It has been around six months since I’ve last written about Global Airlines, the unusual “airline startup” that plans to operate used Airbus A380s. So I think it’s time to take an updated look at this airline, especially since OMAAT readers constantly ask if I’ve seen the latest “announcements” from the company.
The basics of Global Airlines, an all-A380 startup
For some background, the concept of Global Airlines was teased as far back as 2022, but the company officially “launched” in 2023. The airline was founded by an aviation geek named James Asquith, and the claim all along has been that the airline would operate Airbus A380s between the United Kingdom and United States, and beyond.
To the company’s credit, it did actually acquire an Airbus A380 from China Southern in early 2024, so it’s not a totally fake airline. Specifically, the company has an 11-year-old aircraft with the registration code 9H-GLOBL. The plane has even flown — in the spring of 2024, the super jumbo flew from Mojave (MHV) to Prestwick (PIK), and then in the fall of 2024, the plane flew to Dresden (DRS).
It’s important to emphasize that acquiring an A380 isn’t actually that expensive, as they’re worth a tiny fraction of what they were new, especially with A380s now being parted out. Still, obviously there’s some money behind this concept. My point is simply to say that the company certainly didn’t spend $50+ million on this jet, or anything.
When Global Airlines was first announced in 2023, the company claimed that it would launch flights in early 2024. Then that timeline was pushed back to late 2024, and then to 2025. I’ve been suspicious of the concept for many reasons, not the least of which is that the timeline was very unrealistic from the beginning.
Like, in 2023, the airline was claiming it would launch operations within six months, despite not having an aircraft, not having gotten any regulatory approval, etc.
Global Airlines has a serious credibility issue
Here’s the thing — launching an airline is no small task. Even if you were 100% serious about it and had experienced industry executives behind it, it takes a lot of work, and there’s a high chance of failure. So people starting airlines deserve some grace, because it’s not easy.
That being said, virtually everything about Global Airlines is just outright suspicious, and there’s little about this venture that makes me feel that the people behind it are serious. I continue to believe that the only thing that will come out of this airline is a Netflix special (well, other than the merch store).
As mentioned above, the guy behind the airline is James Asquith, and his previous business success is that he is the founder of Holiday Swap, a vacation rental platform. As a matter of fact, a majority of Global Airlines shares are (or at least were) owned by Holiday Swap. The company has claimed to have a $400 million valuation, to have over a million users, and to have the goal of having five million users in 2024.
My gosh, that’s an absolutely massive business, right? This guy must be a business genius! Maybe he is, but it’s interesting how the Holiday Swap website has an average of somewhere around 5,000 to 10,000 page views per month, and only has 75 reviews on TrustPilot, most of which are five stars and from people who have left a single review.
As a point of comparison, Home Exchange claims to have 150,000 users, and gets somewhere around 1.5 million page views per month, and has around 15,000 reviews on TrustPilot. I’ll let y’all draw your own conclusions about what’s going on here, but something doesn’t add up.
As far as Global Airlines actually launching operations goes, I’d have a little more faith in the concept if the company actually made progress toward launching in a way you’d expect from a serious airline.
A startup serious about launching flights would be announcing how it’s progressing with the certifications needed to commence passenger service. To my knowledge, Global Airlines hasn’t made any regulatory filings to actually get certified to launch flights, and that’s quite a process.
Instead, the airline seems to be finding every way possible to get attention and distract people with insignificant milestones. Like, the announcements are nonstop, and none of them will get the airline any closer to launching operations.
For example, Global Airlines has announced a caviar collaboration, and plans to offer caviar in first and business class.
Global Airlines has announced it will serve Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle champagne in first class.
Global Airlines has announced that it will offer a status match promotion.
The airline has announced that its livery is coming to life…
…but then you realize that even after all of this time, the only thing that has changed about the livery is that the wingtips were painted red, and the China Southern logo on the tail was painted over.
And these are all announcements just from the first several days of 2025!!!
Keep in mind that all of these recent developments are still more reasonable than what was promised when the idea behind the airline was first floated. Initially there were plans for Global Airlines to have “gamer class” onboard, where passengers would essentially sit in video game pods.
My take on the prospects of Global Airlines launching
Let me be 100% clear. I’m not trying to suggest that Global Airlines is a scam. Perhaps the people behind it are serious, even if they appear entirely unserious. That being said, if I had to guess whether or not Global Airlines will ever launch, I’d bet against the airline ever operating a regularly scheduled, commercial flight, under its intended business model.
I think the most likely scenario we see is that maybe the A380 is eventually used for charter flights, or something. After all, Global Airlines is partnering with Hi Fly to actually operate its A380 flights, and Hi Fly once had an A380 it was wet leasing to other carriers.
Now, if the people behind the airline aren’t serious, what I can’t fully make sense of is what their motive would be. I’ll actually expand on the above, in the sense that I don’t think this is some sort of a scam where the founder is trying to defraud investors, or something. Quite to the contrary, I think he’s probably serious.
But I get the sense that maybe the founder is just someone who is super optimistic and loves shiny things, is jazzed by the idea of being an airline founder and the attention that comes with it, and somehow we’ve ended up here.
Lastly, before someone says “but they must be serious, they’ve acquired an aircraft.” Let me remind everyone of Baltia, an “airline” that was decades in the making, which actually acquired a Boeing 747. The airline was initially going to fly between New York and Russia, and also announced plans for its frequent flyer program, the Golden Rooster Club.
That company was legitimately scamming people, and ended up being shut down by the SEC, after at one point having a market cap of $70 million. It was so obvious to outsiders that it was a scam. Yet the people involved didn’t believe so. I remember once being on a call with the company’s head of communications, who had previously worked at a legitimate airline.
I felt like I was talking to someone from another planet, because he didn’t seem to get how he was working for a scam. For that matter, after the airline was finally shut down, I had a call with a crying woman who had invested much of her savings in the airline, after being told it would be the best investment she’d ever make.
Again, I don’t at all think that Global Airlines falls in that category, but my point is simply to say that acquiring an aircraft doesn’t necessarily equate to legitimacy. However, it certainly helps with optics.
Bottom line
Global Airlines still seems to be chugging along with announcements. Not about regulatory progress with launching flights, but rather with news about caviar, champagne, and status matches (all of which I love… but ideally from airlines that actually, you know, fly planes!).
Last we’ve heard, Global Airlines plans to launch operations in 2025, but I haven’t seen much in the way of progress. Yes, the wingtips have been painted, and the China Southern logo has been removed from the tail. But that’s about it.
I really don’t know what to make of the motives of the people behind this airline, because this is all just very strange.
What do you make of the prospects of Global Airlines actually launching?
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