Unusual Airbus A380 startup Global Airlines recently operated its first flights, which were two one-off roundtrip transatlantic journeys. While many of us were surprised (and impressed) that the airline actually operated these flights, they’ve only raised even more questions about what the company’s goals are, and who the investors are.
Well, the company is now hitting back at critics, promising to set the record straight, while clarifying very little.
In this post:
Global Airlines defends itself against critics
Global Airlines has published a statement on LinkedIn, intended to defend itself against critics, and set the record straight on some important points… or something like that.
The company first wants to “apologise for generating so much interest and speculation,” (lol) and then talks about how people “can get a bit overexcited about what is actually complete rubbish” (apparently referring to what people are writing, and not the carrier’s onboard product). But don’t worry, “we love being talked about,” and “as the old adage says, there is only one thing worse than being talked about – not being talked about.”
So the airline is promising that in the coming days and weeks, it’ll run a MythBusters series, to “provide some transparency where we think it is needed.” The airline then issues six clarifications, which aren’t really clarifications at all. For example, there’s this one:
“Global owned A380 9H-GLOBL has flown fare-paying passengers transatlantic – this is a fact. Yes, with our operating partners at Hi Fly, but the first step towards the ultimate ambition has been achieved and nobody should underestimate this progress and the significance of those flights.”
Right, no one disputes that…
There was much talk about how the transatlantic flights had fewer than 100 people on them. Global Airlines thinks that this was the perfect number of passengers:
“We had the perfect number of passengers on our flights to JFK – these flights were never planned to be full or even close to it. That was not the point of them. We didn’t do any marketing, but simply reached out to our community online and in the wider aviation circles. We wanted to test our service and products and we wanted to focus on our premium cabins. We succeeded on all fronts and if we had more passengers we would never have got to test all the elements we wanted to try out. Perfect numbers for us!”
Yes, the airline wanted to test its services, because that’s definitely a key step for starting an airline, prior to actually establishing a business model. One almost wonders why the airline didn’t close off bookings and show the flight as sold out, if it had the optimal number of passengers booked.
On the plus side, the airline acknowledges that the first flight was a challenge:
“Our first flight was a bit of a challenge – now, this one is true! It really was. Can you imagine bringing back an A380 from the desert, getting it through the most enormous amount of maintenance and regulatory requirements, dealing with a huge cabin overhaul, preparing for the first passengers, managing the catering and crew training, (and a million other things), and everything being perfect? Well, we were hopeful, but it just didn’t quite happen. We apologise to any of our passengers who didn’t have the best time – however, it is important to remember that many did have an amazing time and the feedback was incredible. Some didn’t. We recognise that. Hopefully, we will be forgiven for our first attempt – especially because (as many have documented) the second, third and fourth flights were incredible. Overall, our passenger feedback has been tremendous and we are hugely grateful for that. We will start to share more and more of this online in the coming days just to balance things out a little!”
Though the part of that statement that stands out most to me is the claim that the plane underwent a “huge cabin overhaul.” If that’s a “huge cabin overhaul,” then, well… I have some questions.
Here are some questions for Global Airlines…
Global Airlines plans to run a MythBusters style series to provide some transparency. So in the interest of helping Global Airlines out, here are some questions the airline could maybe address. Let’s start with the airline as such:
- What happened to the purchase agreement the airline claimed to have in 2023, for four Airbus A380s?
- With Global Airlines’ A380 being exactly 12 years old, does the current A380 have to undergo a heavy maintenance check shortly (which costs millions), or has that already been done?
- When the airline in 2022 published its list of “perspective routes” it would operate by 2023, and suggested it could have up to 100 planes by 2025, does that in retrospect seem like it might’ve been a bit unrealistic, and caused issues with credibility?
- What is the company’s current goal in terms of scheduled routes? The airline still wants to be a transatlantic airline, and if so, where does it see that market?
- What is the company waiting for in order to take next steps? More funding, or what’s the holdup for requesting regulatory approval to become a regularly scheduled operator?
But honestly, I think the much more interesting area for transparency would be regarding Global Airlines’ parent company, Holiday Swap Group. Recently, founder James Asquith appeared on The Times’ 40 richest people under 40 list, which claimed he has a net worth of £183 million, and that Holiday Swap had a £300 million valuation in 2022. This is the whole reason that Asquith has some credibility.
