BeOnd

International airline in the Maldives
BeOnd
BeOndLogo
IATA ICAO Callsign
B4 BYD BEOND
FoundedJanuary 2022; 2 years ago (2022-01)[1]
Commenced operations15 November 2023; 5 months ago (2023-11-15)[2]
Operating basesVelana International Airport
Fleet size1
Destinations5[3]
Parent companyBeond Holding Limited
HeadquartersDubai, United Arab Emirates[4]
Founders
  • Max Nilov (CSO)
  • Sascha Feuerherd (CCO)
  • Tero Taskila (CEO)
  • Mariyam Shakeela Founder[5]
Websiteflybeond.com

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 Emirati investment firm Arabesque, and the Maldivian hospitality company SIMDI Group.[7][8]

History

Foundation

The 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, leased from BBAM Aircraft Leasing & Management.[11] In October 2023, it was reported that the airline will take the delivery of Airbus A321LR and A321XLR aircraft from 2024.[12] In its Airbus A321 fleet the airline will have a seat configuration of 68 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 format.[13]

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][14][15]

Start of operations

BeOnd was originally slated to begin commercial operations by September 2023.[16] 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.[17] At the same time, the new route to Bangkok originally announced for a start in July 2024 had also been cancelled.[18]

Destinations

Countries served by Beond as of December 2023[19][20]

As of February 2024, Beond serves the following scheduled destinations.[19] Additionally, Dubai-Al Maktoum is currently used as a fuel stop but will start operating as a scheduled destination from July 2024.[19][20]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Germany Munich Munich Airport Seasonal [17][18]
Italy Milan Milan Malpensa Airport Begins 2 July 2024 [21][18]
Maldives Malé Velana International Airport Hub [19][18]
Saudi Arabia Riyadh King Khalid International Airport [19][18]
Switzerland Zürich Zurich Airport [19][18]
United Arab Emirates Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport fuel-stop only until July 2, 2024 [19][18]

Fleet

BeOnd Airbus A319-100

As of February 2024, the fleet of BeOnd consists of the following aircraft:[22]

BeOnd fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 1 — 44
Airbus A321-200 — 1[12] 68[12] Delivery expected in March 2024.[4][23]
Airbus A321LR/XLR — 1[12] 68[12]
Total 1 2

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. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Beond on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.com.
  4. ^ a b Garcia, Marisa. "Beond Carves Out Luxury Leisure Micro-Niche On Low-Cost Airline Values". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  5. ^ "About Us". BeOnd. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  6. ^ travel_admin (2024-01-13). "05 Amazing Local Airlines to Travel in Maldives!". MVHOTELS.TRAVEL. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  7. ^ a b "Beond, the world's first premium leisure airline, announces a distribution agreement with Euroairlines". euroairlines. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  8. ^ "Beond: The New Luxury Airline By SIMDI Group and ARABESQUE Will Operate Airbus A321Neo's". www.aviatorsmaldives.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  9. ^ 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 4 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Luxury airline Beond selects Riyadh, Munich, and Zürich as launch cities for Maldives". Arab News. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  11. ^ "AIRBUS A319 - MSN 2119 8Q-FBA". airfleets.net. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e Godinho, Varun (2023-10-12). "All-business Beond airline to commence operations in November". Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  13. ^ "UAE's Arabesque to operate as BeOnd from Maldives". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  14. ^ "Beond | Book Flights Online & Save". www.alternativeairlines.com. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  15. ^ Prisco, Jacopo (2023-07-24). "The new 'private jet'-style airline set to fly to Maldives". CNN. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  16. ^ himvadmin (2023-06-29). "Luxury airline Beond debuts in September · Hotel Insider". Hotel Insider. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  17. ^ a b aerotelegraph.com - "Beond cancels Munich from summer schedule" (German) 27 February 2024
  18. ^ a b c d e f g aeroroutes.com - BEOND NS24 NETWORK CHANGES – 29FEB24 29 February 2024
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "Bookable flights on airline's website". flybeond.com. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  20. ^ a b "Route map Beond (B4)". flightconnections.com.
  21. ^ Dunn, T. J. (2024-02-07). "Beond Airlines Expands Network with Second Aircraft". Prince of Travel. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  22. ^ "Beond Fleet Details". airfleets.net. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  23. ^ Miller, Seth (2023-10-11). "Beond sets sights on premium Maldives traffic". PaxEx.Aero. Retrieved 2023-12-01.

External links

  • Official website
  • Arabesque - Official website
  • SIMDI Group - Home
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