Global Airlines has made great progress over the past two years in its plans to launch commercial flights from the UK to the basin with the Airbus A380.
Under the culture of approaching start-up operators, the plans have been met with skepticism in the past.
However, despite the setbacks or delays, the airline is taking it well in its stride and under CEO James Asquith and his team, he is extremely confident of getting things off the line.
AviationSource had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Asquith, talking about bringing a superjumbo back to life, the airline’s overall plans and current position.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Earlier this year, Global Airlines celebrated a historic occasion by transporting the first Airbus A380, 9H-GLOBL, from the Mojave Desert to Glasgow Prestwick to begin the process of upgrades and maintenance.
Bringing an Airbus A380 back from the dead in the Mojave Desert…
Bringing a plane back from the dead in a desert is not easy, as Asquith tells us:
“A lot went into this flight. There were so many complexities on the A380, especially on the MRO (maintenance, overhaul and overhaul) side.”
“Finding solutions and out-of-the-box solutions has been the hardest thing.”
“From taking the aircraft out of storage, returning it to service, getting clearances to fly, especially across the Atlantic, is no easy feat.”
Asquith noted that this involved some of the following aspects:
- Replacement of all 22 wheels on 9H-GLOBL.
- Replacing the APU on the aircraft.
- 5000 hours of work invested in returning the work to the service.
“It takes time, resources and a lot of effort. So the incredible team has done a lot of miracles to do this.”
He said he would love to “go all the way” and get on the air commercially, but he knows he has to knock down “every obstacle as he goes.”
Adapting to supply chain constraints…
Asquith even addressed the fact that the remaining MRO charges on the Airbus A380 go until 2027, and addressed the difficulty within this:
“It has a commercial hangar the size of an A380. Two technically across the US, and there’s a big backlog until 2027 for MRO there.”
“We had to constantly face a trade-off between time in terms of reducing delays and costs, but thinking about what is the best and safest way to do something.”
“We knew it was going to get there in the end. It’s just a case of persistence to do it.”
“Getting an A380 out of storage is a process. There are many ups and downs and challenges along the way, but you have to wake up and think as long as you take two steps forward and 1.9 steps back, you’re still making progress, even if it’s kind of a constant battle against time, and to do this”.
Asquith wants to set global airlines apart from other competitors…
During our interview with Asquith, it was clear that he wanted to make a bold statement to the industry through his plans.
His focus on the passenger experience essentially dictated why he chose the Airbus A380 over other conventional wide-body aircraft.
“The likes of the Boeing 787 & Airbus A350 are great planes in their own right, but we wanted to be different and use a big plane with a big space.”
“It’s a passenger favorite and the pilots love to fly it.”
“I think one of the battles that 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 incumbents are very justified and are justified for any re. the airline at the beginning as well”.
Using a Superjumbo will make a big difference…
“But the big difference with being able to use an A380 is what we can offer, even with less frequency per route on that aircraft.”
“It sets you apart instead of competing on a particular path or a path with certain prices, especially when you have a situation in the macro economy as we saw in the pandemic.”
“It’s the bigger planes that will be retired and removed from the fleet sooner because they’re seen as more dangerous.”
“However, we have seen airlines such as Lufthansa & Etihad bring back A380s after withdrawing them during COVID.”
“When you go back to a stronger market, this is where the plane becomes the most loved.”
“With that, we saw an opportunity in that and we wanted to set ourselves apart and own the aircraft outright to provide that kind of foundation, which is something that people are starting to understand more without having to rely on aircraft lessors.”
“That means we’re looking at higher margins, but that could be translated into a better passenger experience along the way.”
Focus on the low-density A380, but the best passenger experience…
With his plans for the Airbus A380, Global Airlines CEO James Asquith continued to discuss plans for the configuration.
He confirmed that the airline would look to include 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 really asked for the high density on the A380, which I think was the right way to go. In recent years, people have been saying that you can pack more seats on a plane.”
