Global Airlines has made significant progress over the past two years in its plans to launch commercial flights from the UK across the pond with the Airbus A380.
Under the culture of access to start-up carriers, the plans have been met with skepticism in the past.
However, despite any setbacks or delays, the airline is taking it in stride and under the leadership of CEO James Asquith and his team, is extremely confident of going above and beyond.
AviationSource had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Asquith to discuss the revival of the superjumbo, the airline’s overall plans and current position.
Without further ado, let’s get down to it…
Earlier this year, Global Airlines celebrated a milestone by transporting its first Airbus A380, 9H-GLOBL, from the Mojave Desert to Glasgow Prestwick to begin the modernization and maintenance process.
Bringing the Airbus A380 back from the dead in the Mojave Desert…
Bringing a plane back from the dead in the desert is no easy task, as Asquith tells us:
“A lot went into this flight. There were so many complexities on the A380, especially on the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) side.
“The hardest part was finding the solution, and right out of the box.”
“From taking the aircraft out of storage, getting it back into service, getting permission to fly, especially across the Atlantic, it’s not easy.”
Asquith noted that this involved some of the following aspects:
- Replacement of all 22 wheels with 9H-GLOBL.
- Replacing the APU in the aircraft.
- 5,000 man-hours invested in return to service work.
“It takes time, resources and a lot of effort. So an incredible team did a lot of miracles to make it happen.”
He said he’d like to “skip to the end” and get on the air commercially, but knows he has to hit “every hurdle he can.”
Adapting to supply chain constraints…
Asquith even addressed the fact that the MRO backlog on the Airbus A380 extends to 2027 and addressed the issue:
“There is one commercial hangar the size of an A380. Technically two in the entire United States, and until 2027 there is a big delay for MRO.”
“We had to constantly face the trade-off between time in terms of reducing delay and cost, but thinking about what is the best and safest way to do something.”
“We knew it was going to get there eventually. It’s just a case of persistence to do it.”
“Removing the A380 from storage is a process. There are a lot of ups and downs and challenges along the way, but you just have to wake up and think, if you take two steps forward and 1.9 steps back, you continue to progress, even if it’s a constant kind of battle against time and also for that”.
Asquith wants to differentiate Global Airlines from other competitors…
During our conversation with Asquith, it was clear that he wants to make a bold statement to the industry with his plans.
His focus on the passenger experience essentially dictated why he chose the Airbus A380 over other conventional wide-body aircraft.
“The Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 are great aircraft in their own right, but we wanted to differentiate ourselves and use a great aircraft with a lot of space.”
“He’s a popular passenger and pilots love to fly him.”
“I think one of the challenges I’ve had with new start-up operators over the last 15-20 years is a lot of questions and concerns about scale, size and frequency versus incumbent operators, which are very legitimate and are legitimate for all new airlines. company also at the beginning”.
Using Superjumbo will make a big difference…
“But the big difference in being able to use the A380 is what we can offer, even with the lower frequency on the route in that aircraft.”
“It differentiates you rather than competing on a niche route or a certain price route, especially when you have a macroeconomic situation like we’ve seen in the pandemic.”
“It’s the larger aircraft that will be phased out and phased out of the fleet more quickly because they’re considered more risky.”
“However, we have seen airlines like Lufthansa & Etihad bring back the A380s after retiring them during COVID.”
“When you change to a stronger market, this is where the aircraft becomes the most popular.”
“We saw an opportunity in that and wanted to differentiate ourselves and own the aircraft outright to provide that kind of foundation, which is something that people have started to understand more without having to rely on aircraft lessors.”
“It means we’re looking at bigger margins, but those can be reversed in terms of a better passenger experience on the road.”
Focus on the A380 with lower density but the best passenger experience…
Global Airlines CEO James Asquith continued to discuss configuration plans with his plans for the Airbus A380.
He confirmed that the airline will look to incorporate a 1-2-1 configuration for first and business class with a 3-4-3 layout for economy.
“It’s at the end towards the lower density aspect.
“No one has really gone high density on the A380, which I think was the right way to go. In recent years, people have said that you can cram more seats into a plane.”
