Maxjet

[jack_essex]

Maxjets first New York JFK to London Stansted flight arrived this morning at 06.55. The return flight will leave STN at 10.00. I hope this airline does extremely well on this route and will hopefully add more routes.

[HZ123]

Ditto. However, this is a critical op with only one a/c at present and another competitor outfit starting soon. Was there a publicity news item on the start up.

[hasta lueGO]

A good article on BBC London Evening news about Maxjet's first flight to JFK from London today; it also featured eos.

Maxjet's cabin looks pretty airy and bright whilst eos looks slightly dull - but a very positive view of the 2 new STN-JFK start ups.

[apaddyinuk]

Well I much prefer the look of EOS's seating and their service, seems a lot more pampering!!

[Hunter58]

Ah, you have been flying on both to make such a laudeable comment, have you?

[egnxema]

Well....I have not flown with either company, but a quick price comparison for

STN JFK 15JAN06
JFK STN 18JAN06

Gives:

EOS 2555.50GBP
MXJ 850.20GBP


Quite a difference ay!!

We have all looked at the cabin pictures and seating plans - are both carriers selling C class cabins officially?

I'd say that EOS is more comparable to VS Upper Class and MXJ to VS Premium economy.

[trainer too 2]

What kind of load factors?

[virginblue]

Quite a difference ay!!

We have all looked at the cabin pictures and seating plans - are both carriers selling C class cabins officially?

I'd say that EOS is more comparable to VS Upper Class and MXJ to VS Premium economy.

Me thinks this is the basic idea - it would be stupid to serve the same route with exactly the same product. EOS certainly targets a different clientele than MAXJet - the ones and the likes of those who used to fly Concorde one the one hand while Maxjet those who are fed up with the Eco experience but are not willing to pay legacy carriers' biz fares.

[Powerjet1]

Understand that Maxjet are expected to announce a new route today from STN to Washington Dulles, starting late Feb 06.

[shamrock7seal]

this is all going to end in tears unless they can boost load factors and soon! they havent got limitless supplies of cash... can someone please advise of the load factors...

[HZ123]

It will bw a shame for the community and North Londoners if this outfit fails.

[Powerjet1]

Website confirms Washington Dulles - STN will start early in 2006, although a specific start date is not given. JFK-STN to increase from 6 to 7 weekly flights with the start of a saturday flight beginning mid-feb 06

[Epsilon minus]

What are their pax loads and will they support this?

[jack_essex]

This was taken from yesterdays press release

MAXjet is introducing the new services in response to consistently high load factors and customer demand.

[Epsilon minus]

Crickey!
Not even Gordon Brown could massage the figures to produce a statement like that :\
Is Eos doing just as well :{

[david_wilding]

Well I was suprised to read that they have three aircraft. One permantly based at STN incase any problems with the other aircraft! I certainly wouldnt want to leave that there rotting away.

[Powerjet1]

Regarding load factors, saw this in the FT.

'Mr Rogliano said that Maxjet had recently been achieving a load factor - the share of available seats filled - of “well above 50 per cent on average.” The business model is based on achieving a break-even load factor of 70 per cent '.

[Epsilon minus]

Breakeven at 70%. Sacre Brie, how on earth did he raise money on those expectations?????:confused:

[Cyrano]

...plus I'd assume that yield was probably lower-than-average in the first couple of months (introductory offers, more availability at lower fares to tempt people to try the service, etc.), whereas the business plan breakeven percentage he quotes is likely to be a steady-state figure (i.e. once yield has reached its "normal" level). So in practice saying "our load factor is over 50%, our breakeven is 70%" is likely to be an apples-to-oranges comparison.

[mattcam]

maxjet airways is to launch a new route from las vagas to london stansted on 2 november, it woll be a twice weekly service on mondays and thursdays

[daz211]

this is good news for stansted and maxjet
but with this route being not a daily service
I wonder which other route will be added
I think BOS,SFO or LAX will be next
a friend at stansted tells me maxjet are getting
5 more aircraft 2 very soon this year and
3 early 2007 :ok: :D :ok:

[BAforever]

Since Maxjet is an all business service airline can non-dailys work for them. Or will lesuire passengers willing to pay more for a business service on their holiday.

[daz211]

If you manage to get lowest fare off their website
it costs £885 rtn inc tax/fees this price is not much
more than other carriers (y) class
not only that but virgin upper class for 02nov
rtn 05nov is £7,071.00 and maxjets available fare
for the same date is £1,053

just looked at flyglobespan and maxjet prices
GLA-las vegas feb 2007 £901.00 business class low cost airline
STN-las vegas feb 2007 £998.00 business class all business class aircraft

maxjet will use B767-200 on this route

This means that MAXjet will be offering the only evening non-stop service from Las Vegas to London.

I see todays MAXJET 101 to JFK is via IAD, is one of there a/c sick:yuk: .

[jack_essex]

Great news for Stansted. On certain days by the end of the year the airport will have up to 5 daily flights to America.

3 daily flights to New York with Eos (2) and Maxjet (1)
1 flight to Washington (Maxjet)
1 flight to Las Vegas (Maxjet)

[daz211]

Maxjet are coming up to one year of service and are offering fares to washington and las vegas for only £599 rtn inc tax/fees.
They are also waiting on new a/c to arrive in the next 4 months,
I wonder what routes will be next.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MAXJET :ok:

[cjhants]

just booked round trip to las in feb half term for £599 all in. virgin wanted £1396 for economy.:ok:

[daz211]

Heard talk today that Maxjet are considering BOS and SFO for early 2007,
this would all add up as they are due to get at least two more a/c around the same time, this would be great new for Stansted.

can anyone add anymore ?

[jack_essex]

The New York flights always seem to be quite full but most days the Washington flight continually says 'Inquire Airline'. Is this due to low loads or any other factor?

[xxx5572]

With Maxjet now one year old and people not having too many bad things to say about it a few cracks are beginning to appear.

On wed 8th Nov, The inbound maxjet pulled onto stand and as the jutbridge was just put on someone decided to open the right hand side door but forgot to dissarm the door!! consequently the slide deployed to many peoples ammusement that saw it happen! However its been the knock on effect of this that has really given a poor image. They then had to wait for their other aircraft to arrive to put the mornings NY pax on that flight delaying them by some time to then delay the afternoon washington flight.........later on the engineers at STN said it could not be fixed here so had to fly it empty to Washinton to fix it, meaning that WASH flight was cancelled. However it does not end there, as it had to fly back to operate the morning flight to NY on 9/11/06 it delayed it by 7 hours. when the aircraft finnaly arrived the already delayed pax were told that it had gone tech and after waiting all day they were bussed off to a hotel. and i can only imagine how angry some of those people were.

Im not sure if this week has just been particularly bad but i do know similar incidents like this have occured before and can only imagine with word of mouth being a good seller to companies that the word amongst prospective maxjet passengers is not all that good. After all these passengers are all probably regular United, BA, business class travelers and have given the new kid on the block a go but i think for many of these people it will be thier first and last time as they are Business people and they need to be somewere promtly and the service delivery is not upto standard.
I think they really need to get a new aircraft in use as they are now serving 3 destinations with 2 aircraft of which one of them needs constant attention to it and is always going tech.

