V-Flyer

I havent seen many MaxJet TRs so Ive put quite a lot of detail in to this one. As a result it's pretty long, but Ive added a few photos to try and keep your attention.

The 80 or so (distinctly mature) students on my International Studies course have just spent a few days in the US addressing a bunch of American issues in Washington, and UN topics in New York. A combination of logistics, cost and convenience led to us chartering a Maxjet flight outbound to Washington and inbound from New York (JFK) and this TR covers both flights. I suspect there will be some interest in the cost of the charter: I dont think I should give the exact figure but, if you think of something around a flexible PE/WT+ fare per person, then you wont be far out.

Check-in was fast and efficient at both ends, despite the fact that we all arrived at the terminals together, by coach. Four agents at Stansted and 6 at JFK quickly worked their way through us, checking documents and baggage, and issuing boarding cards in pretty good time. In my ticket folder at STN I received a letter apologising that the aircraft we were on had only recently joined the fleet, and had a reduced recline compared to other MaxJet aircraft. Not sure how many they now have, but the return trip was on a different plane, and much better. Things were faster at JFK not only because they had a couple more agents, but also because we had consigned our baggage to a courier company earlier in the day, and didnt have to check it in. Anyway, back at STN, and BPs in hand, we took the tram from the terminal to get to the MaxJet lounge, adjacent to Gate 16


The lounge is clearly brand new, and quite impressive. There was no hot food, but plenty of croissants, cakes, savoury snacks and unlimited drinks, hot and cold. The staff were cheerful and helpful and frequently wandered around, refilling plates and generally doing what good airline staff do. There is a business area in the lounge which is clearly waiting for the arrival of PCs to go on the desks (which are already fitted). At JFK MaxJet uses the Korean Air lounge.


which is much more a traditional business lounge, and also very comfortable (albeit rather conservative for my taste). As at Stansted, the massive windows look out over the airport, allowing the anoraks among us to enjoy the spectacle of a major airport at a busy time of day. At both Stansted and JFK we were called to board about 45 minutes before our expected departure time. Onboard staff greeted us with champagne (drinkable, but nothing special, and in plastic glasses), OJ or Kir, and were followed by a mixture of canap_s which seems a nice touch on the fares they are charging. The amenity kits issued before take-off contain the normal selection of toothbrush/paste, eye-shades, earplugs, comb, socks and moisturiser. First impressions of the seat were pretty good: there is bags of legroom and plenty of overhead storage space, given the all-business configuration. On the outbound the recline was pretty limited, as forecast at Stansted, but much better on the inbound. The seating is laid out in two parts, with rows 1 7 in the front cabin..


and rows 8 17 in a larger rear cabin. Toilets are in pairs at the rear, middle and front and, apart from the pre-landing rush, were never particularly busy. I counted 10 cabin crew, who were friendly and helpful, if a little formulaic: Asking a passing crew-member to clear my tray so I could get some sleep, before the end of the meal service, initially caused a little bounce, as I was told they wouldnt be doing this till dessert and coffee had been served. That said, after a moments hesitation the crew-member decided she could help, and whipped the thing away with a smile, and an exhortation to sleep well.

Back to the seat: Im just over 6 2, and I took this photo.


.sitting comfortably with the back half reclined as you see, there is bags of room. The recline (on the return trip) was excellent


...and, while it isnt a flat bed, I nevertheless found it very comfortable and got a barely interrupted 5 hours sleep on the way back which, for me, is a record on an east coast flight. This might have been helped by the drinks service, which was good: the champagne and wines were drinkable, if nothing special, and they carried a full range of other drinks, hard and soft. We were told, just before landing at IAD, that we had established a record for MaxJet by drinking the flight completely dry of everything but spirits, an achievement of which we were inordinately proud. To be fair, they only ran out of things in the last hour or so, and I wasnt even aware of it until the first officer congratulated us on the run-in to Dulles. Returning to the seat, when everyone reclines fully there is a slight overlap between head and feet of successive rows but, even at my height, this wasnt a problem.

On to food: After the canap_s on boarding there is a 3 or 4 course meal. The starter in both directions is a salad with asparagus and parmesan shavings on the outbound and cucumber, feta and chives on the inbound..


Presentation is good, with metal cutlery, linen napkins, proper glasses and so on. I particularly liked the miniature-aeroplane salt and pepper shaker which, as you can see in the photo above, is a variation of the silver VS model. Main course choices ex-STN were fillet steak, braised lamb or baked salmon. I had the fillet, which was as good as any steak Ive eaten in UC, being tender and pink. The menu indicates a choice of dessert or cheese but, in the event, I asked for both and got them with no problem. A further nice touch was availability of a good dessert wine, a Muscatel. Returning ex-JFK the main-course choices were a NY strip steak, lemon chicken breast or vegetable ravioli. I had the steak again, which was a mistake: While the meat was ok the plate was swimming in liquid and the vegetables and rosemary-potatoes were soggy and over-cooked. The chicken looked better, so perhaps I was just unlucky in my choice. On the outbound a further meal service consisted of various sandwiches and scones, which were excellent. Inbound, the hot breakfast service included a Swiss Cheese Omelet served with Turkey Sausage Links which was as bad as the worst Y breakfast I can remember my advice is to avoid it like the plague and go, instead, for the fresh fruit (which looked excellent). Various sandwiches and other snacks are also available on request throughout the flight and, for those wanting maximum rest on the US-UK segment, a snack bag is available to go.

IFE on MaxJet is in the form of individual digital players.


.which hold twenty or so recent feature films, about a dozen TV shows, and a variety of music videos and other CD tracks. Noise Cancelling headphones are also supplied, though I used my own Bose QC2s. The selection of entertainment was good to excellent, and I enjoyed The Producers and the most recent Harry Potter movie on the way out. On the return I didnt take the IFE box, preferring my iPod before dinner, and sleep after it. One point: Although we all tried, it really isnt possible to watch the box during meal services, because there is nowhere to put it, and the stand is only useable when the seat-table is empty. Nevertheless, its a cinch to operate, and picture and sound quality are good.

The final touch I liked was a lottery conducted just before landing at Stansted, in which a return MaxJet ticket, valid for a year, was up for grabs, and was won by one of my colleagues. I have no doubt he will now buy another ticket for his wife, so it is more of an incentive than a freebie, but I thought it was quite imaginative.

So, conclusions: Given the price and the handful of MaxJet TRs Ive read I expected something on a par with PE or BA WT+, with a better seat. Well, its much better than that. The service was closer to J than PE or WT+, and better than some BA and VS flights in J (though not the good ones). At anything up to 1300 or 1400 I think MaxJet are offering exceptional value for money, and Id have no reservations about using them again. Above that level I would look for discounted J tickets on VS or BA, for the miles, but if discounted J tickets werent available and I had to pay full fare Id be straight back to MaxJet.

And, for the record, I dont work for MaxJet, they havent paid me to be nice about them, and I didnt win the flight lottery!

I think Jetwet is the next v-flyer trying out MaxJet, and I hope his experience of them is as positive as mine.

Best wishes

David