I’m not sure what to make of this, though I can’t wait to follow along. A month ago we learned about how Global Airlines had acquired its first Airbus A380, and now the airline reportedly has agreements in place to acquire three additional A380s.
In this post:
The basics of airline startup Global Airlines
In mid-2022, I wrote about Global Airlines, which promised to “bring back the golden age of air travel with a modern flair.” The UK-based airline claimed to already have three Airbus A380s in its fleet, and stated that it would have over 100 wide body jets by 2025, and be “the only premium carrier of choice for transatlantic flights.”
Roughly a year ago, the airline shared the below routemap of the “perspective” routes it would operate as of 2023, as it would fly from London Gatwick to… just about everywhere (including Sydney, even though that’s not within range for any current aircraft).
Global Airlines promised to have the world’s best first class, as each seat would be over 12 feet long, and there would be the potential for a double bed. Each first class suite would even have a private bathroom.
While there would also be business class, premium economy, and economy, the most interesting other cabin would be “gamer class,” where gamers could “pay a premium for this cabin to play Xbox and PS5 both individually and between other passengers in the cabin.”
For those curious, the person behind the airline is James Asquith, who was the youngest man to visit every country in the world, and who is also the founder of Home Swap, which is a large home exchange platform (it claims to have 10+ million users). He has over a million followers on Instagram, and posts a lot of pictures in premium cabin airline seats.
Global Airlines acquires four Airbus A380s
After what we learned in mid-2022, I wasn’t expecting that much would come of this airline. Though we were all caught off guard several weeks back, when we learned that Global Airlines had acquired its first Airbus A380, which it bought outright:
“The purchase of our first aircraft demonstrates that we are well on the way to launching Global. The next step is to overhaul and refit the aircraft to our high specification, providing our customers with the best experience in the sky today. Acquiring our aircraft rather than leasing showcases our commitment to financial security and resilience from day one.”
Global Airlines has purchased this aircraft from German aircraft finance company Doric Aviation. The company plans to launch service in the spring of 2024, initially flying from London to Los Angeles and New York.
While I was skeptical, it does indeed appear that this transaction has happened, and an aircraft has even been painted in at least a partial Global Airlines livery.
Interestingly this aircraft appears to be the sixth Airbus A380 ever built:
- It flew for Singapore Airlines from 2008 until 2018, at which point the decade-long lease was up, and the airline chose not to renew it
- In 2018, Portuguese aircraft leasing company Hi Fly took over this aircraft, though didn’t have much success with it, so it dumped the aircraft in 2020
So the world’s only secondhand Airbus A380 will now become the world’s only thirdhand A380 (is that even a term?).
There’s now an additional update. Global Airlines has announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire three additional Airbus A380s, for a total of four A380s. These aircraft have been purchased for an undisclosed amount, and we’re told that further details about the aircraft, the acquisition, and the planned retrofits, will be announced in the coming months.
My take on Global Airlines acquiring an Airbus A380
Global Airlines is more legitimate than I was expecting, in the sense that the airline actually raised the money to buy a jet. Now, in fairness, the list price of a new A380 used to be close to $450 million, though airlines never actually pay list prices.
This A380 would have otherwise just been scrapped, so I have to imagine that the purchase price for this jet was in the very low eight figures. So while it’s a “deal” on an A380, admittedly it’s still a substantial sum of money.
So, will Global Airlines actually launch, or what happens next?
- It’s one thing if the founder actually had realistic plans to begin with, but suggesting that flights will launch in the spring of 2024, and that the airline will have 100+ planes in a couple of years, seems beyond highly unrealistic
- While the airline got a deal on these planes, if it actually plans to configure cabins in the way that’s being promised, that work will cost tens of millions of dollars
- I’m not suggesting that Global Airlines is a scam like Baltia, but let’s keep in mind that Baltia had acquired a Boeing 747, but never actually operated a passenger flight in 20+ years
Suffice it to say that the avgeek in me would love to see Global Airlines launch, because an airline flying Airbus A380s with awesome configurations sounds like a dream come true. But I can’t help but feel that odds are heavily stacked against the company and its investors. If I had to guess, I’d give this airline an under 10% chance of launching (and significantly less than that, but I’m trying to be positive here!).
