New UK airline with cheap US fares is ‘parked' after just TWO flights – with people fearing it's been scrapped for good
Global Airlines, founded by 36-year-old British multimillionaire James Asquith, has been placed in storage in France after just two return flights.
3
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".
3
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.
An abandoned UK airport is set to reopen its doors after a decade in a £500m revamp – and could offer Ryanair and easyJet flights.
Plus, a major airline has launched new UK flights to a popular African holiday destination – and breaks are just as cheap as Spain.
3
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
a few seconds ago
- The Sun
Iconic homeware chain with 58 stores to close branch in DAYS in a blow to shoppers
A POPULAR homeware chain is set to shut one of its high street stores in days in a blow to shoppers. Lakeland is closing its Broad Street store in Reading on August 8, the store has confirmed to The Sun. Signs in the shop window say that the store is closing and everything must go. Disappointed customers shared the news on Facebook, with one saying: 'Oh nooo! I love Lakeland products! I hate being forced to have to shop online for my favourite items of kitchen and homeware.' They added: 'Reading used to be a vibrant shopping centre which I loved visiting, but not anymore!' Another said: 'What? I love that shop. There's going to be nothing left soon.' Meanwhile, a third commented: 'It's sad when shops have to close especially in my home town Reading.' Lakeland has 58 shops across the UK, employs around 1,000 staff and is based in Windermere in the Lake District. The popular chain sells thousands of homeware and kitchen products including spatulas, food containers and baking suppliers. But the chain's future was thrown into question this year as it searched for a new owner. The company began talks with investor Hilco Capital in April in a deal that would provide a new funding package to support the struggling retailer. Lakeland had been searching for tens of millions of pounds of funding to navigate difficult economic conditions, including the increase in national insurance costs for employers. It also hired financial advisors earlier this year to explore its options. The family-run business was created in 1964 and is now spearheaded by three sons of the founder Alan Rayner. The brothers chose advisory company Teneo to help them navigate a potential sale back in January. Months of discussion with various potential buyers followed, including Modella Capital, which this year acquired WHSmith's high street shops. Why are retailers closing shops? EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline. In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping. Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed. The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing. Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns. Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead. In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few. What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online. They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. The Reading closure follows the shuttering of another popular store last month. The Lakeland shop in Syon Park, west London, closed its doors for good on June 6. Meanwhile, the store in the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness, was shut down and relocated to the Simpsons Garden Centre in mid-March. Lakeland did not give a reason for the move. At the time customers described the decision as a big loss for the shopping centre.
The Sun
a few seconds ago
- The Sun
Huge Traveller fleet has set up camp outside our homes…they leave rubbish everywhere & want to buy my dog for £250
A HUGE traveller fleet has set up camp outside taxpayers' homes, leaving "stinking" piles of rubbish scattered around a much-loved park, locals claim. Dozens of caravans and other vehicles arrived at Swanshurst Park on the border of Moseley, Birmingham, last Sunday (July 20). 8 8 8 It's the fifth such incursion at the same spot this year - and angry residents say this one is the biggest yet. People say they're annoyed the council regularly clears away the group's rubbish with the city in the midst of a months-long bin collection strike. One resident claims a traveller keeps trying to buy his designer French bulldog for £250. The Friends of Swanshurst Park Facebook group says the travellers gained access by moving a large log and driving in past bike racks. Mum-of-two Rabai Tahir, who lives opposite the park, moved to the UK from Dubai with her husband five years ago and is 'astonished' travellers are allowed to keep coming back. They leave lots of rubbish bags and some of it stinks. It's cleaned up by my council tax money. I don't allow my kids to go over to the play park when they're there. We don't know who they are. Rabai TahirLocal resident and mum-of-two 'They leave lots of rubbish bags and some of it stinks,' she told The Sun. 'It's cleaned up by my council tax money. "I don't allow my kids to go over to the play park when they're there. We don't know who they are. 