In the wake of the announcement by Zoom Airlines that it has halted operations,  the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA ) is advising customers who have booked with a professional travel counsellor to contact their agency. 

Acting Chief Communication Officer Moscou Cote  says those travellers who booked with a member travel agent registered in Ontario, Quebec or British Columbia, are protected by the consumer fund protection systems in place in those jurisdictions.

You may advise your clients to contact the following organizations to make claims for reimbursement in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

Ontario:  Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) @ 1-888-451-8426 www.tico.on.ca
Quebec:  Office de la protection du consommateur @ 1-888-672-2556 www.opc.gouv.qc.ca
British Columbia: Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority @ 1-888-564-9963 www.bpcpa.ca


“While Zoom was very vocal in their sentiments that they did not support the travel agency community, ACTA takes no joy in their demise,” Cote said.  “This has adversely affected some of our clients and it is not good for the Canadian travel industry as a whole,” he said.

“However, this is exactly the kind of situation that proves that the agent distribution model still works.  “Over the last few years, we have heard many false stories about the declining role of travel agents in the marketplace,” Cote said.  “Time and time again we are reminded that travel agencies clearly offer a greater value to both suppliers and consumers alike, and remain the most cost effective distribution model,” he said.

The national policy of the Canadian Transportation Agency does not protect consumers from scheduled airline failure.  Canada 3000 and Jetsgo are other examples of failure which significantly impacted hundreds of passengers.
 
“With this most recent airline failure, ACTA will continue to lobby government for greater financial monitoring and disclosure to the public of federally regulated airlines,” Cote said. “In addition there continues to be a concern for consumers in those provinces in which there is no consumer protection fund.”