Only time will tell but seems as if EOS is coming up on top here. :hmm:

[sat1]

xxx5572

who opened the door?doh!!!!!!http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/chat2me27/maxjet.jpg

[G-APDK]

Maxjet's "new", B767 operated its first flight out of Stanted yesterday. N251MY is partially painted with a white fuselage and full markings on the tail.
Photo at
http://www.abpic.co.uk/results.php?=N251MY&fields=all&sort=latest&limit=10

[G-APDK]

The link in the earlier message didn't work, so try this one
http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1025586/
Apologies
Phil

[xxx5572]

And as far as i know this so called 'new' aircraft was tech for a while. Had it on stand for a good few hours whilst it had some engine runs!! Really not good at all. :=

[jabird]

Should there be any concerns over Rogliano's departure, or has he just found more profitable "other ventures"?

[DMEster]

Friday and Saturdays JFK-STN flights had 15 hour + delays, Sundays IAD flights were cancelled and todays STN-LAS flight is still on the ground more than 7 hours after scheduled departure (JFK was 3 hours late leaving).

So much for the arrival of the 3rd plane improving reliability. Anyone know what is going on at Maxjet? Their 767s seem to go sick after every flight:(

update - Monday's 1pm STN-LAS still has not left as at 11am Tuesday and Tuesdays STN-IAD is cancelled - again - for about the 3rd day running.

further update- the Monday LAS flight, having been rescheduled to Tuesday 7am, then 8am, then 11.15am has now been cancelled altogether. I guess they couldn't fix the plane -which was the latest addition to the MY fleet - N251MY I believe.
That's now 2 planes out of the 3 currently out of service. Oops.

[sat1]

N251......oh dear oh dear oh dear....feeling a little....GROUNDED!!!!!!

[DMEster]

sat1

care to elaborate further? :)

Actually, they currently have 2 of their 3 planes out of service. Only the JFK flight has operated this week. LAS + 3 flights to IAD
have been cancelled.

I have a vested interest here, as I'm supposed to be flying with them next week to LAS taking my mother for her 70th birthday. Would be a shame having to spend it at STN, so if anyone has any knowledge of what's going on, it would be appreciated!

[sat1]

DMEster

if you know what you say you know then you also know about the issues surrounding '251'

[DMEster]

so. the passengers on todays MY 711 to LAS were called for boarding at 12:35 today.

But good ol N251MY never left the gate and the flight was finally cancelled about 6pm. Since Sunday, all 5 IAD/LAS flights have failed to make it off the pier.

I've now rebooked the outbound for my trip to VS. Still coming back on MY - that's if it ever gets to LAS:rolleyes:

[manintheback]

If Maxjet are making money on the Vegas route at £950 return, then I hope they are around for a long time. Speaking of which - anyone know why they are timetabled 2 hours longer outbound than return. Is there a refuelling westbound only?

[Feck Nose]

Quite normal... no refuelling stop it just takes longer!

You have a headwind everyday flying East to West on that route courtesy of the JetStream!

[manintheback]

Quite normal... no refuelling stop it just takes longer!
You have a headwind everyday flying East to West on that route courtesy of the JetStream!

I know about jetstreams but its 3 hours not 2 as I thought?, Virgin timetable it at 55 minutes.

[haughtney1]

know about jetstreams but its 3 hours not 2 as I thought?, Virgin timetable it at 55 minutes.

Various Airlines schedule various sectors in an individual way (and pad them to keep punctuality levels high). Plus VS operate 747's that cruise at around Mach .86, where as the Maxjet 767-200's plod along at about Mach .79..which equates to around 20 minutes extra on a 4000nm sector:ok:

[Dave T-S]

This airline is a great concept, but a nightmare in execution. All mouth and no trousers as my dear departed old Mum used to say.

On Nov 5th my wife was due to fly to IAD. The usual delay, delay for about two hours then they finally decided the plane couldn't be fixed so it was cancelled. As she was only going on a two day business trip and couldn't condense it into one she had to cancel.

She rebooked the trip flying out on Tues 05 dec. Two hour or so delay in departing (not a bad result for Maxjet, at least it got airborne). Returning on Fri 08 Dec delay, delay, plane allegedly coming from JFK finally cancelled. Great, no next flight for two days. I suggested she adopt the old maxim of get out ASAP and there was a United flight back on Saturday afternoon - resigned to cattle class.

Of course that was into LHR so I had to go out on Saturday evening to pick her up, and drive to STN to collect her car on the way home. We got home at midnight, her after a total 13 hour delay.

Business users won't put up with this happening when they have connections/meetings etc. If they don't get their reliability issues sorted they will join the long list of ex airlines.

TBH I wouldn't feel safe flying with an airline whose planes seem to break with much greater frequency than anyone else's anyway. What's the great secret about N251MY then? Anyone care to enlighten us?

[manintheback]

Having read the reviews of Maxjet, me thinks I will stick to the majors. (have Maxjet ever got a plane to Vegas?)

[FormerFlyer]

Having read the reviews of Maxjet, me thinks I will stick to the majors. (have Maxjet ever got a plane to Vegas?)

What reviews? Oh hell....am going to Vegas on Monday for a week :sad:

cheers ;)
FF

[DMEster]

todays flight to LAS, which I was originally booked on, never left STN as far as I can see. I'm very pleased I re-booked my outbound onto VS which was only a couple of hours late due to the fog. Still have the return on MY to deal with, but I wouldn't book with them again having seen the last few weeks chaos.

[manintheback]

Reviews:

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/maxjet.htm

makes for fairly unpleasant reading.

[FormerFlyer]

Hmmm it rather does...however if we're bumped onto VS Upper as an alternative I'm not going to winge too much, other than the car still being at STN!!

cheers ;)
FF

[Epsilon minus]

What effect has the fog had on MaxJ's operations?

[teleport]

MAXjet used to issue free flights when disruptions such as delays occurred. Has this policy stopped?
Reading the above website seems to suggest it.

[Ringwayman]

They've operated out of Manchester for the past couple of days.

[Musket90]

I believe they are CAT I only certified, hence not getting into STN over past few days when vis was less than Cat I limits

[FormerFlyer]

Well yesterday's MY flights appeared to operate normally, so fingers crossed for the 1300 to LAS!!!

cheers ;)
FF

[Dave T-S]

I hear that N251MY was rescued from being mothballed in the desert - Mojave?

Is this true?

Will this post get deleted like my last one??!

[Dave T-S]

Crikey, this is getting a bit mucky.....allegedly laid up in Florida at one time, and don't believe everything you read on the internet, but all sorts of stories of N251MY coming up about the CIA, the alleged real operations of Phoenix Aviation etc......:eek:

[FormerFlyer]

Well with my lowered expectations I'm pleased to report we arrived in LAS about 90 mins early. Yesterday not so great....left on time but arrived STN about an hour late.

cheers ;)
FF

[manintheback]

Well with my lowered expectations I'm pleased to report we arrived in LAS about 90 mins early. Yesterday not so great....left on time but arrived STN about an hour late.
cheers ;)
FF

Out of interest what was the actual flight time?

[FormerFlyer]

Ummmm IIRC it was 10.5 hours out and about 10 back.

cheers ;)
FF

[teleport]

Flight from STN to JFK on time yesterday :) . Looked on the homepage like the prior incoming flight from JFK to STN had been cancelled, but there was a plane waiting and we boarded early.

