Tickets are now on sale for flights with Global Airlines, the 2021 British start-up founded by travel entrepreneur, James Asquith that claims it is “revolutionising commercial flying” by eliminating “long security queues, late flights, lost luggage, inedible food and constant poor customer service.”
The firm’s maiden flight is set for 15 May 2025, when an Airbus A380 will serve a seven-hour route from Glasgow to New York, returning to the Scottish culture hub four days later. The second round-trip will leave Manchester on 21 May, headed for the Big Apple once more.
Checked luggage and champagne in economy
Although Global’s ambition is to operate regular scheduled flights, its first two operations are effectively charters, both partnered by Portugal’s Hi Fly, and with tickets sold through Travelopedia, trading under GA.Flights.
CEO Asquith says he wants to recapture the magic of flying when he was young. Offering what the airline says is “a balance between affordability and quality”, a standard “Global Traveller” return to New York for the dates mentioned above is currently selling for £778 (around €908) including checked baggage as well as Laurent-Perrier champagne, even in the economy cabin. Meanwhile business flyers are looking at over £3,600 (€4,200) and first class travellers will pay more than £6,500 (over €7,500).
Can Global compete?
The A380’s configuration allows for capacity of around 471 passengers and questions have been raised about whether a new entrant to the aviation market can fill all those seats. While Global is currently the only carrier offering Glasgow to New York, three airlines (JetBlue, United, and Virgin Atlantic) fly competing routes to and from Edinburgh, just 67 km away.
There are also concerns that Global’s launch coincides with a fall in the European appetite for transatlantic travel, following a number of concerns and travel advisories about US border restrictions and Trump administration policies. Recent figures from the US National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) and International Trade Administration (ITA) show that UK travel to the US was 15% down year-on-year in March 2025.
Still, a web search reveals there are only two Global Airlines first class journeys left to buy at the time of writing. Asquith told The Independent he is “feeling good.” It’s been a long road to get here. It’s those crazy kind of last couple of days and weeks looking to enter into service and it has certainly not been easy. We knew it would be massively challenging. But we persevered and here we are.”
