MORE than 360 air passengers bound for Canada were still stranded in Glasgow today following the collapse of Zoom Airlines.


MORE than 360 air passengers bound for Canada were still stranded in Glasgow today following the collapse of Zoom Airlines.

Many were frantically trying to arrange alternative flights on two other airlines - flyglobespan and Canadian Affair - that fly direct from Glasgow to Canada.

Small firms hit turbulence

Booking a flight used to be so easy: Surf the net until you find the cheapest low-cost carrier to take you where you want to go. Not any more. Now you need to work out the odds of your carrier going bust.

A whole squadron of international airlines yesterday revealed profit warnings or losses. One, Scottish-owned but Canadian-registered Zoom, suspended all operations and cancelled all flights as it sought protection from its creditors.

Industry experts believe many carriers will fail to see out the winter. "Things are not happy in airline land," said one aviation insider.

The reason for the crisis: soaring fuel prices and the credit crunch.

Airlines moaned last year when oil hit £38 a barrel and newspaper headlines warned of the end of low-cost "binge" flying.

Now crude is hovering at £66, down from its peak, but still high enough to make finance executives wary. Clever, bigger airlines hedged their fuel purchases.

Smaller outfits, some of which have been known to settle their bills with credit cards issued to their pilots, are struggling. They, warn industry people privately, might just be the airlines to avoid.

The big players - the BAs, the Air Frances and the Lufthansas - have enough cash and know-how to fly through the turbulence of this crisis.

"They will be dented and bruised," said David Kaminsky-Morrow, of Flight International, the London-based industry bible. "But not fatally."

The trick, for anyone planning a trip over the next year, is to check out a lot more than an airline's flashy looking website.

The questions to ask: How big is a carrier's fleet? How much does it make? The lower the figures answering these questions, the bigger the risk in booking.

Canny fliers are also checking out the competition: small airlines up against big rivals on key routes are said to be struggling.

"Just a short time ago everybody and his brother was trying to start a low-cost airline," explained Mr Kaminsky-Morrow. "But the opportunities for that are becoming fewer and fewer."

Big, established carriers, Ryanair and easyJet in this country, are also expected to survive.

But even the big airlines are cutting back. Ryanair this week axed flights between Prestwick and Cork.

Zoom may not be the last victim of the downturn.

However, these two carriers only fly to Vancouver and Calgary - causing more travel nightmares for Scots trying to get to other Canadian cities, such as Ottowa and Toronto.

The scramble for air tickets came after budget transatlantic airline Zoom, founded by two millionaire Scottish brothers, collapsed last night, leaving around 900 passengers stranded at five UK airports, including Glasgow, and other airports in Canada.

The airline grounded all flights, blaming the "horrendous increase" in aviation fuel prices and the current credit crunch.

Reports today said around 40,000 people had booked flights with Zoom over the next few months.

Virgin Atlantic today stepped in to help UK passegers by announcing cut-price transatlantic fares.

Virgin has no direct flights to Canada but said it would be offering stranded passengers half-price deals on flights to the US, with the promise it would help arrange forward journeys to Canada.

Meanwhile, British Airways pledged to give special rates to passengers who had already bought Zoom tickets but had not started their journey.

BA said it would offer unspecified special rates on its flights between London and Canada.

It operates daily flights to Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Both airlines said full details of cost-cutting deals would be revealed later today.

The lifelines were offered just 24 hours after Zoom had two planes impounded for non-payment of bills - one in Glasgow and another at Calgary.

A second plane due to leave Glasgow on a noon flight to Vancouver was delayed for hours - and then grounded.

The Evening Times told last night in later editions how the airline - owned by Hugh and John Boyle - had run up multi-million pound debts.

The 360 passengers stranded in Glasgow include Scots holidaymakers and Canadian tourists due to return home.

Zoom, which has 600 staff and operated from five UK airports, said it had grounded all flights last night as it prepared to go into administration.

The airline, based at Gatwick, employs 450 staff in Canada and 260 in the UK.

Passengers on both sides of the Atlantic face spending hundreds on alternative flights to return home.

The Boyle brothers said last night: "It is a tragic day for our passengers and more than 600 staff.

"We are desperately sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment that this will cause passengers and those who have booked flights."

Passengers stranded at Glasgow told of the chaos.

James McGrory, 62, and his Anne, 52, from St Andrews, said they arrived at the airport to find "pandemonium with queues a mile long".

Mr McGrogy added: "There was a stampede to the desk when someone came out to tell us what was going on.

"Then we were told there was a technical problem with the plane and it wouldn't be departing. Then another man came out and said Zoom hadn't paid a bill and had gone into receivership."

Tycoon brothers enjoy high life

LANARKSHIRE tycoons the Boyle brothers launched their Zoom venture with a flypast over their hometown of Hamilton.

The venture, which took off in 2002, followed decades in the travel business which turned John and Hugh into millionaires.

Their biggest deal was the sale in 1998 of Direct Holidays for £81million.

But the pair set up their first company Falcon Holidays in 1976. It was sold to Owners Abroad for £2.2m in 1982.

Hugh then set up Tjaereborg which merged with Martin Brooks to form eclipse Holidays in 1990.

From there the brothers went on to set up Direct Holidays in 1991 which became the first to specialise in marketing holidays packages direct to the public.

The brothers then concentrated on their own projects, Hugh moving to Canada and John buying Motherwell Football Club.

This April, John, 55, married in a £250,000 ceremony in Bermuda, chartering a Zoom aircraft to take him and 150 guests to the island as he wed accountant Donna Barrie, 44.

Guests including Labour MP Nigel Griffiths and ex-Tory home secretary Ken Baker enjoyed live music from The Proclaimers.