Kiwis left in limbo as Canada 3000 collapses

The Canada 3000 grounding affects 1500 New Zealanders, reports SCOTT MacLEOD.

Canada's second-biggest airline has collapsed, leaving at least 1200 New Zealanders with useless tickets.

Canada 3000, which flies to Auckland each summer, grounded its 38 aircraft at 7 pm on Friday (NZ time), according to a telephone message at its deserted Australian branch.

Air New Zealand said yesterday that it was considering a rescue package to bring home a group of New Zealanders stranded in Rarotonga by the collapse.

About 190 New Zealanders and Australians are stuck on the island.

"One of the things we're looking at is a special one-way fare from Rarotonga to here," said Air New Zealand spokesman Cameron Hill.

"Basically we have no ticketing arrangements [with Canada 3000] so their tickets are not worth a cent to us, but we are looking at what we can do."

Spokeswoman Val Hayes said Air New Zealand might offer discount fares.

Canada 3000's collapse is the latest in a string of airline failures caused by competition, soaring fuel prices and September's terror attacks.

The carrier's Auckland flights for this season started last Tuesday, but only two aircraft carrying a total of 300 people left the city before the airline shut up shop.

About 1200 New Zealanders who booked flights on Canada 3000 now have worthless tickets, not counting the 300 who flew out last week. Most of those people had return tickets and are stranded overseas.

Some passengers will get insurance refunds, but most who booked after mid-September will miss out because New Zealand insurers scrapped the insolvency clauses in their contracts from that time.

House of Travel managing director Chris Paulsen said some travellers who booked with his firm were stranded in Rarotonga.

They would have to buy tickets on Air New Zealand.

"We're running all our numbers through our computer," he said.

"Thank goodness it's not an airline we used much - we've got about 15 people affected."

An Aucklander who acted as a middle-man between Canada 3000 and travel centres, Ramon Neilson of World Aviation Systems, said the airline catered for the budget traveller and most people who used it were tourists.

Asked where Canada 3000 sold its tickets, he said: "Right across the whole network of the travel industry in New Zealand."

Mr Neilson said he was trying to get refunds for passengers, and urged them to keep their tickets.

Canada 3000 had just entered its fourth New Zealand season, which was meant to last until April.

It offered an Airbus A330 flight each Tuesday from Auckland to Rarotonga, Honolulu and Vancouver, and another each Thursday to Sydney, Brisbane, Honolulu and Vancouver.

The collapse has sliced another strand from New Zealand's tourism lifeline after the loss of Ansett Australia and Qantas NZ.

But tourism firms still hope for a good summer because bookings are strong on other airlines.

"The initial washdown hasn't been as great as a lot of people thought," said Don Gunn, the president of the Inbound Tour Operators Council.

"December and January are looking pretty positive."

Canadian airports were thrown into chaos by the collapse. About 50,000 people were stranded and more than 4000 workers were unsure whether they still had jobs.

Canada 3000 yesterday said on its website that it was "unable to transport passengers" and urged them to find some other way of getting to their destinations.

It later said the airline was bankrupt.

"We very much regret this action and wish to thank our passengers for their patronage in the past," it said.

There was no word about ticket refunds.

An airline spokeswoman told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper that Canada 3000 hoped to save part of its operation, but prospects looked grim.

nzherald.co.nz/travel