Zoom Airlines stopped flying at 2 pm this afternoon, declaring that the company's run out of money to pay off its debts. Though insolvency isn't exactly the same as bankruptcy, it's close enough: All future flights have been canceled and its planes have been parked.
A statement from the airline's founders wasn't very surprising:
We have done everything we can to support the airline and left no stone unturned to secure a re-financing package that would have kept our aircraft flying. Even as late as yesterday we had secured a new investment package but the actions of creditors meant we could not continue flying.
The collapse of Zoom is a result of matter beyond our control. Only last year Zoom Airlines made profit, but that turned into a loss in the last year due to the unprecedented increase in the price of aviation fuel and the economic climate.
Zoom says it has contacted other airlines to help stranded passengers get where they're headed. Refunds? Call your credit card company pronto.
Budget Asian carrier Tiger Airways announced a while back it was expanding its offerings in the Australian market with an Adelaide base. Finally, we have details!
A bunch of routes will head out of Adelaide to destinations such as Perth, Tasmania's capital Hobart and the Gold Coast, and they're increasing the Adelaide to Melbourne flights they've already started up. There will also be more flights from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast--they'll run daily from December--and to Alice Springs, a good base for visiting the outback and the famous red rock of Uluru.
Just like Virgin Blue's western expansion, travelers bound for Oz and the Aussies themselves will hopefully get some cheerily cheap fares out of this. And it's about time.
The V Australia part of Virgin might be worried about red tape right now, but Down Under domestic carrier Virgin Blue is getting excited about throwing more and more routes the way of travelers. And we have to say we like that in an airline.
New on the map this week are flights centered on the Western Australian capital, Perth. As well as doubling flights between Perth and northern tourist spot Broome, Virgin Blue is adding flights from Perth to Pilbara region towns Newman and Karratha, perfect bases for exploring the national parks and desert up there.
The new flights start in October and the probable prices haven't been announced yet, but they're bound to be lower than the small fortune people have been paying on these routes until now.
Remember Jet America? It was to be the second coming of Skybus--until oil got super-expensive and everyone realized starting an airline is no way to make money. Last we heard, the project was scrapped in April.
But a tipster reports that there's still a little bit of cash floating around:
You are the only place I could find that might be able to let Jet America know they have funds sitting in the California State Controller's Office. It's only $1800+, but something is better than nothing.
Low cost carrier Jetstar Asia was jumping up and down at the recent Skytrax LCC awards, because it got two trophies: Best Low Cost Airline in Asia and Best Low Cost Airline in South East Asia. (Surely the second follows from the first, right?)
We're not so excited about the awards, but the special they're promoting in celebration is pretty neat. The airline is having a big fare sale with some tickets going from S$2 ($1.40) for travel until mid-November. The $2 fares are for the short hop from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, but longer flights aren't too bad either, as long as you like multiples of 11--fares are $11, $22, $33 and so on.
Buyer beware: Unlike the European airline industry where you'll always see taxes and charges loud and clear, the final bill on your Jetstar Asia could be a lot more than $11 or $22.
The miracle budget airline that is Ryanair continues to buck the trend of low cost carriers across the world by actually decreasing prices, with a promise to cut fares by five percent--and with a huge sale on now with five million seats going for €10 (including taxes and charges) for September and October travel.
Anyone would think that Ryanair had a mystery supply of cheap fuel, but no, CEO Michael O'Leary has admitted he's messed up on the oil price front already; that's why Ryanair will probably only just break even this year. Even so, he's sticking with the price decrease promise anyway.
The other big drama for Ryanair these days is the crackdown on "scraper" websites that have been selling the carrier's flights. Any customer who buys one of these fares (which, ironically, often end up more expensive anyway) will have their booking canceled, so there's definitely no benefit in going to third-party sites. We're keen on picking up a few €10 fares ourselves, but we'll book direct. Promise.
Click Mexicana, the low cost subsidiary of poor speller and airline Mexicana, is one of those budget airlines that definitely benefits from having a big brother.
Click's just got another round of positive exposure thanks to big bro Mexicana joining the oneworld alliance because passengers on Click Mexicana will also earn points for flights. Technically speaking, full benefits won't kick in until 2009, but the Mexicana and Click Mexicana flights have already been added to the network.
But Click is another Mexican LCC that could benefit from an English-language version of its website if it expects to grab a lot of international customers. Its destinations are all domestic with one exception: The airline also flies into Havana, Cuba. It's easy enough to grab a ticket... as long as you can speak Spanish and can click a mouse.
Newly appointed Flydubai COO Ken Gile plans to keep costs down at his new low cost carrier by hedging the cost of fuel, a strategy most notably used by perennially profitable Southwest Airlines--but not at Skybus, where he was president and COO until the carrier went bankrupt in April.
The specifics are still being worked out, says Gile:
We are focusing on implementing a successful hedging plan and Southwest Airline's hedging strategy is something we could look at. Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for any airline so we have to look at ways to control it in order to be able to offer the lowest fares in the region.
Flydubai also plans to lower costs by promoting electronic booking and keeping planes in the sky as much as possible, two strategies Skybus did use. Wonder if the new airline will have a call center?
0 Comments - Add Yours
by pbb
