Well, I'm now convinced MAXjet isn't so great - a revelation which I suspect savvy business travellers already had. As I began to write this article I was stranded at Stansted airport, two and a half hours after my 1 pm MAXjet flight to Washington was supposed to depart, only to be told that the "mechanical failure" would take "some time" to fix. [See MAXjet's response below.]
Fed up with the vague explanations for the delay and uncertainty over the fate of our flight, I rang MAXjet CEO Gary Rogliano, whose mobile phone number I had on me. Rogliano revealed that the plane would not leave until 7 pm at the earliest - a point the MAXjet staff were not choosing to share with other distressed customers, most of whom live in America and were meant to catch connecting flights to other US gateways. In its contract of carriage, the airline says that "In the event of any type of a service disruption...announcements will include the specific reason for the delay, the expected length of the delay and the status of any connections if applicable." Instead, MAXjet staff were saying the repairs were imminent and they did not know how long before take-off, but, if worse came to worse, they were organising overnight accommodation for its 100-plus passengers.
The protocol under these circumstances is that a) you tell the truth and b) you put your passengers on an airline with which you hold an interline agreement. In MAXjet's case, that would be no one, although MAXjet staff initially promised passengers they could arrange alternative travel on British Airways or Eos. When some passengers asked to be re-booked the MAXjet staff said all BA flights to DC (from Heathrow) were sold out.
Not so. A quick call to BA proved that quite easily. I asked Rogliano why his staff said BA flights were sold out when they were not. He said it was because MAXjet wanted to fly all of its passengers business class and there were not enough seats available in BA's Club World cabin. Fair enough, but to say BA flights to DC are "oversold" is simply untrue and most passengers, at that point, cared more about getting to DC and catching their connecting flights than sitting in business class.
Rogliano, who was staying at a nearby hotel and was also scheduled on the 1 pm flight, agreed and told me passengers could choose to fly premium economy or economy if they so chose, but reminded me that the commute from Stansted to Heathrow on a Friday afternoon would take two to three hours so even if passengers did want to get re-booked on the BA flight there likely would not be enough time to get everyone to Heathrow.
Fair point, but I was willing to take my chances, as I was still not convinced that the new 7 pm departure would happen. I hung up the phone, marched up to the MAXjet ticket counter and explained this. A stunned MAXjet employee, who was obviously quite confused as to why I have Gary Rogliano's mobile number, checked with her supervisor and said, "OK, we'll just call BA and then print your ticket".
I'm thinking, "Well, it ain't great but at least I'll get to DC before the last jazz bar closes". Not so. A few moments later I'm told MAXjet, much to its surprise, apparently does not hold an interline agreement with BA. Excuse me? When I ask why MAXjet's CEO not 10 minutes ago told me the airline does indeed have an agreement with BA, the MAXjet staffer said, "Oh, yeah, Gary thought so too. He just found out we don't".
"OK," I said with as much patience as I could muster, "With which carriers do you have an agreement?" A flustered MAXjet employee who looked like she couldn't wait for her shift to end responded quite unsympathetically, "Eos and Virgin but their flights are all sold out", and then proceeded to throw in the token, "Sorry". I, of course, checked availability on Eos and Virgin. Eos did have at least a few last minute tickets available according to its website and Virgin was still taking reservations for its NY flights.
A few hours later I spied Rogliano roaming around the MAXjet lounge, chatting with passengers, trying to allay concerns about the plane's safety and apologising for the delay. A very Branson-esque move to be sure. Although I am less than pleased with MAXjet at this point I must give Rogliano credit for this stroke of PR genius. I waited my turn to have a word with the CEO and as I approached Rogliano he sheepishly asked, "Are you who I think you are?" I had to smile. It is unfortunate that MAXjet had a crisis on the day a Times Online reporter was booked to travel.
I asked Rogliano why he was unaware that MAXjet does not in fact have an agreement with BA or Eos, as I was originally told. He persisted that MAXjet does have an agreement with Virgin but explained that Virgin did not have enough space for all MAXjet passengers. Rogliano also told me MAXjet has agreements with major US carriers. If that's the case then why didn't MAXjet rebook passengers on one of its American partners' flights? The answer to this question is still unclear. It is still equally unclear why MAXjet presumed BA and Eos would agree to help one of their chief rivals save face.
The lesson, I think, is pretty clear. Perhaps the worst part is that for once in my life I actually packed the night before, ordered my taxi well in advance and arrived to the airport early. What's that saying about if it's too good to be true... For roughly £1,500 return (the price quoted on MAXjet's web site), I'd rather take my chances with BA or Virgin - at least if they delay a flight there is a hope that another plane will be available or one of their partners will step up to the plate. At the very least, being delayed at Heathrow, where there are hundreds of daily flights to the US, is a damn sight better than being stranded at a satellite departure building at Stansted.
