«A lot of people got the Airbus A380 wrong»

How did you come up with the idea to build an Airbus A380 Airline?
James Asquith*: We looked at all sorts of aircraft, especially during Covid, and it always tends to be the case that the larger aircraft are the most unloved and the ones that are cut first in a weak market. So there were opportunities that we wanted to take advantage of. And it’s about what you can do on this plane and with the passenger experience. You know, no one gets into this business – and there are many famous quotes – to make money from it. It’s with a huge passion, which the whole team has, to have a better product and a better way to fly.

So what can you do on the A380?
I’ve flown well over 200 airlines and I love having a social space on the aircraft, for example the bar, because it is a slightly different way to fly. It’s a nicer experience and flight times go by quite quickly. We saw an opportunity in that. Over the last couple of years I heard people saying it was crazy and a punt but it was a very calculated decision. And others in the market have turned around to do that as well. Lufthansa and Etihad brought back their A380s. British Airways are refurbishing their A380’s cabins, as well as Qatar. Emirates will operate it into the 2040s. And there is even some slight chatter from Airbus recently about the door not being locked to the A380 being manufactured again in the future. So we think it’s a fantastic aircraft, especially because of the passenger experience that plane can offer.

You have one plane right now, which you bought. Why did you decide against leasing?
That is one of the key differences that we set out to want to have. It’s very easy when someone comes out with an idea for an airline for anyone in the public forum to say that’s not going to work. And largely, and unfortunately, in such a competitive and high capital intensive sector, that is the case. But by owning the aircraft we don’t have any obligations on a leaseback or a debt or an interest rate basis, which would normally be one of the big key pressure points when you start. So we have control over the assets, which is giving us a lot more flexibility and breathing room in an unreliable and dynamic sector.

You brought your first A380 from the USA to Scotland in May. How was that?
That was expensive, a big fuel bill. (laughing) And it was a weird set of emotions. Seeing that aircraft coming down the runway for the first time was all we worked for the last couple of years. And that moment lasted about five seconds until our A380 was airborne. And at that moment the responsibility hit us even more and we thought, wow, we’re really doing this. It is a massive moment. And every milestone that we keep knocking down along the way gets closer and closer and certainly more supporters behind what we’re doing. But yeah, it was no easy feat.

And all the aviation world was and is watching you.
Yes, everything that we’re doing, fortunately or unfortunately, is in the public domain. When you work with the biggest commercial aircraft in the world, everyone’s going to have an opinion. Easy to get that attention. You know, we never wanted to go out publicly at the start, but actually one of the first planes we bought, the seller was pretty interested to want to go out to the market. And then everyone knows and everyone is commentating on it very, very quickly. And people that have not done it themselves but turn around and say that it will fail for XYZ reason. That will never change. But that’s life, and it’s nice to see all the ones supporting us.

Your aircraft is in Glasgow since the beginning of May. What has happened since then, how does the aircraft look like today? Has it already got your livery?
Livery is progressing bit by bit. If I could pick up the phone and say complete the livery next week, of course I would do that. But it’s hugely complex challenges, especially because the size of the A380. You look at a lot of hangar space and there’s very limited amounts of it. And then you add on the paint shop complexities and the regulatory necessities for that.

And how is the cabin refurbishments going?
There is lot of works happening behind the scenes. This is being led by Jet MS and Factory Design. We’re hopeful over the coming couple of months you’re going to see more and more progress. But again, nothing is ever 100 percent confirmed now. We want to say things when they’re done and prove them.

And who is working on the aircraft, is it external specialists or do you have already your own staff?
It’s external specialist who are obviously certified on the A380.

A preview of the future cabin. Bild: Global Airlines

So when will the aircraft be ready and when are you planning to start operations?
As much as I’d love to that say right now, the moment that I do that becomes the date that we have to stick to. And there are so many things that are out of our control with this still. But I think more than at any point now we are knowledgeable of actually a week that we will be starting operations. So stay tuned pretty shortly for that. And looking backwards: There was a date that we wanted to have the first flight taken off, and it was about two and a half to three months later. Which actually, when you zoom out, is a very small delay for putting an A380 in the sky for the first time. But the one thing that we can’t do is to say a date that we’re going to be putting passengers in the sky and then change that.

But are we talking about this year or next year for the start?
It might be soon or we might hit more unforeseen delays. And 2025 is only six months away.

Let’s talk about routes. You want to fly London – New York and London – Los Angeles.
There might be some more varied routes and more routes than people have seen publicly on the agenda. And through our partnership with Hi Fly we have options to fly from Europe to a wide range of international markets.