Bottom line
Global Airlines has reportedly acquired four Airbus A380s, which it plans to use to start operating transatlantic flights next year.
I’m kind of shocked that Global Airlines actually seemingly has agreements to acquire four planes, and presumably got investors onboard with the concept. Whether or not this airline actually launches is a whole different story, though. This is going to be a fun one to watch. Like I said, I’m convinced this isn’t going anywhere, though I’d love to be wrong.
What do you make of this Global Airlines A380 situation?
This keeps on getting better and better, the guy constantly slates other airlines hard and soft products - I think he's setting himself up for a mighty reality check when the scam runs out of legs it will be slammer time during the netflix special about this airline.
Baltia 2.0.
$4mil to acquire an A380 is nice. But what about the pending EASA AD for the wings (again)? Will DORIC pay for the inspections and repairs, or does Global get to experience what a real airline does before they even fly? Best of luck to these guys, but my oh my are they in for a treat
Yes of course you will James , now lets do your medication and get you back into bed.
One of the biggest challenges is the AOC. Be interesting to hear what’s happening with this.
"Well of course they bought it with their own (investors') money. No bank is going to lend them a penny, and no lessor is going to write a lease for an unknown like this. Only their investors are foolish enough to finance this purchase."
I disagree. At some point the airframe is worth zero and the aircraft gets stripped for parts. But what if the market for parts isn't all that lucrative because the plane...
"Well of course they bought it with their own (investors') money. No bank is going to lend them a penny, and no lessor is going to write a lease for an unknown like this. Only their investors are foolish enough to finance this purchase."
I disagree. At some point the airframe is worth zero and the aircraft gets stripped for parts. But what if the market for parts isn't all that lucrative because the plane is an early model with older engines that now have a lot of hours on on them?
If I was a lessor with one of these on my books I'd think about cutting a deal with an outfit that promised not to fly the planes until they'd raised an agreed amount of capital. The lessor would charge the lessee a per hour rate that was at least equal to the reduction in value due to the additional flight time and be way ahead of the game because at least they are generating cash. So long as the lessor it getting paid and has the power to yank the plane if they aren't they're in good shape. Worst case they take the airplanes back but maybe these guys can raise some money and the lessor is able to wring some cash out of them while figuring out where they go next.
The sucker is the anyone who invests thinking that them having a couple of old planes says anything about whether the enterprise can make money, let alone enough money to give them a decent return on their investment.
Steve,
Great analysis but won’t work unless they agree to scrap the plans to refit the cabins. That alone will cost about $60 million which is completely sunken cost.
But I agree that’s the only way this could work.
Airplanes, particularly certain airplanes that are not economical unless you can sell pretty much all the seat all the time, can be purchased extremely cheaply when there is considerable maintenance coming up. The upfront cost of buying these planes may have been a lot less than you might imagine and it is in neither the buyers or sellers interest for that information to get out should that be the case.
Smart money will not...
Airplanes, particularly certain airplanes that are not economical unless you can sell pretty much all the seat all the time, can be purchased extremely cheaply when there is considerable maintenance coming up. The upfront cost of buying these planes may have been a lot less than you might imagine and it is in neither the buyers or sellers interest for that information to get out should that be the case.
Smart money will not be impressed by an undercapitalized or uncapitalized startup buying planes like the A380 unless there is a very convincing plan for how they can be deployed when traffic, and therefore rates, would be high, then parked or deployed to another market when its not.
In other words the airline is going to have to look a lot like a charter outfit.
Seems more like a money laundering operation to me as the whole concept is obviously silly.
This clearly being a fake airline aside, the branding looks terrible! Like something straight out of 1999. They should fire whoever is doing their branding, concepts and presentation decks because it isn't instilling a sense of luxe, prestige or confidence in what they are proposing. It just looks like a kid's high school project. Yikes!
In an effort to appear more legitimate, they acquired an old plane spotting instagram account, (created in 2016 and based in Türkiye), and changed its name to @globalairlines
Now they have an IG account with almost half a million followers that are interested in aviation
Go and looks at James Asquith's Instagram account and tell me if you would fly an airline he is running.
