through it, we got past the security screening in less than 10 minutes.
Our flight left about 15 minutes late thanks to a passenger not being at the gate.
The crew both ways were brilliant, the economy section was a little better than what BA offer.
We arrived in Calgary 10 minutes late.
Our return to London was on-time.

If u think Zoom airines are bad-try flying Bulgaria air-
basically a tin-can with paper wings + everyone on board prayers and cheers when u land!
also, dont bother trying to expln what Vegearian meal means!
Flew Gatwick-Toronto last year w/zoom- great leg room, ok service, crappy meal(whatcan u expct wth a budget airline!)
hoping flight home this year will be ok..finers crossed!

Took Zoom direct from San Diego to Gatwick. Paid for premium upgrade, well worth it. Took off nearly two hours late due to air conditioning issue. Staff could not have been more pleasant, fun and acommodating. Food and drinks plentiful. Trip back was uneventful/on time and again, staff was pleasant and food and drinks were plentiful. (Hot) food quality not great, but then, it's a bargain airline! I would recommend Zoom to anyone.

im due to fly to canada on my honeymoon in 2 weeks and after reading most of your comments im feeling very worried about my flight which doesnt help as im scared of flying too..is it really that bad.

All I can say is brilliant!
Return flights from San Diego to London.
Great service (American airways take note) and very good value for money in premium economy.
Lets hope they start doing more than 2 flights a week to London from San Diego.

Off to Toronto in this afternoon (3.10pm) flying Zoom from Manchester, having just read the comments and being familiar with travelling charter and low cost airlines I'm looking forward to seeing how Zoom perform.
I'm back in 3 weeks and will post a review.

Oh and I'm a retired teacher, I have no connections with Zoom, or any other airlines for that matter !!!!!!

i don't fly alot but i'm a little concerned on the 20kg baggage allowance.

I'm sure this is true..but can two people sharing a suitcase combine their allowance..so that one piece of luggage weighs more than 20kg..up to 40kg???

Yes Jimmy. If both of you are at check in the same time then this will be allowed.

I have flown Zoom exclusively for the past 3 years to the UK and have never had a problem. I've flown them twice already this year and I'm moving to Belfast in October and flying Zoom there. The 20kg is not unusual. It's the same flying Skyservice, Thomas Cook or Air Transat out of Toronto to European destinations. It's normally in accordance with the country you're flying into not the actual airline.

Just heard a horror story about Zoom. A womans flight was delayed from London to Toronto by 2 days as they ran out of planes. I am flying to Paris in March. I am getting a little nervous already........

Are Zoom any good? - you decide:

Just got off a flight with Zoom from Gatwick to Ottawa and so far the pro's of flying with them were:

Pro's:
Good customer service on board, nice crew, food reasonably good.

Bad: Plane left nearly and hour late, seat didnt work properly even though in premium economy and paid neary £600 one way. Support staff very disorganised, Bag crews lost my bags when I got into Ottawa and have a wedding tomorrow so am totally shafted, the customer service people at Ottawa didn't know what or when to expect a call and didn't know the compensation policy was! The aer service baggage number given never called back when they said they would and follow up several hours later confirmed they haven't even rang Halifax (the stop over) to confirm if they have mine and several other passengers bags. Rang Zoom customer service to see likely response time but they were closed (at 530 EST!), they charge you 10p per minute to ring them to about their problems! and the list of cons goes on and on.

Overall - if your travel isn't important and if you can afford to have your time wasted should anything go wrong then you will probably be fine. Otherwise expect alot of frustrations, lack of accountability, lack of professional handling and poor service.

Given that I hear they are going a few years from the inital post here, I am surprised. They have a feel and operate more like they are going a few months. Surprising.

Hope I get my bags back!

Stuck in Toronto.
Were trying to fly out. And we are stuck. Reason being they cancelled the flight. Not delayed. but cancelled since they are waiting for a different plane all together to get here tomorrow.
Thats fine and dandy. I have no problems with delayed flights.
Customers are upset and have every right to be. Apparently we should call our travel agents because they were supposed to call us that the flight was cancelled.

Then to make matter worst. They give us a 10$ food voucher at quarter to 10. all the restaurants close at 10. so stop serving a little before that.

The attitude from the reps was awful . To the extent where they were talking down to people. Afterwards. They decided to call the police because customers had questions.

