We left the lounge shortly after 7:20AM, and were through security by 7:25AM. Our flight was departing from gate 7, though upon arriving at the gate we found it hadn’t started boarding yet.
Male Airport domestic terminal gate
There were maybe 25 people in the gate area for the 37 seat Dash 8, so the flight seemed to be roughly two thirds full.
Male Airport domestic terminal gate
At 7:35AM boarding was finally announced, at which point all the passengers made a mad dash to the door. We waited till the end, since I sure as heck wasn’t excited about spending more time on a Dash 8 than I had to.
Male Airport domestic terminal gate
Maldivian 2275
MLE (MLE) – Kooddoo (GKK)
Sunday, April 5
Depart: 7:40AM
Arrive: 8:45AM
Duration: 1hr05min
Aircraft: Dash 8-200
Seat: 2D (Economy Class)
Once our boarding passes were scanned we walked onto the tarmac, where a bunch of Maldivian Dash 8s were parked.
Maldivian Dash 8 Male Airport
We were on one of the smaller ones, a Dash 8-200.
Maldivian Dash 8 Male Airport
Maldivian Dash 8 Male Airport
Maldivian Dash 8 Male Airport
We quickly settled into row two. I was surprised by how comfortable the seats were.
Maldivian Dash 8, seats 1C & 1D
The legroom wasn’t half bad, and the padding was good as well. I was surprised by how few tourists were on the plane. There were a total of five tourists, and the rest of the passengers seemed to be “locals.” Interestingly the tourists seemed to be seated in the first few rows, while the locals were sat behind.
Maldivian Dash 8, seat 2D
It’s worth noting that the legroom in row one is excellent, particularly on the right side of the plane. This is only the case on the Dash 8-200, though. On the Dash 8-300, there’s a rear facing set of seats right by that row.
Maldivian Dash 8, view from 2D
Maldivian Dash 8, tons of legroom in first row
Maldivian Dash 8, tons of legroom in first row
I looked through the seatback pocket, where I found the safety card, a guide for Chinese tourists vacationing in the Maldives, and a prayer card.
Maldivian Dash 8 safety card
Maldivian guide for Chinese tourists
Maldivian prayer card
Boarding was finished at 7:40AM, at which point a prayer was played over the PA. Shortly thereafter the flight attendant distributed refreshing towels.
Maldivian refreshing towel
The flight attendant then announced our flight time of 55 minutes, and did the safety demo while still at the stand.
It was only at 7:50AM that we began our taxi. Being seated in a right window seat I had a great view of the international terminal, and all of the significantly more interesting traffic there.
Other traffic at Male Airport
Other traffic at Male Airport
Taking off at Male Airport usually requires taxiing the length of the runway, since the only taxiway for the runway is in the center. However, since we were in a prop we just took off in the middle of the runway, given we didn’t need as much room. We were airborne at 7:52AM, just two minutes after we began our taxi.
Taking off Male Airport
The view on the climb out was beautiful.
View after takeoff from Male Airport
Though the views only got better the further into the flight we were.
View enroute to Kooddoo
View enroute to Kooddoo
About 10 minutes after takeoff the flight attendant pulled a curtain around the front of the cabin so she could serve the pilots.
Cockpit service on Maldivian
Shortly thereafter she offered a beverage service, with a choice between water or a couple of types of juice. The juices were thick and tasty.
Inflight beverage service on Maldivian
The flight attendant was rather quirky. She sat in her jumpseat for most of the flight and had facial expressions which cycled between looking like a motionless and expressionless mummy, to breaking out in laughter out of nowhere.
Eventually she randomly asked us if we were also flight attendants, because apparently that’s what we looked like. As it turns out one of the friends I was traveling with is a flight attendant, and she nearly bowed down to him when she found out the airline/airplane/position (suffice to say he’s not the inflight service manager on a Maldivian Dash 8). 😉
My eyes were glued to the window for the entirety of the flight, and before I knew it we were already on our descent into Kooddoo.
View enroute to Kooddoo
View on approach into Kooddoo
View on approach into Kooddoo
View on approach into Kooddoo
View on final approach into Kooddoo
View on final approach into Kooddoo
The runway seemed to be quite short, though we did have a smooth landing, and then rolled out to the end of the runway.
Taxiing Kooddoo Airport
Once we got to to the end we taxied back half of the runway to the taxiway, which took us to the small terminal.
Taxiing Kooddoo Airport
We deplaned within a couple of minutes, at around 8:50AM.
View upon arrival in Kooddoo
Kooddoo Airport’s terminal is tiny and sort of adorable.
Terminal at Kooddoo Airport
The arrivals hall consists of just a dozen chairs.
Terminal at Kooddoo Airport
Upon arrival we were greeted by people from the Park Hyatt, who loaded the five of us headed to the resort onto a golf cart. He explained that checked luggage would be collected for us.
Terminal at Kooddoo Airport
It was a roughly five minute golf cart ride from the airport to the dock.
Driving to pier in Kooddoo
Driving to pier in Kooddoo
Driving to pier in Kooddoo
Once at the dock we were directed to the Park Hyatt’s boat, which featured seating for a bit over a dozen guests.
Walking to pier in Kooddoo
Port in Kooddoo
Park Hyatt boat in Kooddoo
Park Hyatt boat in Kooddoo
We were offered cold towels and water, and were give life vests to wear. We waited for about 10 minutes, until checked bags were loaded onto the boat. In total there were three staff on the boat, plus five guests.
Enroute to the Park Hyatt!
The boat ride to the Park Hyatt took about 25 minutes. I was quite surprised by how fast the boat was — this was a true high speed boat.
Enroute to the Park Hyatt!
Enroute to the Park Hyatt!
Eventually we arrived at the Park Hyatt, and had made it to paradise.
Approaching the Park Hyatt!
PARADISE AT LAST!!!
Maldivian & Park Hyatt transfer bottom line
Getting to the Park Hyatt wasn’t easy… at least in my case. It involved five flights, a night at a not-so-nice hotel, and a boat ride. When I started the boat ride to the Park Hyatt I told my friends “there’s no way this is worth it, I’m beat.”
But once we actually arrived at the resort my impressions changed considerably. When we arrived and the boat’s engine was cut and I had the view of the last picture above, I think my exhaustion turned into excitement. How gorgeous!
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