The airline said it plans to operate a flight from Glasgow Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Thursday, May 15, with the return leg landing in Glasgow on Monday, May 19.
Global will then operate a flight from Manchester Airport to JFK on Wednesday, May 21, before returning to Manchester on Sunday, May 25.
The “special A380 flights” will be operated by Portuguese charter airline Hi Fly, which ferried the airline’s superjumbo from Dresden in Germany to Beja in Portugal to allow it to undergo maintenance in January.
Global said the plane will feature “overhauled” cabins which “give a brand-new look and feel”.
It added: “The catering team has been busy preparing a new menu and there will be special ‘limited edition’ amenity kits in all cabins, for all passengers”.
Global has launched a ‘VIP pre-sale’ for the inaugural flights. The pre-sale will allow people to book their seats in economy, business and first class 24 hours before they are released to the public, with passengers travelling in business and first class offered the chance to book a chauffeur service to the airport.
Global said: “It is an exciting time for us all as we see a great deal of work come to fruition as the team at Hi Fly make the final plans to take the Global A380 back into the skies.”
Founded by UK entrepreneur James Asquith in 2021, Global Airlines aims to begin operations from London to New York City and Los Angeles, using a fleet of four Airbus A380s.
The airline’s mission is to take passengers back to the “Golden Age of Travel, reinvigorating the onboard experience with elevated service and products across all three cabins: First, Business and Global Traveller”.
Produced by Airbus, the Airbus A380 is the world’s largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Global took full ownership of its first A380, formerly operated by China Southern Airlines, in February 2024. Prior to that, the superjumbo was withdrawn from use and ferried to Mojave Air & Space Port in California in late 2022.
In May 2024, Global Airlines debuted its first A380 in Scotland after it arrived at Glasgow Prestwick Airport from Mojave via Montreal.
The arrival at Prestwick, which drew a large crowd of aviation enthusiasts, marked the first time an Airbus A380 has landed at the nationalised airport. The flight also garnered significant interest online, with thousands tracking its journey on flight tracking site Flightradar24.
While at Prestwick, the aircraft underwent a livery overhaul, with Airbourne Colours – Europe’s only privately-owned aircraft painting specialists in commercial and corporate aircraft painting, repainting and refinishing – completing the initial phase of the new livery identity.
The A380 then departed Prestwick for Dresden in October last year to undergo heavy maintenance – including mandatory inspections and component replacements – at Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH, a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering.
Following the departure, Richard Stephenson, director of Global Airlines, expressed his hope of a return to Scotland for the airline in the near future.
He said: “Our first A380 arrived at Prestwick Airport. It’s been well cared for in Scotland and we would like to thank everyone who played their part in its journey to this point.
“We are getting closer to launching our commercial flights and we hope it will not be long before a Global Airlines A380 is back in Scotland.”
