I’ve never heard of Global Airlines but they have a website. The site doesn’t tell you very much. Apparently the founder runs homesharing site HolidaySwap.com, which I’d never heard of.
However they report acquiring an Airbus A380 from Doric Aviation, with plans to take delivery of 3 more of the used aircraft in the coming months in order to launch service from London to New York and Los Angeles in the spring of next year.
According to the nascent airline,
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.
So maybe this is real, though it’s unclear what condition the acquired A380 is in. A used A380 might be as cheap as $30 million, but when Singapore Airlines refurbished its Airbus A380s it cost them $61 million per aircraft and those were in good condition to start.
Here’s how Global Airlines describes themselves, again not a lot of specifics but they sure think they’re revolutionary:
Global Airlines is a game changing force within the aviation industry. As a disrupter and challenger brand, Global Airlines is setting out to change the face of consumer aviation around the world, taking us all back to the age of golden travel – with a modern flair! A new airline built by experts, designed by the most frequent travelers, and offering a brand-new approach to luxury, comfort and onboard experience, will breathe a new level of excitement into the global aviation market, not seen since Concorde took its first commercial flight in 1976.
New long haul airlines usually fail because cost advantages aren’t as significant on longer trips, and because long haul routes are highly seasonal. Maybe a new airline can fill the world’s largest aircraft during the summer, but what about flying LA – London in the winter? On a Tuesday or Wednesday?
Avatar Airlines has had the idea of domestic flights with Boeing 747s for many years, but one of the many problems with their business model is that a large aircraft gives you low costs per seat – which is great when you can fill every seat. But you can’t fill every seat at a reasonable fare during off peak times. You need counter-seasonal route planning, somewhere to send the planes where you can fill them when your primary routes don’t have much demand.
(HT: JonNYC)
This was a business strategy actually pursued by a company called Tower Air in the 80s-90s which bought obsolete and discarded early vintage high density 747s and flew them on high demand routes like JFK-LAX, JFK-MIA, JFK-Gatwick, JFK-TLV, and even JFK-DEL. This might not be real, but I have little doubt that there is a potential business model here, and Stanstead is now capable of handling A380s.
@Mak
Hah! Tower Air
Once Air inter used them on their frequent route Orly Toulouse during a busy easter week-end.
It was funny because the New-York crew was amazed and amused to constantly do an hour long rotations flights to Toulouse/Orly with only 30 minutes on the tarmac in Orly or Toulouse, a change from a transatlantic long one.
That was the only time I experienced them but I still remember this flight.
The purser once the door open in Orly: “ready for Toulouse again?”
Unless they have also bought an airline operating certificate from a defunct airline, they have a long road ahead. But, owning an airplane is generally the first step in creating a new airline certification. Having proper procedures in place for route planning across the ocean, maintenance, crew training, and getting the relevant country to approve that certificate is a lengthy process. Then, they need to get slot pairs at relevant airports for takeoff and landing, as well as acquiring gate and ticket counter space.
It sounds pretty crackers to me!
It could possibly work with LAX-TLV and LAX-BNE 3 times a week in the winter with Premium Economy seats at Economy prices. I won’t be investing in the company.