I think a business update would be helpful. How many current, active users does Holiday Swap have, and is the business still fully operational, with all listings actually working? Trust me, folks, there’s a reason I’m asking this question…
Bottom line
Global Airlines will reportedly be running a MythBusters series in the coming days and weeks, in order to be transparent. Transparency hasn’t exactly been the company’s strong suit, so I’m very curious to see if the airline actually addresses any real questions that people have. I think I know the answer, but we’ll see. 😉
And if Global Airlines wants to make transparency a focus, I’d be happy to conduct an interview with anyone at the company, and give them the chance to share their perspective, unfiltered…
What do you make of Global Airlines’ defensive statement?
The irony is that Holiday Swap seems to have been happily carrying on (investors seem most likely to have been the ones missing out)
But adding Global Airlines has lead to much more scrutiny of Holiday Swap and quite a few of us seem to have concluded that that really is a Nothingburger.
Whilst suffering from some pretty dodgy inflight WiFi on board VS flight recently, I stumbled upon the ‘Meet the OMAAT Team’ page. I was surprised to learn that there was such a thing and resolved myself to checking it out once I was grounded with a good signal.
Just now while reading the subject article the Team page popped back into my mind. After diverting to check out the ‘Team’, their contribution articles, etc, it...
Whilst suffering from some pretty dodgy inflight WiFi on board VS flight recently, I stumbled upon the ‘Meet the OMAAT Team’ page. I was surprised to learn that there was such a thing and resolved myself to checking it out once I was grounded with a good signal.
Just now while reading the subject article the Team page popped back into my mind. After diverting to check out the ‘Team’, their contribution articles, etc, it became apparent that there are similarities between OMAAT and Global Airlines. Smoke and mirrors is a commonly used term to describe an entity which is not quite what it appears to be.
Global Airlines does not appear to be a viable airline business, while OMAAT does not appear to be a team effort. What am I missing here? Would anyone care to enlighten me please?
I remember a couple of writers. There was the Canadian writer, and there was also the guy who joined under a pseudonym and left in a blink for TPG. I believe there's a person who supports(ed) the business/operations side of OMAAT (Ben used to name her here and there or mention that they took a review trip together). But all of this was years ago, pre-pandemic era for sure.
All of those team members were contributors at one point or another. However, it seems Ben has been the sole writer for OMAAT since the end of the pandemic. Ben introduced a number of new writers towards the end of the last decade, including Kate (the Canadian), Ben Smithson (who posted under the name Ben, while our Ben went by Lucky at the time on the blog - he went to TPG UK). There were...
All of those team members were contributors at one point or another. However, it seems Ben has been the sole writer for OMAAT since the end of the pandemic. Ben introduced a number of new writers towards the end of the last decade, including Kate (the Canadian), Ben Smithson (who posted under the name Ben, while our Ben went by Lucky at the time on the blog - he went to TPG UK). There were also some earlier contributors. Tiffany doesn't write often anymore on OMAAT, but she handles a lot of backend stuff for the blog. Meanwhile, I believe some of the people mentioned are part of Ben's other businesses (including PointsPros, which I believe is now apart of Point.me if I'm not mistaken). One of those writers publishes an article here and there in the past few years. Otherwise, the past few years, OMAAT's content has solely been written by Ben.
Thank you so much, hbilbao and JB, for answering my questions. It would have been easy for me to jump to all sorts of conclusions without further explanation. Perhaps Ben has something to add?
Perhaps Ben intends to update the website?
Who will ever know if he decides not to respond in person?
Thanks for adding historical accuracy, @JB! Random question, did Ben Smithson publish under his actual name whilst with OMAAT?
I remember some comments saying things like:
"-What happened to [Ben Smithson1]?
-Oh, he's now with TPG, his real name is [Ben Smithson2]."
Or maybe I'm just imagining things... My memory is frail, LOL
@hbilbao - Ben Smithson used the name James to publish articles at OMAAT. I believe James was his middle name. When Ben (founder) introduced him, he stated that James was also named Ben, and in order to avoid confusion with Ben (founder), he would publish articles under the name James. Ben was known as his real first name, but I don't believe his last name was ever officially published anywhere on OMAAT or mentioned in...
