Perhaps more accurately, I should say that I booked a ticket on Beond Airlines. Whether or not the flight that I booked actually operates remains to be seen…
I booked a Beond Airlines business class ticket!
In late 2023, we saw the launch of Beond Airlines, an unusual all-business class airline startup based in the Maldives. The airline has very ambitious goals, and hopes to eventually operate dozens of planes to dozens of destinations from the Maldives.
So far, the airline operates a single 20-year-old former EasyJet Airbus A319, featuring just 44 business class seats. As I’ve written about, the airline has struggled with reliability, and can’t seem to operate anything other than its Riyadh (RUH) service reliably.
The airline “suspended” its Munich (MUC) service weeks after launch, and suspended its Zurich (ZRH) service for the past several weeks. Even the flights that do operate are frequently rescheduled at the last minute. The reviews I have seen of the airline basically show nearly empty planes.
Suffice it to say that I’m fascinated, and I’ve been wanting to fly the airline ever since I heard about it, even if I am skeptical of the business model (to put it politely). I love flying airline startups, and I’m also an airline product geek.
I’m in Europe at the moment on a non-review trip, but with the airline now launching flights to Milan (MXP), I couldn’t help but book a ticket, especially since the fare isn’t half bad. A one-way business class ticket from Milan to Male costs ~$1,242, which is significantly less than the airline was previously charging for tickets. So I’m now ticketed, and am excited to experience this firsthand.
The carrier’s marketing surrounding its new Milan flight is… ummm… something. You know, there are many things I’ve wondered about in my life, but I can’t say that the preferred travel patterns of the Mona Lisa and Vivaldi are among them.
Will this be an adventure, or a non-event?
The way I see it, there are a couple of questions here. The first question is whether there will actually be a flight for me to take. Beond Airlines has a history of canceling flights or greatly changing the schedule at the last minute, and I can’t help but wonder if that will happen here.
If the flight does operate, then I’m super excited to experience Beond Airlines. Now, I don’t actually have any need or desire to go to the Maldives at the moment. This is just a roundabout routing for me to get from Europe back home. So I actually need to figure out how I’ll get from Male (MLE) back to Miami (MIA) as quickly as possible.
Bottom line
Beond Airlines is an all-business class airline startup that has fascinated me since it launched. I finally booked a ticket on the airline, and am excited to experience it. Hopefully my flight actually operates.
So place your bets — how do you think this Beond Airlines adventure will go?
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