THE INFORMATION WAS ON OUR SITE ALL DAY they stated.

Well since they refuse to apologize i will. I AM SORRY THAT I WAS TOO BUSY FINISHING UP ALL OF MY WORK TODAY SO THAT I COULD ENJOY MY VACATION> I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO SIT ON YOUR WEBSITE.

The police were baffled. and left after telling us that some of the luggages were being set aside just in case they decided to refuse us to board the flight in the morning. THEY HAVE THAT RIGHT AS WELL.

So i have only one question WHAT RIGHT DO WE HAVE AS CUSTOMERS/CONSUMERS. if we lose out on this flight. it will be a vacation (truly deserved) ruined. Lost income/wages and the money that was actually spent on the flight non refunded.

FOR AN ECONOMY FLIGHT it wasnt the cheapest. but it was direct and was meant to save us time.

I GUESS ITS A LOSE LOSE FOR ALL OF US.

we may not get a vaca. and ZOOM WILL LOSE US AS CUSTOMERS FOR EVER.

AIR CANADA im coming home to you.

My wife and I booked a Zoom flight from Toronto to Rome (roundtrip). It was scheduled to fly from Rome to Toronto on July 27. We checked the web site in the morning before leaving the hotel, and the flight was scheduled to leave on time. When we got to the airport we were told by a fellow passenger to get in line because the flight is delayed 24 hours and they are going to get us a hotel. So we waited. Then they announced that they were going to bus all the passengers to a pre-arranged hotel near the airport. The hotel was awful (usually airlines are supposed to give you a voucher). So bad that we had to leave and take the train back into Rome downtown to get a hotel that we knew was good.

Turns out my credit card that I booked the flight on covers us for accommodations, food, entertainment, and transportation in the event of a delay of 6 hours or more.

I have one suggestion for those thinking of booking on Zoom. Book with a credit card that has this sort of coverage on it. Don't accept the hotel they give you if there is a delay, as it will usually be horrible.

The flight from Toronto to Rome was great. And once we were on the plane the next day from Rome it was fine. However, I think if we had been on a full priced airline we would have been given another flight instead of a 1 day delay.

Just returned from canada, flew zoom both ways as i had prebooked. Dont want to describe the trip as im trying to blank it from my memory with drugs and alcahol (previous to today this trip ive been teetotal), would just say that if I ever met anyone in social circumstances who worked for zoom I would risk impropriety and possible social suicide by punching them in the face. They may only be loosely related to someone who works for Zoom, be a man, woman or child, but that wouldnt matter as my fist connected. I would plead as my defense in the criminal proceedings that would surely follow that the person belongs to an organisation that regularly commits crimes against humanity and charges for it. The only way i will ever get onto a Zoom plane again is if I have joined a terrorist organisation with the sole purpose of flying it into Zoom headquarters. I would only be sad that if I did, I would not take out the customer service staff as I am sure they are well protected deep underground with all the other slugs.

Zoom Airlines is the worst Airline that you could possibly take. They take no responsibility for loosing luggage and/or delaying flights from 8 hrs up to 32 hrs. If you decide to fly Zoom, it is extremely likely that you will be cursing yourself later. The most unprofessional staff imaginable! Horrifying delays without accomodations or compensation of any sort!

Zoom airlines added a Toronto stop-over on our flight from London (England) to Montreal. This added about 4 hours to our flight time. We asked if we could modify out flight slightly to make things more convenient, but of course they wanted a fee to do this. I understand that there should be charges for changing a flight, but we were looking to make a minor change that was necessary because they re-routed us (basically we wanted to drop the Toronto to Montreal segment). The charge seemed a bit unfair, as we would not have flown with them had we know what the real flight schedule was. I know what the fine print says - but asking to drop a segment of the flight (which they could have resold to some one else) because they changed flight plan does not seem unreasonable.

ZOOMHORRIBLE........well I hope they don't go bankrupt until after 25th August as I am flying to San Diego with them on this day!!! Wish me luck!!!!

I just want to say that the only ones responsible for lost bags are the airports. Once you check in the AIRLINE does not touch your bags. People who work for the AIRPORT are responsible for getting it on the right plane. When your bags don't get there it's not the airline's fault. We're lucky enough when airports lose bags that certain airlines pay us anything for the damages when airport staff lose bags.

hi all, my hubby, me and 2 kids aged 2 and 6 are due to fly zoom to calgary in nov. should i take it for granted that we will be delayed somehow and somewhere? does any1 think that its worse in the winter? god, i really don't want to go now!!

