Unusual Airbus A380 startup Global Airlines recently operated its first flights, which were two one-off roundtrip transatlantic journeys. While many of us were surprised (and impressed) that the airline actually operated these flights, they’ve only raised even more questions about what the company’s goals are, and who the investors are.
Well, the company is now hitting back at critics, promising to set the record straight, while clarifying very little.
Global Airlines defends itself against critics
Global Airlines has published a statement on LinkedIn, intended to defend itself against critics, and set the record straight on some important points… or something like that.
The company first wants to “apologise for generating so much interest and speculation,” (lol) and then talks about how people “can get a bit overexcited about what is actually complete rubbish” (apparently referring to what people are writing, and not the carrier’s onboard product). But don’t worry, “we love being talked about,” and “as the old adage says, there is only one thing worse than being talked about – not being talked about.”
So the airline is promising that in the coming days and weeks, it’ll run a MythBusters series, to “provide some transparency where we think it is needed.” The airline then issues six clarifications, which aren’t really clarifications at all. For example, there’s this one:
“Global owned A380 9H-GLOBL has flown fare-paying passengers transatlantic – this is a fact. Yes, with our operating partners at Hi Fly, but the first step towards the ultimate ambition has been achieved and nobody should underestimate this progress and the significance of those flights.”
Right, no one disputes that…
There was much talk about how the transatlantic flights had fewer than 100 people on them. Global Airlines thinks that this was the perfect number of passengers:
“We had the perfect number of passengers on our flights to JFK – these flights were never planned to be full or even close to it. That was not the point of them. We didn’t do any marketing, but simply reached out to our community online and in the wider aviation circles. We wanted to test our service and products and we wanted to focus on our premium cabins. We succeeded on all fronts and if we had more passengers we would never have got to test all the elements we wanted to try out. Perfect numbers for us!”
Yes, the airline wanted to test its services, because that’s definitely a key step for starting an airline, prior to actually establishing a business model. One almost wonders why the airline didn’t close off bookings and show the flight as sold out, if it had the optimal number of passengers booked.
On the plus side, the airline acknowledges that the first flight was a challenge:
“Our first flight was a bit of a challenge – now, this one is true! It really was. Can you imagine bringing back an A380 from the desert, getting it through the most enormous amount of maintenance and regulatory requirements, dealing with a huge cabin overhaul, preparing for the first passengers, managing the catering and crew training, (and a million other things), and everything being perfect? Well, we were hopeful, but it just didn’t quite happen. We apologise to any of our passengers who didn’t have the best time – however, it is important to remember that many did have an amazing time and the feedback was incredible. Some didn’t. We recognise that. Hopefully, we will be forgiven for our first attempt – especially because (as many have documented) the second, third and fourth flights were incredible. Overall, our passenger feedback has been tremendous and we are hugely grateful for that. We will start to share more and more of this online in the coming days just to balance things out a little!”
Though the part of that statement that stands out most to me is the claim that the plane underwent a “huge cabin overhaul.” If that’s a “huge cabin overhaul,” then, well… I have some questions.
Here are some questions for Global Airlines…
Global Airlines plans to run a MythBusters style series to provide some transparency. So in the interest of helping Global Airlines out, here are some questions the airline could maybe address. Let’s start with the airline as such:
- What happened to the purchase agreement the airline claimed to have in 2023, for four Airbus A380s?
- With Global Airlines’ A380 being exactly 12 years old, does the current A380 have to undergo a heavy maintenance check shortly (which costs millions), or has that already been done?
- When the airline in 2022 published its list of “perspective routes” it would operate by 2023, and suggested it could have up to 100 planes by 2025, does that in retrospect seem like it might’ve been a bit unrealistic, and caused issues with credibility?
- What is the company’s current goal in terms of scheduled routes? The airline still wants to be a transatlantic airline, and if so, where does it see that market?
- What is the company waiting for in order to take next steps? More funding, or what’s the holdup for requesting regulatory approval to become a regularly scheduled operator?
But honestly, I think the much more interesting area for transparency would be regarding Global Airlines’ parent company, Holiday Swap Group. Recently, founder James Asquith appeared on The Times’ 40 richest people under 40 list, which claimed he has a net worth of £183 million, and that Holiday Swap had a £300 million valuation in 2022. This is the whole reason that Asquith has some credibility.
I think a business update would be helpful. How many current, active users does Holiday Swap have, and is the business still fully operational, with all listings actually working? Trust me, folks, there’s a reason I’m asking this question…
Bottom line
Global Airlines will reportedly be running a MythBusters series in the coming days and weeks, in order to be transparent. Transparency hasn’t exactly been the company’s strong suit, so I’m very curious to see if the airline actually addresses any real questions that people have. I think I know the answer, but we’ll see. 😉
And if Global Airlines wants to make transparency a focus, I’d be happy to conduct an interview with anyone at the company, and give them the chance to share their perspective, unfiltered…
What do you make of Global Airlines’ defensive statement?
