 Poster: A snowHead
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I know a few  out there have used Zoom - the Canadian low-cost carrier - to travel to Vancouver. I'm considering this for next year's trip to Whistler.
Can anyone with experience of the Manchester-Vancouver flight with Zoom pass on their positive/negative experiences, before I go ahead and book the flight.
I see that the economy luggage allowance is 20kg per person, but that sports equipment (including skis) can additionally be carried free (at least that's what the website says). - Is there any reason to doubt this??
Thanks folks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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never book a flight to Vancouver without also checking prices to Seattle. adds a couple of hours' drive and an additional border crossing but can work out significantly cheaper
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Arno,
Thanks, but after a long transatlantic flight I've no intention of driving anywhere on the wrong side of the road in the dark, in winter.
Also US immigration sucks.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Acacia, all reasonable points plus seattle airport has the most retarded system for dealing with delivering outsize luggage ever. however, last time i went, we flew BA business (using airmiles to upgrade) for less than it would have cost to fly Zoom premium to Vancouver
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Arno wrote: |
| Acacia, all reasonable points plus seattle airport has the most retarded system for dealing with delivering outsize luggage ever. however, last time i went, we flew BA business (using airmiles to upgrade) for less than it would have cost to fly Zoom premium to Vancouver |
Second the retarded baggage system - you might as well book your hire car for 2 hours after your scheduled arrival if you want to take your own skis.
Re Zoom -maybe check the balance sheet and see what cover you have for contingencies if they happen to go bump before you travel (no specific slight -just they are a small airline in a difficult climate at the moment) 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Zoom-pay £125 each way and upgrade to the premium flight-well worth it.
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arv,
It's £125 each way plus about the same in taxes. And the upgrade boosts the amount of tax you pay, so it's not that good value these days.
At the moment it's coming out about £200 cheaper than KLM from Leeds Bradford (local airport) via Amsterdam, for two of us. - Then I have to factor in costs and convenience of a taxi to/from the airport versus cost of driving to Manchester & parking, longer flight time (11.5 hours via Zoom, 10 h via KLM for the long haul component) versus hassle of having two flights and a longer day overall.
At the moment I'm leaning toward Zoom on the grounds of convenience, but what I really want to know about is peoples' experience of the flight itself.
(i)Is it reasonably comfortable? (we're both short, so don't need loads of legroom) (ii) is the cabin service OK? (iii) do they have a good selection of inflight movies? (iv) was there anything that made you think "I'm NEVER flying with those guys again"? (an attitude that I find now restricts me to a very small number of carriers indeed!!)
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Acacia, Done Glasgow-Calgary numerous times-obviously the other way around as well. Food as good as economy food gets, decent legroom, service fine, good movies, no problems with baggage.
Nice new-ish planes, never been delayed.
Air Canada on the other hand is the worst airline I have ever flown with,
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Acacia, I've flown Manchester to Calgary, returning from Vancouver on Zoom, and the flights, food and cabin service were fine. (Incidentally for anyone planning doing this with a hire car, because so many people rent between Calgary/Vancouver and the opposite direction, there is no additional charge for picking up from one location and dropping off the car at the other  )
If you register with Zoom on their website they will e-mail you details of promotions, discounts etc as they arise which can save you money compared to their normal fares.
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| Quote: |
i)Is it reasonably comfortable? (we're both short, so don't need loads of legroom) (ii) is the cabin service OK? (iii) do they have a good selection of inflight movies? (iv) was there anything that made you think "I'm NEVER flying with those guys again"? (an attitude that I find now restricts me to a very small number of carriers indeed!!)
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We flew Glasgow to Calgary last year
Comfort. OK but not great in the cheap seats. You can pay extra and get an exit row seat. We got the offer of those at Calgary on the way back and took it, which was a good move for an overnight flight.
Cabin service. Friendly attendants. Not great food.........but no worse than many others. Take your own would be my view.
Inflight movies. Maybe we were unlucky but out and back they were not to my taste and there is no choice.
I would certainly fly again with them if the price was right.......they got us and the luggage there and back broadly on time which is what I want. The rest is just extras, fine if you do well, not a disaster if you dont.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It's a bit depressing to find that the one-way fare is at least double the price of the outbound leg of a return 
EDIT!!!
Checking the NY flights I found that baggage allowance is different between Economy (2 PCS Total 20Kg) and Premium Economy (2 PCS Total 30Kg)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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We flew Manchester to Vancouver and back in March this year. It was basically fine for the cheap price. No problems with the free carriage of skis, - 2 pairs in a sportube or with the teenagers board bags which contained their boots bindings and sundries as well.
The only drawback is that you pick up and drop off passengers in Glasgow, so you do have a long wait there. The advertised wait is 45 mins but it was longer both ways.
The other irritation is that because it is cheap you do seem to get lots of crying babies and toddlers, which you don't usually get with mainstream airlines. Earplugs or noise cancelling headphones are a must.
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I have flown Zoom to Calgary and many times to Toronto. They are "cheap and cheerful" I have never been delayed or lost bags, and the flight staff are very pleasant. I usually upgrade to the extra leg room seats if they are available. Landing in Glasgow or Belfast is a bit of a pain but not as bad as Paris or Amsterdam. The only frill you don't get is decent in-flight entertainment, I take a book.
If you live reasonably close to one of there UK airport I would certainly recommend them, mainly for the price, they are generally £100-200 less than their rivals.
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You know it makes sense.
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Flew Zoom Gatwick-Vancouver return in March this year. No problems with baggage or delays. Food was no worse than any other economy food, but then that's pretty bad to start with! Eating in the airport and taking along something nice is always a good plan. On the Zoom planes, some economy seats have slightly more leg-room than others (we measured some and there was up to a few inches difference). One of my friends is 6'3 with disproportionately long legs, and was snug on the way out, and impossibly jammed in on the way back. He complained to the crew and they moved him to an exit row seat. What they'd have done if the flight had been full, I don't know. I'm 5'11 and had no problems, but like many carriers, I wouldn't describe it as comfortable. I'm flying BA this year, but only because I wanted to fly on dates that Zoom don't, and BA were just as cheap at the time.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks guys. I hadn't realised there was a stop-off in Glasgow: that explains the apparently longer flight time (I'd just assumed that 767s were slower aircraft  ).
I guess we'll give them a go (especially since it looks like I can't get the dates I want with KLM).
So far as the airline food goes, on our return flights we usually get a carry-out from Sushi Village: makes the cabin staff look on enviously!
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FAQ
