Exclusive: Global Airlines’ CEO Discusses Next Steps and New Planes for the Unconventional Airline

Global Airlines has done exactly what many said it wouldn’t: It has successfully flown paying passengers from one side of the Atlantic to the other.

What started as a childhood dream is slowly but surely turning into a reality for bold entrepreneur James Asquith, Global’s CEO, who is doing everything in his power to get his beloved airline off the ground. For those unfamiliar, Global plans to be the only all-A380 airline and wasn’t taken seriously by many people.

After years of scrutiny, Global has finally operated 2 sets of round-trip experience flights between New York (JFK) and the U.K.

With zero scheduled flights, many are wondering what’s next for the fledgling carrier. I sat down with Asquith to ask some questions while aboard Global’s third paying-passenger-carrying flight from Manchester (MAN) to New York.

Credibility Is Key for Global Airlines’ Success

“If I say something and we don’t do it, we’re a failure.”

Starting our conversation this way was telling — and unfortunate — as it indicates a lack of support for bold ideas. Once I indicated that I was genuinely curious, Asquith let his guard down.

Then, he was keen to share details about his team’s journey toward this milestone of carrying passengers.

“The MRO, the 12-year checks, the stuff that no one really talks about — that’s the difficult situation,” said Asquith. “We can’t go and run multiple flights on a 380 when we’ve only got one of them. The effort to put this in the sky and get it from the desert to return to service to heavy MRO, to a certificate of airworthiness carrying 500 people’s lives on board was monumental.”

Believe it or not, there is a method to the perceived madness of Global’s entrance into the industry with just 2 round-trip flights. Each set of round-trip flights had fixed dates with the outbound and return flights 4 days apart, making Global’s approach even more unusual.

Operating these flights using HiFly’s operating license provided important operational experience. Asquith explained that many of the biggest modern-day airlines, including U.K.-based low-cost carrier easyJet, started by using another airline’s operating license.

“Operational experience is important for every airline,” said Asquith. “We have that thanks to HiFly. We are not perfect. No one’s perfect. HiFly is not perfect. But now we have that operational experience, which is what will give us so much more confidence to continue with what we’re doing.”

Global’s first flights were far from full. The fixed departure and return dates and only selling round-trip flights out of the U.K. probably factored into this. Asquith said he would’ve loved operating back-to-back flights, but careful planning and turning Global into an airline people can and want to believe in were necessary.

“Imagine we had 2,500 people planned on back-to-back flights with Global, and the aircraft goes tech. Well, then I’m going to be called reckless,” said Asquith.

More Aircraft and Flights Are On the Way

With a bit more understanding about what’s been going on behind the scenes, I wanted to know, as many do, what is next for Global. When will there be more aircraft? When will the first scheduled flights be? What will be the first destination?

Asquith confirmed that more aircraft are in the pipeline for Global — and sooner than I was expecting.

“For now, it’s about getting the aircraft in, having aircraft number 2, 3, and 4,” said Asquith. “I’m hoping that even in the next few weeks we might announce the next aircraft.”

With a second aircraft on the way, I was curious to know how soon after its arrival scheduled flights would be announced. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little longer.

“We’re talking about next year,” said Asquith. “The first month of next year.”

He confidently spoke of “other” flights coming soon, and there have been financial developments. Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a Saudi Arabian investment group, plans to take a large equity stake in the airline. This will give Asquith and Global the necessary cash injection for more aircraft and more passenger flights.

According to Aviation Week, this Saudi investment also means the carrier will pivot its business model to what’s known as an aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance model. As such, Global would become the world’s first and only ACMI operating Airbus A380s.

A key focus for Global will still be the highly competitive transatlantic market. It was no coincidence that New York (JFK) was chosen as Global’s first international destination from the U.K. Touching on why, Asquith said, “There’s a few reasons but one of the main ones is we want to make a start and not start treading on people’s toes and go from there.” Interpret that how you will.

Aside from Global’s New York flights to Glasgow and Manchester, 2 U.K. cities with “massively underserved airports,” according to Asquith, Global also operated press flights to and from other European airports. These included Barcelona (BCN), Berlin (BCN), and London Gatwick (LGW).

Asquith said all of these will be considered for Global’s future route map. “The airports have been phenomenal to us. They really have. Fantastic.”

Asquith Truly Believes Global Has a Competitive Product

In some ways, I agree. After experiencing Global’s business class, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dishes.

I also tried out the on-demand afternoon tea service that Global serves in economy — a cabin class Global isn’t neglecting. Compared to what most airlines offer in economy for the “light snack” on flights of this length, Global’s economy afternoon tea was fantastic.

“Economy has gone down amazingly,” said Asquith. ” Of the flights so far, everyone loves economy. The 2 meal services, quality of food, amenity kits, you know, that’s what we want to kind of push more.”

During our previous interview in 2023, Asquith mentioned that an elevated economy experience would be a focus for Global. It’s great to see that, 2 years on, he made good on his words with an economy class product that could really change the game.

As for the cabin interior and seats, Asquith acknowledges there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“There’s a reason why we’re pushing transatlantic because despite the nicks on the cabin, we still think it is up there with the competition.”

Having experienced several business-class seats and cabins currently flying across the Atlantic, I have to agree. It’s a market where high demand lets airlines be complacent in product offerings — even between London and New York, which is one of the most premium-heavy routes in the world.

Compared to some of my previous transatlantic experiences, Global’s seats were comfier, there was way more storage, and the quality of the meals (putting aside the blip with the cold main course) was leagues above recent business class meals I’ve eaten.

That said, the non-working entertainment screen, the lack of Wi-Fi, and the cabin’s age are important factors that can’t be ignored.

“The cabin upgrade is very important to us,” said Asquith. “It’s a fact of the matter that once you start doing major modifications to an aircraft, it could be 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, before modifications are complete.”

Put another way: To get Global in the skies as soon as possible, upgrading the hard product to its full potential will have to wait.

A Closing Statement From Global Airlines’ CEO

Much of what Global Airlines’ CEO told me 2 years ago has come true.

He and his team have taken Global from a fictitious idea to a credible airline that carried hundreds of passengers between the U.K. and New York. What will Global Airlines achieve in the next 5 years?

“Bigger, better,” said Asquith without a second thought. “Hopefully, almost, you know, something that people are dreaming of working with, flying with, all of the above. You know, I get so many messages every day from people who are crew saying, ‘Oh, we’d love to work with you.’ You know, that would be the dream. Hopefully, we treat people right and they want to work with us and, you know, we keep growing. Maybe we’ll just mop up all the 380s in the market and go from there.”

Final Thoughts

Global Airlines is here to stay. The startup airline, fueled by the passion and dreams of an AvGeek-turned-entrepreneur, has achieved some significant milestones in its short history.

With years of challenges still to overcome, the airline’s next steps are a mystery. Is Global guaranteed to be flying scheduled flights with paying passengers 5 years from now? It’s too early to tell. Do I think Global has the potential? Absolutely. And I wish the team all the luck they need.