Travelling to/through London to your Celebrity cruise? Maxjet and Silverjet......

[excitedofharpenden]

Although this isn't strictly a directly cruise related topic I thought it useful and pertinent to those of you thinking of a flight to the UK.

 

Firstly, I have been a proponent of Virgin Atlantic for many of my cruises. I really like their service and the flat beds they have in Upper Class are really great. Maxjet are an all business class service and have a total of just 100 seats on a conventional Boeiing 767. This equates to a lot more space than you'd find on a typical coach class service and whilst the price is more than you'd pay for "cattle" class it is still pretty good value. A number of my fellow Transatlantic cruisers used Maxjet to get them to London and I heard nothing but good things about them. At less than $1000 one way in some cases, to me it represented great value. A friend used Silverjet, which are similar, to get back to the UK after our trip and she too said this was a really nice experience. Turned up at Newark in the lounge where they took her luggage, passport and ticket and came back with the boarding pass and passport duly "security sorted". No hassle at all. Silverjet was a little more expensive than Maxjet, but it does have completely lie flat beds (albeit at an angle) rather than the business class seats that recline on Maxjet.

 

A couple of things to point out. Maxjet fly into Stansted, which is a little way out of London, so you'll need transport. Silverjet fly to Luton which is similar, but probably slightly easier. Luton is five miles from where I live, so from that point of view there is no contest for me. In addition, the fleet for both these airlines is small so if there is a problem with the aircraft then you may be delayed. I think I am right in saying that both have tie ups with other airlines to get you home, but that might mean coach travel instead of business class. So I would be flying in a couple of days before a cruise to make sure. You also need to look at their routes of course. They seem to be extending their services although I note that Maxjet are to suspend their service from Washington because they can't achieve the loads they need.

 

So, from someone who swears by Virgin, I am very interested to try these airlines out, certainly Silverjet for the geographical location already explained. The price is certainly right. It would be good to hear from those that have tried these services out. After all, flying long distance is a major expense of our Celebrity experience.

 

Phil

[Texed]

Thanks Phil. :)

[Karynanne]

We flew Maxjet-Las Vegas to Stansted, prior to our Transatlantic last month.

We were extremely pleased with the comfort, service and time schedules for this airline.

 

Onboard service was wonderful, and the food quite good. As Phil mentioned, there are only 102 seats, and our flight only had about 70 passengers. We will defininately use this airline again.

 

For those on the West Coast, Maxjet flies out of Los Angeles now.

 

Karyn

[DBA PWA]

We used MaxJet last summer. Never again!!!

 

No problem with being on time as we left and arrived on schedule. Our problem was with the seats themselves. These are very old planes and have first generation seats. They have absolutely no padding and are vey narrow compared to regular business class seats. Food was typical airline food and not worth eating. For the money it is only slightly better than coach in our opinion.

 

With all the maintenance woes they have had we felt lucky to be on schedule as they typically are only on time (within an hour of scheduled) about 50% of the time. I just hope the FAA is watching over them closely as they have had more than their share of mechanical problems. Might they be an accident waiting to happen?

 

I hear Silver Jet is better (get what you pay for) and EOS even better still. I would feel more secure sticking with the major airlines for the moment - definitely never on MaxJet again - worst 8 hours I have ever spent.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

We used MaxJet last summer. Never again!!!

 

No problem with being on time as we left and arrived on schedule. Our problem was with the seats themselves. These are very old planes and have first generation seats. They have absolutely no padding and are vey narrow compared to regular business class seats. Food was typical airline food and not worth eating. For the money it is only slightly better than coach in our opinion.

 

With all the maintenance woes they have had we felt lucky to be on schedule as they typically are only on time (within an hour of scheduled) about 50% of the time. I just hope the FAA is watching over them closely as they have had more than their share of mechanical problems. Might they be an accident waiting to happen?

 

I hear Silver Jet is better (get what you pay for) and EOS even better still. I would feel more secure sticking with the major airlines for the moment - definitely never on MaxJet again - worst 8 hours I have ever spent.

You said the words yourself....you DO , usually , actually get just what you pay for...Whats else did you expect?

Was the seat you paid quarter the price of business class for ...quarter of the size ? Was the service, airline , food, etc four times as bad. ? I very much doubt it. I think you expected too much for the money, instead of what it is.....a good buy.

[DBA PWA]

I think you expected too much for the money, instead of what it is.....a good buy.

