{{Short description|International airline in the Maldives}} {{Lowercase title}} {{Infobox airline | airline = beOnd | logo = BEOND.png | logo_alt = BeOnd Logo | logo_size = 200px | image = Beond Airlines by Matheen Faiz.jpg | caption = A Beond Airbus A319-100 | IATA = B4 | ICAO = BYD | callsign = BEOND | founded = {{Start date and age|2022|01||df=yes|br=y}}<ref name="New Airline Startup">{{cite news|last=Tunney|first=Donna|title=What To Know About BeOnd: The World's First Luxury Airline In The Maldives|url=https://www.thetravel.com/what-to-know-about-fly-beond-new-luxury-maldives-airline/|work=The Travel|date=23 November 2022|access-date=4 July 2023|language=en}}</ref> | commenced = {{Start date and age|2023|11|15|df=yes|br=y}}<ref name=start/> | bases = {{nowrap|Velana International Airport}} | hubs = | focus_cities = | fleet_size = 2 | destinations = 6<ref>{{cite web|title=Beond on ch-aviation|url=https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/airline/0N3|website=ch-aviation.com|date=|access-date=|language=en}}</ref> | parent = Beond Holding Limited | headquarters = Dubai, United Arab Emirates<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite news |last=Garcia |first=Marisa |date=8 November 2023 |title=Beond Carves Out Luxury Leisure Micro-Niche On Low-Cost Airline Values |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisagarcia/2023/11/08/beond-carves-out-luxury-leisure-micro-niche-on-low-cost-airline-values/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> | founders = *Max Nilov *{{nowrap|Sascha Feuerherd }} *{{nowrap|Tero Taskila<ref name="About BeOnd">{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://flybeond.com/about.php|website=BeOnd|access-date=4 July 2023|archive-date=4 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704144904/https://flybeond.com/about.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} | num_employees = | website = [https://flybeond.com flybeond.com] }}
'''beOnd''' is a Maldivian airline headquartered in Dubai and based at Velana International Airport near the capital of the Maldives, Malé.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=13 January 2024 |title=05 Amazing Local Airlines to Travel in Maldives! |url=https://mvhotels.travel/05-amazing-local-airlines-to-travel-in-maldives/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=MVHOTELS.TRAVEL |language=en-US}}</ref> It was founded by Max Nilov and Tero Taskila in November 2022. The airline is a joint venture formed by the investment firm Arabesque, and the Maldivian hospitality company SIMDI Group.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |date=14 December 2023 |title=Beond, the world's first premium leisure airline, announces a distribution agreement with Euroairlines. |url=https://euroairlines.euroairlines.es/en/beond-the-worlds-first-premium-leisure-airline-announces-a-distribution-agreement-with-euroairlines/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=Euroairlines |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2022 |title=Beond: The New Luxury Airline By SIMDI Group and ARABESQUE Will Operate Airbus A321Neo’s |url=https://www.aviatorsmaldives.com/post/131155271 |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=Aviators Maldives}}</ref>
==History== ===Foundation=== The only way to enter the Maldives from all countries is by air. At present, international airlines dominate operations at Velana International Airport, because the Maldives' flag carrier, Maldivian, has too small a fleet to cater to the growth at the airport and to compete with international airlines, along with connecting more worldwide destinations.{{cn|date=January 2024}}
Max Nilov, Tero Taskila and Sascha Feuerherd decided to create a new airline by forming a joint venture of two companies, Arabesque and SIMDI Group.<ref name=":1" /> beOnd plans to connect the Maldives to multiple European and Asian countries with their cities, as well as to Australia.<ref name="New Airline to Australia">{{cite news |last=Scott |first=Katherine |date=29 June 2023 |title=A new premium Maldives airline with all-flat seats is headed for Australia |url=https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/a-new-premium-airline-with-all-flat-seats-is-headed-for-australia-20230627-p5djw4.html |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> It announced plans to operate to over 50 destinations in more than 25 countries with a fleet of over 30 aircraft in the next few years.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 September 2023 |title=Luxury airline Beond selects Riyadh, Munich, and Zurich as launch cities for Maldives |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2367656/amp |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=Arab News}}</ref>
On 10 August 2023, the first aircraft, an Airbus A319, joined the fleet with 44 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration.{{cn|date=November 2025}} Its Airbus A321 joined the fleet on 2 September 2024 with a seat configuration of 68 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 format.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sipinski |first=Dominik |date=12 October 2022 |title=UAE's Arabesque to operate as BeOnd from Maldives |url=https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/120385-uaes-arabesque-to-operate-as-beond-from-maldives |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=ch-aviation |language=en}}</ref><ref>Additional Airbus for Beond ''Airliner World'' November 2024 page 13</ref>
