A new business-class-only airline has been forced to delay its direct services between Maldives, Hong Kong and mainland China by one year due to long waits for aircraft deliveries, but has reaffirmed its commitment to luxury leisure travel for both markets.
Beond, pronounced “beyond”, is an airline targeting affluent holidaymakers heading to the Indian Ocean archipelago of 1,192 islands, and offers a private jet experience with fully flat beds.
Speaking to the Post earlier this week, Beond CEO Tero Taskila said luxury travellers from Hong Kong and the mainland would need to wait until next year to enjoy a premium travel experience to Maldives, citing a delay in the delivery of aircraft.
“Hong Kong is a very important market for us. We are looking at Hong Kong very seriously. Unfortunately, we are not able to operate before the end of this year because the aircraft deliveries are delayed,” he said.
“Hong Kong is one of those markets which we would like to see in the Beond network in 2025. We do see a great demand out of Hong Kong with the existing carriers and also in mainland China there.”
The Malé-based airline launched its service last November and currently runs services to five destinations, including Dubai in the Middle East, Munich in Germany, Zurich in Switzerland and Milan in Italy.
The airline hopes to start a non-stop service to Hong Kong next year with a flying time of about 6½ hours, subject to securing aircraft and government approvals.
Taskila added that the company aimed to add three to five destinations on the mainland next year depending on the progress of new aircraft deliveries and bilateral agreements with Beijing.
“We are happy about the progress and we want to be part of that fabric which contributes to the success of those two nations,” he said.
Beond currently runs two aircraft – an Airbus A319 with only 44 seats, whereas other airlines fit 150 economy class seats in the same aircraft, as well as another larger Airbus A321 aircraft with 68 seats versus a standard fit of 220.
The airline has not announced fare details between Hong Kong and Malé, but Taskila promised the fares would be competitive with promotional offers to attract passengers from Hong Kong.
“I’m sure we will offer attractive prices to Hong Kong people. We want to create our product to be affordable and create an opportunity to enable everyone to enjoy our service,” he said.
Taskila anticipated significant demand from Hong Kong, with plans to carve out a niche in the luxury leisure travel market to appeal to wealthy passengers looking for special holiday experiences.
“We are focusing on luxury leisure travellers so we are not trying to target businesspeople … We want to be an experience provider targeting that market,” he said.
“We are targeting people who are looking for special holiday leisure experiences and they really want to get that luxury feeling so we go after that market and obviously that market is a niche.
“Hong Kong is a source of a lot of wealth and the people are used to travelling frequently so they are looking for those destinations to go to and Maldives is one of those markets that are definitely underserved given the beauty of it.”
The company’s luxury offerings include aeroplane cabins that are each configured into rows of two seats, designed and made in Italy, with an Apple iPad Pro and wireless headset replacing the usual screens, and Ferrari providing carbon fibre shells for the seats.
The airline also offers passengers chauffeured airport transfers.
Taskila pointed out that luxury leisure travel had seen a rising trend, creating ample opportunities for Beond to grow and prosper. The airline aims to have 32 aircraft by the end of 2030.
“Even before the Covid, luxury leisure travel was the fastest-growing market segment in the world. And then after the Covid, that growth has continued. The premium cabins are full of people looking for luxury travel,” he said.
Taskila said many well-known hoteliers also indicated luxury travel demand was growing significantly and set to be the most sustainable segment for years to come.
“And we are there to provide that bridge for people to go from their homes to those resorts and those hotels around the world,” he said.
The new carrier is jointly owned by Maldives-based trading company SIMDI Group and United Arab Emirates’ airline start-up Arabesque, and has ambitions to fly to 52 destinations in five years.