An Airline like Lufthansa with a wide network needs more than three or four A380 in their fleet. ANA All Nippon Airways on the other hand flies with three A380 on just one route. How will it look like at Global Airlines?
We’re committed to the A380 in general, so actually we’re looking at more aircraft as the first point. And I think a lot of people got the Airbus A380 wrong, if I’m honest. You look at a lot of cabins – for example at Lufthansa or at Air France before they retired the A380 – that were designed in 2006 or 2008. With a 2-2-2 configuration in business class. But business class as a product saw a huge evolution of the quality in the last 10 to 15 years. The A380 is not necessarily about seasonality or route, it’s actually about what it offers in terms of yield on a product. So certain European airlines never put it on their premium, highest yielding routes, like New York from Europe, for example. If you look at China Southern, they were doing a mixture between short haul and then super long haul routes across the Pacific. So a lot of airlines prior to launch ordered the A380 – like decades before the Boeing 747 – to be the flagship of the fleet. But there were very few – Emirates being one of them – who knew how to use the aircraft with the social space and the quality of the product.

What does that mean for the routes?
Even if you operate a couple of aircraft on a couple of routes, if you focus on those routes and even alternate them and bury them up, people want to fly with you if you are offering that quality of product. Some airlines look at data for expansion to find a niche route. But a niche route only stays a niche route for so long until larger incumbents see success with it and then replicate it and it becomes harder for a smaller player. At Global we’re trying to be price competitive on very high demand and high supply routes with a better product.

But we are talking about scheduled routes, not about the charter market, right?
Well, what’s the difference between a schedule and a charter? Some people will go and charter 365 flights in a year. So there is an element in the market of a quasi scheduled charter. But again, let’s keep doing one step at a time.

Between big European and US cities a feeder network is not that relevant.

Compared with the other A380 operators you have a big disadvantage: You have a big plane with a lot of seat but you don’t have a feeder network.
If you look for example at Lufthansa, they have their A380 in Munich, which is a relatively small city. But how many daily flights are there between London and New York? 31, maybe more on some days. And most of them are wide body aircraft. So if you put an A380 on that route, you become about 4 percent of the market share. And if you want to go on in the United States and book a two point ticket with a platform like Skyscanner or Kiwi – you then have to collect your luggage, but you have to do that anyway when you arrive in the USA. So between big European and US cities a feeder network is not that relevant. There are also eleven daily Emirates flights between London and Dubai. And a large proportion of that passengers is flying that route direct point to point, despite Dubai being seen as a hub.

You are planning with approximately 470 seats. In how many classes?
Three. I don’t see premium economy as a very good product for the passenger. In the current state of the market, it’s not a good use of slight upgrade for passengers versus where it’s priced in the market.

Can you tell us how you imagine the typical passenger for your airline?
It will be anyone and everyone. There are sometimes age-old ideas of leisure travelers and business travelers on certain routes. And yes: You need to obviously define the difference between them. But if you look at flying into New York from anywhere, there are both leisure and business travelers alike. The same with Los Angeles and Dubai. There are so many cities where actually what we’re trying to do is simplify this a lot. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We want to appeal to everyone of every demographic in each cabin and offer a slightly better service at a competitive price.

You want to have a fleet of four A380. Before the actual one, which flew for China Southern before, you paid a first part for another A380 from Doric, which flew for Singapore Airlines before. How will this go on?
The Singapore Doric plane was the first plane that was announced publicly that we put money into. But it’s not just as easy as buying a plane and flying it out the next day. And sometimes where aircraft are parked or stored, there are backlogs. And that aircraft is at Tarbes. There were a lot of aircraft and A380s and there is only one hangar that can be used for return to service work for A380s. So we are hoping to announce something about the second aircraft pretty soon.

And this second aircraft will be the Doric plane?
Potentially. We have an agreement in place for that aircraft. I can’t say if that would be the next one or the one after. But we have an agreement in place, as was announced for that aircraft.

How big is your team at Global Airlines at the moment?
About 35 people within the core team. That number is supplemented by support from partners. And the number is only going up when we start hiring the wider team and the crews.

Please tell us something about the investors behind Global Airlines.
Obviously I took on quite a bit myself on this. And we’ve got some great backers behind us from around the world. We’ve got previous CEO’s of some of the biggest banks in the world and of the biggest insurance companies who have become investors in global airlines. Also people that run family offices and funds. It’s incredibly varied in terms of the people that back us. I used to work in investment banking myself, even in the aviation side of it. And there are plenty of areas and opportunities where you can make big and outsized returns and then there are others where you can make good returns, but certainly be part of something that makes an impact and a difference.

The market for the A380 has changed since you started your project. Two ago or three years ago nobody wanted to have these airplanes. Now everybody wants the planes or at least the spare parts. Does that worry you a bit?
I’ve sat in countless conversations with people saying that everyone’s retiring the A380 and all of those people then looked at bringing them all back. Now actually it’s been brought back in such rapid style that MRO capacity is a big restraint from it.

Exactly. There is few MRO capacity and spare parts are becoming more expensive – for you too. Isn’t that a problem?
That’s the same with any business that’s got so many moving parts like aviation. You know, I could sit here and we could wind ourselves up about all sorts of eventualities. But we have to deal with each problem as it comes come.

*James Asquith, born in 1988, is the founder and CEO of Global Airlines and Holiday Swap Group. The Briton previously worked in investment banking, including at Deutsche Bank, and is the youngest person to have visited every country in the world.