He is an alcoholic, not a CEO.
He reeks of alcohol plus booger sugar lol
So, the guy has some photos of him holding a champagne glass and you immediately declare him alcoholic? Do you have some other proof of your claim? In his instagram account he is not doing anythign outrageous, surely more relaxed than what you would see from a businessman, but these are new times....
This is some sort of a shell/ money laundering game.
Three destinations marked in the Caribbean, but only one named.
That's the sort of thing that used to tell me scam when I reviewed unlikely trading outfits.
Fake airline, still doing fake airline things.
Well of course they bought it with their own (investors') money. No bank is going to lend them a penny, and no lessor is going to write a lease for an unknown like this. Only their investors are foolish enough to finance this purchase.
And regarding launching to NYC. What airport pray tell do they want to land their A380? Good luck getting a landing slot at JFK. with every NYC airport under slots restrictions,...
Well of course they bought it with their own (investors') money. No bank is going to lend them a penny, and no lessor is going to write a lease for an unknown like this. Only their investors are foolish enough to finance this purchase.
And regarding launching to NYC. What airport pray tell do they want to land their A380? Good luck getting a landing slot at JFK. with every NYC airport under slots restrictions, maybe they'll get Islip to build a runway and terminal for them :)
That's kind of the same saying north korea will join NATO next year.
This is written in a way that makes it seem like the author has some personal beef with James.. The airline industry needs some change and this is a great first step to get that going. I suppose there will be haters everywhere. I’m excited to see where this goes.
I think the author is remarkably upbeat. He even states he hopes Global takes off. But the authors on this blog are points collectors and welcome new entrants which open up competition (although I expect they won't be huge Global loyalists unless Global unleashes a good frequent flyer program).
But Global is planning to use a very expensive to run A380 on some of the world's most competitive routes. It doesn't appear to have an...
I think the author is remarkably upbeat. He even states he hopes Global takes off. But the authors on this blog are points collectors and welcome new entrants which open up competition (although I expect they won't be huge Global loyalists unless Global unleashes a good frequent flyer program).
But Global is planning to use a very expensive to run A380 on some of the world's most competitive routes. It doesn't appear to have an AOC just yet or slots arranged and is marketing a mothballed A380 lying in a field for its premium service. It is claiming it will get rid of security queues (how?), not lose baggage (how?) and operate like a Swiss railway in terms of punctuality with just 1-4 A380s.
A lot of bold claims for an airline with it seems no AOC and no slots as it goes head to head with BA, VS, UA, DL, AA and the others...
I hope he makes a successful airline with the A380. Somebody sometime is going to want supersonic travel again and the rebirth of a Concord type aircraft
All hail the new guy ✊
An alcoholic clown with a sham business sets up airline with A380s that no established players will touch, I'm sure the airline industry can't wait to be disrupted.
Maybe, he can hire Doug P to be the CEO ? /sarcasm off
Delighted to see in the comments there are a few others who can see through this absolute blagger as well. Was starting to think I’m the only one.
Mr Asquith is seemingly constructing yet another castle out of thin air. Holiday Swap has seen growth through massive influencer campaigns and with fake campaigns of employees travelling to destinations without any Holiday Swap properties present :D They continously delete bad reviews in app stores around the world to uphold their "image" of a successful startup.
Through their relationships with wealthy individuals in the Middle East and Florida, they obviously have come up with...
Mr Asquith is seemingly constructing yet another castle out of thin air. Holiday Swap has seen growth through massive influencer campaigns and with fake campaigns of employees travelling to destinations without any Holiday Swap properties present :D They continously delete bad reviews in app stores around the world to uphold their "image" of a successful startup.
Through their relationships with wealthy individuals in the Middle East and Florida, they obviously have come up with this insane idea of starting an airline... :D Im soo looking forward to this!
Will he get route authorisation ? and if that happens will he just be squeezed out by the established players?
Holiday Swap is the company James Asquith claims to have founded… HomeExchange UK LTD Runs Homeswap. I see no connection to this guy. I think an error in the article?
Good luck to him, and the other investors, but I’m out.
