An Airbus A380 formally operated by Hi Fly and stored for five years has found a new owner despite previous interest from UK-startup Global Airlines.
The Airbus A380-800, registered 9H-MIP or MSN006, was recently flown from Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (LDE) to Dresden Airport (DRS) for maintenance work at the EFW facility.
On September 16, 2025, EFW, which is owned by Airbus and ST Engineering, confirmed that it had welcomed the superjumbo from its new customer, ALG.
According to a statement from EFW, ALG representatives Gregory Thornton and Martyn Anderson are acting on behalf of a client that plans to return the aircraft to service.
AeroTime reported on this development on September 17, 2025, but details surrounding which company would be operating the A380 were less clear. EFW later confirmed to AeroTime that the A380 had a new owner.
The latest data on the Transport Malta aircraft registry indicates that the new current “operator” of the aircraft is PB Leasing Aircraft No. 9.
On the UK’s Companies House website, the sole director of PB Leasing Aircraft No. 9 is listed as Roger Jeffrey Allard who is also currently a director of Hebridean Island Cruises.
AeroTime has contacted Hebridean Island Cruises to speak with Roger Jeffrey Allard and establish if either company is the new owner.
While the 9H-MIP was previously operated by Hi Fly, the aircraft was owned by Doric Asset Finance.
AeroTime contacted Doric Asset Finance to ask for more details about the A380 sale but received no reply.
‘Global is progressing the acquisition of other A380s’
It was widely speculated that 9H-MIP would join Global Airlines, however a spokesperson for the carrier said that the “deal did not progress”.
“We turned our attention to MSN 120, a much newer aircraft, for our successful first flights programme. However, as we love to see A380s back in the sky, and as MSN 006 will always be an early part of the Global story, we were pleased to support its recent repositioning to Dresden by providing parts it required to take flight,” Global Airlines said in a statement to AeroTime.
They added: “Aviation is a family and the A380 is a special aircraft so when operators and owners can help one another, it’s important to do. Global is progressing the acquisition of other A380s.”
9H-MIP famously showcased the eye-catching ‘Save the Coral Reefs’ livery between 2018 and 2020 while flying for Hi Fly.
AeroTime will update the article when there is further information.
4 comments
Roger Allard has quite the history in Aviation and Tour Operating.
He’ll have a plan and most likely will be a good one. Good luck to him
As i understand it, the aircraft will be owned by Roger Allard’s ‘Chelsea Green’ company and will not be operated as a traditional customer fare paying service, but rather to support the positioning of cruise line staff and possibly passengers. An A380 for this may be overkill and a bit of a vanity project, but it’s thought to be more economical than the current overworked B737.
This Airbus A380 wants to join Emirates I guess.
Pretty sure it’s the Kayan group in Myanmar/Thailand.
Did some digging and PB appears to stand for “Plane Business” (which some of the former directors of the holding company owned). Plane Business was bought out by the Kayan Group in 2018.
Supporting this, a previous aircraft owned by the holding company that now owns the A380 (An ATR72 referenced in a charge against the company on companies house) was flying at that time for Air Mandalay of Myanmar.
Finally to check I went on the Kayan group’s website. Under the fleet section they list: “A380-842”