What It Was Like on Board Global Airlines’ Flight From Manchester to New York

The author flew as an invited guest of Global Airlines. All opinions are the author’s own, and Global Airlines did not have any input in any part of this review.

Startup carrier Global Airlines has completed its first 2 experience flights to New York (JFK), and I was on board the second from Manchester (MAN) on May 21, 2025.

Despite many saying the airline would never fly, the start-up carrier has now successfully carried paying passengers back and forth across the Atlantic.

For me, a proud AvGeek, flying a startup airline on one of its first flights is better than the feeling you get as a kid on Christmas morning, so I knew I couldn’t miss this.

Read on for my impressions of this special flight.

Global Airlines’ First Experience Flights

What’s an experience flight? Well, for Global, these were technically charter flights that operated slightly differently from regularly scheduled flights. Until the airline obtains the correct permits and licenses to operate flights from the U.K., these experience flights were the quickest way to get paying passengers in the air.

For now, Global operates under the Air Operators Certificate of HiFly, a Malta-based wet-lease and charter carrier.

As I started to write this article, having just taken off from Manchester Airport, it was a great feeling to know I was one of a small number of people to have flown Global Airlines.

After hearing mixed reports after the first round-trip from Glasgow, Scotland (GLA) to New York (JFK) last week, I was curious to check Global out for myself.

On Board the Global Airlines Airbus A380

We had to take a bus to the aircraft, which was a great way to build up the excitement for the flight ahead. It’s not every day you get up close and personal with the behemoth Airbus A380.

The last airline to own Global’s first and only Airbus A380 was China Southern. If you’ve ever flown China Southern’s A380s, you’ll notice that the interior configuration remains unchanged. While Global has given the cabins a facelift and added its branding, the design and makeup of the seats and cabins are exactly the same as what China Southern operated.

We’ll have a full review with more details on each cabin very soon. For now, here’s an overview of what you can expect from Global’s first, business, and economy class cabins.

First Class

First class is at the front of the lower deck. It comprises 2 rows of 4 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Here you find 8 large suites, each with fully closing doors.

In addition to the fine dining and luxury amenities, a particular highlight for passengers in Global’s most premium cabin is getting to wash down heaps of caviar with Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle, a favorite among lovers of the bubbly stuff.

Business Class

All 70 seats of the business class cabin are on the upper deck. A galley separates a small forward cabin and a second, larger cabin.

The staggered formation of the 1-2-1 configuration means single seats at the windows alternate between being flush with the window or flush with the aisle. Similarly, the 2 seats in the middle of the rows alternate between being together or apart.

Global thinks caviar shouldn’t be reserved for first class. It joins a very small number of airlines that serve the delicacy in business class.

The Sky Pub, Global’s dedicated social area, is located at the front of the upper deck, just before the business class cabins. A member of the crew was stationed here throughout the flight to serve passengers their drink of choice.

Economy

Global’s A380s have a whopping 428 economy seats. They’re split over both decks, with the majority behind the first cabin on the lower deck.

Stellar Knockout … With a Few Teething Problems

I loved seeing so many familiar faces on today’s flight. It was also a great opportunity to chat with regular passengers who weren’t journalists, influencers, or content creators.

Toward the end of the flight, I spoke to a few fellow passengers to find out what they thought of Global. One such passenger was James Warren-Oliver, a fellow aviation content creator and YouTuber who was happy to share his honest thoughts with me on today’s flight.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but the business class food has been a stellar knockout,” he said. “I think to get 2 really good-quality, full meals, that’s an excellent performance. I’ve been superbly comfortable. I haven’t noticed anything where I’ve thought, ‘That’s terrible.'”

I was more intrigued to hear the thoughts of those who’d booked a ticket with Global who weren’t AvGeeks, content creators, or journalists.

Lacrosse player Travis James Payne (also seated in business class) booked this round-trip with Global to visit his girlfriend, who happened to be playing in a lacrosse tournament over the coming weekend in Boston. Payne admitted he was nothing close to being an AvGeek but took the plunge and decided to treat himself to a round-trip flight in business class and see what all the Global fuss was about.

“For me, flying is a means to an end,” he said. “The worst part about flying is that it takes so long. If you can make that time feel like less time, fantastic. That was definitely the case today.”

That said, I was curious to know where he thought there was room for improvement. The most obvious thing, Payne said, was that he wished the IFE and power outlets were working. For the record, my power outlets worked fine.

“If they pulled off the gamer cabin that I read about, I am sold,” said Payne.

I also popped back into economy and had the pleasure of meeting Chantelle and James Baynham — a couple from the southwest of England who thought buying a ticket on Global’s first flight from Manchester would be a great excuse to finally visit New York City.

“Today, in a nutshell, has been really, really lovely,” Chantelle said. “Obviously, there are teething problems like any new business has. Compared to what we heard about the catering issues from last week’s flight, they’ve been really great today, and the crew has been so friendly.”

“Everything’s been spot on,” James said.

Final Thoughts

Global Airlines has successfully flown 2 sets of passengers from the U.K. to New York City. This is a huge step for the start-up airline that many believed would never make it off the ground.

There’s still a long way to go. But if today is anything to go by, Global has shown that it’s on its way to offering a compelling customer experience in all cabins. Here’s hoping the financials and regulatory requirements line up soon so Global can start planning regularly scheduled passenger operations.