Friday newsletters always feature travel contests, tips, or news.
Today: New all-Business-Class airline BEOND set to fly to Maldives
A new airline took flight this month. Beond — the world’s first premium leisure airline – will fly a fleet of state-of-the-art Airbus A320-family aircraft in a unique luxury, lay-flat configuration, bringing passengers to the Maldives from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
Last October, with events in the Maldives attended by dignitaries, investors, supporters and employees, and at a global media event broadcast online and in-person in Dubai, the airline showcased its sophisticated and unique aircraft livery on its first airplane, an Airbus A319. This aircraft which will also be on display at the Dubai Air Show in mid-November – has the registration code 8Q-FBA, and it’s roughly 20 years old, having first flown for EasyJet, before being transferred to some other airlines, including Tuifly and Sundair. In its Beond layout, the Airbus A319 offers seating to 44 passengers in a luxurious all lay-flat configuration.
Beond aims to expand rapidly. The carrier will take delivery of an Airbus A321 in late 2023 and an Airbus A321LR in 2024. Both the A321 and A321LR will feature 68 fully flat Business Class seats, as opposed to only 44 seats on the A319. Beond aims to have a fleet of 32 state-of-the-art Airbus A320s within five years to fly to 60 destinations around the globe.. The Airbus planes will all boast spacious interior with premium comfort seats that combine the best of the world’s large aviation and business jets. Beond has worked with renowned West Coast-based boutique brand, innovation, and design consultancy paulwylde on its positioning, brand strategy, naming, identity, and cabin experience design, and has its aircraft seats designed by leading Italian seat manufacturer, and Red Dot Award winner, Optimares (read more below the photo).
“Welcome to Beond. Our aim is simple: to fly our customers to the most unique and unspoiled destinations where they can release their inner explorer on the most memorable vacation of their lives,” said Tero Taskila, CEO of Beond, and a founder. “Today is but the beginning of our vision for our customers, embodied by this beautiful aircraft — inside and out. We could not be more pleased to showcase it in Maldives, our home, and Dubai. We wish especially to thank the government of Maldives and our supporters there, the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority, and SIMDI Group — each of whom believed in our vision for a new airline in Maldives. Our team will do its best to bring tourists to this beautiful nation.”
Beond airline has three different rates for Business Class, and there’s quite a bit of differentiation between them:
- The Delight Experience fare class includes 40kg of checked bags, 10kg of cabin baggage, offers seat assignments for a fee, doesn’t offer lounge access, and only offers ticket changes for a fee
- The Bliss Experience fare class incrementally offers seat assignments for free and lounge access
- The Opulence Experience offers 60kg of checked bags, 15kg of cabin baggage, and free ticket changes
Beond airline’s inaugural flights are scheduled for November 2023, with the Riyadh inaugural departing November 9, the Munich inaugural departing November 15, and the Zurich inaugural departing November 17. Between today and the scheduled service launch, early bird customers have chartered the aircraft to experience the Maldives. In addition, the airline announced new routes from Milan and Dubai, beginning in late March 2024. Flights between Europe and the Maldives will make a with a refueling stop in Dubai.
*** Follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Twitter or Facebook for a daily moment of travel inspiration ***
