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Beond, an airline that offers only business class, launched operations in November 2023 with a 21-year-old Airbus A319 aircraft.
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The Maldivian airline flies to Europe and Asia and wants to expand its routes with an Airbus A321.
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Critics have doubts about the strategy, but Beond hopes the company can steal business from larger competitors.
Maldives-focused airline Beond is a largely unknown startup.
The 'premium leisure' airline launched in November 2023 with a single 21-year-old, business class Airbus A319-100 flying from the Maldives to Europe and Asia.
Beond recently added a 22-year-old A321-200 to its fleet, which has more capacity but slightly less range, to fly to new destinations such as Bangkok. By 2025, it wants to have 32 of the longer-range, narrow-body Airbus aircraft in its fleet.
Despite the grand plans, the cards are stacked against Beond. Other airlines, including British Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, have tried to operate only premium aircraft over long distances, but have ultimately scrapped them due to high costs and stiff competition.
Such a small fleet also leaves Beond with little flexibility if something goes wrong. Furthermore, most of their “nonstop” flights have a fuel stop in Dubai, and other airlines have more frequency options in comparison.
I first flew with the airline in July 2024 to see how it compared to other business class-only competitors like La Compagnie.
Beond has an A319 with 44 seats and an A321 with 68 seats.
Both aircraft are previous generation and are less efficient and have a shorter range than modern Airbus aircraft.
The planes will fuel a growing route map of non-stop flights from Male to Milan, Riyadh, Dubai, Zurich and Munich. Beond also has fifth freedom permission to fly passengers between Zurich and Dubai.
As the company grows, Beond hopes to acquire the next-generation A321neoLR and A321XLR aircraft, which will enable longer flights to places like Perth, Australia, and Seoul.
For flights to Europe, a fuel stop in Dubai is required.
Beond's narrow-body aircraft have limited range. Flights between Male and Zurich, Milan and Munich make a stopover in Dubai to refuel.
The fuel stop lasted about an hour during Business Insider’s July flights between Milan and Male. There was a crew change and catering, but passengers did not have to disembark the plane.
The total flight time, including a fuel stop, was shorter than what it would take to fly the route with a regular competitor. Qatar, for example, would take at least an hour and a half longer, require a stopover and be more likely to experience connection problems.
The planes only have business seats that recline completely flat.
Beond's premium-only business model promises beds for all passengers at a reduced rate compared to other airlines. Round-trip tickets start around $2,000.
For example, the cheapest return ticket Milan-Male on Beond is around $3,000 in February. For comparison, Qatar and Emirates’ websites show the same business class itineraries for around $4,000 and around $3,500 respectively, and include a stopover in Doha and Dubai.
The fare difference increases during the holiday season. For example, in late December, business class tickets cost more than $10,000 on Emirates, but only $4,000 on Beond.
The footwells are narrow.
The bed on Beond is padded and comfortable, with extremely soft linen. My 1.60m self easily fit in with room to spare, but I couldn't comfortably lie on my stomach because of the narrow footwell.
Taller travellers should also consider the length of the bed when booking. For example, BI's Pete Syme reported during a media tour in November that people over 6 feet tall found the bed too small.
Customers can pay for a special ottoman seat.
Customers who want more space can pay extra for one of the eight ottoman seats in the first and emergency exit rows. The ottoman also functions as a companion seat.
The special seat is part of the 'business class plus' trend, which has seen airlines create elevated business class seats that generate even more revenue from the ever-important tickets.
JetBlue Airways, Qatar Airways, German airline Condor and Virgin Atlantic Airways have all invested in improved business class seats in one way or another.
Window seats do not offer direct aisle access.
One shortcoming of the plane is its 2×2 layout, which means that window passengers do not have free access to the aisle when their neighbor's seat is in bed mode.
There is also no center divider in the seats.
Beond uses iPads instead of televisions mounted on the seats.
Unlike a traditional business class seat with a seatback screen and remote control, Beond provides passengers with an iPad for in-flight entertainment. It sits on a tablet holder that is positioned at eye level in front of the seat and connects to the included Beats noise-cancelling headphones.
Travelers who rely on airline IFE won’t find a huge selection of movies, but there are some good options, such as Sherlock Holmes and Interstellar. Customers can also bring their own device with pre-downloaded content to put on the tablet holder.
There is no wifi, however. The airline is targeting high-spending holidaymakers, so the option is probably a lower priority.
The chairs have a universal power outlet, but storage space is minimal.
The 2×2 layout means there is little room for additional bins or booths. Instead, the seats each have small slots in front of and to the sides of the seats, as well as a small center table.
Fortunately, there was enough room in the luggage racks for the few dozen passengers.
Travelers are provided with slippers and a toiletry bag.
The bag from the Beond brand contained, among other things, a dental care set, a sleep mask, socks and lotion.
Dishes available include beef and lobster.
At the start of each flight, passengers were served a full meal consisting of bread, a starter, a main course and a dessert.
I was impressed with the quality and taste of the meals, which included options such as lobster, chicken, pasta dishes and brisket.
The bread, fruit and cheese were nice extras.
Customers should not expect QSuite-level luxury.
Qatar’s famous QSuite is considered the world’s best business class. The airline pioneered features like double beds and four-seater sofas, and each seat is like a mini hotel room with a sliding door and a giant flat-screen TV.
Most international airlines are following this trend with their own versions of business class seats with doors, such as Lufthansa's Allegris product, British Airways' Club Suite and Turkish Airlines' 'Crystal' seat.
Beond has opted for a less luxurious configuration without television and minimal space and privacy compared. Still, the shortcomings may be worth the cheaper ticket.
It can be difficult for Beond to retain the loyal customers of its competitors.
Airlines like Qatar, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and other major carriers flying to the same regions expect to already have a large customer base.
The airlines have more robust operations and more flight options for customers. Beond’s smaller and more restrictive business model could deter those customers from switching, especially if it doesn’t keep its punctuality high.
But Beond is counting on a market of travellers willing to shell out money for its discounted business class tickets. And once it has its longer-range planes, it can connect underserved city pairs that other airlines don’t fly without the fuel stop in Dubai.
Read the original article on Business Insider