 

Thats where you are wrong - it is not a good buy. Premium economy is cheaper than MaxJet and is much more comfortable. A good buy would constitute something better than what you can get commercially at the same price or slightly more.

 

Airline food is airline food and I have yet to see anyone rave about it. MaxJet tends to mislead you on their web site with respect to the gourmet level of their food. It was worse than British Airways and you have to go some to get worse than theirs.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

Thats where you are wrong - it is not a good buy. Premium economy is cheaper than MaxJet and is much more comfortable. A good buy would constitute something better than what you can get commercially at the same price or slightly more.

 

Airline food is airline food and I have yet to see anyone rave about it. MaxJet tends to mislead you on their web site with respect to the gourmet level of their food. It was worse than British Airways and you have to go some to get worse than theirs.

I am flying on 28th. Dec, from JFK . to the UK. I paid $499 each for our direct flights. We need flights some time after 5.50 pm. I am not at all mislead by what Maxjet have to say re the gourmet food ....I just want you to find me that cheaper Premium economy buy, so I know who to fly with next time.:)

[luvtocook]

Wow! Interesting thread. We also flew Maxjet JFK-STN last month for the Connie TA. Our seats were plenty wide, as wide if not wider, than any regular 1st class seats we've had on domestic flights in the US. They were definitely comfortable. We had no problems with the service at all, in fact we both commented on seeing flight attendants "really working" for a change, these ladies really gave us excellent service and did it with a smile!

The personal DVD players had decent selections of tv shows & movies to watch.

The food was actually quite good too. I had a steak which was darned good ESPECIALLY for airline food! I've had worse in "good" restaurants! My DH had a lobster something or other which he said was very good too. The salads were nice & fresh & crisp.

The croissants, rolls & fruit in the morning were all very good as well. All the cocktails you wanted flowed very freely along with almost anything else you could ask for.

We paid $499 per person one way----I call that a REAL bargain! I will definitely fly Maxjet again when the chance arises!:D

[lucky white heather]

Although this isn't strictly a directly cruise related topic I thought it useful and pertinent to those of you thinking of a flight to the UK.

 

Firstly, I have been a proponent of Virgin Atlantic for many of my cruises. I really like their service and the flat beds they have in Upper Class are really great. Maxjet are an all business class service and have a total of just 100 seats on a conventional Boeiing 767. This equates to a lot more space than you'd find on a typical coach class service and whilst the price is more than you'd pay for "cattle" class it is still pretty good value. A number of my fellow Transatlantic cruisers used Maxjet to get them to London and I heard nothing but good things about them. At less than $1000 one way in some cases, to me it represented great value. A friend used Silverjet, which are similar, to get back to the UK after our trip and she too said this was a really nice experience. Turned up at Newark in the lounge where they took her luggage, passport and ticket and came back with the boarding pass and passport duly "security sorted". No hassle at all. Silverjet was a little more expensive than Maxjet, but it does have completely lie flat beds (albeit at an angle) rather than the business class seats that recline on Maxjet.

 

A couple of things to point out. Maxjet fly into Stansted, which is a little way out of London, so you'll need transport. Silverjet fly to Luton which is similar, but probably slightly easier. Luton is five miles from where I live, so from that point of view there is no contest for me. In addition, the fleet for both these airlines is small so if there is a problem with the aircraft then you may be delayed. I think I am right in saying that both have tie ups with other airlines to get you home, but that might mean coach travel instead of business class. So I would be flying in a couple of days before a cruise to make sure. You also need to look at their routes of course. They seem to be extending their services although I note that Maxjet are to suspend their service from Washington because they can't achieve the loads they need.

 

So, from someone who swears by Virgin, I am very interested to try these airlines out, certainly Silverjet for the geographical location already explained. The price is certainly right. It would be good to hear from those that have tried these services out. After all, flying long distance is a major expense of our Celebrity experience.

 

Phil

 

I did a short review of a Silverjet flight (Newark to Luton ) sometime ago(August 07?) after a crossing on the Qm2..this might still be somewhere on the Cruise Air section of CC.

I was not certain of what to expect with this airline.

 

However we had absolutely no problem with the Silverjet standards offered either on the ground pre , during , and post flight...we thought they tried very hard to make any airport "hassle " disappear...and it certainly did for us anyway.