[Hollymead]

Dulles suspended until May .


http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2007/01/12/loudoun_business/biz1175maxjet011207.txt

[DMEster]

not surprised. Loads were poor. This now leaves them with 3 planes (and 2 more on the way) and only the daily STN-JFK-STN flight and LAS flights twice a week.

How do they stay in business as things stand?

[Gulfstreamaviator]

Re the disruption to service, I am booked on this next week and have no indication of the problem, there is nothing on their web site.
The only way to see abnormality was to attempt to book for that date....

We were also booking two STN-JFK for tomorrow, but have decided the risk is not worth the savings.

So they have lost three "bums in seats".

[Dave T-S]

So on the one hand a few weeks ago they say demand exceeds expectations and they were going to increase frequency STN-IAD, now they are concentrating on the other two routes "where demand is strong", the inference therefore that the loadings are low on STN-IAD.
Clearly the reason given for suspending Dulles is bullpoo, so what's the real reason? So they can take N251MY out of service (well, officially, anyway:rolleyes: ) and get it fixed once and for all, or get rid of it? Or will the alleged increased rotations on the other two routes keep three planes busy?

Better I guess to suspend the route rather than run it as a lottery anyway!

[Gulfstreamaviator]

Unable to get response from them, but sent E Mail to Customer services.

Until they state the flights are canx, and rebook on AA or BA from LON to Washington, I am up a gum tree.

I assume that based on past performance they will book, at thier expense, the affected pax on the alternative carrier in C class, because thats the level of service one booked.

I appreciate the difference in cost, but their business model is "Business Class at Economy prices", and should they rebook pax as eco with the other carriers, their potentail for getting any more business from my circle of contacts has become ZERO.

I am sure that they get a discount on transfered pax.

[bacardi walla]

So if Maxjet are cutting back on IAD, what chances have they got of covering their charter program ???

[Hunter58]

I start to begin to understand why Mister Rogliano was asked to look for a new venture...

[cjhants]

having flown STN-LAS return last week, the service was outstanding, :D for the price. not as good as BA club or Virgin upper, but nowhere near the price. i would say it was close to that offered by the major US carriers.
loads were only about 65% both ways, so lets hope the load factors are enough for them to survive. i see that they are adding a saturday LAS to the service.
i for one hope this venture succeeds, and they can expand to perhaps florida.

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

I still think MaxJet missed a trick, they should have stuck with
there first plan, lo-co.

I landed at Stansted this morning at 1040L and seen a Maxjet
aircraft sat on the compass point, not sure why nor reg.

[Powerjet1]

http://www.uk-airport-news.info/stansted-airport-news-290607.htm

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

I was told today by a mate at Maxjet that they shoud be
getting another B767 ( number six ) in Feb 2008
and this will enable them to launch another route Chicago or Miami
he also told me that two more routes are planned for 2008 :D

[cjhants]

last week the CEO said that they were looking to start a florida service 3 or 4 times a week with the cruise liner market in mind. miami seems to be the favourite.

[gavin360]

whats the chances of them going 2 mco???

[Mr Flaps]

MAXjet need to settle down for a bit. Get their current routes running to time with very few tec problems and other delays. There are still faults that need to be ironed out like the lounge at STN can not cope with 4 flights a day. It gets packed in there esp if there is delay for what ever reason.
Plus get a good fleet of aircraft and get rid of the nasty white monster that is always tec.
Then maxjet should look at more routes and other markets, build on what they have at the present time.
They have got some big growing pains.

[xxx5572]

Its very interesting to hear how quickly maxjet are looking to open new routes, i still dont believe that they have a strong enough core in terms of OTP and minimal tech issues, like many say those 767's are not exactly the best and would hate to think how much the maintenance bill is taking out of revenue?

The Arrival of American Airline i believe will cause many problems for Maxjet.........Why? Well with AA operating an identical route if there are any problems on a maxjet (bearing in mind it sells itself as a business class airline)these passengers demand slightly more and business passengers that have meetings to make will only ask to be put on the AA flight in turn Maxjet losing custom but with a customer flying with your competition, will maxjet ever see them again.... i seriously doubt it.

However take the same situation with AA if the tech problem is serious enoough what will they do?? Bus the pax down to LHR, LGW or use any of their alliance partners to accomodate the pax, slight inconvenience however the pax have still had the problem resolved instead of being put into the radisson and wait for problem to be solved.

I would give Maxjet 6 months to drop the JFK route and start to concentrate on the other routes they have planned. Only time will tell.

[HZ123]

Agree with these views. However, if the JFK fails and with these aircraft not performing very well I fear that Max will end up as just another statistic. There is no doubt that once open skies come on line plus the pressure from Business only flts in the EU it may only be a matter of time.

[Ed666]

Those interested in the all-business airline model might want to check out CAP771, which outlines traffic stats for the current all-business carriers ex-UK
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP771.pdf page 136 onwards
A good presentation by Josh Marks of MAXjet can be found here:
http://www.faa.gov/news/conferences_events/aviation_forecast_2007/agenda_presentation/media/5-%20Joshua%20Marks.pdf
This pdf outlines the opportunity taken by all-business carriers such as MAXjet in the current market.
Clearly the all-business model is in for a rough ride over the next 12 months given the advent of open skies from March 08!

[Bagso]

.... BAA have FINALLY been forced to charge more relevant charges from STN.

Wonder how it will effect Maxjet and indeed EOS if the have to pay full landing fees..?

[DONTTELLTHEPAX]

MAXjet, announced today that it is increasing its services to New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles with the introduction of a fifth aircraft to its fleet. However, it will also suspend its Washington service for a second time, with the route looking increasingly unlivable.
The airline will expand operations at New York JFK immediately, adding a Saturday frequency beginning October 20. It will launch double-daily services each Monday, Friday and Sunday from March 1, taking flights on the route to ten each week.
In addition, its Las Vegas route will be served by a new Wednesday flight from December 5 - increasing services to five a week - with a new Friday departure from the UK and a return departure on a Saturday - taking the route to six a week - from February 15. There will also be a fifth weekly departure to Los Angeles each Wednesday from December 5.
MAXjet is creating the capacity for the new routes by phasing out its services to Washington from the start of the winter season (on October 29). It also put its fifth Boeing 767 aircraft into service on October 5.

[STN Ramp Rat]

MAXjet Stock Halted Pending Financial Clarification (Update1)

By Tracy Alloway

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- MAXjet Airways Inc., the unprofitable business-only carrier that operates from London to three U.S. cities, asked for its shares be suspended pending clarification of its financial position.

``The board will update investors in due course,'' the Dulles, Virginia-based company said in statement today.

MAXjet's first-half loss widened to $49.5 million from $30.4 million a year earlier as the higher cost of jet fuel and increased spending on additional planes hurt earnings. The company was listed on London's Alternative Investment Market in June.

``This cannot be good,'' said Joe Gill, an analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin. ``The high price of oil, a weak dollar and the general nervousness in the banking system are no doubt affecting them.''

MAXjet began flying between London Stansted and New York John F. Kennedy airports in 2005, joining single-class carriers Eos and SilverJet Plc in competing with British Airways Plc and other network airlines in the lucrative corporate-travel market.

