New British airline opens first transatlantic flight sale – here's how much tickets cost
Seats have gone on sale one month before planned inaugural flight from Glasgow to New York. An Airbus A380 is scheduled to depart from the Scottish city at 11am on 15 May. The world's biggest passenger plane, fitted with more than 500 seats, is due to arrive at JFK airport seven hours later.
The aircraft will remain on the ground in New York for four days, returning to Scotland on 19 May. The next venture leaves Manchester two days later, on 21 May, for another four-day trip to New York.
The aircraft is a 12-year-old former China Southern jet. Although it is owned by Global Airlines, it will be operated by Hi Fly Malta, a subsidiary of the Portuguese aviation firm Hi Fly. Tickets for what is a charter flight are being sold through a Slough-based 'travel solutions company', Travelopedia.
The configuration is the same as the China Southern original: 428 economy seats, 70 business and eight first class.
A 'Global Traveller' (economy class) return ticket is selling for £778. Business class is £3,700, while first costs £7,127. At 9am on Tuesday, the online seat map shows two of the eight first class seats filled.
Unlike the originally envisaged scheduled link between London Gatwick and JFK, the maiden flight is one of a pair of one-off charters rather than regular scheduled flights.
Ahead of the launch, founder and chief executive James Asquith posted on Instagram: 'There is nothing better than seeing our first aircraft in the sky where it belongs.
'Seeing 9H-GLOBL flying reminds me of the monumental efforts of so many people in the last two years that have led us to this moment. I want to say a huge thank you to every single person who has played their part in this journey.'
In May 2024, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Mr Asquith's wealth at £182m.
The 36-year-old airline founder told The Independent before the first tickets went on sale: 'I'm feeling good. It's been a long road to get here. It's those crazy kind of last couple of days and weeks looking to enter into service and it has certainly not been easy.
'We knew it would be massively challenging. But we persevered and here we are.'
Many aviation industry insiders have questioned the prospects of a start-up airline profitably filling seats on the world's biggest passenger plane across the Atlantic – especially with figures showing a sharp downturn in travel to the US from the UK and the rest of Europe since Donald Trump began his second term as president.
Normally nonstop air fares between the UK and US soar towards £1,000 return during the summer peak.
But The Independent has found Manchester-New York flights on Aer Lingus on sale for just £368 return in July.
At present no other airline flies from Glasgow to New York. But from Edinburgh airport, 42 miles away, three airlines compete between the Scottish capital and America's biggest city: JetBlue, United and Virgin Atlantic.
On the same dates as Global Airlines, United is selling tickets for £413 return – though this does not include checked baggage. That puts the premium from Scotland to New York for Global Airlines as 88 per cent.
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