Because the flight was included in the complete fare we paid for the cruise ...we don't know how the breakdown costs worked out...but it seemed acceptable to us who usually have to endure economy seats on both the short and long haul flights to join almost any cruise unless we choose to cruise direct from the South of England as we are obviously resident in Scotland which has too few cruise choices.

 

I hope Silverjet continues to have success with their business venture and wish them more power to their elbow !

[DBA PWA]

I am flying on 28th. Dec, from JFK . to the UK. I paid $499 each for our direct flights. We need flights some time after 5.50 pm. I am not at all mislead by what Maxjet have to say re the gourmet food ....I just want you to find me that cheaper Premium economy buy, so I know who to fly with next time.

 

Uhhhhhhhh try British Airways World Traveller Plus from Kennedy to Heathrow. It is $639.00 including all taxes versus MaxJet at $699.00 without taxes. For this December you can still get Virgin Atlantic at $507.00 for Premium Economy including all taxes as well. Your MaxJet $499.00 was a teaser rate since their bookings were so low - you can't get that anymore. Also what happens when MaxJet doesn't fly due to mechanical problems - which is alot. With British you are on a different flight in no time at all. With MaxJet there are stories out there that you could wait in excess of two days for them to accommodate you.

 

Now check how much from Stansted to downtown London versus Heathrow. Don't forget to multiply the pounds by slightly more than 2. We simply get on the Tube at Heathrow - you can't beat the price or the time it takes.

 

If you don't originate from New York you have to gather your baggage in New York and completely re-check in on Maxjet - same on the return. With British or Virgin you can check yourselves 100% through from your origin. On the return all you need do is clear customs with your bags - put them on the conveyor and away you go. That in itself is worth a whole heck of alot not having to re-check in and do luggage security again and at Kennedy that means alot of extra time.

 

British Airways Premium Economy for me or Virgin Atlantic. More reliable, cheaper and more comfortable. Believe me, I fly many times a year back and forth London to New York. If MaxJet was reliable and more comfortable I would be on it. It just is not.

[Night Owl 47]

Silverjet - ok but pricey. Not much difference than regular airline Business Class fare.

 

MaxJet - never as their planes are too old, parts rarely available and in general I just don't trust them. There is a reason these planes are flying at 50% of capacity despite having economy class fares. I doubt they will even be around next year. Check out FlyerTalk to get the full scoop and a long list of unhappy customers.

 

 

A couple of others mentioned Premium Economy on Virgin. Can't beat the price or service of Virgin. For reliability this is your best bet.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

Uhhhhhhhh try British Airways World Traveller Plus from Kennedy to Heathrow. It is $639.00 including all taxes versus MaxJet at $699.00 without taxes. For this December you can still get Virgin Atlantic at $507.00 for Premium Economy including all taxes as well. Your MaxJet $499.00 was a teaser rate since their bookings were so low - you can't get that anymore. Also what happens when MaxJet doesn't fly due to mechanical problems - which is alot. With British you are on a different flight in no time at all. With MaxJet there are stories out there that you could wait in excess of two days for them to accommodate you.

Now check how much from Stansted to downtown London versus Heathrow. Don't forget to multiply the pounds by slightly more than 2. We simply get on the Tube at Heathrow - you can't beat the price or the time it takes.

If you don't originate from New York you have to gather your baggage in New York and completely re-check in on Maxjet - same on the return. With British or Virgin you can check yourselves 100% through from your origin. On the return all you need do is clear customs with your bags - put them on the conveyor and away you go. That in itself is worth a whole heck of alot not having to re-check in and do luggage security again and at Kennedy that means alot of extra time.

British Airways Premium Economy for me or Virgin Atlantic. More reliable, cheaper and more comfortable. Believe me, I fly many times a year back and forth London to New York. If MaxJet was reliable and more comfortable I would be on it. It just is not.

My husband has just for our future ref. tried to find these prices, and on Virgin Premium Economy the price is $1020 each. Twice the price of Maxjet. The price for British Airways Travellers Plus is $1270 each, again twice the price. These prices are from the airlines sites, When we triy Kayak etc. how can we select the option Premium etc. ? They just say Business or Economy. Where are you finding them ? Share . :)

You judge all travel needs by your travel needs . We are aware that some Maxjet people are put up in hotels in New York, and are rather hoping this will happen ! Two nights would be even better. !! We also love the fact that we will not be near Londan, as we travel home to Wales.

