Exclusive: Global Airlines turned heads earlier this year, operating two round-trip transatlantic flights to New York with the Airbus A380. Since then, however, their sole aircraft was sent to parking in Tarbes. Due to maintenance availability, an extended grounding ensued, which has since turned into aircraft storage.
Global Airlines’ CEO, James Asquith, sat down exclusively with Simple Flying to discuss the state of the airline, address the prolonged grounding of 9H-GLOBL, and outline its plans.
“A Lot Of Work Behind The Scenes”
We’ve heard very little about Global Airlines since its sole aircraft, 9H-GLOBL, flew to Tarbes in mid-July. Straight away, Asquith addresses this, stating, “there’s been a lot of work behind the scenes that’s been happening over summer into autumn.”
When the Airbus A380 first flew to Tarbes, Global was clear that it was going for short-term parking. However, the aircraft has now been on the ground for 139 days. When challenged on this, Asquith revealed that the giant aircraft is due to undertake a major 12-year check, also known as a D-check.
Finding a slot for the check has been the main roadblock. On this, Asquith added,”We’re privy to huge backlogs in heavy maintenance slots for the aircraft… You’ll be hearing pretty shortly about the next movements for 9H-GLOBL. As much as I wish I could snap my fingers and conduct 12-year checks on an A380, we’re only privy to what the industry allows us to do.”
He stops short of giving a date when we will see Global Airlines fly again, erring on the side of caution. However, he did tell Simple Flying, “You’ll be hearing pretty shortly… about the next movements of MSN 120 or 9H-GLOBL and further aircraft from there.”
Focusing On Building The Operation
When Global Airlines flew to New York earlier this year, these flights were intended to demonstrate the airline’s ability to carry passengers. Asquith told Simple Flying that the next steps are to reach a stage where the airline can operate regular flights without interruptions. He comments,
“It would be reckless to be operating regular flights on minimal aircraft. A [grounded aircraft] situation is always going to happen… That would be a completely different set of headlines if flights got cancelled and you didn’t have backup aircraft.”
Speaking of its future aircraft, Asquith hinted that plans are underway to bring more planes into the fleet. He told Simple Flying that Global would need 3-4 aircraft to be able to operate twice daily flights to New York, including a ‘disaster recovery aircraft’ to “ensure that the headline doesn’t become passengers got stranded”.
Global Airlines has always been known for its Airbus A380 ambitions, but it seems like diversification is also on the cards. When talking about the future fleet, Asquith also remarked, “We are looking at other aircraft types as well and still the A380 going forwards.”
Global Airlines Has A Strong Foundation
Unlike many airline startups, Global Airlines has a trick up its sleeve. Global Airlines owns its Airbus A380, with Asquith saying, “owning the aircraft was a much better financial model.” Expanding, he added,
“A lot of people that look at us now waiting for a maintenance slot on the aircraft, again, don’t factor in that we do not have lease payments or debt payments over that aircraft, and so actually costs are probably a lot lower than what people think.”
Another asset to Global Airlines and Asquith is “some very incredible, hardworking people behind the scene.” He adds, “I kind of can’t reiterate enough how hard people work behind here. Behind the scenes, it’s an incredible amount of hard work.”
One thing is certain from our chat. Global hasn’t faded into obscurity since its flights to New York, but has been hard at work behind the scenes laying the foundations for the airline’s future.