Shares of MAXjet have lost 50 percent of their value since the listing, cutting the company's market value to 51.2 million pounds ($104 million).

The airline's five Boeing Co. 767-200 aircraft have 92-102 leather seats and an onboard service featuring four- course meals with canapés and champagne cocktails. The carrier operates from London to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as well as New York, after cutting flights to Washington D.C. in October.

MAXjet's listing on AIM raised $104 million to fund expansion. A sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, AIM allows smaller companies to sell stock with a more flexible set of rules than the main market.

[gatwicknose]

Maxjet have suspended share dealing pending an announcement??? apparently shareholders will be notified in due course?? any ideas?

[LGS6753]

The statement reads "...pending clarification of its financial position."
Make of that what you will, but doesn't look good to me.

[cjhants]

looks like i can kiss goodbye to £2.5k tickets to vegas:ugh:

[LGS6753]

Not necessarily - if you paid with a UK credit card you may get a refund. But they will have to go out of business first, and that hasn't happened.

[cjhants]

paid by amex:*

[lexxity]

From E-Tid:

breaking news

MAXjet shares suspended
07 Dec 2007
AIM-listed business-only carrier MAXjet 'has today [Friday] requested that the trading of its common stock be suspended with immediate effect pending clarification of its financial position'.


More details to come.

[caiman27]

That is the standard London Stock Exchange announcement made when a company has run out of money.

MY101 due to take off 14.30 Stansted. Will it or won't it?

[aeroDellboy]

According to the live flight information, it is Last Call, so it looks as though it is going...

http://www.stanstedairport.com/portal/site/default/menuitem.4fa04c6c1bd6608688eba0109328c1a0/

[Airbus worker]

Just pushed back................:D

[Airbubba]

That is the standard London Stock Exchange announcement made when a company has run out of money.

The next sign of inevitable doom is when the company says it will be "business as usual" despite the trading halt. I've learned this the hard way a couple of times over the years...

[Jamesair]

Bloomberg reports that loss has greatly increased and a further statement will be issued by the company shortly

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Sometimes share trading is suspended ahead of good news (eg. an acquisition or take-over or other major announcement), as well as bad news. I have no idea which it is here, but we should just wait.

[Airbubba]

Fresh off the AP wire:

Ben Foster, a spokesman for MAXjet in London, sought to assure passengers that the suspension of trading will have no effect on operations.

"It's very much business as usual," he said in a telephone interview. "The airline will be flying next week, and over Christmas."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22148806/for/cnbc

[Shanwick Shanwick]

"The airline will be flying next week, and over Christmas."

But probably not long beyond the New Year!

[KeyPilot]

I am surprised at the low number of posts here given the significance of this news.

As an astute poster implied, it is absolutely clear that this means game over for MAXJet. Period. The significance of this is what it says for the concept of all-business class travel, a new (and therefore small) but also potentially significant sector.

Is it dead and buried? Will Silverjet be next? Or is this due to the specifics of MAXjet's operation and/or financing, which will help Silverjet in giving them a run of no competition to launch this segment and establish the business model?

Interesting times ahead for this niche air transport segment

[Mister Geezer]

I hope it is not the end... I used them a few weeks ago to pop over to JFK. Good service and they deserve to do well but loads were not that busy. Just over half full from memory!

[Husky One]

Well I hope this isn't the end for Maxjet. Flew with them recently and was very impressed with the overall service. The load factors seemed ok too with about 60-70 each way.
Good luck to them!

[Shanwick Shanwick]

With significant improvements to the Virgin product (Limo to Lounge in 10 minutes and a private, all business cabin) and BA's Project Laurel with unlimited backing, it's only a matter of time before the demise of the all business carriers from the regions.

[mary_hinge]

http://www.flysilverjet.com/press-release-2007-12-07.aspx


December, 2007
Silverjet flies to the rescue of Maxjet customers
Silverjet, the British airline that offers a private jet experience at a fraction of the price, has today announced that it is to make a limited number of seats available to Maxjet customers travelling today (Friday 7) and tomorrow (Saturday 8). The news will come as a welcome relief to the many passengers worried about possible flight cancellations following Maxjet’s announcement this morning that it has suspended the trading of its shares pending clarification of its financial position.

[barit1]

I thought when the fuel suppliers started demanding cash up front - it was telling you the end was near. :(

[The SSK]

Keypilot: The significance of this is what it says for the concept of all-business class travel, a new (and therefore small) but also potentially significant sector.

Here's some figures of capacity share (weekly seats) in the Europe-US market:
European majors - 52.2%
US majors - 46.3%
European leisure carriers - 1.5%
Premium fare carriers - 0.1%

Significant?

[KeyPilot]

SSK - read my words - "potentially significant"

[The SSK]

I read your words.
*shrug*
If you think the market has potential - well so did Maxjet.

[I Just Drive]

This is just an observation, read into it how you like but........... I find it extraordinary how often at least one (sometimes 3) MaxJet 76's are parked up at STN. How can any business model work with 3 aeroplanes parked up simultaniously. It surely can't be tech problems due to the frequency.

[sat1]

dream on!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Airbubba]

There's probably a late staff meeting going on at the Three Horseshoes as I type...

[exeng]

Maxjet now & Silverjet next I suspect.

[Ian Brooks]

Might just give Silverjet a bit of room

Ian

[charterguy]

exeng
I am sorry, but you are completely wrong about Silverjet. :=

According to Mike Hunt (or is it Laurence?), business couldn't be better. With seat load factors at 80%, the airline is a runaway success !!

I love flying Silverjet !! It is the only airline where I can buy a seat for £995 when the cost of that seat to the airline is nearer £2,000. Now that's value for money. :D

I hate to lose out on the next big thing; I must call my stock broker first thing on Monday. :ugh:

[Skystar320]

Its alright sayign that 80% LF business is good

they could be selling the seats at a loss to achieve the 80% LF

honest some people dont know around airline economics

[caiman27]

On 14 June 2007, Maxjet floated on the AIM market and raised £47.3m, net of expenses. Six months later it has run out of money. Load factor November 69% which is not that bad. Put this together and it tells you that the cost model is completely wrong. I'd imagine there's some rather angry shareholders out there.

American Airlines starting up on the New York - Stansted route a few weeks ago was presumably the final nail.

[xxx5572]

Will this be another carrier going into chapter 11? Can they? would they?

[KeyPilot]

If MAXjet are incorporated in the UK (which I guess they are if they're quoted on AIM) then there's no Chapter 11 - unlike the USA, the UK does not provide legal protection for failed companies. Insolvency means going into administration.

[virginblue]

December, 2007
Silverjet flies to the rescue of Maxjet customers
Silverjet, the British airline that offers a private jet experience at a fraction of the price, has today announced that it is to make a limited number of seats available to Maxjet customers travelling today (Friday 7) and tomorrow (Saturday 8). The news will come as a welcome relief to the many passengers worried about possible flight cancellations following Maxjet’s announcement this morning that it has suspended the trading of its shares pending clarification of its financial position.


This must be a first - a competitor offering a rescue mission while the competition is still operating its flights. Nasty business....

[KeyPilot]

I thought that was quite clever, actually. It will be to Silverjet's advantage if MAXjet go bust, so it is therefore rational for them to take any steps they can to help achieve this without breaking the law.