[teedee]

Thats where you are wrong - it is not a good buy. Premium economy is cheaper than MaxJet and is much more comfortable. A good buy would constitute something better than what you can get commercially at the same price or slightly more.

 

Airline food is airline food and I have yet to see anyone rave about it. MaxJet tends to mislead you on their web site with respect to the gourmet level of their food. It was worse than British Airways and you have to go some to get worse than theirs.

 

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience with Maxjet but mine last month was wonderful. The seats were extremely comfortable and felt very roomy to me and the food was surprisingly good. I also loved the lounge at JFK (although I think they share with some other airlines it wasn't crowded at all). I will be flying Maxjet again on my next TA in May.

 

Terri

[WELSH WIZARDS]

........................

MaxJet - never as their planes are too old, parts rarely available and in general I just don't trust them. There is a reason these planes are flying at 50% of capacity despite having economy class fares. I doubt they will even be around next year. Check out FlyerTalk to get the full scoop and a long list of unhappy customers........

I am not so naive as to have done no research on Maxjet. Below is a previous posting of mine from June. I have seen nothing since to change my mind, for the reasons I gave then.

 

 

" My husband and I { I sound like the Queen :) ], have just booked to fly home with Maxjet on Dec. 28th, price $499 !!. I checked with my credit card company before I purchased and specifically asked "If I pay for an airline ticket, with my Credit Card would I be covered by them for the cost should the airline cease trading" , , and they confirmed I would. I am flying back on 28th. Dec, but we do not have to be home quickly for any reason. I have read the comments on many sites, and the worse things that seems to happen are delays, re routing , being put up in a hotel for the night, and flown home with Virgin or similar the next day. No one seems to have had anything worse than that happen. Maxjet have moved some 75,000 passengers since they started, and I guess most of them have arrived no worse for wear, all be it with some delays. I am well prepared to take this amount of risk, for a price like this. Given our travel flexibitity, why would we not ? !! "

__________________

[Karynanne]

When we flew Maxjet last month, we both were aware that there had been some negative reviews regarding the age of the planes, the on-time records, and the cuisine.

 

We honestly felt that the planes looked very good...better than quite a few other airlines we have flown! And the seat were wide, cushy, all leather, and very comfortable. We commented that maybe our particular plane had just been refurbished. Plus, we were scheduled to leave at 7:30 p.m., and we pushed back, exactly at 7:30....

 

We flew from Las Vegas to Stansted, and felt that we definately had great value for the price we paid.

 

Now if Maxjet only would leave out of San Francisco....

[DBA PWA]

My husband has just for our future ref. tried to find these prices, and on Virgin Premium Economy the price is $1020 each. Twice the price of Maxjet. The price for British Airways Travellers Plus is $1270 each, again twice the price.

 

If I had to guess I would say you have return fares quoted. You may have to do that on Virgin but British allows one way tickets at 50% of return tickets. Easiest to just go to their sites. Fares are also subject to what dates you put in. I checked next summer and early December. To be fair you need to check the same date on all airlines and not use your teaser rate for Maxjet as the current fare basis.

 

I would have thought it would take longer to get from Stansted to Wales than from Heathrow to Wales. I guess it depends where in Wales.

 

My other thought is that I may be more sensitive since I fly overseas so often and know what a comfortable seat should be like. To compare these seats to any other International Business Class seats would be a joke at best. So all you really can do is compare them to Premium Economy. At first appearance, I would admit MaxJet would seem attractive to someone used to just economy seats. But once you open them up they are extremely lumpy with various springs etc poking into you etc.. The first generation seats are also at such an angle that most people slide off while trying to sleep. It would behove them to put all new seats in - again you would end up paying for that.

 

To each their own of course. The deal breaker on MaxJet is also based on the total inconvenience of having to check bags in your departure city and then re-collect in NYC and once again check-in and go through security. Perhaps if they were to obtain agreements with the Major carriers it would be better - but then you would have to pay for that.

[WELSH WIZARDS]

If I had to guess I would say you have return fares quoted. You may have to do that on Virgin but British allows one way tickets at 50% of return tickets. Easiest to just go to their sites. Fares are also subject to what dates you put in. I checked next summer and early December. To be fair you need to check the same date on all airlines and not use your teaser rate for Maxjet as the current fare basis.

I would have thought it would take longer to get from Stansted to Wales than from Heathrow to Wales. I guess it depends where in Wales.

