Global Airlines, a new British airline startup, announced that it bought an Airbus A380 plane outright. The carrier aims to start flying across the Atlantic between the US and the UK “by the end of the year.” However, some analysts are skeptical about Global’s strategy, considering the high expenses of running the A380.
Asquith, a travel expert who holds the record for being the youngest person to visit all 196 countries in the world, launched Global in 2021.
He remains hopeful, despite facing skepticism about the airline’s planned business model — especially since the A380 was not as profitable as Airbus expected.
The A380 is known for its amazing capacity, but its four gas-guzzling engines are less efficient than twin-engine alternatives like the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350. And experts say filling the huge plane on already crowded transatlantic routes will be a challenge.
Brad Beakley, CEO of consultancy Hospitio, told Travel Weekly in November 2023 that “there is no unlimited demand, even for something like [London] Gatwick-New York.”
He also pointed out that the average cost to operate an A380 is double that of what American Airlines pays to fly its Boeing 777-300 widebodies.
“I admire the idea of something better, and I’ll give him a lot of credit for being able to generate the interest and news stories, and enough interest with investors, to be able to do what he’s done,” Beakley said. “But the numbers just don’t add up for me.”
Asquith has responded to the critics, highlighting the idea of using the A380’s enormous size for more than just seats: “If there’s not enough space in the plane, you can’t justify things like social areas,” he told Travel Weekly in November, mentioning Global will offer luxury amenities like an onboard lounge.
Simple Flying reported Global would refurbish MSN 120 but keep its China Southern seats. The Chinese carrier fitted the cabin with 506 seats across three classes.
Later, aircraft will see their interiors “totally revamped” as part of the company’s version-two design, according to Global.
Global plans to offer first, business, and economy class, with a focus on “reinventing the golden age of travel.”
“We need to make a statement different from what others have done before and failed,” Asquith told Travel Weekly. “If you compete on price, you are going to be pushed out by incumbents who have bigger loyalty platforms, bigger networks, and decent product.”
“Lots of people predicted we wouldn’t make it even this far, and I couldn’t be happier to be giving MSN 120 a second lease of life,” Global founder and CEO James Asquith said, Simple Flying reported on Monday.
“Purchasing an aircraft takes a phenomenal amount of time, and over the past year, we, with support from partners, have been putting the building blocks in place to take full ownership of the aircraft and plan its first flight,” he continued.
MSN 120, however, is not the same plane that Global said it acquired back in May 2023. That aircraft, according to CNN, was registered as 9H-MIP and originally belonged to Singapore Airlines, not China Southern.
At the time, CNN reported the deal was “eight figures.” It is not clear what happened with 9H-MIP. Global did not immediately respond to questions about the two different A380 planes.