A former customer of the grounded Simmons Air, which has been postponing plans to fly Marylanders between Baltimore and Ocean City since September 2005, said she has yet to be reimbursed for almost $500 in prepaid flight packages.
The issue is just the latest in a string of problems for the company, which most recently said flights will be delayed until at least this September ? one year after they started their discount rate scheme.
Stacey Sanders said company president Wayne Simmons owes her $462 for prepaid flights that were impossible after the company shut down in December following the collapse of a deal between Simmons and pilot provider Cape Air. She said Simmons told her in January she would be reimbursed in two weeks after the Cape Air partnership was finalized.
“The time and money and frustration they are causing me is unimaginable,” Sanders said.
Representatives from Massachusetts-based Cape Air, one of the country?s largest independent airlines, said they need to focus on existing operations until after the summer season, when they hope to continue negotiations with Simmons. “We?re getting ready for our busy season of the year,” said Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes. “We?re not doing anything until September, talk-wise.”
Haynes has said Cape Air would likely provide a plane, pilots and maintenance, but declined to speculate terms of a partnership.
Simmons announced the joint venture with Cape Air in January and said $99 one-way, on-demand flights would begin in February. The company originally advertised $45 flights in September 2005 with then-partner Hinson Corporate Flight Services.
In early November, Simmons and Hinson severed ties, and Simmons reportedly lost millions paying out-of-pocket for chartered flights and accommodations for stranded passengers. Simmons did not return phone calls Thursday, and the company Web site has been removed.
Sanders said taking legal action against Simmons might cost her more than she would gain, and she will likely have to forfeit the $462. She said she hasn?t heard from anyone from the company in several weeks.
