MAXjet Airways was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

, all-

business class airline A business class airline is an airline concept which emerged during the mid-first decade of the 21st century a number of airlines that operated all-business class service. History In the decade of 2000s, several dedicated business class airlines, ...

that operated between 2003 and 2007. Its headquarters were located on the grounds of

Washington-Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...

, and in the Dulles area of Loudoun County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. MAXjet operated services to

London Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from

Las Vegas McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

, and John F. Kennedy International Airport,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. From the beginning, MAXjet Airways may have been compromised by a lack of

economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...

, having only a maximum of 5 aircraft at the height of its operations, although this is similar to other competing airlines in this class (EOS, SilverJet etc.). It offered passengers airport lounge access (flagship lounge at Stansted; shared, non-proprietary at JFK and LAX; not available in Las Vegas), premium complimentary meals and beverages and on-demand

in-flight entertainment In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship ''LZ 129 Hindenburg, Hindenburg'' offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the ...

. On 24 December 2007, the airline filed for

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

and ceased operations. The airline confirmed that

Eos Airlines Eos Airlines, Inc. was an American all- business class airline headquartered in Purchase, New York, with its flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. On 26 April 2008 Eos Airlines announced its plans to file bankruptcy on ...

was to accommodate passengers on their Stansted to JFK services.

History

The airline was publicly traded on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...

as "MAXJ". It operated its first service from New York to London on 1 November 2005. Founded in 2003, the airline was conceived as a transatlantic

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

that would

code share In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication c ...

with domestic low-cost carriers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. During its start-up phase, management expressed concern over the economics of applying the

low cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

model to transatlantic routes and instead repositioned the airline as a premium all-business-class service. MAXjet's target market was premium economy and "savvy" business class passengers. The success of MAXjet’s all-business-class service continued to grow as the company claimed load factors of 83.1% (June 2007) on its network from London Stansted. As well as the scheduled routes, MAXjet’s luxury charter operations continued to grow with the acquisition of more aircraft. Some aircraft were planned to focus on the growing charter business as well as being used as support on the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

scheduled routes. The airline’s luxury charter business, which experienced significant growth, transported groups to various destinations throughout Europe, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and the USA. Charters included

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

to Las Vegas, and England to Washington D.C. and Los Angeles including a charter for the 2006 U.S

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team. The company had a strong customer base that included corporations, government entities and professional sports teams.

Suspension of MAXjet shares and filing for bankruptcy

On 7 December 2007, MAXjet suspended trading of its shares on AIM, pending clarification of their financial position. An article in the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

on 23 December 2007 reported that the company was in "last-ditch talks" to arrange a financial rescue package. However, the following morning the company announced on its website that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Passengers who had yet to travel were advised to seek a refund from the point of purchase. The company announced it had already begun to make alternative travel or accommodation arrangements for those left stranded. On 24 December 2007, MAXjet announced that they permanently suspended all flight operations citing rising fuel costs, increased crew salaries, and other unforeseen costs. The airline purchased tickets to accommodate passengers on

, and

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

and

Silverjet Silverjet was a British all- business class airline headquartered at London Luton Airport in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that, prior to the suspension of operations on 30 May 2008, operated services to Newark Liberty International Airport an ...

both made offers to accommodate stranded MAXjet passengers. On March 25, 2008, MAXjet announced that operations will soon start again following an acquisition by NCA Sports Group to restart its operation as a charter service. However that failed in August 2008.

Destinations

The following destinations were operated by MAXjet during its existence.

Europe

***

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(

)

North America

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

***

(

) **

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

***

(

McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...

) **

***

( John F. Kennedy International Airport) **

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

***

Sterling, Virginia Sterling, Virginia, refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population of the CDP as of the 2010 United States Census was 27,822. The CDP boundaries are confined to a relatively s ...

(

Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...

) (ended before ceasing operations)

Fleet

The MAXjet Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft as of December 2007: *1 Boeing 767-200 *4 Boeing 767-200ER MAXjet's aircraft were configured with either 92, 94, 100, or 102 seats depending on the individual aircraft, with an average fleet age of 18.2 years as of March 2007.

In-flight services

MAXjet Airways Boeing 767-200 cabin interior

MAXjet aircraft were fitted with traditional leather business-class "deep-recline" cradle-seats with a 60-inch ''seat pitch'' (distance between a seat and the same point on the seat in front of it) and a 160-degree recline. On-demand entertainment, which included 100 hours of movies, television programs and music videos as well as pure music audio content, was available via individual portable media players called "MAXplayers", which were provided on each flight. Although the seats were new, MAXjet aircraft had a relatively old style cabin fit, so the seats were not equipped with conventional built-in entertainment systems or in-flight A/C power ports. The airline's catering used restaurant china, metal cutlery and stemmed glassware, and offered complimentary premium liquor, beer, champagne and a regularly changing

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

selection.

Awards

Travel + Leisure Magazine ''Travel + Leisure'' is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC, with trademark rig ...

's Top 10 International Airlines 2007 - 2nd place

References

External links

MAXjet ArchivesMAXjet AirwaysMAXjet Airways Fleet AgeMAXjet Airways Fleet Detail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxjet Airways Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 2003 Airlines disestablished in 2007 Companies based in Dulles, Virginia Defunct companies based in Virginia Companies formerly listed on the Alternative Investment Market 2003 establishments in Virginia Business class airlines 2007 disestablishments in Virginia Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007