@hbilbao - Ben Smithson used the name James to publish articles at OMAAT. I believe James was his middle name. When Ben (founder) introduced him, he stated that James was also named Ben, and in order to avoid confusion with Ben (founder), he would publish articles under the name James. Ben was known as his real first name, but I don't believe his last name was ever officially published anywhere on OMAAT or mentioned in a post, which is why so mamy people in the OMAAT comment section were surprised to learn his name. He was one of the more frequent contributors at OMAAT at the time (aside from Ben/Lucky) but then he suddenly stopped posting here. A couple weeks later, a lot of readers saw his name in an announcement about TPG UK's team (back when that was launched). He was writing for OMAAT part time while having a full time job, so I assume he wanted to work in the travel world full time and leave his current job, and that's likely why he joined TPG.
@AeroB13a - I highly doubt Ben has any bad intentions with leaving that page up. If you've been around long enough, you know that Ben has not been shy about mentioning how bad he is with technology. He has also mentioned often (less so now I guess, but he would mention it frequently a while back) how he basically just writes the content, while Tiffany and others handle the back-end stuff of the blog. Ben prefers to focus his energy on writing, and that's why those pages don't get updated often (just look at Ben's bio and his miles traveled number - it has stayed the same for a while now). Ben has been publishing a majority of the content at OMAAT since he created it 17 years ago. The contributors' posts combined were still only a fraction compared to Ben's posts. They offered a different perspective on certain topics, but overall Ben was the primary author. I've been following OMAAT for about a decade now. Since I started reading, Ben has been working on the content for over 8 hours a day 6 days a week, even when he's on the road, and he publishes on the 7th day as well (just on a lighter schedule on Sunday). Ben has published almost every single day of that time period no matter his timezone since I have been following (the exception was during extenuating circumstances, such as when he is extremely ill or had a close family member who is ill). I can assure you Ben is one of the most (if not the most) honest and ethical travel bloggers out there, and he has proven that time and time over again :)
Also, it was fun remembering the past, so I'll give more context on the past writers for OMAAT for newer readers (some of my info in the previous comment was also no longer accurate). From the contributors, there was Mike and Travis, who posted every once in a while when I first started reading this blog around 2015, but they slowly stopped. Same with Nick and Jamal. Steph, Kate, and Ben Smithson (James) started at OMAAT more recently as a new batch on contributors, and I remember Ben and Tiffany having a search for potential writers and inviting blog readers to submit applications. Ben Smithson went to TPG, and Kate and Steph stopped posting a few weeks after the start of the pandemic if I remember correctly. Jordan is a part of Ben's award search service PointsPros (now part of Point.me), and occasionally still posts at OMAAT once in a blue moon (I saw an article from him a new months ago if i'm not mistaken). Andrew won a trip from OMAAT, and he then became a periodic contributor at the blog. I believe Daniel was also a contributor at OMAAT a while ago (he isn't on the "Meet the Team" page anymore). He has his own YouTube channel (Nonstop Dan - which has a decent number of subscribers). However, I stopped watching him a long time ago because I heard some credible things about him and his character which made me not want to support his channel anymore (this was a while after he stopped posting at OMAAT). Tiffany is essentially Ben's partner in crime. Though she hasn't shown herself on this blog in a few years, which is unusual for her. That makes me think she may not be involved at OMAAT anymore, or isn't as involved as before. I knew she has been previously involved with multiple things at once, so she's likely taking on some new ventures (perhaps Point.me?). By the end of the pandemic, it was just Ben and Tiffany for the most part, and Tiffany has gone MIA the past few years on the blog (otherwise she would respond to comments).
Thanks, @JB! You deserve the title of OMAAT historian-in-chief.
I remember some of the things you mentioned. Although I probably haven't followed this blog for as long as you have. I had no clue Nonstop Dan was involved with OMAAT at some point. I have watched some of his vids and am not exactly a fan, esp. after he made one (along his partner, if I remember correctly) saying that being gay in Sweden...
Thanks, @JB! You deserve the title of OMAAT historian-in-chief.
