A new UK airline has almost halved the price of tickets for its first ever flight from Glasgow to New York.
Global Airlines, the brainchild of self-made UK millionaire, James Asquith, raised eyebrows last month, when eye-watering ticket prices were announced.
Back in April, Global Airlines sold an economy return ticket for £778 for their inaugural flight, departing Glasgow for JFK on May 15, returning May 19.
Compared to the £399 British Airways were charging for the same dates, it was almost 95% more expensive.
But two weeks later and Global are now offering promo codes that slash these prices by (almost) half.
According to a post on their Instagram page, you can now bag a Global Traveller (economy) flight from Manchester or Glasgow return for just £380 by using the code GLOBAL380.
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It means the new Global prices are even cheaper than EasyJet. At the time of writing, the cheapest EasyJet return (operated by EasyJet and Norse) from Glasgow to JFK on the same dates costs £573.21.
For those feeling a little more flush, the code GLOBAL1999 will get you business class return for £1,999. That’s a huge saving from the £3,700 originally advertised in April.
Commenters on Instagram post were thrilled by the news. ‘I’m booked,’ commented @globalairlines_fans, ‘Can’t wait.’ While another added ‘Looks amazing! Can’t wait to experience it.’
But Global Airlines’ business model has caused controversy among the aviation industry, who are skeptical as to whether they can survive long-term.
James, who is already CEO and founder of Airbnb rival, Holiday Swap, announced plans for his start-up airline back in 2022 — a dream he’d had since he was a child, growing up with pilot parents.
He vowed that Global would ‘bring back the golden age of air travel, with a modern flair.’
He wanted to make flying glam again, with 12ft long ‘suites’ for first-class passengers, and even a ‘Gamer class’, complete with Xbox and Playstations.
He hoped that by 2025, a fleet of 100 planes would fly from European hubs around the world. And while he hasn’t quite achieved this goal, Global’s maiden voyage is just one week away.
Why aren’t experts convinced by Global? The airline’s business plan is based on using the Airbus A380, the largest commercial passenger aircraft.
These massive, double-decker planes are no longer being made and there are now less than 200 in circulation, after being discontinued in 2021.
While James says these planes are a passenger, pilot and crew ‘favourite’ they are costly to run, and require full planes to make them worthwhile. The novelty of such a big plane, may not be enough to get tickets sold.
Aviation expert and professor of aviation management at Dublin City University, Marina Efthymiou, previously told Metro: ‘The A380s can carry from around 500 to more than 800 people, depending on the configuration of seats.
‘This is a huge amount of passengers, which even big airlines have problems filling. The average on a transatlantic flight route is about 250.
‘Global could be flying with half-empty planes and there are already very thin profit margins when it comes to plane tickets.
‘How long Global can survive, will depend on how rich James Asquith is, and how long he is able to afford operating at a loss.’
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