New Start - Global Airlines
Would-be Airbus A380 operator Global Airlines has seen the departure of two high-profile members from its advisory board. UK start-up Global announced the appointment in June last year of Emma Henderson and Jacqueline Sutton to the body, where they were to “advise the Global executive team on a variety of aviation, technical and commercial matters”. Global founder and chief executive James Asquith trumpeted their arrival, describing as “invaluable” the pair’s “extensive expertise in various aspects of the aviation industry”.
Henderson is a former EasyJet captain who was previously a brand ambassador for the low-cost carrier; she has since forged a career as a professional speaker and is chief executive of healthcare charity Project Wingman. Sutton, meanwhile, was previously chief customer officer at Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace unit and is now a non-executive director of air show organiser Farnborough International and technology firm Xaar.
However, both have confirmed to FlightGlobal that they no longer have any involvement with Global Airlines although declined to comment further. Global does not directly address the departure of Henderson and Sutton, but points to the “huge wealth of aviation experience” that remains on its advisory board. Current members include chair Kevin Billings, a former assistant secretary of the US Air Force, Claire Harbord, until 2017 the corporate affairs director of Heathrow Airport, and Pierre Madrange, previously the chief operating officer of defunct carrier XL Airways. Additional appointments will be announced “in the coming weeks”, it adds.
Henderson is a former EasyJet captain who was previously a brand ambassador for the low-cost carrier; she has since forged a career as a professional speaker and is chief executive of healthcare charity Project Wingman. Sutton, meanwhile, was previously chief customer officer at Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace unit and is now a non-executive director of air show organiser Farnborough International and technology firm Xaar.
However, both have confirmed to FlightGlobal that they no longer have any involvement with Global Airlines although declined to comment further. Global does not directly address the departure of Henderson and Sutton, but points to the “huge wealth of aviation experience” that remains on its advisory board. Current members include chair Kevin Billings, a former assistant secretary of the US Air Force, Claire Harbord, until 2017 the corporate affairs director of Heathrow Airport, and Pierre Madrange, previously the chief operating officer of defunct carrier XL Airways. Additional appointments will be announced “in the coming weeks”, it adds.
Paxing All Over The World
Wow! If you do not have the experienced people on tap - you will have to pay a higher rate for it. Critically, day-to-day decision making will not benefit from them. I dare say that they will make no public comment. Perhaps in a while ...
I think we all know where this is heading...
I just wonder who is on the hook. But whoever was stupid enough to put money into this venture fully deserves their loss.
I just wonder who is on the hook. But whoever was stupid enough to put money into this venture fully deserves their loss.
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It is all and only about cheap headlines.
Actually a miracle that they have not hinted that they are among the launch customers for Boom Aerospace's ''supersonic"" thing...
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Global Airlines CEO James Asquith, famous Instagrammer and the first 26 year old to visit 150 countries, confirmed that Global was in the 'final stages' of negotiations to buy back a fleet of 4 Concordes from various museums and collections and thereby bring back the golden age of aviation with regular and affordable supersonic services from Gatwick. 'For too long we have been stuck in the paradigm of subsonic travel, and I could not be more proud to announce that we will have them all airworthy by summer and will launch services. (Provided we can make the numbers work). At the same time, I am thrilled to reveal that engine designer Frank Whittle and legendary test pilot Alex Henshaw have been invited to join Global's advisory board, to replace two recent departures.'
Or words to that effect!
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Surely those departures are not newsworthy.
An aircraft has been bought. It must earn its keep ASAP.
Therefore one imagines a full time professional management team are in place, rapidly planning, setting up operations, working towards AOC etc, setting up commercial, procuring support services, IT services.
The 'advisory board' is no longer needed.
No management announcement merely suggests the management are fully occupied by the work ahead.
(for the avoidance of doubt, I have no knowledge of what is actually happening, this is supposition)
An aircraft has been bought. It must earn its keep ASAP.
Therefore one imagines a full time professional management team are in place, rapidly planning, setting up operations, working towards AOC etc, setting up commercial, procuring support services, IT services.
The 'advisory board' is no longer needed.