Planned initial destinations were originally disclosed to include Dubai, Delhi, Hong Kong, Milan, Munich, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore, Taipei, Vienna and Zürich and a potential connection to Perth and Melbourne, along with seasonal destinations such as Finland.<ref name="New Airline to Australia" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beond {{!}} Book Flights Online & Save |url=https://www.alternativeairlines.com/beond |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=www.alternativeairlines.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Prisco |first=Jacopo |date=24 July 2023 |title=The new ‘private jet’-style airline set to fly to Maldives |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/beond-airline-maldives/index.html |access-date=19 July 2024 |work=CNN}}</ref>
===Start of operations=== beOnd was originally slated to begin commercial operations by September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=29 June 2023 |title=Luxury airline Beond debuts in September |url=https://hotelinsidermv.com/2023/06/29/luxury-airline-beond-debuts-in-september/ |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=Hotel Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> The actual start was in November 2023.<ref name=start>{{Cite web |last=Lassetter |first=Jon |date=2023-11-22 |title=New Route of the Day (15 November 2023): Beond between Munich and Malé |url=https://airserviceone.com/new-route-of-the-day-15-november-2023-beond-between-munich-and-male/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Air Service One |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In February 2024, the airline announced it would downgrade its services to Munich to a seasonal route, citing economic reasons.<ref name="muc">{{Cite web |last=Nowack |first=Timo |date=27 February 2024 |title=Beond streicht München aus dem Sommerflugplan |trans-title=Beond removes Munich from the summer flight schedule |url=https://www.aerotelegraph.com/beond-legt-in-muenchen-sommerpause-ein |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=aeroTELEGRAPH |language=de}}</ref> At the same time, the new route to Bangkok originally announced for a start in July 2024 had also been cancelled.<ref name="beond0224">{{Cite web |last=Liu |first=Jim |date=29 February 2024 |title=BeOnd NS24 Network Changes |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240229-b4ns24 |access-date=19 July 2024 |website=AeroRoutes |language=en-CA}}</ref>
== Destinations == thumb|Countries served by Beond<ref name="website"/><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Beond Flights and Destinations - FlightConnections |url=https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-beond-b4 |access-date=1 Feb 2025 |website=www.flightconnections.com |language=en}}</ref> As of March 2026, beOnd serves the following scheduled destinations.<ref name="website">{{Cite web |title=Bookable flights on airline's website |url=https://flybeond.com/ |access-date=1 Feb 2025 |website=flybeond.com}}</ref>
{| class="sortable wikitable" !Country !City !Airport !Notes !Refs |- |France||Paris||Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport||||align=center|<ref name=muc/><ref name=beond0224/> |- |Germany||Munich||Munich Airport||{{Airline seasonal}}||align=center|<ref name=muc/><ref name=beond0224/> |- |Italy||Milan||Milan Malpensa Airport||align=center| ||align=center|<ref name="website" /><ref name=beond0224/> |- |Maldives||Malé||Velana International Airport||{{Airline hub}}||align=center|<ref name="website" /><ref name=beond0224/> |- | rowspan="2" |Saudi Arabia||Riyadh||King Khalid International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|<ref name="website" /><ref name=beond0224/> |- |Red Sea |Red Sea International Airport | align="center" | | align="center" | |- |Switzerland ||Zürich||Zurich Airport||align=center| ||align=center|<ref name="website" /><ref name=beond0224/> |- |United Arab Emirates||Dubai||Al Maktoum International Airport|| align="center" | |<ref name="website" /><ref name="beond0224" /> |- |United Kingdom ||London||London Heathrow Airport||align=center| ||align=center|<ref name="website" /><ref name=beond0224/> |- |}
== Fleet == {{As of|2026|3}}, BeOnd operates the following aircraft:<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Global Airline Guide 2025 - BeOnd |magazine=Airliner World |date=September 2025 |page=66}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:auto;" |+ !Aircraft !In service !Orders !Passengers !Notes |- |Airbus A319-100 |1 |— |44 |8Q-FBA |- |Airbus A321-200 |1 |— |68 |8Q-FBB |- !Total !2 !— ! ! |}
==See also== * List of airlines of the Maldives
==References== {{Commonscat|BeOnd}} {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official|https://flybeond.com/}} * [http://arabesque.aero/ Arabesque - Official website] * [https://www.simdi.com/ SIMDI Group - Home]
{{Portalbar|Companies|Aviation}} {{Airlines of Maldives}}
Category:2022 establishments in the Maldives Category:Airlines established in 2022