Fly to the Maldives with this premium “value for money” business airline.

Offering luxury flights at affordable prices, the airline claims to be creating a new dimension in luxury travel.

BeOnd, registered in the Maldives and headquartered in Dubai, took its first flight from Munich to Malé in November last year. Eight months on, it has just launched a new route from Malé to Milan, adding to its Dubai, Riyadh and Zurich routes.

Tero Taskila, CEO of BeOnd, is an industry veteran with 30 years of flying experience in companies around the world. Taskila believed it was the right time to start a retail store, all business class airlines after seeing the industry reach a crossroads.

“We’re at a perfect time in aviation history where the technology is meeting the demand, and we have an opportunity to create something for that segment and really focus on that segment,” he says.

In September, BeOnd will launch its first Asia Pacific destination: Bangkok in Thailand. The route will pave the way to a large market many airlines are racing to capture.

What’s it like to fly with BeOnd?

Opting for narrow-body Airbus A319s, BeOnd puts just 44 seats on a plane that would seat 156 passengers if it were an all-economy offering.

Soon, the airline will expand its fleet to include the Airbus A321, which will have 68 business class seats, there is still room for an aircraft that can accommodate 220 passengers.

The BeOnd flat seats are designed by Optimares, with Ferrari seat shells and fine leather materials from Italy. A team of world-class chefs prepare on-board menus, inspired by the tastes of different regions.

But more than a fee ate and beautiful interiors, Taskila says most of the positive feedback he has received has been from the staff.

“Our employees are our biggest loyal tribe. People love our employees. I recently had a great compliment from a customer, who said he was very impressed with the cabin crew, who knew a lot about and he listened a lot, and it was his first day at work,” he says.

‘We don’t need to be too expensive’

Although BeOnd calls itself luxury the planeTaskila says he doesn’t mind being seen as a ‘money killer’.

“We don’t need to be overly expensive. But we need to be able, at any price we offer, to exceed that value, so we create value,” he says.

So, how much does it cost to fly with BeOnd?

At the time of writing, a return flight from Munich to Malé in October is selling for $2,800 or €2,600.

A similar route with Lufthansa costs more than €4,500, and you have at least one stopover.

Features of BeOnd Apple’s VR headset and Beats headphones

BeOnd has also chosen to do away with the usual built-in budgets for its in-flight entertainment system. Instead, the company chose to offer the latest Apple iPad Pro tablets and Beats by Dre wireless headphones.

“If it’s who has the biggest FE screen, someone’s always going to have a bigger one than you, right? It’s easy to copy, but you can’t mimic that experience,” Taskila says.

BeOnd has announced that it will be the first the plane offering Apple Vision Pro on its planes, which allows passengers to immerse themselves in inflight content such as movies and games.

Facing the challenge of performance

Introducing a new luxury aircraft at a time when the industry is facing great scrutiny for carbon emissions may raise eyebrows. But Taskila believes that BeOnd can become a leader in sustainable air travel.

“We aim to be the largest, most sustainable aviation fuel producer in the world,” he tells Euronews Travel.

“Obviously we’re not the biggest airline, so we’re not the biggest, but it’s the fuel percentage that’s there. stable from all the fat we eat, we will be the leading ones. We will be the fastest to implement that 100 percent in the airline industry.”

It’s a bold goal as major airlines scale back their emissions reduction targets due to low supply and high prices for SAF, which currently lacks demand.

In an effort to strengthen its green credentials, the airline has no single use plastic across its products, and has partnered with CarbonClick, to allow customers to reduce their carbon footprint.

How does BeOnd create its own team?

With no immediate plans to launch a loyalty program or join a global airline alliance, BeOnd is happy to make its own way. luxury travel the market.

But Taskila does not judge the proposed transactions with them airplanes which can help them reach more customers.

“Being different doesn’t mean we can’t interact with others. So ultimately, customers create the journey. We want to make it easier for them, so we are looking for partners and seat partners to help them come to our network,” he says.

He hopes that these partnerships will help BeOnd to achieve its goal of fly to 54 non-stop destinations and its fleet of 27 aircraft by 2028. The airline also plans to carry more than 405,000 passengers by then, which will strengthen its US-targeted operating value $1.3 billion (€1.2 bn).