MaxJet, one of the initial carriers offering an all-business class service between London and New York City declared banruptcy as a Christmas present this past Monday. They’ve blamed higher fuel prices as the main reason for their inability to continue operations, but it also seems that AA may have had something to do with it, competing directly with them on their JFK-STN route. As is typical for many upstart carriers, a little competition from the established providers can prove to be the death knell unless there is real differentiation in price, service or something else. In MaxJet’s case, AA went for the jugular, and MaxJet didn’t have sufficient resources or other routes (though they did also serve LAX and LAS) to help counter this.
I’m not all that sad to see them go, though I do know a few folks who used to use them on their trips to London, so not so good for them.
The timing is particularly unfortunate as it happened right at Christmas when many folks are traveling. Fortunately other carriers, including Continental, are accomodating the passengers on a standby basis, though there is no indication that they are all flying in business class like they originally booked. Merry Christmas indeed.
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