[Inquisitive]

Another new start-up airline. Listening to the young entrepreneur of Global Airlines, I am amazed by his enthusiasm and excitement, knowing that market is very competitive and it is tough for airlines with limited routes.

I hope he succeeds and that is also due to my liking of A380 that will be this airline’s first aircraft.

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CheerUp

[AMcWhirter]

Yes we have run a couple of reports recently on this ‘paper’ airline.

The only budget carrier to have operated the A380 previously was Norwegian long-haul. Readers may remember we reported on this carrier leasing an A380 from Hi-Fly (this A380 was ex-SIA) to operate LGR-JFK because it was short of capacity.

It will be a challenge for Global because LGW-LAX is a longer route (hence higher fuel consumption) so this carrier will need to have the right yield management.

Today Paul Charles, a leading aviation PR, tweeted as follows.

Good luck to the latest dreamer to enter the aviation industry and take on the transatlantic market. But I think startup @globalairlines will find it tough and it hasn’t secured any licences yet. @SkyNews @ThePCAgency #flying #NYLON pic.twitter.com/jNhYlf0CBk

— Paul Charles (@PPaulCharles) July 16, 2023

[CheerUp]

Wish them nothing but the best of luck, good to see a new airline up and running, and electing to use A380’s.

Having followed James’s over the last couple of years, his enthusiasm for this project I’m sure will bring success.

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tomwjsimpson

[BackOfThePlane]

I wish them all the best but don’t see this being anything other than a costly failure.

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cwoodward, tomwjsimpson

[LetsGoOutside]

Hopefully the dearth of pilots pretty much everywhere will give a allow very large aircrafts such as the A380 to get a new lease on life.

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tomwjsimpson

[philsquares]

I wouldn’t call it a “dearth of pilots pretty much everywhere” !! There is a very acute shortage of experienced pilots. So, I would venture to say the 380 is still on life support!

[EU_Flyer]

I know James Asquith. Ambitious and passionate. Ex banker. Operates a house swap website.

I just don’t see how Global can succeed unless they have a lot of cash in the bank to feed the losses that will inevitably come at the beginning, and later.

Also, he wants to revolutionize the flying experience. Again, unless he has huge cash to burn, this experience will simply be the first-gen A380 SQ hard product on these 4 ex SQ A380s with new pillows and perhaps some quirky food and beverage options.

What about points and lounges? What about technical problems resulting in cancellations and annoyed customers. Will they be accommodated on BA or Virgin and give his competition some free PR for saving the day? Or will they be accommodated on, say, Westjet via Canada and annoy everyone with a 5 hour stopover in Toronto.

He’ll need to run at very high loads in Y and J on an oil guzzling A380 to make this work. As much as I love his enthusiasm, I just don’t see it working beyond a few months.

Happy to be proven wrong.

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BackOfThePlane

[AMcWhirter]

The B747 is iconic and has great passenger appeal for those seated in Zone A lower deck or anywhere on the upper deck.

James might find he can save cash and run a more economical operation should he consider two ex-Iraqi Airways 747s which are being stored in western Tunisia !

One 747 is an SP (the ultra long range version) while the other is a 747-200.

Both were manufactured in 1982 and were retired after the first Gulf war.

Both are being auctioned on August 16. Estimated value of each 747 is US$494,000.

Details in the link below. This news was published online today. (Note that some of you may encounter the Flight Global paywall)

https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/iraqi-airways-to-auction-old-747s-parked-at-tunisian-airport/154259.article?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=Sendible&utm_campaign=RSS

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Inquisitive, GivingupBA

[SimonS1]

Good luck to him but I deliberately avoid this type of carrier. The tiny fleet means that any maintenance issues can cause major knock on disruption.

It would be hopelessly inefficient to have a spare A380 sitting around, and any delays or cancellations can leave at least 400 people stuck and needing to be rerouted and/or compensated.

[AMcWhirter]

I cannot vouch for its accuracy but Luchtvaart.nl [NL] reports today that the first two routes will be from LGW to LAX and LGW to JFK.

Three class A380s will accommodate between 450 and 470 seats.

Launch date, assuming all goes to plan, is set for summer 2024.

https://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/categorie/2/airlines/a380-start-up-global-airlines-wil-starten-met-vluchten-naar-jfk-en-lax

[Inquisitive]

From AMcWhirter post; surprised to know that a B747 that can fly was auctioned off for about half a million dollars.

With such low cost, I thought charter flights could be manageable.
Or why not convert these to freight services.

Even cannibalising and selling metals and other parts may result a profit, instead of leaving these in desert.

Any insight from any knowledgeable person on this issue, why a business model does not work when one can get almost free aircraft? Is servicing these planes is the main issue or is it high cost of spare parts?

[cwoodward]

There are a good number of much younger 747-400s in long term storage many of which I suspect would be for sale and I doubt that an aircraft built in 1982 will find many buyers or will ever fly again for a passEnger airline.

[Author]

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