Several years after launching as a start-up charter and passenger carrier, Florida-based Global Crossing Airlines – which operates as GlobalX – is looking to extend its model to Asia-Pacific by establishing a new airline based in Melbourne.
The yet-unnamed carrier is tracking to launch operations before the end of 2025 through a joint venture with ATB Aviation Australia, chief marketing officer Mark Salvador told FlightGlobal on 15 January.
“As an ACMI [aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance] charter operator, we have seen some really good success in North America, along with our opportunities to operate in Europe and in the UK,” he says. “We were approached by a highly capable management team in Australia for this joint venture.
“Being a passenger and cargo airline, we thought there was a really strong opportunity to expand our business into the Asia-Pacific region.”
Salvador says that the “entity is coming together”, with the company beginning to compose a board of directors and initiating regulatory processes. Asked about the search for a chief executive, he says the operation will be “led locally” in Australia.
Global Crossing views the APAC region as having significant growth potential. Salvador notes that the region has embraced the Airbus A321 Freighter platform that it uses to move air cargo. ”We thought we could lend some really good experience in that area.”
The company is seeking to secure necessary certifications from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), followed by other certificates required to operate elsewhere in the APAC region.
It intends to operate a small fleet of leased A320-family jets. Global Crossing has not determined how many aircraft it will use to launch operations, but shares tentative plans to grow a 10-strong fleet of narrowbody jets within five years.
“Initially, we’ll bring on the aircraft that are required for [CASA] certification, and then the schedule of aircraft behind that will be dependent on the business opportunities that are developed,” Salvador says. “Any good business plan will tell you what you need to do in order to get to an economy of scale.”
The company’s aircraft acquisition team is always watching the used narrowbody market, Salvador says, and is actively tracking some “200 tail numbers that will become available”.
In a tight market for commercial jets, “we find that while airlines are holding on to their aircraft a little bit longer and are extending certain leases, there are still some opportunities for us to bring in aircraft that fit our economics”, he says.
Since launching in August 2021, GlobalX now operates a fleet of 18 A320-family jets out of its base in Miami, Florida. In a difficult environment for airline start-ups, it has found success partially due to the market’s receptiveness to its Airbus platform.
“I feel like we have done a very good job of growing the market and finding new customers to come into the charter space,” Salvador says. “You’ll always find that there are seasonal needs that either foreign travel operators or other airlines need additional airlift, and our model is one that… has been able to generate business that complements those demand periods.”
The company has been targeting existing carriers that need “supplemental lift”, Salvador says, pointing to a recently secured deal to fly cargo between Chicago and San Juan on behalf of United Airlines. The new Melbourne-based carrier will follow a similar strategy in Asia-Pacific by supporting regional carriers during peak air travel seasons.
Global Crossing will announce the name of the new airline and reveal the aircraft livery design later this year.