“As we see it, a big plane doesn’t necessarily mean more seats.” It can meet a very good middle ground where a big plane equals a better product and more reasons and justifications to want to get on that plane”.
“When people fly Emirates, many people will want to fly in all cabins including economy because they know the product is better and even the space is there.
Although it is marginal space on the lower deck from an economic point of view, it seems much more spacious and nicer to use.’
Against using premium economy…
What was interesting is Asquith’s approach to premium economy and how it won’t be used on Global Airlines planes:
“I’ve always been very against having a Premium Economy cabin.
“I think it mostly only benefits the airlines financially. It’s great because it acts as a barrier for them between upgrades from economy to business. However, it is not good for the passengers.’
“If Premium Economy was 20% more than Economy, then it’s worth it.”
“But at the moment the price is much higher than the market. We don’t see it as an efficient cabin for our customers to use in terms of value for money.”
“We want to maximize value for money over the product and the cabin that people fly in.”
There are no delays in his mind: Ambitions are huge…
One small piece of news that has surfaced in recent weeks is that Global Airlines has delayed its launch until next year.
However, in the context of what Asquith is trying to achieve in the airline, this is not really seen as a failure, but rather a reflection of his ambitions and how he wants the airline to start.
“I’m probably the toughest critic of myself and our company, and I want to do everything tomorrow.”
“We have to remember that we’re only launching the A380 and the achievements we’ve had so far are incredible.”
“People need to be constructive and understanding about what we’re trying to do here. Ambitions are huge.”
“In some ways, putting it off takes the pressure off and we don’t want to screw it up early on.”
“Everything is moving as fast as it can behind the scenes.
“We’re going to keep plugging away and doing what we have to do.”
Addressing critics…
Since the establishment of Global Airlines in 2021, one of the aspects they have had to deal with is the critics of the establishment and the airlines with these goals.
Many industry commentators have even gone so far as to say that the launch plans will not happen at all.
When asked about his views on industry critics, Asquith had this to say on the matter:
“In the airline industry, you almost have to be deluded and convinced that what you’re doing is better and right and different.”
“I talk to other airline founders myself, and I almost wouldn’t believe what they’re doing, and they wouldn’t believe what we’re doing.”
“It can look like a delusional confidence to stick to a plan, but you have to be, because nobody’s in a completely rational mindset to go into this industry and do that.”
“More and more people are reaching out to us saying we’ve proven so many people wrong and there’s so much more we need to do to prove people wrong and that’s never going to change.”
“It’s sad to look at and think about. People said I was trying to line my pockets or do whatever.”
“We are trying to create better competition. We are trying to create more jobs in the economy. We’ve just changed government and we want to bring a lot of positivity to the British economy and that’s something we’re proud of.”
“So I don’t see why anyone commenting on aviation wouldn’t want to see that kind of success. I mean, I sure would.”
“We try to do the best we can.” And regardless, we’ve come a long way.”
Overall: Global Airlines is doing well…
For Global Airlines, it seems that even when they get to the starting point of commercial flights, they will always strive for greatness.
As Asquith says in his closing remarks to us at AviationSource, it will continue to innovate and continue to be the best airline it can be.
“It sounds a bit corny, but we want to see it as an airline for everyone.”
“We want to listen to feedback. We all sit there and say it’s not good enough or it could be better etc.
“How often is our feedback really honestly listened to?”
“I’m also the administrator of this at Global Airlines. With everyone else involved, I just want to see it continue to improve to make it a better way for us all to fly.”
“Will we ever be perfect? At the end of the day, people will say that on the first day it will be difficult to work, and on day 1000 it will be the fact that, for example, there were not enough carrots in my food.”
“There will always be a problem.” We know that.”
“As we approach these passenger flight operations, we want to know what people would like to see because we really want to listen and we want to be responsive.”
It remains clear that with this detailed approach, there is a very good chance that Global Airlines could revolutionize the game when they launch commercial flights across the pond.
It will be an interesting time to watch the airline, that’s for sure.
Click on the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Click on the photo to join our WhatsApp channel to stay up to date with everything happening in the aviation industry!