Tom Stokely has left the board of Global Airlines, the latest sign of strain around the startup that once promised to begin flying a UK-based long-haul Airbus A380 service in spring 2024. The move comes after months of publicity flights, branding exercises and no sign of a scheduled airline operation.
Stokely is an OnlyFans co-founder, and his exit removes one of the better-known names attached to a carrier that had pitched itself as a luxury long-haul operator built around a single giant jet. Global Airlines had planned to start with flights to New York and Los Angeles, but it never applied for a UK Operating Licence and it never secured an Air Operator’s Certificate.
The company did, however, obtain one used Airbus A380, registered 9H-GLOBL, and paint it in its own colors. It also used the aircraft for publicity charter flights through Hi Fly Malta before the jet went to storage, where it was ready for heavy maintenance after being grounded for about 10 months. In December, Global Airlines showed off an Airbus A340 with its branding as it continued to promote the brand rather than a timetable.
That gap between presentation and operation has defined the project from the start. The airline had been positioned as a premium long-haul startup, but the A380 model is difficult to sustain without network feed, frequency, corporate contracts or loyalty customers, and Global Airlines had none of those ingredients in place. Instead, it leaned on a borrowed aircraft, short-term promotion and public visibility while the regulatory side of the business remained unfinished.
The friction sharpened further when Business Insider reported that Hi Fly said the Airbus A340 was not owned by Global Airlines and that it had no operational relationship with the company over the aircraft. Hi Fly said the A340 effort was solely for brand promotion. Global Airlines said it planned to introduce additional board members and other team members, calling the move part of its development programme as it gears up for the next chapter of development. For now, Stokely’s departure leaves the airline with a brand, an aircraft in storage and a launch that never arrived.
