Zoom seeks protection from creditors, strands passengers

I posted this item because this is the airline that we have booked flight with for our Europe trip. I guess we will go first class BA now.

Unable to pay airport and supplier bills, Zoom Airlines Inc. is seeking court protection from creditors in Canada and the United Kingdom after its airplanes were grounded in Calgary and Glasgow.
Ottawa-based Zoom Airlines, which flies in Canada, the Caribbean and Europe, filed a notice of application Thursday, blaming its troubles on "horrendous" increases in fuel prices and the sagging economy.
In a statement, Zoom executive chair Hugh Boyle said the company's British and Canadian operations “have sought creditor protection by filing legal notices of intention to appoint an administrator in both the U.K. and Canada.”
“The airline's flights will continue to operate, and the decision to instigate creditor protection proceedings means that the demands of existing creditors are frozen while we continue negotiations on an investment package which already are at an advanced stage.”
The move jeopardized the flights of many passengers at several airports, including in Ottawa, Halifax and Calgary.
At Calgary International Airport, dozens of passengers booked on a Zoom flight were left stranded Wednesday.
The Ottawa-based discount carrier owes money to a lot of airports, including $400,000 to the Calgary Airport Authority, said airport authority spokesman Bryce Paton.
"They certainly owe lots to the Calgary Airport Authority, and we understand [to] other airports across the country," Paton said.
Paton said passengers got off their flight when it landed in Calgary and about 97 of them were scheduled to continue to fly to Vancouver with Zoom Airlines.
WestJet came to their rescue, booking them on several flights out of Calgary, he said.
Another 69 passengers, who were scheduled to fly to the United Kingdom, learned Wednesday evening that Zoom had cancelled their flight.
The company had said on its website that eight flights expected to arrive at Canadian airports on Thursday had been delayed because of "technical difficulties."