New UK airline with cheap US fares is ‘parked' after just TWO flights – with people fearing it's been scrapped for good

Scottish Sun

23-07-2025

Plus, The Sun's Lisa Minot weighs in on the potential success of the airline
GROUNDED New UK airline with cheap US fares is 'parked' after just TWO flights – with people fearing it's been scrapped for good
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A BRAND new UK airline's only plane has been stored after just two commercial flights, raising questions over the airline's future.
Global Airlines, founded by 36-year-old British multimillionaire James Asquith, has been placed in storage in France after just two return flights.
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Global Airlines' only aircraft has been stored in Tarbes, France
Credit: Reddit
It made its inaugural flight on May 19 from Glasgow Airport to New York's JFK, returning four days later.
It's only other journey was from Manchester Airport and New York on May 21, returning May 25.
Global Airlines' only plane '9H-GLOBL' has now been parked at Tarbes Airport in France, which is the largest aircraft storage facility in Europe.
The facility is usually used for long-term storage.
Tarbes is often used by airlines to store or recycle aircraft with aviation news site Simple Flying claiming it is the place aircraft go 'when the time comes'.
In a LinkedIn post, the airline said: "After completing the latest maintenance in Dresden, 9H-GLOBL will be heading to Tarbes to park until it is time to head off to the next stage of heavy maintenance.
"It's always great to see her in the sky and it won't be long before she is up in the clouds once again on the way to the next adventure."
Tarbes Airport is often referred to as an 'aircraft boneyard' or 'aircraft graveyard'.
Boneyard facilities are often used to store aircraft while they receive maintenance.
Other aircraft may be disassembled and parts sold before planes are then scrapped.
Global Airlines Take-Off
According to Simple Flying, Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport near the French Pyrenees, is the most notable boneyard in France.
TARMAC Aerosave operates at the airport, to store, maintain and recycle aircraft and can handle over 100 aircraft at any one time.
One person said on Reddit: "Love the A380, sucks to see one going back to storage and when looking at the news surrounding Global Airlines, I'm not sure if we'll see this A380 returning to service."
Another user added: "They were never an airline in the first place - they don't have an air certificate, their recent 'flights' earlier this year were just PR exercises with HiFly operating the plane on their behalf."
A third user commented: "How does it need heavy check already?"
The Global Airlines website still states that it will be "landing soon" with "a new website and news of the first flights on 9H-GLOBL to New York JFK".
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As a result, people have started to question what it means for the airline's future
Credit: Alamy
However, if you try to access the 'story' page about the airline - you get a '404 - page not found' error.
The airline previously pledged to take travelled back to the 'Golden Age' of travel and is the second airline to operate an Airbus 380 secondhand.
Return economy flights were £778, 95 per cent more expensive than a standard £399 British Airways seat.
However, slow sales saw this price more than halved.
Now with the aircraft in storage, it is unclear when and if it will fly again.
Will the airline take off?
Lisa Minot, The Sun's head of travel weighs in.
IT'S being billed -by its millionaire owner - as a game-changing new airline that will revolutionise the passenger experience.
But despite the lofty ambitions of its founder James Asquith - and its first commercial flight today from Glasgow to New York - the plain fact remains, it is simply not a functioning airline yet.
With just two fixed-date, charter flights from Glasgow and another - from Manchester later this month, the airline does not yet have the necessary permits - or slots - to fulfill its original ambition of launching regular scheduled flights from Gatwick to New York.
It is also taking on the big boys of the UK and US aviation industry on the most popular transatlantic route.
Asquith is looking to offer a revolutionary new service by using the huge Airbus A380 but Global's only functioning plane - flying on the Glasgow inaugural today - is a 12-year-old A380 that was owned by China Southern.
Despite promising five different classes on the plane - including a much vaunted 'gamer class' that would sit between premium economy and business class and feature pods where passengers could play Xbox and PS5s - the aircraft taking off this week will feature just the original three classes if flew as a China Southern outfit - first, business and economy.
The London to New York route is lucrative for the legacy airlines like British Airways and Virgin as the number of business class passengers mean it can bring in decent profits.
Global Airline's plane will have fewer premium seats than its competitors on an older plane - and right now can't even offer scheduled flights or regular departures.
While competition is always good for passengers, Global has a mountain to climb before it can consider itself a serious alternative to the traditional carriers.
It will be interesting to see if the ambitions translate into a real game-changer of a service.
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