No management announcement merely suggests the management are fully occupied by the work ahead.
(for the avoidance of doubt, I have no knowledge of what is actually happening, this is supposition)
"No management announcement merely suggests the management are fully occupied by the work ahead."
From a company that has issued a press release every time the CEO has taken a breath? I doubt it..... they're running out of time and cash most likely
From a company that has issued a press release every time the CEO has taken a breath? I doubt it..... they're running out of time and cash most likely
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The "22 big new tyres" post from Asquith just about sums the venture up! Even if the requisite work has taken place Global themselves clearly have very little comprehension of it
I'd guess " exploring exciting new financing options with international financial institutions" will figure 
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Running out of cash, not necessarily yet.
All that is public are the unaudited UK company accounts at the end of 2022.
Global Airlines had no money then, so registering an aircraft in its name means its balance sheet has changed radically since.
Holiday Swap Group had £16m of unspent promised funding and owned 95% of Global Airlines.
Some of this is covered earlier in the thread, here is the detail from the CoHo filings:
In the period ending 31/07/2020 Holiday Swap Group made a loss of 1.6m (one assumes largely on development costs for the new airline rather than the swap business). That was covered by 1.6m of investment (share premium).
Year ending December 2021 loss 3.1m but investors had put in a total of 12.7m by then, 9m of debtors but a note states 'other debtors is unpaid share capital'. Investors are funding the losses with a cushion for the future.
Loss for 2022 is 4.9m, share premium 21m, debtors 15.7m = promised funding not spent yet.
Since 2022 an aircraft has been bought by the subsidiary.
A further 160,000 shares were sold in 2023. This autumn it will be public how much that raised.
Development costs, it might be supposed, are still running at least 5m a year (2022).
So funding could last beyond 2024.
The company might continue its successful run so far of raising more funding.
This thread has further to go, interpret this however you will.
Again for the avoidance of doubt, this posting does NOT promote these companies as an investment in any way whatsoever. It summarises publically available unaudited company filings to add to the informed debate.
All that is public are the unaudited UK company accounts at the end of 2022.
Global Airlines had no money then, so registering an aircraft in its name means its balance sheet has changed radically since.
Holiday Swap Group had £16m of unspent promised funding and owned 95% of Global Airlines.
Some of this is covered earlier in the thread, here is the detail from the CoHo filings:
In the period ending 31/07/2020 Holiday Swap Group made a loss of 1.6m (one assumes largely on development costs for the new airline rather than the swap business). That was covered by 1.6m of investment (share premium).
Year ending December 2021 loss 3.1m but investors had put in a total of 12.7m by then, 9m of debtors but a note states 'other debtors is unpaid share capital'. Investors are funding the losses with a cushion for the future.
Loss for 2022 is 4.9m, share premium 21m, debtors 15.7m = promised funding not spent yet.
Since 2022 an aircraft has been bought by the subsidiary.
A further 160,000 shares were sold in 2023. This autumn it will be public how much that raised.
Development costs, it might be supposed, are still running at least 5m a year (2022).
So funding could last beyond 2024.
The company might continue its successful run so far of raising more funding.
This thread has further to go, interpret this however you will.
Again for the avoidance of doubt, this posting does NOT promote these companies as an investment in any way whatsoever. It summarises publically available unaudited company filings to add to the informed debate.
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When Asquith exits stage left, amidst the above claims and excuses for 'postponement' I predict he will also loudly blame the regulators and a dark cabal of rival airlines who conspired to prevent the public returning to 'the golden age of air travel' - whatever precisely that might mean.
I reckon though that he would probably trumpet a random charter flight on HiFly as 'mission accomplished' and 'doubters proved wrong' as he will likely never get anywhere near his dreams of operating scheduled services on scale with an A380 fleet out of LGW
I reckon though that he would probably trumpet a random charter flight on HiFly as 'mission accomplished' and 'doubters proved wrong' as he will likely never get anywhere near his dreams of operating scheduled services on scale with an A380 fleet out of LGW
Last edited by GrimeySky; 9th Feb 2024 at 14:36.