To MAXjet's credit, the onboard service is superb, although I do suspect the excessive pleasantries had something to do with the fact that the carrier's CEO was on board so I am reserving judgment on MAXjet's service until my return flight to the UK. MAXjet also deserves credit for its onboard configuration. Although the seats do not convert into fully lie-flat beds, they are extremely comfortable and recline enough to support a proper nap.
The seats are also well spaced so you do feel a sense of privacy. The food onboard is average, but there is a good selection, which includes a lighter, healthier option. The cocktail cart makes several rounds, serving an impressive wine list, champagne and mixers. Perhaps the best part of the onboard experience is the entertainment unit, which offers several movies, TV programmes, games and music stations. The foamy headsets completely shut out any peripheral noise and are comfortable enough to sleep with.
It must be said that the issue here is not the fact that MAXjet's plane had a fault, or even that it was delayed by roughly the same amount of time it would have taken to fly to DC, but that the carrier did not have a Plan B, and appeared to be quite overwhelmed by what is unfortunately a frequent occurrence for all airlines. That MAXjet is reliant on a single plane, seemingly has no definitive agreements with other airlines, and is confined to Stansted where the bulk of flights operate to nearby sun destinations such as Ibiza, will not encourage me to fly MAXjet again, even though Rogliano cheekily promised me an upgrade on my next flight.
Based on the countless other passengers I spoke to during our six hour delay I'm fairly confident that I'm not the only one who won't be ringing MAXjet's reservation line in the near future, or at least until it works out some of the kinks in its business model.
Arlene Kaye, who was travelling with her granddaughter Haley, told me she chose to fly MAXjet because she got a USD$900 return fare. "That was a great deal, but we were delayed on the outbound flight and now we're delayed again. We won't make our connecting flight [to Orlando] so I'm not sure what we will do. The price was right but I don't think I'll do it again."
The MAXjet concept is great. The problem is just that - it's a concept. This probably explains why the majority of the people stranded with me were American leisure passengers, who, like Arlene Kaye, got a great "summer break" deal. Business travellers, it seems, know the difference between concept and reality and, as a result, were comfortably settled into their BA and Virgin flights, sipping a G&T, watching a movie or having a kip, while I was tucking into my twentieth cheese and pickle canape, gazing over a runway which mocked me with every new departure and hoping I'd wake up and it would all be a bad dream.
Of course the true lesson I've learned here is to never again, under any circumstances, pack well in advance and get to the airport on time. Such cconscientious behaviour is just asking for trouble.
MAXjet responds: The MAXjet team was very surprised to read Tricia’s recent article about her MAXjet flight from Stansted to Washington Dulles on 14 July and would like to address the points raised.
It was very unfortunate that the flight she was travelling on experienced mechanical errors, but regrettably this situation can occasionally be unavoidable for any airline. When Tricia first contacted Gary Rogliano, CEO of MAXjet, he had just been informed that take-off would be not be possible before 7pm – this information had not even been relayed to the ground staff, which is why other passengers in the MAXjet lounge were informed shortly after Tricia’s discussion with Gary.
The accepted protocol in the aviation industry is not to rebook passengers on an alternative airline if you know your flight will fly [although many airlines will try to rebook if there are excessive delays - Ed]. BA had two flights from Heathrow to Dulles operating that day departing at 17:10 and 19:40. It would not have been possible for passengers to make the 17:10 from Stansted due to the heavy traffic. MAXjet contacted BA and was told that the 19:40 flight was full. The Virgin and United flights leave too early to have been of assistance on this occasion and MAXjet staff were reliably informed by Eos that all New York flights on 14 July were fully booked .
The MAXjet team kept all customers informed on the status of the mechanical repairs and resultant delay. Freshly prepared food and drinks were served throughout the delay period and Gary personally visited the lounge and spoke with every passenger. All of whom were satisfied with the information updates and the service they received whilst waiting in the lounge. MAXjet booked all passengers who missed their connections in the US as a result of the delay into a hotel and rebooked their flights for Saturday 15 July.
Due to the regular information updates from the ground staff all passengers scheduled to travel on the MAXjet London Stansted – Washington Dulles flight on 14 July did so.
Gary and the MAXjet team deeply regret that Tricia felt her experience with the airline was not as positive as it ought to have been. MAXjet welcomes feedback from all its passengers and would have been happy to address her issues with the service had she raised them at the time. It is hoped that she will enjoy her flight back to the UK with MAXjet later this week.
