Beond Airlines launched operations in 2023, and it brands itself as the worlds first premium leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Dubai, but primarily operates flights to and from the Maldives. I reviewed the airline in 2024, and the onboard product was super pleasant.
Continue reading: Beond Airlines Will Fly From Maldives To London, Paris, And Moscow… Via Dubai
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Launching flights through Dubai in present times seems like a very well thought our strategy. Well done Beond.
DWC might be genius because of few reasons. 1 because DXB isn't right by the sea or in the middle of town there's less chance of debris fall out. 2 there won't be a backlog when there is any disruption because it's well under capacity in fact planes trying to get to DXB or AUH divert to DWC
I'll put $20 down that they haven't actually secured Heathrow slots for this and there will be a cafuffle somewhere down the road where the flights will quietly be cancelled or shifted to Gatwick / Stansted.
Exactly what I was thinking. Given the operational challenges they've had with operating to MXP/MUC/ZRH especially due to low factors, there's no way they have the resources or ability to acquire LHR slots. If they have touché for proving me wrong... but I'd say that's probably going to be even worse for their bottom line.
This is a great point - the economics of flying a 50 seat business class only flight from LHR make ZERO sense given the cost of flying from LHR (are they going to be able to charge the same cost as Emirates First for a one stop flight from LHR in order to not lose money?). This entire airline feels like a money laundering scheme.
Given the current situation along the Persian Gulf in particular and Beond's limited network, I would have expected them to shift their refuelling stops somewhere along the Red Sea (e.g. JED) or Southern Oman (e.g. SLL, though not sure if the plane's range to western Europe would suffice) to avoid the greater disruptions in that area. Obviously this is easier said than done, especially given the operational challenges with crew positioning... but surely that's less problematic than the pertinent sudden air space closures.
Apparently due to the Middle East closures, some Beond flights have been refueling in Uzbekistan in recent days - this was mentioned in comments on HFP yesterday.
In light of the current Middle East situation, maybe they should rather refuel in Cairo. I'm actually not joking, Ben 🙂
And then there’s this announcement: https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/beond-expands-luxury-airline-ambitions-with-bahrain-deal/
Reminds me of Herman Cain: “When they ask me who's the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I'm going to say, 'You know, I don't know. Do you know?'”
Aww.. shucky ducky!
Perhaps they are being subsidized to use the new Dubai airport. Big problem is probably a lack of connectivity and lack of partners and alternatives if there is a plane issue and the price ….