We recently had the chance to try Maxjet between IAD and STN. We normally fly to LHR from SFO, but since we were in Washington D.C. for a meeting decided to give this airline a try for our 1 week hop to London. I think we made an excellent choice!

From the beginning, a phone call from Maxjet on Monday to confirm our Wednesday travel, through landing in England the experience was great. These people really want to please you and they truly appreciate your business. I won�t go into as much detail as others have already done lengthier reviews, but we both came away from Maxjet feeling like this was how premium air travel was 25 years ago. There was a friendly ground staff and a flight crew that worked harder then ANY domestic crew I have seen in years. They considered no request to be great and they seemed to anticipate requests.

Food was great with 5 wines available during dinner. A tasty and hot breakfast was served before landing. An excellent lunch on the return flight followed by a wonderful afternoon tea service. And I can�t emphasize enough�a crew that always went the extra mile.

Flight over only had 5 empty seats. Coming home the load was lighter, but it was mid week.

We look forward to their continued success and hopeful expansion to the west coast.

If anyone wants specifics let me know and I�ll try to fill in the blanks.

Thanks for the report. The only thing that Maxjet and EOS are missing is some kind of mileage arrangement with a company in the US. I don't think that they'll get such access with the network carriers, but maybe someone like Alaska.

Coming later this year, there is supposed to be a new, high-end carrier: Primaris Airlines. This carrier seems similar to Maxjet and is supposed to offer service between LAX and the east coast--then service to the UK.

Interesting about that Primaris. I like the \"from Popularliner to Dreamliner\"

One interesting thing is that they will have different restrooms for men and women on board according to their website.

I followed all the hype a few years ago, but have heard nothing since. They're supposed to start flying later this year! I haven't seen one promotion yet.

I continue to hear excellent comments and feedback regarding MaxJet and although not as frequent, the same about EOS. When I review their website though, I just wish there were more detailed menus and pictures provided concerning in flight dining options. I am hoping for a mid fall trip to Europe, and if comparable, I'll fly from PHX to JFK/IAD and spend an evening so that the following day we can connect to MaxJet to fly into London.

Had a call from the folks at Maxjet today. They were calling to thank me for my business and to get my feedback on their service. I was happy to give themm positive comments.

I mentioned that flights from the west coast would be great as well. I was told that they had just today taken delivery of a 767 ER that is being refurbished in NC. When it comes on line later this summer they will have the range for west coast to STN flights. They haven't firmed their plans as of yet, but I'm thinking look for service this fall.

Just can't say enough good things about this airline! ^ ^ ^

That would be great! Although I'm thinking that if they've only got one, then they're not going to fly out of Northern California....

Given the fact the carrier depends on O/D traffic, I have to imagine that they'd fly out of LAX. I wonder if Primaris is a non-starter. If companies like Maxjet and EOS really prove to be a viable business concept--and, IMHO, it will take a year or two to decide--it would be interesting to have a forum dedicated to this type of travel!

Cool to hear. With praise like this, they can hopefully get hooked up w/ other partner carriers soon. ^

Mrs Info and I flew MaxJet (MY) from STN to JFK on Friday, June 23. It was one of the best flights we have had in a long time. We took our grandchildren to London on board the QM2 and needed a one-way return flight. The Cunard options were simply dreadfully priced and we immediately cast about for other choices. Since we intended to go to France for six days after turning the boys over to their parents in London and could get some quick, cheap flights to the interior of France from STN we decided on MaxJet from STN on our return. Although this is not a fully-qualified "trip report" as such, I hope it provides some food for thought for others.

First, we stick strictly to OneWorld airlines, almost exclusively. Both Mrs. Info and I are Plat on AA and generally have good upgrade success even if some tend to come at the last moment. We made an exception for MaxJet and it probably will not be the last time we do. We bought our tickets about three months in advance and the total price for two one-ways was barely more than the price for a round-trip advanced-purchase coach class AA ticket (LON-NYC) by the time you price in the $250 copays, the value at .01 per mile on the miles for the upgrade, and without considering any value for the fact you are assured of a seat on MaxJet and the upgrades on AA are much less certain, if at all. The price including all taxes, etc., was $1542.55 for two of us, or barely $775USD each. A round trip would have been the same at the time we bought two one-ways.

The checkin was at the far end of STN at the "K" checkin area. The entire process took, including security questions, perhaps five minutes two hours before the flight. We were entirely carryon and that might have speeded it up some, but in any event the process was outstanding. Lounge invitations were issues, the Fast Track lane was available to us through security (and what a pleasure it is to experience British security rather than the demeaning tactics of the US TSA..no shoe carnival, no worries with coins in the pocket, no laptops out in a separate bin, etc. etc. etc) and with a quick train out to gate 16 we were in and out of the main terminal and to the gate in less than twenty minutes on a Friday in the summer. The lounge for MaxJet is, as others have noted, a former SAS lounge. It's bright, airy, and just very nice. The views over the runway area are good from everywhere in the lounge. There are power points for laptops to run from mains electricity and the food and drink choices were excellent in the lounge.

