BeOnd
BeOndLogo
IATA ICAO Callsign
B4 BYD BEOND
FoundedJanuary 2022 (2022-01)[1][2]
Commenced operations15 November 2023 (2023-11-15)[3]
Operating basesVelana International Airport
Fleet size1
Destinations5[4]
Parent companyBeond Holding Limited
HeadquartersDubai[5]
Founders
  • Max Nilov (CSO)
  • Sascha Feuerherd (CCO)
  • Tero Taskila (CEO)[6]
Websiteflybeond.com

BeOnd is a Maldivian airline based in the capital of Maldives, Malé. It was founded by Max Nilov and Tero Taskila in November 2022. The airline is a joint venture formed by the Emirati investment firm Arabesque, and the Maldivian hospitality company SIMDI Group. It plans to connect Maldives to multiple European and Asian countries with their cities, as well as to Australia.[7] It plans to operate to over 50 destinations in more than 25 countries with a fleet of over 30 aircraft in the next 5 years.[8]

History

The only way to enter Maldives from all countries is by air. At present, international airlines dominate operations at Velana International Airport, because Maldives, although has an existing flag carrier, Maldivian, it has a too small fleet to cater to the growth at the airport and to compete with international airlines, along with connecting more worldwide destinations. In view of the rapidly rising tourist arrivals in Maldives, to cope with this, Max Nilov, Tero Taskila (former executive of Lufthansa) and Sascha Feuerherd decided to create a new airline by forming a joint venture of two companies, Arabesque and SIMDI Group.

The airline was expected to begin operations with a fleet of three Airbus A319 aircraft, along with an additional four, to be leased from the aircraft leasing company BBAM. In its Airbus A321 fleet the airline will have a seat configuration of 68 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 format.[9]

Initial destinations were disclosed to include Dubai, Delhi, Hong Kong, Milan, Munich, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore, Taipei, Vienna and Zurich and a potential connection to Perth and Melbourne, along with seasonal destinations such as Finland.[7][10][11] The airline was slated to begin commercial operations by September 2023.[12] The actual start was in November 2023.[3]

Destinations

Countries served by Beond as of December 2023[13][14]

As of December 2023, Beond serves the following destinations.[13] Additionally, Dubai-Al Maktoum is used as a fuel stop but not bookable as a destination.[15][13][14]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Germany Munich Munich Airport
Italy Milan Milan Malpensa Airport
Maldives Malé Velana International Airport Base
Saudi Arabia Riyadh King Khalid International Airport
Switzerland Zürich Zurich Airport

Fleet

Current fleet

As of January 2024, the fleet of BeOnd consists of the following aircraft:[16]

BeOnd fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 1 — 44
Airbus A321-200 — 1[17] 68 Delivery expected in March 2024.[5]
Total 1 1

Fleet development

On 10 August 2023, the first aircraft, an A319, joined the fleet, leased from BBAM Aircraft Leasing & Management.[18] In October 2023, it was reported that the airline will take the delivery of Airbus A321LR and A321XLR aircraft in 2024.[19] The airline aims to have a fleet of eight to ten aircraft by the end of 2024.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ Bodell, Luke (26 November 2022). "Airline Startup: BeOnd Wants To Serve Maldives With All-Business Airbus A321". Simple Flying. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 Joshi, Gaurav (2023-11-16). "Luxury Airline Startup Beond Starts Commercial Flight From Munich To Maldives". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  4. ↑ "Beond on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.com.
  5. 1 2 Garcia, Marisa. "Beond Carves Out Luxury Leisure Micro-Niche On Low-Cost Airline Values". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  6. ↑ "About Us". BeOnd. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 Scott, Katherine (29 June 2023). "A new premium Maldives airline with all-flat seats is headed for Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "Luxury airline Beond selects Riyadh, Munich, and Zurich as launch cities for Maldives". Arab News. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  9. ↑ Mitchell, Alexander (2023-08-21). "Premium Leisure Airline Beond Receives Maldivian Authority Support Ahead Of Fall 2023 Launch". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  10. ↑ "Beond | Book Flights Online & Save". www.alternativeairlines.com. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  11. ↑ Prisco, Jacopo (2023-07-24). "The new 'private jet'-style airline set to fly to Maldives". CNN. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  12. ↑ himvadmin (2023-06-29). "Luxury airline Beond debuts in September · Hotel Insider". Hotel Insider. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  13. 1 2 3 "Bookable flights on airline's website". flybeond.com. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  14. 1 2 "Route map Beond (B4)". flightconnections.com.
  15. ↑ Rains, Taylor. "A new all-business class airline promising a 'private jet' experience is launching flights to the Maldives using Airbus aircraft with lie-flat beds — meet Beond". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  16. ↑ "Beond Fleet Details". airfleets.net. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Miller, Seth (2023-10-11). "Beond sets sights on premium Maldives traffic". PaxEx.Aero. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  18. ↑ "AIRBUS A319 - MSN 2119 8Q-FBA". airfleets.net. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  19. ↑ Godinho, Varun (2023-10-12). "All-business Beond airline to commence operations in November". Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  20. ↑ Bailey, Joanna (2023-09-05). "Low-Cost Luxury: Startup Beond To Connect Munich, Zurich & Riyadh With Maldives". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
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