What it's really like to fly on the world's newest airline

Times

16-05-2025

How do you define an airline? A fleet of planes, crew, an operating licence? Or just sheer magnetism and social media presence? At 11.34am on Thursday, May 15, flight HFM380, the maiden service of the UK's newest carrier, Global Airlines, hammered down the single runway at Glasgow airport and banked left. Destination: New York JFK. I was one of the 95 passengers on board, as well as 27 crew, to see what all the fuss was about.
This inaugural flight has been years in the planning. Global Airlines, founded by James Asquith — the 36-year-old who was named 25th on the Sunday Times list of the 40 richest people under 40 in 2025 — acquired its first plane in 2023, the world's biggest, an Airbus A380. The idea was to make Global the transatlantic airline to end all transatlantic airlines, with a fleet of A380s, which typically carry about 550 passengers, flying to destinations across the US, funded by Asquith's accommodation business Holiday Swap and other private investors.
Fed up with what he deemed 'poor' airlines with 'inedible food', Asquith wanted to launch a luxury carrier serving Laurent-Perrier champagne and Rova caviar — even to those in economy.
'We are revolutionising commercial flying,' the Global website claims breathlessly — or did, until it was taken down on the day of the inaugural flight. 'Once you get used to Global Airlines, it is very hard to go back to anything else.'
The reality is somewhat different, although it's a perfectly pleasant flight — the headline being comfy seats, friendly crew and decent food. Global owns just two A380s. One has made it over the Atlantic and is sitting on the tarmac in New York — with snazzy blue and red livery and a globe on its tailfin — and the other is in storage in Lourdes, France. There are options on at least a further two A380s, Asquith tells me on board. Global has neither an air operating certificate nor an operating licence from the UK's aviation authority, the CAA, both of which it needs to fly under its own steam (although discussions have started, according to the chief commercial officer, Richard Stephenson). The maiden flight I'm on is instead operated by the Portuguese charter airline Hi Fly. Splashy social media posts of lipstick-red Global crew are legion but the actual crew, including pilots, on board HFM380 to JFK are employed by Hi Fly. Global has the plane and the livery to match, but it doesn't yet have a licence to fly it.
Global had intended to launch regular scheduled services from Gatwick, but this Glasgow to JFK link is instead a one-off 'A380 experience flight'. The aircraft will sit parked at JFK until the return to Glasgow on Monday, May 19. The inaugural Manchester-JFK service takes off next Wednesday, May 21, returning four days later. After that, nobody is sure what will happen — whether further flights will go ahead with Hi Fly, or if Global will wait for its operating licence from the CAA, which could take 18 months.
Aviation commentators have been quick to label the start-up as madness. Gilbert Ott from the God Save The Points website calls it a 'paper airline'; Rob Burgess from the Head For Points site says it is 'an aggressive idea'. Asquith himself has called the launch challenging but argues, with some gusto as we approach New York, that he has at least got the aircraft off the ground.
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It's true that it's a challenging backdrop for Global: now is not exactly the time to launch a transatlantic airline. According to the US National Travel and Tourism office, overseas visitors to the US in March were down 12 per cent compared with the previous March. However, the Advantage Travel Partnership, which represents independent travel agents in the UK, reports that despite the nervousness, the US remains 'one of the most popular long-haul destinations across the Advantage membership, with New York, Orlando, and Las Vegas consistently ranking among the top sellers'.
Historically other carriers who launchedtransatlantic services haven't found it easy: Norwegian scrapped its across-the-Pond services in 2021 (although has since reincarnated as Norse with some US routes), while Wow Air and Primera both failed to make the economics work, folding in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
There are also doubts over the wisdom of an all-A380 fleet. These 'Superjumbo' planes are used by certain upmarket airlines — Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways — and loved by passengers thanks to their spacious feel. But they're also hard to fill and thirsty for fuel … ergo, expensive.
Case in point: return fares for Global flight 380 were first advertised at £780 — far less keenly priced than an equivalent service on BA or Virgin, and one-way bookings weren't possible — and sales weren't good. Fares were then reduced to £380 (see what it did there?), but only marketed via ga.flights, a third-party travel agent owned by the Slough-based Travelopedia, rather than Global itself. I still paid £380, even though I was only going one way.
At check-in lanes 15-19 at Glasgow airport, there was a party atmosphere. A balloon arch in red, white and blue, plus Instagram-friendly branded cupcakes, welcomed the first passengers on board. We were a mix of aviation bloggers given free tickets, journalists who had paid, Global Airlines staff and regular passengers from Scotland and northern England, all of whom looked excited to be part of the moment. With just 95 passengers on board, the Superjumbo was less than a quarter full — the ratio of cabin crew to flyers was 1:4.