The boarding process was very easy, just a few feet from the lounge and although they said the flight was full we noted a few empty seats scattered throughout the plane en flight. In any event the load was surely over 85% of the 102 max possible.

The seats are blue leather and not perforated and I felt they were slightly less comfortable due to lack of transmission of body humidity, etc. The lavs are not new but certainly serviceable. There were adequate overhead bins for everyone seated in our line of vision from row 4. The FA's were from a large number of countries and were VERY friendly. They were professional., helpful and repeatedly circulated in the cabin with water, orange juice, coffee, whatever was appropriate. Their apparent enthusiasm did not flag as the flight progressed and service was kept to a high standard throughout the flight. Unlike what we have experienced in other flights, there were no frowns, grumpinesses from the FA's and there was always one or more of them in the aisles or had just been. Bottled water was handed out on boarding and the seat back of the seat in front of you has a specific pocket for a waterbottle.

There were three entrees on the westbound lunch menu (one chilled beef, plus two hot ones) along with opportunities to dine at leisure on a tray and either sleep or work longer without the meal service interruption. The ceramic dish of mixed nuts served shortly after boarding was, curiously, quite cold and not warmed at all, as though it had been refrigerated.

One of the nicest aspects of the daytime flight was a wonderful selection of foods available between meals on a snack basis--potato chips, Snickers bar (and not a small one at that) and two other choices that don't come to mind right now, all of which were totally not good for you nutritionally, which means, of course, that they were entirely welcome during the flight and tasted great.

There were several wines available and Mrs. Info said they were very good.

There was a meal service of either a hot pizza-like vegetarian tart or a colder spicy chicken sandwich about 1.5 hours from landing. The food was neither a great deal better than, nor a great deal worse than, "average for business class."

The entertainment units handed out contained digital movies, TV shows, music, etc. The movies had a decent selection although at least one of them I had seen on CX in February, so it might be possible to assume the selections were either a bit slower coming to MY or stay a bit longer. In any event the battery in my unit died about 5 hours into the flight, but it made no difference. The FA's would have been glad to give me another unit, but I declined and napped.

Arrival in JFK was virtually painless (!!!) and was twenty minutes early.

Overall, my impressions of MY is that the product is first-rate. Not without some faults, but those are much less important than the friendly crew and extremely good value for the $. Although I am a miles junkie, and a OW addict, this one route I expect will supplant AA as our preference. The ability to take the train to the plane (Liverpool Street right into the STN building) much like the LGW express or the train from LHR (although a longer ride at 45 minutes) or vice-versa into Greater London and the lack of the Heathrow zoo qualities of STN itself make it a great alternative. If it's YOUR money you are spending and you like comfort but not at an unreasonable price, then MaxJet needs to be put into the equation.

In addition, for those of us who do not live in the immediate vicinity of a huge airport, the ability to price connecting flights from the interior of the US to either IAD or JFK with the ultimate destination still being London makes it a lot easier to get an even better value for some travel dates.

Interensting reports. I hope both Maxjet and EOS do well and maybe spark a bit of competitive review of service quality at the legacies.

Did either of you get any pictures inside the plane/seats/food?

insideinfo2, thanks for a great report. I am glad you enjoyed MaxJet. I hope the carrier does offer service out of LAX!

Eos's travelauction (Buy 1 get 1 free) gets you tickets on Eos for same price as MaxJet. ($1500pp)

http://www.eosairlines.com/travelauction Ends Friday.

I'm booked for a July 19 > Aug 2 Europe trip, very much looking forward to it, will definitely post a trip report.

Also, their FFP looks reasonable, in terms of being able to redeem for high value good/services. Travelauction earns you 80,000 points, and they correspond to $800 value. Normally you get 15000 per flight, so $150 value. And being able to use Quintessentially (concierge service) from the time you pay for your flight, until the end/just after the end of your trip is a great benefit.

The couple examples I remember were dinner for 4 @ Nobu or an Eos companion ticket for 80K, and a year membership to Quintessentially for 200K.

For people who like looking at it in terms of cashback, 15K for $3K flight = 5% back. (But notice that the Travelauction = $800 worth of stuff after only spending $3K on tickets, almost 25% return..)

On a different note - does anyone know if you have to pre-book the dayrooms at the Radisson STN - or can you just check in on arrival? I've read there's a menu of arrival facilities/options in the seatback pocket that explains it.