[Husky One]

In the short term it won't do Silverjet any good at all and they'd better have plenty of cash to ride the lack of consumer confidence that will follow if the worst does happen to Maxjet. Nothing I hear from inside Silverjet suggests they are any better.

[outofsynch]

Why dont American Airline announce a rescue package to uplift Silverjet passengers.... Great way to steal your competition??!

If Maxjet doesnt survive, I really hope Silverjet go bust soon after. It's the dirtiest of tricks I have seen!

[Airbubba]

Looks like MJ100 JFK-STN made it over today so perhaps operations are indeed normal for the moment. Often, aircraft will be impounded by local officials on arrival when suppliers are not paid. MAXjet seems to be based in the U.S. so perhaps a chapter eleven filing is imminent. There is a cottage industry of maintaining airline operations in bankruptcy, it keeps lawyers and investment bankers gainfully employed.

It is traditional for other carriers to honor tickets on an airline that has shut down. Also, as a courtesy, crewmembers are given rides home. However, in the post-911 world this may be a little more complex to authorize should it come to that. And yes, it does seem a little premature for Silverjet to make the offer.

[airhumberside]

In the short term it won't do Silverjet any good at all and they'd better have plenty of cash to ride the lack of consumer confidence that will follow if the worst does happen to Maxjet. Nothing I hear from inside Silverjet suggests they are any better.
They do have some new heavyweight investors however - the Reuben brothers

[Saxon Ops]

Key Pilot

What can be good about it?

Silverjet has an almost identical business model to MaxJet but costs are probably higher because of 'product differentiators' like the dedicated lounges or terminals (call them what you like!) Its evident the model requires substantial amounts of cash to keep it alive long enough to generate critical mass.......and generating the mass merely increases cash burn. Take a close look.....SJ demand extra financing everytime they introduce a new [old] aircraft and two more are pending in MAR 08.

I'm not sure the Reubens are in this for fun. The probable scenario is that they let it continue towards expending all the cash generated in the last round of financing, hope it survives long enough for the brand to develop some real value (goodwill on the books) and then and then pick it off cheap leaving investors with nothing and taking it private. If that doesn't happen then they have spent some pocket money and the business will go the same way as Maxjet (whatever that proves to be) and, no doubt, EOS will follow at some point. By the way, as a US corpration I believe MaxJet will have the benefit of Chapter 11 even if the last round of funding was raised in the UK; ironically, this gives them an advantage over UK airlines.

For the all business class model to work, theyneed to keep costs low. They (SJ and Max) are all spending fortunes on PR (how many freebies are going to journos, award givers and 'influencers'?) and marketing (TV adverts, loads of internet advertising, magazines and airport and roadside hoardings etc.) to develop a brand in the vain hope of adding enough value to attract a buyer before the inevitable cash exhaustion.

LoCo Business Airlines need to embrace the tricks employed by proper LoCo airlines such as Ryan and Easy. LoCo airlines do not differentiate; they drive down cost and maximise revenue. At the moment costs are increasing rapidly for airlines, mainly due to fuel, but the fares at the all business class airlines don't seem to be keeping pace with those increases - in fact they are under pressure from the legacy carriers (BA have an offer for £1200 Club World return to NY at the moment).

LoCo models rely on LF (equivalent to volume sales in discount supermarkets).......but LF is not the panacea to success in an airline so don't read too much into the monthly figures from each of these airlines. Anyone can sell a £1 for 50p or in the case of the all business class model anyone call sell a £2000 seat for £999. If the product is as good at it is alleged by them it should warrant a premium, not a discount.

Maxjet and Silverjet are wholly comparable (EOS to a lesser degree because of their higher fares and top end target market) and therefore it does not bode well for SJ. Its a shame but the all business class model appears to be fundamentally flawed. I wish them all well..... but I fear for them.

That said, this should be a wake up call for SJ, EOS and L' Avion in France - hopefully their management teams will act upon it!

[Towerman]

Anyone know who are the Maxjet accountants or advisers? I had heard both BDO and Deloitte mentioned but not sure if this is in an advisory capacity...?

[mary_hinge]

Others seem to find the market does exist, but perhaps not from / to Stansted!
UK premium transatlantic carrier Silverjet has finalised its acquisition of two more Boeing 767ERs from UK carrier Thomsonfly for delivery in March.
The two General Electric CF6-powered aircraft will join the three 767s it already operates – two of which are also ex-Thomsonfly aircraft. The carrier initially signed a letter of intent for the two aircraft in June.
Lufthansa to acquire own aircraft to expand private jet service
Star Alliance carrier Lufthansa is to acquire its own private jets to expand its Lufthansa Private Jet (LPJ) premium service next year.
The German carrier says the new aircraft will be purchased next year and are expected to enter service in the spring. As it is setting up its own private jet fleet, the airline says its existing co-operation with provider NetJets Europe will end in February.

[electricdeathjet]

KEYPILOT.....

uuummm ever heard of a CVA? Same as a Chapter 11!

[kissmyjetpipe]

If Maxjet doesnt survive, I really hope Silverjet go bust soon after. It's the dirtiest of tricks I have seen

outofsync, or what ever you call your self, you in my mind are a total
To__ser.:mad:.

why dont you go back to Aus or where else you came from, why would you want to see any one loose there jobs with quotes like that. Its a big bad world out there, Im so amazed at the people wanting all these airlines to fail or just talk about them going down. I hope both Sj & MJ keep going and im sure with time things in this market will improve. It not that new a concept privat air have been doing this for years, in the end the customers will dictate how things go not a bunch of moaning pilots talking crap, and yes before you ask I am a pilot to flying many types for years.

Now im off to await the next instalment of rubbish. bye for now.

[PAXboy]

KeyPilotThe significance of this is what it says for the concept of all-business class travel, a new (and therefore small) but also potentially significant sector.I think that's right. They may have a teeny-tiny percentage of the sector but it is easier to lose that. The LH PrivatAir model has worked because it is an extension of their brand and not a new one. These folks have had to start from scratch and are still scrabbling.

charterguyI love flying Silverjet !! It is the only airline where I can buy a seat for £995 when the cost of that seat to the airline is nearer £2,000. Now that's value for money.It may well be!!! But it is not a long term proposition for an airline.

outofsynchWhy don't American Airline announce a rescue package to uplift Silverjet passengers.... Great way to steal your competition??!Yes - and to get in trouble with the regulators. Several of the large global carriers have been in trouble before for colluding on the demise of competitors (Laker and Virgin). If AA so much as whispered in the ear of a single Max pax - they would be standing into danger. What Max have done is open the new route from STN and prove it to be viable. If Max close then AA will pick it up for almost zero investment and they will be offering FFMs too.

I don't think that the all business class model is fundamentally flawed. LH has proved it and several of the majors are now preparing to follow. THAT is what will put the kybosh on the start-ups. I expect that the three operators we are discussing here will be merged into one within two years.

One of the reasons for saying that is the recession that is now upon the UK and the USA. You will recall that someone tried this concept in 2001 but 9/11 happened before they started operations (Blue Fox?). It took four or five years to get the concept going but we now face a full-on recession that will change a lot more than just 9/11. That event only suppressed demand for a year or two, whereas the recession will END demand. Then consider the fuel cost and the power of the majors ...

