Ottawa company to launch Zoom Airlines DAVID PADDON Canadian Press Monday, August 26, 2002 TORONTO - As if it isn't hard enough for air travellers to keep track of Tango, Jazz and ZIP Air - all owned by Air Canada. Now an Ottawa company is preparing to launch Zoom Airlines - a charter service starting out with one leased Airbus 320 and one customer, Go Travel Direct, a two-year-old tour operator specializing in winter leisure travel. Zoom president and CEO Kris Dolinki said Monday there's a danger there will be confusion among consumers because of the wave of new airline brand names "but we certainly don't intend to take any advantage of that." In fact, Zoom Air isn't marketing directly to the public, which would buy seats indirectly through Go Travel or other tour operators, he said. Hugh Boyle, who emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1998 after selling a family owned European tour operator for $200 million, is chairman and a major shareholder in both Zoom and Go Direct. "Hugh's plans were actually to retire in Canada . . . and he stayed retired for about a year," Dolinki said, adding Boyle is still in his early fifties. Boyle got back into the travel business with Go Travel Direct in 2000 after deciding the Ottawa market was underserved, said Dolinki, who had been that company's chief financial officer before helping to launch Zoom. Go Travel Direct, which sells winter vacation packages directly to consumers - without using travel agents - will initially be Zoom's sole customer and buy all the seating aboard airline's single plane. However, Dolinki said Zoom hopes to eventually attract business from other tour operators that aren't already aligned with another airline. Go Travel, for its part, plans to expand this winter to offer flights from Hamilton and Halifax, in addition to Ottawa, said Dan Brennan, Go Travel's marketing director said. Until mid-December, when Zoom is expected to start flying after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals, the tour company will continue to use charter flights from another airline. Air Canada, by far the country's largest airline, has recently launched several new brand names for various parts of its operations. Tango is a no-frills discount carrier that flies to destinations across Canada, with its major hub at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Jazz is the new name for Air Canada Regional, which flies smaller planes that connect with Air Canada's main airline in several regional markets. And ZIP Air is a new subsidiary, not yet flying, that will be based in Calgary and compete mostly against WestJet Airlines on short-haul routes in Western Canada. © Copyright 2002 The Canadian Press _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com