At 11am on Thursday 15 May, a new British airline, Global Airlines, is set to make its maiden flight from Glasgow to New York JFK using an Airbus A380. The founder, James Asquith, has promised to 'take passengers back to the Golden Age of Travel' with elevated service, though plans for a five-cabin aircraft including 'gamer class' have been dropped.
The airline currently owns two A380s: one 12-year-old aircraft previously operated by China Southern, and a 16-year-old SuperJumbo formerly flown by Singapore Airlines, still stored in France. The launch flight will be operated by Hi Fly, a Maltese subsidiary of a Portuguese carrier, under registration 9H-GLOBL.
Global Airlines has only four transatlantic flights planned, all fixed-duration charters bookable through travel agent Travelopedia. After the Glasgow round trip and a second from Manchester (21-25 May), no other flights are currently on offer. The founder says regular scheduled links are on hold pending necessary permits and slots.
Economy fares have been halved to £380 return using code GLOBAL380, while business class is available for £1,999 return with code GLOBAL1999. The aircraft retains a three-class configuration from its China Southern days, with 76 economy seats on the upper deck and 352 on the main deck.
James Asquith, 36, became the youngest person to visit every country in 2013 and later worked in investment banking. He funds the project via his Holiday Swap website and private investors. The airline's debut has drawn comparisons to Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic launch in 1984, though Global Airlines' operations remain limited.
