Aviation Startup Global Airlines Just Had Their Inaugural Flight From Glasgow to JFK
Illustrious UK-based aviation startup Global Airlines has made headlines with lofty plans for a new luxury airline serving exclusive champagne and providing a premium inflight experience – their first flight from Glasgow to JFK was just completed but the luxury aspect was really missing according […]
Illustrious UK-based aviation startup Global Airlines has made headlines with lofty plans for a new luxury airline serving exclusive champagne and providing a premium inflight experience – their first flight from Glasgow to JFK was just completed but the luxury aspect was really missing according to many reviews.
Global Airlines has partnered with HiFly to operate these first few flights as the carrier still doesn’t seem to have an operator license yet and HiFly is an established carrier that has experience in operating these A380s.
The company has been in the news mostly for signing agreements with champagne houses, procuring an Airbus A380 from China Southern, and hiring executives other than the airline’s founder, James Asquith, and his financial backers.
It’s always great to see new airlines take flight and provide a new, different product to travelers and to put a bit of pressure on the competition, but after watching a few of these reviews, I’m not sure the current concept is capable of delivering what’s being promised.
Here is one review by Simon Calder that was posted on The Independent via YouTube:
Now, this seems a very positive, if not euphemistic, review, but it’s not sensational, so I like it. Also, keep in mind that this is still an old China Southern aircraft that has been touched up for Global. Plus, their very own service concept and premium F&B.
Noel Philips flew in First Class and I really love his reviews:
He hit the nail on the head with his criticism. I don’t think HiFly is a partner that can deliver the product and standard that Global Airlines is trying to set. Not even close.
The usual suspects of flight reviewers were also onboard (after bashing the project for years) and they didn’t have many positive things to say about this inaugural. I’d reserve judgment about these reviews because a lot of them seriously look for things that go wrong. I can’t say who is right and who is wrong as I wasn’t onboard, and I’m not someone who is in any way interested in reviewing flights or airlines.
I’m not saying that this Global Airlines ops is perfect, especially on their first flight, but I find it remarkable that your reviews range from the experience being rather good to certain reviewers who claim it was “very bad.” That’s pretty wide spread for it to be entirely accurate.
Global’s Instagram account posted this First Class picture:
And the Departure Screen showcasing a unique flight number:
I find the flight number HFM380 interesting and fitting for the occasion. Anyway, this Glasgow-JFK-Glasgow round trip was the first flight Global ‘somewhat’ ran (operated by HiFly). Some passengers liked it, while others thought it wasn’t as good as they expected, given the adoring advertisement.
They cancelled the entire second meal service because the crew was too slow. Mind you, the second service would have included the famed caviar service that Global Airlines spent so much energy on.
Next week it’ll be Manchester to JFK, and it seems that sales are already down. There have been offers for this ride on social media, selling it today for GBP 1,999 round trip in Business Class with a promo code.
Given the performance of the inaugural, I wouldn’t have high hopes for next week. If I had purchased a ticket for that I’d seriously reconsider my decision right now.
Conclusion
The often-talked-about aviation startup Global Airlines has just completed the inaugural flight from Glasgow to New York JFK and return. I’m curious how many tickets they are going to sell from now on, especially leaving from these secondary-tier airports on a huge plane.
This pricing for all the other flights, aside from this inaugural, is also very optimistic, at least for what is essentially a fun ride. These rates are premium fares in flexible booking classes used by corporate travelers on established full-service carriers. I don’t want to knock them, but here, you’re essentially buying a cat in a bag.
I still think that for reliable operations, you need several planes in the air. Keeping this afloat will cost a fortune, and I’m sure several million have been spent so far to make HMF380 happen. And for the amount of money, energy and enthusiasm spent the final product didn’t seem to be very good.
