(25 Feb 2021, 9:52 am)streetdeckfan wrote I don't necessarily think the MAX brand was a bad one, but I do think they ran into the opposite problem that GNE had.
While GNE tried to shoehorn a brand onto every route, Arriva tried to shoehorn every route into one of two brands, Sapphire and MAX, both of which suffered as a result.

Agreed - I think the 306/308 were prime examples. It almost felt like depots would throw their toys out the pram if they didn't get at least one of each brand. 

Realistically, the only MAX routes should have been:
X7/8/9/10/11 at Blyth
X12 at Durham/Stockton
X14/5/8/20 at Ashington
X16 at Jesmond (why this isn't Ashington ran baffles me)
X66/67 at Darlington
X93 at Redcar/Whitby

Sapphire wise, again I don't see why the Jesmond 43/44/45 were converted really. I can't actually remember when the brand went from feeling reasonably premium, with the launch of the 7 and then X21/22, to very diluted as it happened so quickly. 2014-6 Arriva must have found a good deal with a paint supplier.