At first blush, shelling out $1,700 for a round-trip airline ticket from Washington to London seems pricey.

Fares can run as low as $400 or less during nonpeak periods or when a traveler can snag a good deal.

But if you're a long-distance business traveler for whom time is money, you fit the passenger profile for MAXjet Airways, a startup airline based in Northern Virginia with strong Richmond ties.

"The airlines overcharge business and first class," said Joseph Farrell, a MAXjet board member from Richmond, where he was once chairman and chief executive officer of The Pittston Co.

"We realized we could provide a fairly first-class service at a reduced price," Farrell said.

MAXjet has carved out a niche in the rocky world of commercial air service: An all-business-class service from two major American cities -- New York and Washington -- to London's Stansted Airport.

In November, MAXjet will add Las Vegas to its mix, with twice-weekly service to London. Despite the desert resort's high-rolling reputation, company officials think it's a sure bet.

"We found that the third-largest travel market to Vegas is the UK," said Gary Rogliano, MAXjet's chief executive officer.

The airline is looking at a number of other major U.S. destinations, such as Orlando. But the startup company has yet to turn a profit.

Rogliano, 54, was recruited by Farrell to run the fledgling carrier. Trained as an accountant and financial analyst, Rogliano spent 17 years at Pittston, where he ran its global air freight and logistics division, BAX Global.

That experience came in handy, Rogliano recalled last week.

"It's all about execution and service," the New York native said. "You had to deliver freight on time, now I get to deliver people on time. I just feed the people."

MAXjet's amenities include full-course meals served on fine china, boutique wines and other white-glove touches.

The airline touts other amenities, such as deep-recline seats and ample space between seats 5 feet, or about double the traditional coach configuration.

MAXjet uses jets that normally seat 200 people and refits them with 102 business-class seats.

"The different thing with this is that we are the low-fare model, but in the business-class cabin," Rogliano said.

Farrell approached him about working for a startup airline, it was called "Skylink." Two groups of investors -- one from Richmond and one from Salt Lake City -- forked out a reported

$40 million to get it off the ground.

The other Richmond investors include Beverley "Booty" Armstrong and William H. Goodwin Jr., co-owners of The Jefferson Hotel and CCA Industries; CarMax Chairman Richard L. Sharp; and Jeremiah Sheehan, the former CEO of Reynolds Metals.

From Salt Lake City came Kenneth M. Woolley, chairman and chief executive officer at Extra Space Storage Inc. and an early investor in JetBlue Airways.

"I looked at the business plan and the people involved, and it looked very exciting," Rogliano said.

The concept originally was to create an airline that offered traditional multi-cabin service, with first-class, business and coach fares.

But as they researched the $20 billion-a-year trans-Atlantic market, Rogliano and his management team realized that they could pull away from the pack by focusing on the business traveler willing to pay a bit more for space and service.

"Fifty percent of the revenue comes from 8 percent of the passengers," Rogliano said.

Armed with this knowledge, they began the arduous task of starting a new airline from scratch -- leasing wide-body Boeing 767 jets, hiring pilots from some of the bankrupt carriers such as Delta and creating a marketing plan.

It took 18 months to get the airline ready to launch last November with a flight between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and London.

Today, MAXjet flies round-trip six days a week between New York and London, and four days a week between Washington Dulles and London.

For all of MAXjet's high-end touches, low-fare airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue provided the model for keeping costs down and quality up: Use one type of aircraft, the Boeing 767; standardize fares; push Internet bookings; focus on service.

With round-trip fares as low as $1,750 from Washington to London, and slightly less from JFK, MAXjet undercuts the high altitude fares of $4,000 or more charged by British Airways and other major carriers to London for trips booked in business class on short notice. Most business travelers buy tickets 30 days or less before a trip.

"I'm sort of amazed that United and British Air from Washington at least haven't matched MAXjet at all," said Dan Smith, co-owner of Crossroads Travel/American Express in Richmond. "If you're going to London, it's a wonderful deal."

Instead, the major carriers are upgrading their services so they can charge more for U.S.-U.K. flights. Another startup airline, Eos, offers first-class only accommodations.

MAXjet added another twist by flying into Stansted International Airport north of London, where the airline promises quick security check-ins and train connections to the city. Most U.S. carriers fly into Heathrow or Gatwick, which are London's busiest airports.

Stansted is an area of high-tech development near the University of Cambridge. Rogliano talked enthusiastically about developing flights from California's high-tech hotbeds, such as San Jose, to Stansted.

Stansted also has ample connections to low-fare European airlines.

Rogliano conceded there are some tradeoffs for travelers going past London. "The question is, do you want to save 75 percent on your flight" from New York or London?

Apparently, they do, he said, because MAXjet's customer research shows that 40 percent of new customers are hearing about the airline by word-of-mouth.

Most savvy travelers are used to flying short or medium distances on low-fare carriers to reach New York or Washington. Having such service is key to MAXjet's success, Rogliano said.

The airline touts some of the connections by discount carriers. Its Web site, for instance, shows a schedule for JetBlue flights from Richmond to JFK in New York.

For all its promise, MAXjet has yet to turn a profit, according to its Richmond backers.

The airline took off at a time when the industry has been beset with problems.

"The timing is probably OK," said Armstrong, one of the local investors who also is chairman of the Capital Region Airport Commission.

"The fact is the airlines are starting to make money," he said. "The key to investing enough capital is to give enough time to get the airlines on their feet."

With so much money sunk into the airline, MAXjet's investors may decide to have a public stock offering, or try to sell the company.

"It could be a year or so," Armstrong said, "but it's got to start turning a profit."