Unfortunately I can’t say I’m surprised by this situation, but it’s still pretty bad, and one can’t help but wonder how numbered the carrier’s days are…
In this post:
Beond Airlines can’t afford to pay staff salaries
Beond Airlines launched operations in 2023, and it brands itself as the world’s first premium leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Dubai, but primarily operates flights to and from the Maldives. The airline currently has a fleet of two aircraft, including one A319 and one A321.
I reviewed the airline in 2024, and the onboard product was super pleasant, so I was a fan of the passenger experience. However, since the beginning, I’ve been saying that the business model makes no sense. This spring, we saw the airline “suspend” regularly scheduled commercial operations through the fall, coinciding with the low season in the Maldives.
We’ve also seen the airline promise massive growth, setting up subsidiaries in everywhere from Bahrain, to Saudi Arabia, to the United States. Respectfully, if your core business isn’t working, it seems like greatly scaling it and setting up new subsidiaries probably isn’t the solution either.
Anyway, when the airline suspended operations, I posed the question of whether this might signal the end of the airline. While that still remains to be seen, there’s one sign that’s not at all encouraging.
A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge reports on a company memo sent by CEO Tero Taskila, which reveals that the company is two months behind on paying salaries, as it awaits additional funding. I have to give Taskila credit for at least not gaslighting employees, and being honest about the current reality.
He wrote that “we are two months in arrears, and I know what that means for you and your families. I will not dress that up.” I guess to get additional funding, the airline is relying on approval from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), to launch a venture there, though that deadline has now slipped.
He goes on to write that “as soon as funds come through, payments will be released. I will not give you a payment date I am not certain I can meet.”
What’s perhaps most controversial is that the CEO is asking staff to continue working without pay, as the airline operates a limited number of charter flights. “We have a charter flight tomorrow and quite a busy schedule in the coming week. Those flights matter. Not because they fix the salary issue, but because every operated flight protects the company’s ability to make good on what we owe you.”
This is a combination of bad luck and a bad business model
Credit where credit’s due, I actually think Beond’s CEO is trying to build a “real” airline, genuinely believes in the concept, and wants to succeed. That’s more than we can say about some other “airline startups.” Every interaction I’ve had with him has been pleasant and respectful, and he actually has quite a bit of industry experience.
It goes without saying that several factors here have posed a major challenge for Beond Airlines. The most significant is that a huge increase in jet fuel prices hits any airline that’s not very profitable in the first place the hardest, especially if they don’t have the liquidity to weather a rough period.
Furthermore, essentially operating all flights with a refueling stop in the Middle East isn’t ideal, in terms of passenger flow between Europe and the Maldives, since many people want to avoid the region. The airline shifted its stopover point to other cities, but that also adds complexity, given that most Beond crews are based in Dubai.
But none of this changes the fact that the business model just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in the first place, in my opinion. The Maldives has highly seasonal demand, especially among more premium travelers, and on top of that, essentially requiring a refueling stop in the Middle East makes it hard to get any real sleep when flying on Beond. Add in the lack of Wi-Fi, and it’s not really that compelling of a passenger experience, especially with the lack of frequencies, lack of operational reliability, etc.
Quite honestly, what I’ve found most concerning, though, is Beond’s constant overpromising and underdelivering on growth, and this goes back to before the airline even launched. If you’re publicly traded and your forecasts never match the actual results, you’re dinged massively, and investors have no confidence. That’s kind of the vibe here, except the company isn’t publicly traded.
In April 2025, the airline announced it would expand to 18 new destinations in 2026. That just didn’t happen. Period. And it made no sense, because what was the plan to acquire planes? Then in November 2025, the airline announced it would set up subsidiaries all over the place. In the United States, that was supposed to be in partnership with New Pacific Airlines… which liquidated two weeks after the announcement.
This is just not how you create trust, and it felt like every announcement from this airline was intended to try to get new investors by promising the sky, rather than an actual reflection of reality.
Bottom line
All-business class airline Beond hasn’t paid its staff in two months, and doesn’t know when it’ll be able to do so. Meanwhile the airline is continuing to ask staff to work charter flights without pay. It seems that paying staff is contingent upon approval of a new subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, and that keeps getting delayed.
I feel horribly for the staff involved, since promises of money at some point in the future don’t pay bills. With the airline having suspended regularly scheduled operations in the spring, one wonders if we may ever see another regularly scheduled flight from the airline…
What do you make of this Beond Airlines situation?
If you seek an all-business, all-lie-flat airline, that regularly flies between the US and Europe, and that actually pay its people and its bills, please consider... La Compagnie. EWR-ORY/MXP/NCE.
One has to wonder if Mr T. Dunn, was the analyst who advised them when they were drafting their business model.
@AeroB13a, why are you so fascinated with Tim? This was a totally unrelated article. I actually like some of Tim's comments.
This is an online world that rewards chronic mouth-breathers filling up comment sections in every niche of the Internet, and one must feel the most rewarded
Me too Ben, when Timmy is anthropomorphising Delta by assuming it has beliefs, desires or feelings …. :-)
Most airlines will be worse because of "fees" , high executive pay , poor service , and crowded , twisted seats .
You mean high pilot pay, correct?
Man I feel for the staff. "Please work more so we can keep the lights on" Doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
The least they could have done is given them a 10% bump on pay but what good is 10% on -100%. No Bueno situation.