'It's shocking for me and my husband that people can stay here for weeks. It's a community park.' Sandra Cotterill has lived opposite the park for 19 years. She said: 'I've had no trouble with them, they never bother me. Some people don't want to take their kids and dogs there." However, she is annoyed that the local authority makes such an effort to clear the group's rubbish when thousands in the city have seen their own rubbish pile up for months. Inside Birmingham's bin wars as strikes see streets overrun with RATS and piles of rotting food and rubbish are left to fester Sandra said: 'They bag up all the rubbish and the council cleans it all away. "We're paying our taxes, and we can't get our bin bags picked up, but they get theirs taken.' Birmingham has been hit by long-running bin strikes. Piles of rubbish have been seen in parts of the city since bin collection workers walked out in January. Sandra's neighbour, who has lived in the area for 40 years and walks her dogs in the park, said residents are getting fed up with different traveller groups constantly coming and going. The woman, who did not want to be named, said: 'They clear them off and a week later another different group comes here. "I keep away from them, they take over the park really. We're all just fed up. 'Travellers move the logs. We need a permanent solution to stop them coming onto the park. "The amount of money the council must spend tidying up is ridiculous.' Another man who, who says he's been offered money for his pet, added: 'They're all right, they're not bad people and I've got Irish in my family. 2025 Birmingham bin strike The Birmingham bin strike is an ongoing stand off between refuse workers and Birmingham City Council over pay and the removal of roles. It started in January 2025 and full scale industrial action was then taken from March 11, involving members of Unite union. The same month, the local authority declared a major incident after 17,000 tonnes of rubbish were left uncollected on the city's streets. In April, the government was forced to call in Army specialists to provide logistical support. This month, Unite said it would review its relationship with the Labour Party after the government expressed support for the council amid the strike. According to reports, lower income areas, including Sparkhill, Balsall Heath, Small Heath, Sparkbrook and Ladywood have suffered the greatest compared to more affluent suburbs like Harborne and Edgbaston. On Friday (July 25), a second megapicket co-ordinated by Strike Map started across several parts of Birmingham, involving 26 organisations from across the trade union movement, in support of the striking workers. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn urged Birmingham City Council to 'get a deal now' as more piles of rubbish were left uncollected. 'I don't like the mess though and my kids can't use the park when they're around.' One resident, a new mum, added: 'They make a mess, but it doesn't bother me. A lot of people here don't like it because the park is for children and it restricts them from using it.' This week the admin of the volunteer-run Swanshurst Park Facebook group posted: 'Spent another couple of hours clearing up litter round the Park. "I'm fairly sure that some of it was nothing to do with the Travellers and had been dropped last night by other people traversing the Park. 'Had some good interactions with some of the women who thanked me for my efforts and assured they would bag up their rubbish. "We will see but I am sure it will be better than on previous occasions. "Some of the children wanted to help me and I am sure this must be the way forward to get a dialogue going.' A council spokesperson said: " Birmingham City Council is committed to actively protecting its land and will take steps to recover this land where unauthorised encampments encroach upon it. "The council has useable transit sites and plots for use by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community – which is in line with Government policy – and details of the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment carried out and updated in 2019 can be found on our website." 8 8 8 8 8
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Montenegro tourism boost after securing 350 million euros for transport upgrade
Montenegro has secured 350 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union to enhance transport connectivity within the Balkan country and with the wider region, the EBRD said in a statement on Thursday. The EBRD will provide a loan of up to 200 million euros to finance the construction of the Matesevo Andrijevica section of the highway connecting the Adriatic port of Bar with the Serbian border, while the EU will contribute two investment grants totalling 150 million euros. Johann Sattler, the EU ambassador to Montenegro, said the grants represented the bloc's clear message of support towards Montenegro's efforts on its path to EU integration. The 22-km long stretch of highway passes through challenging terrain, and will connect Montenegro's underdeveloped north with the more economically active centre and south. The EU has already provided a 4.7 million euro grant for a feasibility study for the Bar-Boljare highway under the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The project constitutes an integral part of the Trans-European Transport Networks. "Modern and reliable transport infrastructure is essential for Montenegroí¢€™s economic development, especially in boosting tourism, trade, and regional integration," said Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Regional Director for Western Balkans. The EU's Sattler added that the bloc had provided more than 350 million euros in grants for transport projects in Montenegro in recent years. The EU launched accession talks with Montenegro in 2012 and since then 33 out of a total 35 chapters of negotiations - areas in which the candidate needs to emulate EU laws - have been opened and three provisionally completed.
