This is the same old story that I see over and over again.
What are they doing in detail? The sexy bits - pics of the aircraft, the cabin, how wonderful it’s all going to be, how the industry is crying out for their product, how their new best mates like Amex (!!!!) adore them, and look at how all these folks on LinkedIn think they are fab....
What are they not doing? The hard graft, a coherent business plan, the aeropolitics, the commercials, the engineering, the crewing, the FTLs, the bazillion contracts etc etc etc. All the hard graft, the grubby stuff that isn’t sexy but is essential.
I will bet they have not had their preliminary meeting with the CAA. They should - but I’ll bet they don’t want the CAA pricking their balloon of dreams with the sharp pin of reality. I would never put words in the CAA’s mouth, but I would bet that what the CAA would tell them will be incredibly practical and useful (that’s based on my decades of experience) but will not be what Global want to hear.
Global need to forget the AOC for now, forget postholders, forget the ‘partners’, forget the
PR and the boozy receptions, forget the recruitment of
PR folks. What they do need to do is focus on their business plan, and get a feel for how much their plans are going to cost. Right now they feel like people building an enormous country estate, who have recruited interior designers and gardeners without working out what the budget is - and whether they can afford it.
I have, since I was bored, done a Benson & Hedges estimate (back of a fag packet) on what their plans need in terms of cash, based on their public statements. I had to lie down in a dark room afterwards… it’s way into NINE FIGURES. They will not - they cannot - raise this. You can take that as gospel, folks.