I remember some of the things you mentioned. Although I probably haven't followed this blog for as long as you have. I had no clue Nonstop Dan was involved with OMAAT at some point. I have watched some of his vids and am not exactly a fan, esp. after he made one (along his partner, if I remember correctly) saying that being gay in Sweden was tough. I do prefer aviation bloggers who focus on actual aviation (i.e., aircraft, airlines, service), instead of focusing on themselves and using aviation as mere means to it. I guess that's what makes 'our Ben' (as you said it) timeless :D
How about Asquith getting in the good graces of the commander in chief & 'donating' the A380 to be re-christened "Air Farce Poo" ?
He could even offer to throw in a vertical stabilizer repaint, portraying the KING's portraiture himself. A far more attractive rendering than poor 'Pualani" herself who isn't long for this world!
You'll probably find this video interesting, he flew on Global and did a bit of an investigation into their funding etc.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHJDQFeu4eI
May 27th, was the date on the heavy maintenance, hence the rushed return trips in order to try and drum up investor interest.
Matthew Davey and the three James, are the ones we all have to keep an eye on, is this just a terrible business or actual fraud?
Having a significant net worth does not automatically bestow credibility. Cough... Donald Trump...
Does he really even have legitimate net worth ? Or is it mostly a 'house of cards' ?
He's a genius at losing other people's ( & US citizens/tax payers' ) $$$$$. just to name a few of his many 'talents' !
I had a look at the HolidaySwap website and I think 95% of room listings for Manhattan are in one apartment block were they list a hundred of rooms using the same picture. Same approach in London. Wondering that no one picked up on this yet.
Back when Global was originally announced and James' name was thrown around in relation to HolidaySwap, I recall reading something along these lines. There was suspicion in the inventory he claimed, claim of members/users (lots of fake accounts, allegedly), and some assertions like you've just made which make sense.
I've noticed this, lots of properties in London have the main man himself Mr Asquith as the host. I've yet to see anyone actually claim to have been able to use it!
Holiday Swap has no verifiable data. You can look at their accounts at Companies House and see numbers, but I suspect they bear zero relation to the actual value of the company - even it actually has a value. No one appears to use it - it's a booking site for hotels. There are a few favourable reviews on Trust Pilot but these are suspect. There are also some very damning ones which are probably...
Holiday Swap has no verifiable data. You can look at their accounts at Companies House and see numbers, but I suspect they bear zero relation to the actual value of the company - even it actually has a value. No one appears to use it - it's a booking site for hotels. There are a few favourable reviews on Trust Pilot but these are suspect. There are also some very damning ones which are probably closer to the truth. Global Airlines is a name for an airline in a disaster movie, and is probably nothing more than someone winning a bet that they could 'create an airline'. There is no money to refit the interior, no will, no nothing. I've done a substantial amount of due diligence in term of ownership structure and shareholders. Nothing adds up to more than a few people who have some shares in a company that purports to run an airline. It's a scam. Anyone can see it. Why no website? Route plans? Flight schedules? Why was the interior not refurbished? That one we do know - there was never any intention of doing so - and no money would ever be spent. It's a rickety house of cards which will blow over in the next shift in wind direction. Anyone looked to see where their 'office' is? - take a look on Google maps and tell me that it's real. The only reason they got this far is because HiFly, the wet lease specialists, are professional and capable people. They also provide the aircraft and crew for guests to travel to Antarctica to the White Desert camp. Look it up. They are the pros. I just hope they were paid in advance. Global Scam Airlines. Even SCAT airlines is a better bet than this lot, and they've got an added handicap with their incredibly ill-conceived acronym!
I love how you pose your questions right in the blog, since they’re clearly reading every bit of coverage about them. Hi James!
Lol
I like Mr Asquith, he seems a British Gentleman. If he was a woman or Muslim, he would not be attacked so heavily. But because he is a posh white male, the media think he is fair game to attack and bully, even when does something positive and good for people.
James Asquith is Tim Dunn alter ego?
This has Tim Dunn signature written all over it.
Fluff and more fluff and dozens of paragraphs of fluffs, saying just one thing.
Ironically one sentence can dispute him all.
He doesn't compare himself enough to delta for that
Have you been partaking of a chemical substance lunch again bro? Your “Fluff and more Fluff” is producing “Paragraphs of fluff” don’t you know!
