Everything We Know So Far

Global Airlines plans to revolutionize flying with its Airbus A380-only fleet, focusing on top-notch customer service and an unconventional flying experience. This represents a vote of confidence in the A380, given that Airbus stopped its production in 2021 as there weren’t sufficient orders to keep the program going.

The airline, founded in July 2021 by travel personality and entrepreneur James Asquith, aims to create a new airline by focusing solely on the Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft.

Global Airlines has progressed in collaborating with experienced partners like Hi Fly and Factorydesign for operations and cabin design. Despite skepticism, the startup is pushing ahead with plans to operate an all-Airbus A380 fleet, aiming to launch revenue services after several years of preparation. Here is all the information we have gathered until now.

Why Global Airlines was born

James Asquith became fixated on running his airline after flying on a big Virgin Atlantic 747 from Gatwick to Orlando with his family when he was eight, according to a recent interview with The Times. He knew precisely what he would name it: Global Airlines, and would often scribble these two words on his school books or repeat them in his head, envisioning all the Global Airlines routes that would intersect the globe.

At university, he developed a keen interest in traveling and spent several months backpacking, even when he should have been attending lectures. He was able to finance his travels by investing in stocks and shares while still a student. But how did he sustain this lifestyle? He reveals that he made significant money during the financial crisis of 2008/2009 by buying bank stocks at their lowest and weakest point.

After visiting over 100 countries, a friend pointed out that he was close to visiting every country. Taking this as a challenge, he set out to see all 196 sovereign nations break the Guinness world record as the youngest person to do so. In 2013, at 24, he achieved this feat in Micronesia.

During the countless long-haul flights he has experienced (he says he has flown on 284 different airlines), Asquith has realized that air travel has become an increasingly unpleasant experience. According to him, for the past 20 years, airlines have been racing to the bottom on prices, which has reduced quality. As a result, perks have been taken away from customers.

With this in mind, Asquith took ownership of his 1st Airbus A380 to start his own airline. This occurred despite most carriers opting for smaller aircraft due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting decline in global passenger numbers.

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Business model & network plans

In a targeted pitch to investors in 2021, the airline outlined its strategy: to completely disrupt the aviation industry and revive the golden age of air travel with a modern twist. The airline plans to focus on Transatlantic travel, where quality competition is lacking. This statement alone raises an unbelievably large amount of questions that do not have straightforward answers. According to the website, the carrier intends to launch flights from London to New York JFK and Los Angeles.

According to Aviation Week, in October 2023, Richard Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer of Global Airlines, announced at the Routes World conference in Istanbul that the UK-based airline was currently scouting for any available Airbus A380s in the market.

Airlines kept the A380 out of service due to high operational costs during the pandemic, as it requires around 80% occupancy to recover flying costs and turn a profit. As such, some airlines switched to more efficient twin jets like the A350-1000, 787 Dreamliner, or the 777, to mitigate losses.

However, carriers such as Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines still operate the A380, and some have even been returned to service after being stored for a while. Furthermore, the investor pitch claims the company can acquire A380s for its fleet at a lower cost, helping to eliminate 27% depreciation and 19% interest costs from its budget.

Global Airlines also plans to extend its network beyond transatlantic routes following the commencement of its US services. The airline hopes to commence operations on the highly lucrative New York-London and London-LAX corridors. These are two of the most heavily traveled air routes across the North Atlantic, and have a high demand for premium services offered by well-established carriers such as British Airways and American Airlines.

It is unlikely that Global Airlines will be able to attract premium travelers by offering only one or two daily services on busy routes. Such travelers usually prefer to fly at the most convenient time and with the carrier they know and trust. For instance, British Airways provides up to 15 daily departures between JFK and London.

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Classes of service

In 2021, Global Airlines anticipated flying with five service classes onboard. On top of the traditional First, Business, premium economy, and economy class cabins, the company intended to add a new 15-seat ‘Gamer Class’ option for passengers to play video games while onboard. However, in 2023, the Director of Corporate Affairs, Liam McKay, confirmed that the Gamer Class product was no longer part of the company’s business plan.

The UK long-haul airline startup intends to configure its Airbus A380s with 450–470 seats. The carrier is promising a three-class service (first, business, and economy) as it looks to obtain an air operator’s certificate this year before starting flights in the summer of 2024.

It would commence operations with a pair of A380s, with a preliminary configuration intended to speed its entry before upgrading the interior cabins to their final complete layout. In October 2023, Aviation Week reported that Global Airlines had announced a partnership with JETMS Completions (a subsidiary of Avia Solutions Group) for aircraft interior and exterior completions, commencing with a cabin refurbishment and overhaul program for the startup carrier fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft.

Global Airlines will undergo complete cabin overhauls later in 2024 for the next three aircraft scheduled for operation. JETMS says the project for the fledgling airline will be its largest to date and the first on an A380 aircraft.

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Global Airlines’ first flight

In February 2024, Global Airlines took ownership of its first aircraft, an Airbus A380 with MSN 120, registered in Malta as 9H-GLOBL (through Hi Fly Malta). This was an ex-China Southern jet registered as B-6140 that was flown out to the Mojave Desert on December 21st, 2022, and widely accepted as an aircraft that would likely never fly again.

After several months of testing, all systems met the standards required for a new aircraft, following Airbus instructions. On April 30th, 9H-GLOBL took off from Mojave just before 06:00. It arrived in Montreal at 16:00, staying overnight to refuel before starting its final journey.

The aircraft departed from Montreal at 03:30 EST and landed at Scotland’s Prestwick Airport just before 17:00 local time. Interestingly, the aircraft flew across the Atlantic with its landing gear down, which Hi Fly later confirmed was due to maintenance requirements before the A380’s return to service.

Due to the unavailability of appropriate jacks in Mojave, the flight had to adopt an unusual configuration that made the journey longer and slower, requiring lower altitudes and a fuel stop. Unsurprisingly, the lack of jacks occurred since no US airline has ever flown the A380, and none have shown any interest in bringing one out of storage.

Global Airlines had initially planned to start operations in the spring of 2024. However, despite the first flight being a success, the timeline for the airline’s launch has been postponed. The airline intends to begin charter operations at the end of 2024 and then gradually switch to operating regular scheduled passenger flights.

When do you think Global Airlines will finally launch? Let us know in the comments below.