As is often the case, the innovator runs for a while but they are rarely the ones who stay the distance. Who invented the PDA? Apple with the Newton. Who made it a global phenomenon? Palm with their Pilot.

[Scottish Flyer]

Last July I used MaxJet for the first time and was quite impressed with their product. I was about to purchase their regular £750+ return fare when I found a promotional fare of around £550 available and so our party of 4 got round trip Business Class tickets for not much more than the normal economy fare (I was being quoted about £500 for an economy return which was at the peak of the summer season). The flight out went smoothly and was about 90% full. On arriving at JFK for the return flight, we discovered the flight was cancelled due technical problems. MaxJet however looked after us well - and we were transferred to Virgin and flew back in Upper Class with a taxi waiting at Heathrow to take us back to Stansted. I understand that unserviceability problems were not unusual. While I have no complaints about the way MaxJet looked after us - each flight cancellation must cost them dearly, bearing in mind the low fare paid and the cost of arranging premium alternative flights and transport. More reliable aircraft and slightly higher base and promotional fares might have helped the financial figures without much erosion of passenger numbers. They were certainly very good value for what they offered. I had hoped to use them again next year and would be sad if they were to cease operations.

[Cargo_ramp]

I flew Silverjet in Nov this year and was impressed. The crew were friendly, the seat was pretty good and the food was excellent, especially the cake before we landed. I cannot afford to fly business or first everytime I fly (I wish i could) and these airlines make that wish a reality. With the way airlines cram passengers into coach nowadays like battery hens, it's good to know that there is an alternative. I really hope all these new airlines stick around, fingers crossed that they can sort out their cash flow problem. I would love to fly with MJ to LAX in April this spring but until all their problems are sorted out, I'm afraid to book anything incase I lose my cash. Heres hoping for a more prosperous 2008.

[dhc-6]

I was looking at Maxjet's stock price for the days before trading stopped. I found it very curious that there was a large sell off on Dec 5th.. when the announcement was made to halt trading on the 7th. Does anyone else find this sell-off very odd, given that there were no announcements from the company and that they are apparently in talk to get more financing?

[PAXboy]

dhc-6 Sounds like a financial SOP to me. :mad:

Hopefully, someone that is involved in this will report any suspicions of wrong doing to the authorities. However, if they do fail, then earlier trading prior to a critical announcement will not go unnoticed.

[no sponsor]

Bankers and management all know what's going on, and will off-load their interests. It's illegal, but that's just what happens.

[gatwicknose]

Whispers floating around that EOS and Maxjet are talking.....seems like a strange marriage...anyone heard anything?

[Powerjet1]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/11c4aacc-b1c3-11dc-9777-0000779fd2ac.html


Noticed tht only fully flex fares available for the next 3 months, all others seem to show "Sold Out".

[Re-Heat]

No sponsor - why the vitrol?

The advisors are Panmure Gordon & Co; Deloitte have no involvement.


FT article in full:

Maxjet in last-ditch talks
By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent

Published: December 23 2007 20:40 | Last updated: December 23 2007 20:40

The fate of Maxjet Airways, the struggling US all-business class airline, is expected to be announced today, as last-ditch efforts continued at the weekend to put together a financial rescue package.

Trading in London in the shares of Maxjet, one of the new breed of all-business class long-haul airlines, was suspended two-and-a-half weeks ago.

The only statement it has issued since came two weeks ago, when it said it was operating all flights and had no plans to change its schedule. It said advance bookings remained strong.

Maxjet started flying transatlantic services in November 2005 between Stansted and New York JFK airports. It has since opened additional routes between Stansted and Los Angeles and Las Vegas and has offered the widest scheduled long-haul network from Stansted.

It raised net proceeds of £47.3m in an initial public offering in June, becoming the second all-business airline after Silverjet, its UK rival, to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market. In previous funding rounds it had raised about $88m in private placements.

It has faced mounting losses, however, in the face of surging fuel prices and lower-than-expected fare yields. Higher maintenance costs for its ageing fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft have also depressed its financial performance.

After being launched at 138p a share, Maxjet shares rose briefly to a peak of 140p, but have declined steeply in recent months, falling to a low of 73½p before trading was halted.

The search for financial backing has been made more difficult by deteriorating world financial markets.

Maxjet had a net loss of $49.5m in the first six months of the year, as it was hit by higher than expected costs from aircraft maintenance and rising fuel prices, as it expanded its transatlantic operations. It made a net loss of $79m in 2006, its first full year of operations, on turnover of $41.1m.

[cjhants]

i hear they have filed for chapter 11, and are making arrangements with other carriers to get people home. looks like the end.:\

[Traffic is...]

Their website now has the announcement on it. Shame.

[dumdumbrain]

But good news for Eos and SilverJet.

Lee

[hollingworthp]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7159286.stm

[Matt35]

Just read of Maxjet going bust - sad news...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/news/int/customisation/1.0/-/1/hi/business/7159286.stm


Matt.

[harrogate]

Seems they've handled the fallout for the passengers well, though. Alternative flights found, hotels sorted and refunds where applicable.

Allegedly.

[harrogate]

Good news for EOS and Silverjet?

It's really not that simple.

Maxjet's fate is a mixed bag for their competitors, but mainly it'll mean that investors will probably lose some confidence in their respective products.
Airlines using similar models will be under more intense scrutiny now.

One significant outcome of the Maxjet demise is that there's now 5 homeless 767s on the streets. This is one thing that could well prove beneficial for Silverjet. They won't even have to spend much on refitting them to their style of cabin.

... failing that, there's a 767-hungry lo-co up north...

[nick14]

thats a shame,

they were a nice looking outfit when i had a nosey this october!

lets hope their pilots can move on to other jobs hey!

good luck guys
Merry christmas

[nick14]

thought they operated 757's?

its a shame, nice outfit IMHO.

[dontdoit]

Good. Next !

[poorwanderingwun]

dontdoit: Good. Next !

On the face of it, that would appear to be a particularly crass and moronic response to a large number of people being made redundant... Did one of the management run over your dog or what ?

[fmgc]

Wish all the best to those employed by MaxJet.

What is the prognosis like for Eos and SilverJet, and will this make BA think twice about their latest venure?

[Big Hilly]

Good. Next !

Don't feed the trolls. . .

Sad news when any airline goes bust, at least it seems as they have done their best to try to do what they can with any existing, stranded pax.

[caiman27]

Its all very well and good to look after stranded passenegers - but presumably Eos, hotels, etc are being paid in cash for this service. That is the same cash that might have been used to pay salaries, other creditors, etc. I was under the impression that the law requires all creditors to be treated equally?

[Stanstedeye]

Are any of MY' 767's stranded at STN?

[CaptYanknBank]

My condolences to all staff involved. :sad:

I never like to see any airlines go under.

Good luck.

CY&B

[DTVAirport]

It was always going to happen to either them or Eos, but I think their death could keep Eos alive.

[harrogate]

One flew back to the states empty this morning, according to ITV news...

... that probably means it went to Dubai with a full load.

[Flaps5speed180]

Very sad news, their aircraft always brightened my day at STN. Couldn't have come at a worse time either, it being Christmas and all.

Good luck to all those involved.

[PAXboy]

Two of them competing directly at STN for a niche market? And then AA opens up on the same route? Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before one of the new boys folded.

