C Travel CEO Carl Paiva has defended Zoom from the criticism it has received in recent weeks.

The low cost airline has come under fire for delays and a cancelled flight this week due to mechanical problems.

But Mr. Paiva believes Zoom has turned the corner and is backing it to deliver a reliable service in the future.

He pointed to the fact that the flights are 90 percent full as an indicator that things are going in the right direction.

"I talk to them almost daily via email and I am most impressed with the way they have dealt with these issues," he said.

"They have exceeded my expectation and I think they have exceeded their own expectations and that is reflected in the numbers of passengers they have had."

Although Zoom has been operating for less than three months, it has already flown 3,000 customers, but only received 70 complaints, according to Mr. Paiva.

"Seventy complaints may not seem high, but when you look at the ratio it is not low," he said.

"But, equally, I think they have had bad press when they had delays in the past because a new product such as Zoom is always going to be focused on closely as opposed to the legacy carriers who have been around for a long time and have similar problems, because it is the norm."

And he reckons that people should focus on the positives rather than dwell on the previous problems.

"I have been concerned about that, but we need to focus on what they have done for Bermuda," he said.

"And this is in terms of people coming to Bermuda, eating in our restaurants and staying in our hotels."

Most importantly, Mr. Paiva said, Zoom are now sitting up and taking notice of what their customers and travel agents such as C Travel are saying.

"They really do listen to us," he said.

"We had about 25 people that have travelled on Zoom from here and they have been most impressed with the carriers.

"People have got to realise that this is a carrier that is focused on leisure travel - what costs you, maybe, $7,000 for premium class on another carrier may cost $1,000 on Zoom - you have got to keep in mind that they are a low cost carrier.

"They have only been around since 2002 and they have been most successful in that short space of time and we have had some good feedback from our customers about them."