Global Airlines is aiming to commence flights between Gatwick and New York JFK by the middle of next year.
According to the founder of a new UK carrier pledging to make customers ‘feel like a million dollars,’ Transatlantic airline passengers are sick and tired of their treatment. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/new-uk-airline-says-its-passengers-will-feel-like-a-million-dollars-b1098979.html
Global Airlines aims to begin operating between Gatwick and New York JFK by the middle of next year, prior to launching flights between Gatwick and Los Angeles.
James Asquith – Founder and chief executive who created travel company Holiday Swap, said he has received thousands of emails and messages from people who are keen to fly on his airline.
He stated that he primarily wanted to build a legacy and would rather walk away with zero (money) and do something that people genuinely love. The 34-year-old said that the quality of food and drinks on Global Airlines aircraft would be the best across all transatlantic services.
The airline, which will be based at Gatwick will serve Laurent-Perrier champagne on its flights, and hopes to even offer a free glass to passengers in economy cabins, depending on costs.
Mr Asquith revealed that First class ticket holders will benefit from being chauffeur driven to airports and having a proper social space onboard planes. He claimed that having a strong product in first class should filter down to economy, and make people in economy feel like a million dollars. He said that Global Airlines would be able to offer cheaper fares than those set by other carriers because of the way it is obtaining its aircraft Acquiring 4 previously-used Airbus A380s at reduced prices meant the company did not have lease agreements and bonds hanging over their heads, he said.
Mr Asquith said Global Airlines was being funded by a combination of Holiday Swap Group and external investors, who he did not name. He explained that the airline plans to have 15-20 planes over the next two years and expand pretty aggressively from there serving a lot more destinations and routes.
Mr Asquith is a prominent social media personality and in 2013 became the youngest person to travel to every country in the world, aged 24. He said that since he was eight years old launching an airline had been his ultimate dream and that if it took him until the last day of his life, he would get there. He had been told by everyone, including his parents, throughout his entire life, that it would never happen. There is not a single part of him that thinks Global Airlines will not get off the ground as it would be letting down the tens of thousands of people that have reached out and are desperate to fly with them.
Aviation consultant John Strickland warned that significant challenges will be faced by Global Airlines. He said that he wished the team luck but would counsel caution. In his 40 years in the industry he has worked on planning North Atlantic routes for several airlines, and the reality is that the market has the potential to be either a goldmine or a graveyard. Relying primarily on price sensitive traffic inevitably means high risk as not only will people move for a better price but the market is structurally seasonal. This makes winter months particularly challenging. He said that the decision to use A380s which are the biggest airliners in the world largest airliner raises several questions. The planes have a lot of capacity to fill along with high operating costs, and there is uncertainty over the availability of maintenance and spare parts and support due to the model being out of production, Mr Strickland added.
