MAXjet Airline Declares Bankruptcy

The All Business Class Airline Filed Chapter 11 on Christmas Eve

© Jennifer W. Miner

MAXjet Filed Chapter 11 for Bankruptcy Protection, NPR

All-business class airlines provide transatlantic luxury. MAXjet, one such carrier, faltered under the competition and filed for bankruptcy, stranding passengers on Xmas.

One of the world’s smaller all business class airlines has filed for bankruptcy. MAXjet was promoted as something like a discount all-business airline with relatively cheap tickets; apparently, this wasn’t enough of a gimmick to raise the capital needed to keep running (or, more appropriately, flying).

NPR’s Marketplace reported (Dec 24 2007) that MAXjet filed for bankruptcy Chapter 11, leaving transatlantic passengers stranded. The airline company did pay for affected passengers’ hotel rooms in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and London . According to NPR, MAXjet executives are stating that high fuel costs and heightened competition led to this Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing. How bad was this sudden declaration? Well, MAXjet filed just in time to strand passengers on Christmas Eve – that’s how bad. Seriously, the airline couldn’t have waited a couple of days? It’s always so considerate of CEOs to drag their client base into their own stew of misery.

Airline Competition

MAXjet, a US-based company, started flying in November 2005, with a fleet of all-business class Boeng 767s. Upscale business travelers are getting more and more accustomed to luxury travel, with their employers often coughing up the cash for business fare tickets. These all-business class airlines – those that are left – create a sense of egalitarianism along with the feeling of being pampered en route to one’s destination. Being stranded on Christmas Eve? Not so pampering. Interestingly, the now bankrupt airline carrier bought seats for these passengers from Eos, a superior luxury all-business class airline with similar points of departure.

From the MAXjet website

Is this a sign of things to come? In perhaps a bad omen for all small all-business airliners, MAXjet rival Silverjet reported severe losses after one year of operation, and in November 2007 was given around 44 million dollars for refinancing (The Scotsman, Dec. 25 2007). But in fact, Silverjet, Eos, and other luxury all-business class airlines, should benefit from MAXjet’s filing for bankruptcy protection. Silverjet has already seen a 20 percent increase in reservations in just the couple days since Maxjet’s announcement. So, rather than a bad omen, this may be simply a thinning of the herd. Travelers that appreciate the amenities of business class seats still have plenty of all-business class airline choices. And Luxury Travel thinks this is just great; after all, anything that can help boost airline passenger satisfaction can't be bad!


The copyright of the article MAXjet Airline Declares Bankruptcy in Luxury Vacations is owned by Jennifer W. Miner. Permission to republish MAXjet Airline Declares Bankruptcy must be granted by the author in writing.


MAXjet Filed Chapter 11 for Bankruptcy Protection, NPR
Silverjet Saw an Increase in Reservations , Tom Turner
American Airline Admirals Lounge in Rio de Janiero, Roberto Cavalcanti
American Airlines is Improving its Business Class , Etienne Boucher
 


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