If they make it far enough I see them providing Charters, wet leases, etc and trying some leisure markets.
Getting the gaming rights alone will cost $$$$ and I suspect one or the other. The same way carriers offer coke OR Pepsi. Not both.
They will also start to see the actual cost of updating the interior to that level of opulence an d scale it down.
"...the person behind the airline... has over a million followers on Instagram, and posts a lot of pictures in premium cabin airline seats."
I guess that's what passes for credentials these days.
It’s always fun until someone ends up in jail…
"global airlines" makes me think of cargo :(
Couple of red flags for me Ben. The company was founded in the uk with £100 in share capital…….. its raised hundreds of millions and purchased a 3rd hand 380 worth around £30M. It could be me but I’m not running at this investment ……
I can’t attach the images but Aeronews are running photos of the first Global A380 and they don’t look photoshopped to me
You can provide a link to that article...
To save googling
https://aeronewsglobal.com/global-airlines-acquires-its-first-airbus-a380-from-doric-aviation/
2nd pic is obviously a render, 1st not sure about - but the placement of the B looks odd.
Doing a little bit of research planespotters.net and Doric Aviation's website, it looks like that the only A380 which is owned by Doric and is not operated by another airline/company is the ex-Hi Fly Malta one (!), registered as 9H-MIP. It is rather interesting that both airlines that opted for a secondhand A380 actually went for the same jet.
Everyone here should go follow his Instagram account, look at his stories, then come back and report on whether they believe he’ll be able to lead this airline. Best case, this becomes a charter company. The guy is conning his investors out of Emirates first class flights and holidays. His current claim to fame is being an alcoholic who chugs multiple glasses of champagne in one sitting in first class, and complains about any airline that isn’t part of the ME3.
First bad thing is it is NOT. A us based carrier so it cannot go for example nyc to lax , bad move
Depends on what rights he is able to negotiate. You state "it cannot go for example nyc to lax" which is untrue, if this is part of a tag-on sector from LGW-NYC-LAX. Whilst they wou;d not be able to carry 'local' / cabotage traffic, they would be able to carry their own internation passengers. QF has done it for years, in the USA.
You completely misread the blog. And as @kimshep points out, a foreign airline can fly NYC-LON (or other internal route) but without carrying local traffic....Qantas did so for years as a tag from SYD (but maybe that was MEL) and then BNE more recently pre COVID.
He's legit in as much as that he actually has a deal for the A380s and the funding to start the project. And plenty of wealthy contacts who "believe" in his business plan.
There's a fool born every minute.
April 1st has gone right?
Honestly just what I thought. Lol
Pretty sure Hong Kong is not in South Korea....
Your are absolutely right.
Although Easyjet have maps which show LTN variously about where LHR is, or in the middle of London!
There is a difference between pilots being able to navigate and marketing departments knowing much geography.
pretty much same concept as Prestige Worldwide from step brothers
At first I lol'd at the use of "perspective" vs prospective for their route map. But after reading the article, I think it was intentional.
Already too late in the game
Lol, it's never encouraging when words are used incorrectly, calls into question many other aspects of this venture
A case of a megalomaniac making news for free! The name " Global Airlines " suits well a remake of the movies 'Airport' disaster sequels.
You beat me too it. This totally is a fake Hollywood airline name.
While I doubt this airline will be a success, I'm not going to lie, I would love to be able to play PS5 on a longer flight.
So they have a plane (presumably) how are they going to get all the staff needed to fly this beast of a plane, in a short amount of time? Do they have slots lined up at airports? I guess we will see
He's running the long con.
One word.....Baltia
Doric’s website indeed states that one A380 is in remarketing: https://www.doric.com/transport/flotte
You should read "The Curious Case of William Baekeland" by Harry Mitsidis
Great book. He did a Counting Countries podcast before he was outed. Great listen.
This reminds me of the guy in the US, who for years said (maybe still?) that he will buy 747-400s and run them on US domestic routes, with low fares... ha ha. I guess this was meant to drop on April Fool's Day.
balita?
Family/Avatar Airlines
Sounds like a guy who is scamming people...all of who seem willing to be scammed by him?