beOnd is a Maldivian airline headquartered in Dubai and based at Velana International Airport near the capital of the Maldives, Malé.[6] It was founded by Max Nilov and Tero Taskila in November 2022. The airline is a joint venture formed by the investment firm Arabesque, and the Maldivian hospitality company SIMDI Group.[7][8]
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| Founded | January 2022[1] | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 15 November 2023[2] | ||||||
| Operating bases | Velana International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
| Destinations | 6[3] | ||||||
| Parent company | Beond Holding Limited | ||||||
| Headquarters | Dubai, United Arab Emirates[4] | ||||||
| Founders |
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| Website | flybeond.com | ||||||
History
editFoundation
editThe only way to enter the Maldives from all countries is by air. At present, international airlines dominate operations at Velana International Airport, because the Maldives' flag carrier, Maldivian, has too small a fleet to cater to the growth at the airport and to compete with international airlines, along with connecting more worldwide destinations.[citation needed]
Max Nilov, Tero Taskila and Sascha Feuerherd decided to create a new airline by forming a joint venture of two companies, Arabesque and SIMDI Group.[7] beOnd plans to connect the Maldives to multiple European and Asian countries with their cities, as well as to Australia.[9] It announced plans to operate to over 50 destinations in more than 25 countries with a fleet of over 30 aircraft in the next few years.[10]
On 10 August 2023, the first aircraft, an A319, joined the fleet with 44 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration.[11] Its Airbus A321 joined the fleet on 2 September 2024 with a seat configuration of 68 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 format.[12]
Planned initial destinations were originally disclosed to include Dubai, Delhi, Hong Kong, Milan, Munich, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore, Taipei, Vienna and Zürich and a potential connection to Perth and Melbourne, along with seasonal destinations such as Finland.[9][13][14]
Start of operations
editbeOnd was originally slated to begin commercial operations by September 2023.[15] The actual start was in November 2023.[2]
In February 2024, the airline announced it would downgrade its services to Munich to a seasonal route, citing economic reasons.[16] At the same time, the new route to Bangkok originally announced for a start in July 2024 had also been cancelled.[17]
Destinations
editAs of October 2024, beOnd serves the following scheduled destinations.[18]
| Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Munich | Munich Airport | Seasonal | [16][17] |
| Italy | Milan | Milan Malpensa Airport | [18][17] | |
| Maldives | Malé | Velana International Airport | Hub | [18][17] |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | King Khalid International Airport | [18][17] | |
| Switzerland | Zürich | Zurich Airport | [18][17] | |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai | Al Maktoum International Airport | [18][17] |
Fleet
editAs of November 2024, the fleet of beOnd consists of the following aircraft:[19]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 1 | — | 44 | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 1 | — | 68 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Tunney, Donna (23 November 2022). "What To Know About BeOnd: The World's First Luxury Airline In The Maldives". The Travel. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ a b Lassetter, Jon (2023-11-22). "New Route of the Day (15 November 2023): Beond between Munich and Malé". Air Service One. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Beond on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.com.
- ^ Garcia, Marisa (8 November 2023). "Beond Carves Out Luxury Leisure Micro-Niche On Low-Cost Airline Values". Forbes. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "About Us". BeOnd. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "05 Amazing Local Airlines to Travel in Maldives!". MVHOTELS.TRAVEL. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Beond, the world's first premium leisure airline, announces a distribution agreement with Euroairlines". Euroairlines. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Beond: The New Luxury Airline By SIMDI Group and ARABESQUE Will Operate Airbus A321Neo's". Aviators Maldives. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b Scott, Katherine (29 June 2023). "A new premium Maldives airline with all-flat seats is headed for Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Luxury airline Beond selects Riyadh, Munich, and Zurich as launch cities for Maldives". Arab News. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "AIRBUS A319 - MSN 2119 8Q-FBA". airfleets.net. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ Sipinski, Dominik (12 October 2022). "UAE's Arabesque to operate as BeOnd from Maldives". ch-aviation. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Beond | Book Flights Online & Save". www.alternativeairlines.com. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
- ^ Prisco, Jacopo (24 July 2023). "The new 'private jet'-style airline set to fly to Maldives". CNN. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Luxury airline Beond debuts in September". Hotel Insider. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b Nowack, Timo (27 February 2024). "Beond streicht München aus dem Sommerflugplan" [Beond removes Munich from the summer flight schedule]. aeroTELEGRAPH (in German). Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Liu, Jim (29 February 2024). "BeOnd NS24 Network Changes". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bookable flights on airline's website". flybeond.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Beond Fleet Details". airfleets.net. Retrieved 19 July 2024.