[sevenstrokeroll]

One of my best friends is a senior check airman at maxjet...he called me this morning.He said that EOS might hire some maxjet staff including pilots.

I warned him against going to maxjet in the first place.

I will say this to all pilots out there...the best advice about airline flying comes from the book, "Fate is the Hunter".

EKG left American and went to fly for the new "steamship airline"...and then bye bye!~

My friend left a major airline for maxjet...things were bad then ...but the major is still flying and making money. (on the backs of their pilots, to be sure...fifty percent paycut).

Good luck to the maxjet staff. And to maxjet management...I hope Santa Puts a lump of coal into your stocking.

[Matt35]

""Very sad news, their aircraft always brightened my day at STN. Couldn't have come at a worse time either, it being Christmas and all.

Good luck to all those involved.""

Agreed...never had enough cash to fly with them personally, but, living near STN...it was sometimes 'If I win the Lottery'...

Maybe the troll should Google " I told Wilbur Wright - and I told Orville Wright - this thing will never get off the ground"?

Hopefully, the way Maxjet seem to be treating the situation, will give positive input to the industry?

Matt.

[RAPC]

Flew with them on a couple of occasions to JFK and IAD and found them to be very good indeed and well worth the money. (albeit the cheap end promo tickets)

Sad to see them go - they had some excellent staff on the ground and in the air on both sides of the Atlantic.

I hope they all get sorted out soon with employment and best of luck to them all.

[Mr Flaps]

Tec problems and the high standards that other airlines offered. Maxjet struggled and faught well. Good luck to everyone at the airline not a happy xmas then.

[Buster the Bear]

Whilst £1 buys around $2 and Jet A1 is priced in $'s, both the UK airlines crossing the Atlantic and their passengers will enjoy life.

Maxjet cited maintenance costs on their aging fleet as a crippling cost, those costs will also be applicable to Silverjet.

[Fifty North]

Very sad day for Maxjet. It is very sad when any airline goes bust!

RIP!

[wozzel]

its a shame to see any airline go under .but dit max jet shed a tear when they went to aviance to save a few quid and made people redundant at servisair?i doubt it .its a shame.

[Travel Agent]

You will probably find that the alternative flights will be paid directly by the licencing / bond authority. In the Uk its the CAA, through the ATOL protection scheme, of which any uk airline/tour operator must be a member. - I presume the US authorities have a similar system. My company has been chartered directly by the caa several times in the past, to operate repatriation flights.

.....Only if operating as a package holiday. As with any airline (unfair in my opinion as tour op's do!) they do not need to be part of the ATOL scheme.

Good luck to the staff though, hope they find new employment soon.

[kayaker22]

Have used maxjet a number of times and had booked las vegas for 2008.
will have to look for another flight. But what bad timing for both pass and crew. I can rebook but I feel for the crew who worked so hard for this airline. THANKS GUYS AND GOOD LUCK IN 2008 YOU WERE GREAT!

[dfstrottersfan]

I flew Maxjet a year ago - service was amazing for the money.

Always struck me as an unsustainable business model.

Good luck to the staff they were very pleasant and helpfull

[stormin norman]

Silverjet or EOS next ?

[daninLTN]

stormin norman, I wouldn't neccessarily say SJ or E0 would be going bust in the near future. I always would have said they were the strongest two, although I've heard SJ isn't too good in the financial dept at the moment.

[dumdumbrain]

Either way with Maxjet off the scene, it should help Eos and Silver Jet with bookings in the short run. Both have a very good product for those who like business class but can not afford it on the likes of BA. But to be honest I was going to travel business class, it would have to be BA only.

[Stanstedeye]

But it could have been a success if it had been of a 2-class configuration.

[rebellion]

From the Times;

"Last month Silverjet, Maxjet’s main rival in the transatlantic premium business-class market, was given a £22 million lifeline after taking heavier than expected losses in its first year. It was the second time that Silverjet had been forced to refinance since its float in May. "

[befree]

£10m of the lifeline is a short term loan. This may be converted to shares later or have to be repaid. It had a £12m share issue at 60p/share just before Maxjet went down. In my view it will need another lifeline every 9 months for a few years. in 2008 money supply will be tight and an airline needing its 4th round of funding is going to find it very hard..

[HZ123]

Agree and with the bring and buy sale that will take place at LHR this year it will be nigh on impossible to make any monies at all.

[Saxon Ops]

Befree, you are quite right. This model is evidently far more cash intensive than any of the airlines thought or planned.

SJ maintain they will be cash positive (operational level) in 2008 but they will require inordinate amounts of money to fund expansion, especially aircraft introductions, and to service their expensive product.

EOS stand the best chance of success, they are working on service differential ahead of cost differential. The market for these carriers is small and there is not enough enough room for too many of these carriers.

With open skies looming business class fares on legacy carriers will only go one way - down - and then the all business class carriers lose their only advantage, price differential.

Maxjet demise is not good news for the sector.

[wantabe_crew]

I did read a few days ago that now Zoom will be operating LGW-JFK for £125 + VAT with a chance of an upgrade for £50.

So what does this say about Maxjet now if a budget airline like Zoom think they can make it work?:ugh:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

"wantabe_crew" You are sort of comparing a Ford car to Rolls Royce car, no contest.
Both Maxjet and Silverjet offer a business product with so called flat beds, Zoom is offering a upgraded economy product, so they are not like for like products.:=

[stormin norman]

The product may be good but its the frequency of services thats the big seller to the businessman ,and the fact that the big airlines usually have big back up when things go wrong.You don't get that with small one man bands (ask the guy who's just lost £2.5K in tickets further up the thread)
Silverjets share price is down to 55p today so i'm not that optimistic it will ride the storm ahead.

[HZ123]

Continuing the thread od what you get for your monies. The big problem for most non LHR / LGW USA flights is the cost of the operation. It does not matter how good your service is you have to compete £ for £ and the huge pressure that will be applied to all carriers come the 'open Sky' later this year will make the market impossible for the niche player. I wonder if EOS and Silver took account of the Bermuda agreement and perhaps saw no agreement for a few more years, allowing them a longer honeymoon period. With regard to the service provided by the majors that in itself is not the real issue as most night flts USA - UK there is no service - Club or First?

[Stanstedeye]

You are correct, the frequency of service is indeed the big seller.
That is why EOS will (I hope) succeed, they put all their eggs in JFK, unlike Maxjet. I will miss their 767's at STN.

[RAPC]

I think one of the main problems for Maxjet was that they weren't really in the business market. They had old business class seats which were perfectly fine, but they were pricing themselves at the bottom of the biz market and were actually in the Premium Economy market most of the time, which is far more geared towards the leisure market. They seemed to be doing well for leisure passengers on the times I flew with them, but struggling for the business travellers.