My other thought is that I may be more sensitive since I fly overseas so often and know what a comfortable seat should be like. To compare these seats to any other International Business Class seats would be a joke at best. So all you really can do is compare them to Premium Economy. At first appearance, I would admit MaxJet would seem attractive to someone used to just economy seats. But once you open them up they are extremely lumpy with various springs etc poking into you etc.. The first generation seats are also at such an angle that most people slide off while trying to sleep. It would behove them to put all new seats in - again you would end up paying for that.

To each their own of course. The deal breaker on MaxJet is also based on the total inconvenience of having to check bags in your departure city and then re-collect in NYC and once again check-in and go through security. Perhaps if they were to obtain agreements with the Major carriers it would be better - but then you would have to pay for that.

One way British Airways quote is as follows....................................

".. Please Check your flight itinerary details

Outbound - headerDate('2007-12-28') Friday 28 Dec, 200719:01

flightDate('2007-12-28')28 Dec06:55

flightDate('2007-12-29')29 DecJohn F Kennedy (New York)Heathrow (London)BA0174

British AirwaysWorld Traveller Plus$ 2,540.20

Currency calculator Change flights "

 

This is $1500 more than I paid. To tell me I need to be fair and check all dates on all airlines is not the least bit relevant. We can only compare what I paid Maxjet then , with what B.A.s flight was then, which we do not know. The Maxjet flight price now is still about $1000 cheaper.

I did not say it was quicker from Stanstead, I just said we prefer not to be in Heathrow , we don't like it. You are very "time " driven .. we are not.

I have never compared " International Business Class seats " with Maxjet. Indeed I have gone out of my way not to. I have never flown Business class, so would never express a view as to what it is like. I do not really understand how being able to afford to do so automatically makes you sensitive to discomfort, but I will have to take your word about how discerning your derriere is. :D

Many people have positive things to say about Maxjet. A few people have mooted negative ones.

I am very glad for you that the worst 8 hours in your live were caused by your aeroplane seat being to lumpy. Most people are not so lucky.

[Ms Understood]

well I shall keep my fingers crossed as I am booked with 4 family members in Apr. I fly only biz class overseas but at this price I could afford to take my little nieces to London and Paris. Very excited and hopefull that MaxJet is decent. From LAX I could not get doable fares exc in coach which I can't take for that long a flight!

-------------------

Helen

[Ma Bell]

Our seats on Maxjet from Las Vegas to Stansted last month were very comfortable. No lumps or bumps. We've flown BA premium economy and there was no contest. The Maxjet flight was much more comfortable, better service and better food.

[Fang]

I have never flown Maxjet, etc, across the pond, but staying out of LHR would be great and give these airlines a great advantage to me.

 

The only bad thing I have heard that (unlike major airlines) if a plane is in need of maintance, that the delays could be very long or even cancelled.

 

That happened to a friend of mine. Flight was cancelled and he was unable to get on another airline. I think that Maxjet did put a lot of passengers on VA, but he had to wait until the next day. This is my only concern flying them, but for the price it is a gamble I am willing to take.

[Karynanne]

I have never flown Maxjet, etc, across the pond, but staying out of LHR would be great and give these airlines a great advantage to me.

 

The only bad thing I have heard that (unlike major airlines) if a plane is in need of maintance, that the delays could be very long or even cancelled.

 

That happened to a friend of mine. Flight was cancelled and he was unable to get on another airline. I think that Maxjet did put a lot of passengers on VA, but he had to wait until the next day. This is my only concern flying them, but for the price it is a gamble I am willing to take.

 

Maxjet flights out of Las Vegas, haven't had the cancellation issue, and once in awhile a flight will be delayed some...but the problem seems to be flights on the East Coast. They did have a Washington, D.C. (Dulles) route that had quite a few incidents, but that route has now been discontinued.

[excitedofharpenden]

Silverjet - ok but pricey. Not much difference than regular airline Business Class fare.

 

quote]

Not from the research I've done. I picked a couple of dates round trip London to New York next May and Silverjet were almost half the price of Virgin Upper Class and BA Club (£1100 as opposed to £2100). EOS were a £1400. It also seems to be much easier to get lowest fare quotes one way on Maxjet/Silverjet/EOS than Virgin and BA which come up with very expensive J Class non-restrictive business class fares (Silverjet £511 one way JFK to LHR, Virgin UC £2700). I'm not sure if there is a way around this or not.

 

Phil