On May 1, 2024, British Global Airways' first Airbus A380 landed on UK soil for the first time after flying 4,885 kilometers. The transatlantic flight was its maiden flight from Montreal, Canada, to Prestwick, Scotland, from Montreal, Canada, to Prestwick, Scotland, once owned by China Southern Airlines.
In 2023, the Airbus A380, with registration number 9H-GLOBL, has a high vertical tail that is not the symbol of the current globe and routes, but the iconic kapok pattern of China Southern Airlines. At that time, China Southern Airlines was registered as B-6140, which was retired at the end of 2022 and quietly parked in the aircraft cemetery in the Mojave Desert in the United States, waiting for its future fate.
Will it be dismantled into scattered parts in the desert, or will it be reborn and rejuvenated after an overhaul? It wasn't until James Asquith from the UK that the A380's path to resurrection became clear. After the B-6140, which was in the prime of life, was taken by Asquith, he spent money to buy British World Air Lines.
On January 7, 2024, British World Airlines' first A380 turned on its transponder at Mojave Airport and changed its registration number to 9H-GLOBL. On February 15, the A380 returned from the first test take-off from Mojave Airport in the United States, and after several months of overhaul and commissioning, it successfully completed its maiden flight after joining British Global Airlines on May 1.
As a world-renowned adventurer and the youngest single traveler to travel around the world, James Asquith has completed the feat of visiting 196 countries around the world at the age of 24. After a thousand sails, he founded British World Air and hired Richard Stephenson, the former head of the UK's Civil Aviation Administration, as the company's chief commercial officer.
The visionary Asquith has set his sights on lucrative transatlantic routes, planning to build an all-Airbus fleet of four A380s in an attempt to get a piece of the pie. Transatlantic round-trip routes have historically been the prime route for major airlines. Normally, the price of a flight from London to Los Angeles is $3,210, or about 23,000 yuan.
The price of a flight from London to New York is about 2,865 US dollars, which is equivalent to about 20,600 yuan. Profit margins have been close to around 20% in the past, and it is no exaggeration to say that once the transatlantic routes connecting the European and American metropolises are successfully obtained, the profit prospects will be very impressive, and even the wealth will be rolling in.
However, obtaining a license to operate transatlantic routes from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is no easy feat, and many powerful airlines, let alone a fledgling private airline, have not been able to do so. People are dismissive of Asquith's idea of obtaining a license to operate this route.
However, the reality is often unexpected, and after months of hard work in the United States, Asquith was able to achieve his original goal by obtaining a valuable transatlantic trade permit.
Currently, the A380 is scheduled to stay at Prestwick Airport in Scotland for several months to carry out the necessary repairs, modifications and renovations. Previously, Asquith had revealed his plans to increase the number of seats by 42 while maintaining a three-cabin layout to bring the total number of seats to 470. After the modification, the aircraft is expected to make its first commercial transatlantic flight by the end of 2024.
However, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Just as the A380 was flying at an altitude of about 8,230 meters, an attentive observer noticed that its landing gear was in a lower state. Obviously, the aircraft's landing gear had been stored in the desert for too long, which affected its flexibility and had to be repaired or replaced. Perhaps, other parts of the aircraft must also be carefully overhauled to ensure the perfect resurrection of this A380.
However, with Asquith and Stephenson, two aviation professionals, the young British airline may be able to bring a different experience and new surprises to passengers.