My abiding memory of them was earlier this year at a snowy (and closed) Stansted airport waiting in the lounge and wondering whether we would be delayed 24 hours to JFK. After a couple of hours and promises by the Maxjet lounge staff that we would be going today, the airport managed to open up and down came the Maxjet plane that had been circling for 3 hours. It wasn't quite a rescue from a desert island, but it felt a little like it at the time. :D

[LGS6753]

An article in today's "Telegraph" suggests the demise of Maxjet was down to management errors.
It cites in particular:
1. Using US lawyers and Chapter 11 - the suggestion being that using the UK system may have bought a couple more weeks to arrange a re-financing.
2. Routes to Las Vegas and LA were not served daily, thereby making the service less attractive to the target business audience.
3. Choice of aircraft. The 762 was not fuel efficient, nor had the best 'operating profile'. It also suggests that they did not have ETOPS approval, thereby affecting their transatlantic routings, increasing costs.
4. Offering an aspirational level of service without key factors, such as flat-bed seats and private check-in, as offered by their competitors (or at least Silverjet).
5. Keeping one aircraft (of a fleet of 6) on permanent standby, described as 'ruinously expensive'.

The full article is at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml;jsessionid=KUPOB535NPCDRQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/money/2007/12/30/ccmaxjet130.xml

[LGS6753]

An article in today's "Telegraph" suggests the demise of Maxjet was down to management errors.
It cites in particular:
1. Using US lawyers and Chapter 11 - the suggestion being that using the UK system may have bought a couple more weeks to arrange a re-financing.
2. Routes to Las Vegas and LA were not served daily, thereby making the service less attractive to the target business audience.
3. Choice of aircraft. The 762 was not fuel efficient, nor had the best 'operating profile'. It also suggests that they did not have ETOPS approval, thereby affecting their transatlantic routings, increasing costs.
4. Offering an aspirational level of service without key factors, such as flat-bed seats and private check-in, as offered by their competitors (or at least Silverjet).
5. Keeping one aircraft (of a fleet of 6) on permanent standby, described as 'ruinously expensive'.
The full article is at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml;jsessionid=KUPOB535NPCDRQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/money/2007/12/30/ccmaxjet130.xml

[LAX20531]

Does it not at all seem odd that shortly after MY floated on AIM and eliminated all their debt (much of which was owed to their founders) that the airline goes down in flames and none of the original investors are willing to prop it up? Seems almost criminal that all the original investors received full payouts of their investments immediately after the AIM closing. In one case the mid-year earnings release mentions a loan to a related-party for 18.5% interest.

What exactly did these AIM investors believe they were buying? The chance to transfer $50m of debt or the opportunity to invest in the airlines furture? The money didn't go to their future.

To see more, read the notes to consolidated financial statements (http://www.digitallook.com/news/rns/...2-231550/MAXJ-Interim_Results.html (http://www.digitallook.com/news/rns/...2-231550/MAXJ-Interim_Results.html)Sorry about the long link, I never remember how to condense it.I've)) Sorry about the long link, I never remember how to condense it. I've also made some interesting notations below.

Usage of proceeds from the AIM listing:
MAXjet raised $93.7 million after expenses and was admitted successfully to AIM in June 2007. In connection with the AIM offering all preferred stock converted to common and all debt was retired. Prior to admission the Company had outstanding $6.8 million of preferred stock, $9.7 million of convertible debt (Term A, including PIK interest), $30.5 million of non-convertible debt (Term B) and a $1.5 million credit facility.

After retiring debt, the Company had $50.3 million in unrestricted cash as of 30 June 2007.

Impact of all the cancellations:
Passenger Service Expenses. These expenses increased from $3.3 million in the first half of 2006 to $7.8 million in the first half of 2007. During late May and June 2007 one of the Company's three active B767s was out of service for an extended period. MAXjet continued to operate all scheduled markets through this period. MAXjet contracted with two charter airlines to operate VIP-configured aircraft on a wet-lease basis on the Washington route.

Were these interim financing moves fiscally responsible to the company's bottom line or the shareholders who acquired the debt? See the example of the 18.5% interim note adjustment that was initiated when it was known the AIM float was to occur.
On December 31, 2006, the Company signed an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the "Agreement") with existing and new lenders that became effective on January 12, 2007 following a required equity financing of at least $7 million as described below. Additionally, the Agreement was amended in April 2007 to extend the maturity date of the loans, as well as other modifications ("April Amendment"). The amended terms are listed below.
The Agreement consisted of segmented terms as follows:
• Term A Loans consisting of $9 million in new financing with an option to increase borrowings by an additional $2 million; and
• Term B Loans consisting of; (i) senior unsecured notes in the amount of $27 million issued in September 2006; (ii) an additional note for $2 million with the same terms as the senior unsecured notes; and, (iii) $1.5 million of the $3 million loan received in July 2006 from two stockholders of the Company used as a deposit to secure the purchase of two aircraft (see Note 3 - Leases, Including Leases with Related Parties).

Thus, the Agreement covered $11 million of new debt (with a provision to increase this amount by $2 million) and $28.5 million of existing debt.

The Loans were amended to bear interest at 18.5% as follows: "Until the earlier of (i) the date of the Qualified IPO and (ii) June 30, 2007, Interest on the Term B Loans shall cease to bear cash interest on the unpaid principal amount thereof and such Loan shall instead bear payable-in-kind interest ("PIK Interest") on the unpaid principal amount thereof at a rate of 18.5% per annum, which PIK Interest shall accrue and be added and capitalized to the principal outstanding balance of such Loan on a monthly basis."

I can't imagine that the institutional investors who invested in the company will go away without inquiring about the obvious.... where did all the money go? Why were the same investors who were repaid after the AIM float unwilling to come to the table to salvage their own company? Clearly they knew what a poor investment it would have been.

[Tigger4Me]

For those of you who can receive BBC World, next weeks edition of Fast Track will feature a story on the demise of Maxjet and what it will mean to other business class only airlines. It will be first broadcast on 20 Jan but is repeated practically daily for the following week. The schedule for all countries can be viewed here (http://www.bbcworld.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx).

There are still a few showings of this weeks edition to come and that featured the use of mobile phones on board aircraft. So far I've managed to turn on just as the programme finished. Note to self... check the schedule next time! :ugh:

[luvly jubbly]

Can also be viewed online, everywhere EXCEPT the UK!!

http://europe.real.com/partners/bbcworld/smil_redirect.html

Recently had a programme about Worldwide pilot shortage.... Never did get to see it!

[a300dave]

Believe that representitives of Maxjet have visited Stansted, with a view to starting operations again.
Will bring a fair amount of work to the airport if true.

[LGS6753]

A judge in the US has allowed an auction of the company's assets to take place. If they re-start, it won't be the same airline...

[Mr Flaps]

Lets hope if they re start they have better planes. And not old tin cans

[Hunter58]

That would make them to have to wait until 2013...

Unless of course Boeing and Airbus put another record year on the table...

Also, I don't really see another aircraft around allowing for the some 100 pax to be transported in relative comfort other than the 767-200ER. Old tin cans, yes, most likely, but the ony ones available to dothe job. I guess they would be better off looking for some other field of action.

[a300dave]

Heard today that Maxjet are currently operating from Houston to West Africa, transporting oil workers around. Also that they intend trying the Stansted/states route again in the summer. Thankfully they are not out of buisness if this is true.

[StoneyBridge Radar]

Considering they held a "fire sale" auction on Feb. 20th, I find this rumour baseless.

http://www.maxjet.com/images/NotificationofAuction.pdf

[wantabe_crew]

So what happened to Carroline and the rest of the UK base staff?

[daz211]

Is it true Maxjet or the people behind Maxjet are to start a
low cost Airline (as first planned) STN-JFK and LAS.