For Robyn, 29, from Edinburgh it was a day of firsts: her first flight longer than one to Tenerife, first not on Ryanair and her first visit to the US. Steve and Hannah, from north Wales, had left their four-year-old daughter at home for an impromptu honeymoon when they won a pair of tickets this week. The father and son aviation geeks William and Kyle Schmidt, from California, flew into Glasgow specially for the launch.
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It wasn't all flawless. We were warned on Wednesday night that there would be no entertainment, nor in-seat power, nor wi-fi on board (while Asquith posted an emotional Instagram message reminding people that 'things will never be perfect from day one'). On the plus side, the in-seat power turned out to work after all and we were all invited to an arrival party at the cool mid-century-styled TWA hotel at JFK's Terminal 5.
At just before 11am we boarded through Glasgow airport's gate 35. Boarding an A380 usually takes close to an hour thanks to the sheer number of passengers. To put it politely, with a far lighter load, boarding 9H-GLOBL took much less time.
So what was it like on board? It was … fine. Asquith wants passengers to be wowed; but it was actually quite underwhelming — although Stephenson is the first to admit this isn't the finished product, but rather a proof of brand concept. As it is, the onboard experience didn't feel particularly revolutionary or luxurious: the plane has exactly the same configuration as when it belonged to China Southern Airlines, although sweetly there are real roses in a vase in the loos.
Economy seats are in camel with deep red headrests, in a 3-4-3 configuration downstairs and 2-4-2 upstairs; the plane was way below capacity, so each passenger had at least a couple of rows to themselves — a luxury experience indeed. Business class is navy and bronze; first is brown and greige. The 'gamer class', a playful take on premium economy that was proposed online a few years ago, hasn't materialised. There are inflight entertainment screens on the back of each seat, but as we were warned they didn't work; the only way to pass the six hours and 20 minutes in the air was to stream entertainment from Global's inflight system to my phone. I chose the saccharine Valentine's Day — from a choice of 56 films including Conclave and Barbie — and the nostalgic Fresh Prince of Bel Air, one of four TV shows.
Full disclosure: while I was travelling independently (and anonymously) and paid an economy fare,I was upgraded to business when I checked in. At seat 23H, on the top deck of the aircraft, I found branded pyjamas and slippers and a stylish leather Bric's amenity kit, filled with creams and potions from the British brand Margaret Dabbs (which is also offered to economy passengers). So far so business, although my navy leather armrest fell clean off when I knocked it, as if it was glued on in a hurry. Those who turn left will have noted the slow arrival of welcome drinks — it was an hour before the trolley came round with a glass of Laurent-Perrier — although the service was friendly and helpful.
The bonus is that the A380 is a great plane — fast and spacious, which made cruising to JFK at 41,000ft very comfortable indeed, barring a short bout of turbulence over Newfoundland. The journey was helped by the upper-deck Sky Pub, a riff on the Virgin Atlantic bar, where there was wine, cocktails and Candy Kittens sweets. As we flew over Maine the vibe at the Sky Pub was positively bouncy. Everybody was very complimentary about the ballotine of Norfolk chicken and the pan-seared stone bass for lunch, plus the caviar and blinis for dinner. As well as champagne, there was rosé from Provence, red from Bordeaux and white from Oregon, plus Glenmorangie, Cornish gin and Grey Goose vodka.
We landed into JFK at 12.53pm local time to grey skies and applause. Whatever the naysayers said, Global Airlines flight HFM380 made it across the Pond. I think that also means I won a bet with a colleague.
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Is this a new chapter in luxury transatlantic travel? It's just the beginning, the team says. My cover fully blown, I approached Asquith on board to talk in a First class seat. He told me that 'the end goal is to be a large scheduled airline — not necessarily transatlantic and not necessarily on the A380'. When I press him for more, he eventually says, 'We'll see,' but adds that there are 'lots of things in the works that we'll be announcing over the next few weeks'. He's excited about the first flight, but also angry about those who said it wasn't possible. 'How are people going to feel the excitement to innovate and improve?'
My view is that competition is great for passengers, at a time when the service of legacy carriers leaves a lot to be desired. Competition typically leads to lower fares, nicer cabins and a better service all round. Heaven knows the aviation industry needs disrupting. It's great too, in the era of aircraft shortages, to see an old plane be given a new lease of life.
Rome was not built in a day. I wish Global all the best and hope it works out. It might not. Maybe one day I'll be able to get on that return journey.
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