A startup airline with an Airbus A380 is making its first official flight across the Atlantic

It's taken respective years, but Global Airlines yet took to the skies connected Thursday for its authoritative motorboat flight.

The Airbus A380 departed Glasgow astatine 11:34 a.m. section clip and is scheduled to onshore astatine New York's JFK Airport astir 1 p.m. ET.

Travel journalists, influencers, and aviation enthusiasts descended connected the Scottish metropolis for the long-awaited event.

Economy tickets were initially selling for arsenic overmuch arsenic £780 (about $1,000), but it looks similar dilatory income prompted discounting. With the promotion, instrumentality fares were listed astatine £380.

A business-class instrumentality summons was connected merchantability astatine £1,999 ($2,660), and for archetypal people was £2,999 ($3,990).

The Independent's Simon Calder reported that 170 passengers were believed to beryllium connected the formation — conscionable a 3rd of the plane's capacity.

Thursday's formation is simply a immense measurement for Global, but it inactive has plentifulness of enactment up to person its critics. A drama-free maiden formation volition beryllium 1 achievement.

The formation is operated by 9H-GLOBL, a 12-year-old A380 antecedently owned by China Southern Airlines earlier being mothballed successful California's Mojave boneyard.

Global spent millions getting the level acceptable for work earlier it made its first transatlantic flight past May, being ferried to Glasgow. It was the most-tracked formation connected Flightradar24, with much than 40,000 radical pursuing its travel astatine its peak.

The hose was founded by James Asquith, a 36-year-old who gained fame successful 2013 erstwhile helium became the youngest idiosyncratic to sojourn each state successful the world. He past founded Holiday Swap, a level for travelers to publication accommodation.

Critics person questioned Global's concern plan, which wants a portion of the highly competitory transatlantic travel.

The A380 is simply a peculiarly costly level to run due to the fact that its 4 engines usage a batch of fuel, and determination are hundreds of seats to fill.

Global is paying Hi Fly Malta, a charter airline, to run the archetypal flights, with tickets sold done the question cause Travelopedia.

Asquith is hoping that his expansive ambitions volition assistance the hose interruption through. He wants to connection an "elevated service" that volition instrumentality passengers "back to the aureate property of travel."

Business-class passengers tin beryllium transferred by a Blacklane chauffeur and dine connected caviar successful the air. However, Global chopped much ambitious ideas similar a "gamer class" with PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

Its "sky pub," a societal abstraction aiming to instrumentality vantage of the A380's size, is small much than a fewer bottles connected a shelf.

"You're looking astatine galore years to certify bigger societal spaces and bars, truthful we volition make our societal spaces adjacent much erstwhile we person much craft successful the sky," Asquith said successful an Instagram station past month.

Global Airlines whitethorn not yet beryllium arsenic refined arsenic it would like, but it has already proved galore doubters incorrect by making its archetypal flight.

9H-GLOBL is scheduled to instrumentality from New York connected Monday. It's owed to alert from Manchester, England to JFK connected May 21 and instrumentality connected May 25.