Didn’t bother reading it all as it’s clear from the videos it was an embarrassing failure. No ife no WiFi. Poor quality food. Lethargic service. Seats showing wear and tear. Appalling branding.
He promised the world .. better than Air France La premiere, etihad residences and emirates first and it was a dumpster fyre festival.
Asquith is the Trump of airlines. It’s going to be the bigly best lol
Trump was, in fact, the Trump of airlines.
Kids these days.
I am not sure I can trust an airline which does not know the difference between "perspective" and "prospective".
Okay, but that's just your prospective.
lol
Darn ! You beat me to it But in { bozo } 'Globo's' defense it was their 'perspective' on 'prospective' routes !
I missed the part where I can sign up for their frequent 'fyre' plan & associated DEBIT card !
Beat me to the punch .... But in [ bozo ] "Globo's" defense, it was their 'pErspective' on their 'prOspective routes !
PS - Can anyone provide me the link that I missed to sign up for the frequent 'fyre' plan & associated premium 'DEBT' card ?
"We had the perfect number of passengers on our flights to JFK "
I actually believe this part. I mean, it took them 3 hours to do the first meal service in some cabins on the inaugural, and I believe they canceled the second meal service as a result. If they had even more passengers, imagine how much longer it would take taken!
Looking forward to your upcoming expose (and, of course, the ensuing fallout therefrom).
Well, what's the worst that could happen? Ben won't be able to fly them to Cairo? No big deal.
This feels like what happened with Embracer Group, a person with the sole skill of talking big hoping to get a clip out of Middle Eastern money.
It worked for the US president and family, who are we to say it won't happen to some random white fold in the UK.
Asquith thinks he's saying "I'm not a duck" but actually he's saying "quack quack quack". This thing just is what it is.
I'm at the "nothing to see here, moving on" stage in my fascination (/sarcasm) with Global. You know how some people don't understand how they're seen by others, believing they enjoy esteem that just ain't there? Major public figures might come to mind. Asquith kinda reminds me of that.
Any time a major,...
Asquith thinks he's saying "I'm not a duck" but actually he's saying "quack quack quack". This thing just is what it is.
I'm at the "nothing to see here, moving on" stage in my fascination (/sarcasm) with Global. You know how some people don't understand how they're seen by others, believing they enjoy esteem that just ain't there? Major public figures might come to mind. Asquith kinda reminds me of that.
Any time a major, important promotional effort contains obvious spelling errors, I'm out. It's all I need to know.
@ DenB -- "I'm at the 'nothing to see here, moving on' stage in my fascination (/sarcasm) with Global."
That's like watching a movie but not seeing the ending. Don't give up hope!!
If I have to choose between your post about Garble AerLynes and your post about the underrated 35% BizPlat points rebate, I'll go for the latter.
I'm not saying "don't write about the dumpster fire". I just think the question about whether it's a dumpster fire or not has been settled. Once Asquith lashes out at people who waited 4 hours for a meal on his wretched shabby plane (or didn't get one at all),...
If I have to choose between your post about Garble AerLynes and your post about the underrated 35% BizPlat points rebate, I'll go for the latter.
I'm not saying "don't write about the dumpster fire". I just think the question about whether it's a dumpster fire or not has been settled. Once Asquith lashes out at people who waited 4 hours for a meal on his wretched shabby plane (or didn't get one at all), I'm out.
I'd love to write a piece about it, but my angle would be how terribly terribly sad delusions are.
Like so many Canadian progressives. You do not seem to like businessmen from Canada’s traditional allies, USA and England.
Flying an A380 across the Atlantic with just 100 passengers is even far dumber business model than thinking you can have $29 fares and make money by ripping people off with fees.
Meh, this is escalating in stupidity, and the fault lies on both sides imho.
FlightRadar24 was the only non-biased yet non-axe-grinding review of the initial flight.
@ Redacted -- To be clear, the story of how good the inaugural flight was or wasn't isn't what makes this business/airline interesting, if you ask me...
@Ben, that's fair. But it's one thing to watch in bemusement on the sidelines (metaphorically eating popcorn), and another to relentlessly attack the company. Your coverage has been good, but the overall vibes out there are pretty hostile, and when you combine that with James' apparent insecurity, it's just creating a whirlwind of silly drama.
This is truly the grift that keeps on grifting.