What date in November? I will then be able to tell you if a snowstorm is forecasted in Calgary - LOL... Relax! Don't believe all you read - thousands of passengers fly every week on Zoom - only a few whiners. I have flown with them several times and it has gone off with-out a hitch.

I wish people would ask more important questions on this forum. It does not help people traveling to ask irrelevant questions, as it seems most ask. The weather changes from every hour, security problems every second, airline issues always. Travel on a boat across the atlantic if you don't think delays happen.
P.S. I Have NO connection with Zoom, just annoyed at people posting ignorant comments...

nancy,thanks, we have family in calgary. nathen, you sound like a gurn. you do not have to answer my q's. I am a very nervous flier and my son has disabilties, so it would be nice to know what we will be facing!! next time, think before you log on and rem to check your spelling, as that is a sign of ignorance!!!

Hate Zoom!!! I was trying to call stewardess for 30 min, and when she finally arrived I waited for my blanket for another 15. However, there were just 4 of them, all busy. But I ad the most negative experience with my luggage. They initially lost it somewhere, and no one informed us what happens next on the arrival. Then we had to queue for almost an hour to complete the forms at the airport, and were told they will call us back. For three days, no one called us, and I had all suits for business meetings and all my cremes etc in the lost suitcase. When tried to call their customer service, I was always put on hold for 10 minutes, and then staff either just hung up or said they have no information available. It was 2.5 months ago. Since then, they found the suitcase, and I have sent 6 letters to their customer service claiming compensation - and they didn't inform me that I am eligible for compensation to start with. The issue is still unresolved, and I am very very very stressed about it. Will never ever use the airline again. Very poor service.

I'm just returned from a CDG-YUL flight with Zoom Airlines. Got my ticket for 850 CDN $ taxes included (roundtrip), while Air Transat quoted me 200 $ more for the exact same dates.

As for myself, Zoom met all of my expectations. No delayed flights, no lost luggage, no hassles at all. As you should expect from an airline that operates in a cost-cutting strategy, every little extra is at traveller's charge. In my case, I wasn't bothered by not having to pay for ugly blankets or cheap earphones I never use anyway.

Though not exquisite, the on-board meal service was quite decent and fulfilled its function. Breathtaking culinary experiences belong to Air France on the Montreal-Paris route, at an extra charge of 500-800 $.

The aircraft they used on my flights was a Boeing 767-300ER, released in 1993 and formerly operated by Air France. Very spacious, quiet plane, with a convenient 2+3+2 seating layout.

However, I would not suggest flying Zoom if you plan to attend an important event in the first 2 days of your trip. Contrary to full-price scheduled airlines as Air Canada or Air France, Zoom runs a small fleet of 5 aircraft, and has no partner airlines to redirect passengers on in case of delay or flight cancellation. Unfortunately, flight cancellations (postponed to the next day or so) seem to be a rather frequent occurence with Zoom (even my seat neighbour on return flight had experienced a flight cancellation).

Also, Zoom's staff seems to be uneven. Check-in in Montreal was not overwhelmingly efficient, though once I reached the counter, I was served by a very courteous lady. In Paris, their check-in personel was neither efficient nor courteous at all. Boarding in Paris was total chaos. Flight attendants were unreproachable, except for their messy PAs always full of mistakes (they desperately need a script!).

A small comment about lost luggage :
People who pointed out that airport personel are responsible of lost luggage are correct with their statement. However, once a piece of luggage is lost, this is the *airline* that deals with the complaint and should therefore use professionalism and proper diligence in doing so. Reading previous reviews tend to make me believe that Zoom's service is lacking on this particular aspect. Consequently, I would suggest that anyone flying them keep valuable items and clothes for 1-2 days in their handbag.

All in all, I believe Zoom is quite a decent airline that offers very attractive rates on popular routes, which is not to be overlooked since even Air Transat tends to gentrify. I would recommend Zoom to leisure travellers, retirees and students.

I have travelled with Zoom since its inception 1992 in Ottawa. I go 2x a year to France and on occasion to London. I have NEVER had any problems with them in act I just returned this Tuesday Aug 26 from France. Always had excellent service, beats Air Canada any day. I have recommended ZOOM to many others who are in total agreement.For what you pay the cost / benefit return is fantastic. I hope their troubles are short lived, Hugh Boyle's experience will rule the day.

