Transatlantic start-up Global Airlines eyes Gatwick berth
Gary NoakesStart-up carrier Global Airlines has confirmed Gatwick as its first choice airport for its ambitious plans to launch flights to the US next year.
Matt Davey, deputy chief executive of the carrier’s parent company Holiday Swap, told TTG: “Gatwick is the current thinking. It is an excellent fit for the market we are going after.”
Global plans initially to fly to New York JFK and then to Los Angeles, but is yet to sign an agreement with an airport, and is yet to seek operating licences in the UK and the US.
However, Davey insisted Global intended to start flights “in Q1 or Q2 next year”. The carrier, whose chief executive is former banker and Holiday Swap founder James Asquith, has purchased four double decker Airbus A380s to operate its network.
Speaking at a launch event in London on Thursday (27 July), Asquith said: “We are a lot further along than you think. We’ve not just gone along and randomly bought some A380s, it all goes back two years.”
Asquith admitted the venture had drawn scepticism, but said his business model was different: “For the past three-and-a-half decades, we have competed on price or there were airlines with an all-premium product.
"We are doing it very differently. We are going to do this; we are going to do this right."
At Gatwick, Global would go up against the likes of British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Norse Atlantic Airways and JetBlue Airways, the latter two having launched transatlantic operations from the Sussex airport over the past two years.
Sign up for weekday travel news and analysis straight to your inbox
Gary Noakes
Supplier Directory
Find contacts for 260+ travel suppliers. Type name, company or destination.
Bucket-list Belize: ‘Do not underestimate this destination’PARTNER CONTENT
Recommended For You
Latest travel jobs
Travel Consultant - Plymouth
Cruise Consultant, Glasgow
Assistant Manager - Birkenhead
Competitions
Upcoming events
TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies 2025
Place of registration: England and Wales.
Company number 08723341.
Registered address: 6th Floor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
