Global Airlines: First Flight?

BALTIA, Global Ghana, “Undisclosed Airline”... Surely it's inevitable that we will soon be adding Global Airlines to that eponymous list. 

Global Airlines, to those who do not know, are a start-up airline attempting to… Why don’t I let them introduce themselves: 

“Welcome to the new era of commercial air travel.

We are revolutionising commercial flying. We’ve all suffered for far too long with long security queues, late flights, lost luggage, inedible food and constant poor customer service. Global Airlines offers fast relief from the aches and pains associated with commercial air travel. We bring joy at every interaction and delight at every touch point. Take a deep breath, welcome aboard.”

I believe this is called trying to reinvent the wheel. I suppose Global would like to see themselves in the way Liv disrupted golf. The difference being that Liv had actual resources behind them. Global, with their lone ex China Southern A380, are aiming to launch flights between Gatwick and New York/Los Angeles by the end of 2025. 

In an odd turn, Global have announced “VIP pre-sale reservations” for two return flights both to New York JFK. The first departing Glasgow, and the second from Manchester. Note, not Gatwick…

The first flight departs Glasgow May 15th at 11:00, landing at JFK at 13:00. This then returns to Glasgow May 19th leaving JFK at 08:00, landing back in Glasgow at 19:15. 

The second departs Manchester May 21st at 12:25, landing at JFK at 14:25. Returning to Manchester May 25th at 08:55, landing at 20:40.

Curiously, this flight is operated by Hi Fly, the Maltese charter airline, rather than Global themselves. Global has not yet secured their UK AOC (Air Operator Certificate), so this is clearly an interim measure, but why not wait until the airline is operational before starting flight, desperate for cash are we? 

If you want to reserve your seat on this flight, good luck trying to use their website. The website hasn’t been updated since May 17th 2024. Instead, you must use their Instagram or Facebook pages. It’s almost like they’ve forgotten the password to anything not Meta owned. 

Going via those socials you are brought to a reservations page.

Note, there are no prices on show, just the schedule. After clicking through to reserve now, you are given a form to put your details down on. No parting of monies is needed at this stage. Once done, you are thanked for reserving your place in the pre-sale for the inaugural UK Global flights (operated by Hi Fly).

Who knows if these flights will ever get off the ground, but I’d be paying with a credit card if I were you for those buyer protections.