Dozens of Zoom Pax stranded at Calgary today after fuel supplier refuses fuel due to money owed.

Zoom goes Bust! Good riddance to bad rubbish. David Rogers... beats Air Canada? Are you nuts? A budget airline with crappy service and atrocious planes (read the other reviews) beats a regular airline? Get real.

Anyway goodbye Zoom, you wont be missed. I look forward to dancing on your grave.

This terrible airline was always only going one way. You cant have about 25% of your customer base 'satisfied' and the rest so repulsed they would post all over internet about what a load of rubbish Zoom was. The skies are somehow more innocent again.

I am a past employee of Zoom Airlines. I quit a few months to return to school, teacher's college. I am, however, not astounded that the Zoom went under. Having seen the company from an inside perspective, well there's lots I could tell you! On the flip side, I can't imagine being a passenger on any airline nowadays. I have travelled on several airlines, and seen the things of horror stories. But of all the side show elements in flying... the lavs have to be the most blood curdling! And for those of you who sit bare-assed on the toilet seat... god help you! And as for the pax that have no idea how to wipe there ass in a public toilet... the toilet paper goes in the bowl!

Also, it troubles me how rude people are when they leave their homes. I have encountered passengers from both poles, those that are extremely patient and courtious and know how to say thank you for Christ's sakes. And I have also met the most irate , lowest forms of human beings of all mankind. But that's the nature of the beast as a flight attendant. I got a paid a shit wage to be a councillor for 269+ pax, be a garbagewoman for 7 hours straight, wipe shit of the lav floors ( with gloves of course), body bag a dead man who passed inflight, serve parents who are prob child abusers, wife beaters, con artists,... but it's not all bad, there were a few hotties that made the flight more aesthetically pleasing. You know you all are ;) But I felt I was made for a different lifestyle that didn't involve all of the above. I do send out apologies to all disgruntled passengers of the past. My apology means nothing I know, but as for my past fellow co-workers, we are people too who go thru the same difficulties with luggage loss, delays, lack of sleep, angry passengers, lack of being informed, and we have to eat the shitty food too. Eat too much of that garbage and our asses won't be able to fit down that aisle. Asides from all the crazies on board, I have to say I went to work everyday just so I had stories to tell my friends and families about. And Yes I talked about the pax, the good the bad and the ugly. For all of you who said thank you, I want you to know that word never went unappreciated to a Zoom employee. For those who detest Zoom with all of their being, don't worry, another budget airline will emerge to fill your void with more rage. Its only a matter of time. You are the people who will never be happy. Next time bring a gravol, chill out, have a cocktail, read a book and bring a big bottle of water! Those are the essentials of airline travel. As for the dole line, so many of the Zoom staff have much talent, I have no doubt everyone will be back up on their feet in no time. Well Mates, have a pint on me.

It's no great surprise that such an incompetent outfit is now broke. Many people posted just such a prediction on this very site many months ago, myself included. I will say however (once again) that our flight experience was quite good, and my heart goes out to the pilots and flight attendants. To anyone who might work in Zoom's pathetic customer service department (especially a supervisor named Helen) or head office, I hope you never again find employment in the airline industry. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

Posted here around a year ago when we flew with Zoom back in Sept 2007. It was the skyrocketing fuel prices that did zoom in, not crummy customer service. If fuel costs hadn't increased exponentially, zoom would have kept hobbling along....substandard service and all. I hate to admit it, but I would have booked with them again if they hadn't gone under, despite all the terrible reviews. Why? because they're cheap. Hey, if they turned out to be total crap the next time round, I would have moaned (a lot) and then moved on. Like someone said previously, they'll be another crummy cheap service to take zoom's place (providing this whole fuel-prices-done-gone-crazy malarkey sorts itself out). So unless we drop the I ain't proud attitude, we'll gladly pay for the cheapest lot going - me included.

joe, threatening sarah like that benefits no one. As for tracing someone over the net, I havent heard that since 1990, and no one believed it was possible then. Please go elsewhere if you want to make those kind of disparaging remarks.

I really think this board should be closed now, it serves no purpose.

Pete,

I agree, these comments are no longer serving the purpose of reviewing Zoom's service. They are now closed.

For the record, I removed the personal attacks by Joe's and others.