“The way we see it, a big plane doesn’t necessarily equal more seats. It can fulfill a very good middle ground, where the big plane equals the best product and more reasons and reasons 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 better.
Even if it’s marginal economy space on the lower deck, it feels much more spacious and pleasant to use.”
Against using premium economy…
What was interesting is Asquith’s approach to Premium Economy and how it will not be used on Global Airlines planes:
“I’ve always been against having a Premium Economy cabin.”
“I think most of the time it only benefits the airlines financially. It is great because it acts as a barrier for them between improvements from economy to business. However, it is not good for the passenger.”
“If Premium Economy was 20% more than the price of Economy, then it’s worth it.”
“But at the moment, its price is much higher than in the market. We don’t see it as an effective cabin for our customers to use in terms of value for money.”
“We want to maximize value for money versus the product and the cabin people fly in.”
Delays are not obstacles in his mind: Ambitions are great…
One piece of news that has come in recent weeks is that Global Airlines has pushed back their launch to next year.
However, in the context of what Asquith is trying to achieve at the airline, it’s not really seen as a hindrance, but more reflective of his ambitions and how he wants the airline to begin operations.
“I’m probably the toughest critic of myself and our company, and I want to do everything tomorrow.”
“What we have to remember is that we are launching an A380-only carrier and the achievements we have made so far have been incredible.”
“People need to be constructive and understanding about what we’re trying to do here. Ambitions are big”.
“In some ways, the delay takes the pressure off, and we don’t want to get it wrong early.”
“Everything is moving as fast as it can under our control behind the scenes.”
“We’re just going to keep going and do what we have to do.”
Addressing the critics…
Since Global Airlines was founded in 2021, one aspect they have had to deal with is the critics of startups and airlines with these goals in mind.
Many industry commentators have even gone so far as to say that the launch plans will not happen at all.
When asked for his thoughts on critics in the industry, Asquith had this to say on the matter:
“You almost have to be fooled and have faith in the airline industry that what you’re doing is better and fairer and different.”
“I talk to other airline founders myself and I almost wouldn’t believe in what they’re doing and they wouldn’t believe in what we’re doing.”
“It may seem like a delusional belief in terms of your attitude to the plan, but you have to be, because nobody is in a completely rational mindset to come into this industry and do that.”
“More people keep contacting us in droves saying we’ve proven so many people wrong and there’s still a lot to do to prove people wrong and that’s never going to change.”
“It’s sad to watch and think about. People have said I’m trying to line my pockets or do anything in any way.”
“What we’re trying to do is create better competition. We are trying to create more jobs in the economy. We’ve just had a change of government and we’re looking to put a lot of positivity into the UK economy and that’s something we’re proud of.”
“So I don’t see why anyone in aviation commentary in particular wouldn’t want to see that succeed. I mean, of course I would.”
“We’re trying to make it the best we can. And we’ve come a long way regardless.”
Overall: Global Airlines is doing well…
For Global Airlines, it seems that even when they reach the starting point of commercial flights, they will always strive for greatness.
As Asquith says in his closing remarks to us at AviationSource, he will continue to innovate and continue to be the best the airline can be.
“It sounds a little strange to say, but we want to see this as an airline for everyone.”
“We want to hear feedback. We all sit there and say this is not good enough, or it could be better, etc.”
“How often are our comments really heard?”
“I’m a steward of that at Global Airlines as well. With everyone else involved, I just want to see it continue to improve to make it a better way for all of us to fly.”
“Will we ever be perfect? At the end of the day, people will say that it will be difficult to work on the first day, and on the 1000th day, it will be the fact that there were not enough carrots in my meal for example.”
“There will always be a problem. We know that.”
“As we approach those passenger flight operations, we want to know what people would like to see, because we really want to listen and we want to be open to that.”
It remains clear that with this detailed approach, there is a very strong chance that Global Airlines can revolutionize the game when it launches commercial flights across the basin.
It will be an interesting time to watch the airline, that’s for sure.
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