Low-cost-luxury carrier Maxjet offers all-business-class flights

03 September 2007

Maxjet's pure business-class flights offer all the bells and whistles of business class, at civilised prices.

We've all seen all-economy budget airlines, officially dubbed low-cost carriers (LCCs). Now, get prepared for its exact opposite, the all-business class airline. Logically, it should be called a high-cost carrier but isn't, because it's actually offering lower-cost business class seats.

Maxjet is one of a handful of such all-business-class carriers. It started in 2005 with a single transatlantic route between New York and Stansted airport, near London. Based at the Dulles International Airport near Washington DC, Maxjet now offers four weekly flights between Stansted and Dulles, and an equal number between Stansted and Las Vegas. This week, it starts a new service, from Los Angeles.

Luxury for less
A business-class ticket to London costs $2,000 on Maxjet, compared with $4,000 or more on traditional carriers. This gets you gourmet meals, deep-reclining leather seats and on-demand entertainment, on spacious, reconfigured Boeing 767s.

Maxjet is one of a handful of entrants in the 'all-business' niche, which logically seems very viable. But, though is talking in terms of growth, there are plenty of obstacles in the way, one of the most important of which is that there's no indication that it's profitable.

But, after a very shaky start, Maxjet's flights have finally started to fill up. In June, it had an occupancy of 83 per cent, up from 64 per cent a year earlier. In July, occupancy was 75.5 per cent. Analysts say the figures are similar to occupancy rates for most large airlines. Maxjet's planned expansion is all overseas, and the airline has got permission from the US Department of Transportation to fly to 89 countries.

Small may not be beautiful
But it has problems of scale. To save on high fuel costs, Maxjet selects its departure dates and times to maximise the number of passengers. But this can be a hassle. If the airline cancels a flight, there's nothing till the next day.