And finally Global Airlines puts tickets on sale. You pay a lot, you fly HiFly, and you don't have any information
Spoileralert I decided not to buy a ticket to fly aboard Globalairlines' first flight(s), [...]
Spoileralert I decided not to buy a ticket to fly aboard the first flight(s) of Globalairlines, the reason is quickly stated. It doesn't fly to Italy, it doesn't even fly from a major airport in Europe, it doesn't participate in any alliance and honestly nobody or hardly anybody in Italy cares about it, translated it would have been an unnecessarily expensive video, so I'll pass.
In this article:
In recent weeks they had launched the waiting list and I had also signed up and never even received a confirmation email and now, or rather yesterday, tickets for the first flights went on sale. The only thing that is known are the prices of the flights and that to fly the former China Southern A380 will not be GlobalAirlines, but HiFLy. Here I feel like I am living the scene of Totò and Peppino when they were selling the Trevi fountain to tourists, also because in the end Global cannot even be considered an airline, at best it could be a giant advertising campaign or an immense mockery.
Of Global there is only the livery
Photo: @JamesAsquith via Instagram
Years of news and then the mountain gave birth to the mouse, we have covered all the news of this epic. Launching an airline from scratch is a titanic feat, but if you add to that the business plan of flying only A380s you must be a raving lunatic (or Elon Musk's secret brother). This is the 12th news item we dedicate to this company, but the citations in the site are over 100, also because of A380 operators in the world there are very few of them and so from day zero we followed everything that emerged from this project. From agreements with American Express to corporate structures, all the way to uniforms.
The reality, however, is tremendously different, or rather, one wonders if it took 3 years to repaint an A380 and return it to a safe flying condition? also because in the end it will not be the new company that will fly it but hiFly, a carrier that has a well-established business model: it takes used planes and leases them in wetlease to companies or for private flights, the only carrier in the world that has ever bought a used A380 and flown it.
This is the sixth A380 built by Airbus, Delivered to Singapore Airlines in 2008 was redelivered in 2018 upon the expiration of the charter contract. Taking over from Singapore Airlines had been the Portuguese company Hi Fly, which had taken this A380 aiming to wet-lease it to companies and corporations for private events. But then covid had broken out and Hi Fly also raised the white flag and returned the plane.
Where it flies and how much it costs to fly on Global Airlines' A380
Just go to the ticketing website, which is different from the company's, for the series office complications simple business. to see the two routes from Glasgow and Manchester to New York JFK confirmed. Global will then join the A380s of Lufthansa, Emirates and British Airways the only operators to fly to the Big Apple with the Airbus giant after Etihad has decided to move its A380 to Canada.
If economy, for UK fares that are considerably higher than continental fares, is still cheap, the other two cabins namely business and First are priced at Emirates levels or more. Certainly the direct flight from Scotland to the U.S. saves one stopover, but the fare is really exorbitant considering that Global does not currently allow one-way tickets.
Slightly cheaper are the flights from Manchester, perhaps to compete a little bit with Virgin Atlantic, which flies the same route but with significantly smaller planes.
Global Airlines, how the A380s will be outfitted
To date, a seatmap is not available, that is, a map explaining how the A380 is outfitted. Sure we know how China Southern's A380 was configured., but Global had wasted rivers of ink to talk about his innovative product.
There is no sign of the innovative first or business cabins.
Nor of the fanciful mockups that had been revived in past years.
And then you can't pay with American Express
This is where it comes down to pay, about 6 thousand euros for a round trip in first class from Manchester to New York without being able to choose the seat or other services. It's basically like buying sight unseen.
The icing on the (expired?) cake comes at the end of the payment process. Global Airlines does not accept American Express, but as in the July 2023 an exclusive partnership had been announced....
In conclusion
I don't feel up to that expense, or rather it's not that I don't trust the safety of the eventual flight, but I'm really concerned that that flight will actually be operated. Of course Global eventually put tickets on sale, but we're almost at Scherzi a Parte not in the real world.
