No More Zoom

Some people who know me think that I bring chaos to wherever I travel. It's true I've flown in to areas of conflict, poverty and natural disasters before (China's recent earthquake is a prime example) but this time it's different. This time I'm involved in bringing down a business.

Zoom Airlines, the carrier that I flew with a few weeks back to Montreal has gone bust. It seems to be the latest business to get hit by the credit crunch. Blaming spiralling fuel costs and the downturn in the economy, the business folded yesterday afternoon. Hundreds of passengers on both sides of the Atlantic were left stranded, and thousands more, including friends planning on visiting me (!) are now needing to find alternative travel arrangements.

Zoom, like Oasis Hong Kong (another recent airline failure) were trying to extend the cheap no-frills model which works so successfully for the likes of Ryanair, to long haul travel. When I flew there was strict terms on check-in baggage, limited on board entertainment with a charge for using headphones and no alcohol served with the basic food provision. Having said that the staff were friendly and helpful, the flight took off and landed on schedule and the price in peak time August was about half that of BA or Air France. I'll skip over the annoying toddler that thought that my chair was a great activity play centre which worked if you kicked it repeatedly.

The airline managed to operate for 7 years in a time of great expansion in the skies, but now economic times are harder it is very difficult for smaller operators to compete. Also with the growth in eco-awareness, the tide is turning on travellers attitudes to cheap airline travel. This is sad news as the most memorable flights I've taken have been with the smaller regional airlines, not the mega-global brands. It looks like we're entering a period of consolidation, and the world of travel will be a duller place.

For info on how to get refunds when airlines go bust here's a handy guide.

A run in the park

Maybe it was all the Olympic coverage, or the sunny weather here, but I've taken up running again. I say again, but it's been a long while since I've pulled on the trainers in anger. After working crazy hours in London it's been nice to be outside during the day and get a bit of exercise.

Running around the local park is a great way to observe Montreal people going about their lives. It's a popular park bordering the Latin Quarter and The Plateau areas of the city. It boasts a lovely lake with a fountain, sports pitches, tennis courts, kids play area and even a dog exercise zone. The park attracts a diverse range of people. Punks and Goths sit happily on the grass banks next to Grandparents and toddlers. Doctors from the adjacent Notre Dame Hospital eat lunch while rollerbladers whizz past. Then there are us joggers.

The joggers are easily to separate into two groups. The fitness fanatics and the rest of us. The rest of us are just wanting to feel a little slimmer and healthier as we shuffle around the perimeter of the park. The fitness fanatics can be summed up by "I-pod man". He is an annoyingly trim bloke who could be straight out of Men's Health magazine. To compound my own lack of fitness he always seems to be running through the park the same time as I'm dragging my weary bones around. I seem to be sweating buckets in the sun while he glides past.

The rest of us grab the nearest old band T-Shirt and not too smelly socks when we go jogging. Ipod Man dresses head to foot in sleek black running gear with a special MP3 holder strapped to his arm. The rest of us are content with listening to our own heart beats thumping in our chests. Ipod man is probably listening to Anthony Robbins podcasts.

But Ipod Man and the more down to earth joggers are typical of the large amount of health conscious folk who live in Montreal. It seems there is a conscious effort by a lot of the populace to be outside and active during the summer. There are special paths for cyclists and bladers which are always busy. All the major parks are accessible by public transport to avoid having to drive. Local markets are doing a great trade in fruit and vegetables. It seems that the whole of Montreal is making the most of the summer while it is still with us.

Montreal Snapshots

Here's a few choice moments from the last week in Montreal...

1) A guy on St Catherine Street running up to our cafe table and shouting "Hey it's Madonna's Birthday!" and then leaping away again. Well it was the night before gay pride..

2) A full on punk rocking the "I still believe it's 1976" look with a great pink 6" mohawk on the Metro.

3) CBC Television gamely looking for any good news from Canada's poor showing at the Olympic Games. "Look he got a personal best!" He also finished 7th...

4) The 17year old kid bag packer positively beaming when I produced my own rucsac to fill my groceries. Plastic bags are bad people!

5) The number 11 bus packed with people heading to Mont Royal park on Sunday. A collective agreement that the destination is worth the stifling journey. BTW it was, it's a lovely park with a lake, on a hill overlooking the city.

Bienvenue a Montreal

A cheery hello from Montreal, where I'm based for the rest of the year.

I arrived last weekend and I'm fast learning the dos and do nots of living in the world's third largest French speaking city. It's a fun and slightly daunting prospect but here's what I've gathered so far.

1) GCSE French won't get you that far, but locals will automatically switch to English when you can't work out how to say 23.75 dollars en francais. (ooh the shame!)

2) Sitting in the sunshine on a terrace of a cafe is always a good thing to do.

3) Being French, there's a plentiful supply of good cheese in all supermarkets.

4) It's 1997 so far as Banks and technology is concerned. People still use cheques! and faxes! and there's a new fangled thing you can do on your phone called text...

5) Cross the street when the light is green and hope that SUV stops in time. They don't believe in pedestrian signals or beeps for the deaf here - scary!

More soon, A bientot.