Dubai to the Maldives: What it's like to fly on world’s first premium leisure airline

“Major carriers have long provided business and first-class options for flights to the Maldives, but none have exclusively focused on creating an intimate, leisure-centric experience,” says Tero Taskila, the Beond Airlines chief executive.

Sounding like something straight from the golden age of air travel, the carrier is the world's first premium leisure airline. It has a fleet of two Airbus aircraft, both of which have been retrofitted to sport lie-flat business-class-style seats and luxury amenities.

Founded in November 2023, the airline currently operates four flights per week from Dubai to the Maldives and a further two flights per week from the UAE to Zurich. Beond also serves Milan, Munich and Riyadh.

Beond is not the first to solely target premium travellers. Several airlines have tried – and largely failed – with a similar model. MGM Grand Air was a Hollywood favourite in the US that folded in 1995 despite an A-list clientele. British all-business airline Silverjet flew for four years before its wings were clipped during the 2008 recession. French airline La Compagnie is the only other airline currently operating a premium-only airline.

Hoping to find out what a “private-jet style experience” means, The National checks in for a flight on the world's newest premium airline.

Red carpet check-in and in-flight iPads

I arrive at Dubai World Central Airport early on a Thursday morning to ample free parking spots – something of a rarity at many airports. In addition to my flight to Male, only four others are departing that day from various non-regional airlines.

After tracking down the Beond counter – easy to spot thanks to its red carpet – I make my way to the check-in desk, where I’m told the flight is delayed by an hour and a half. As a premium passenger, I'm a little disappointed that this wasn't communicated preflight, meaning I missed out on an extra hour in bed before driving to Dubai from Abu Dhabi in the middle of the night.

There are no queries with my luggage – travellers get 40kg of checked baggage – and I breeze through security and immigration in about 10 minutes, so I head to the lounge. Beond is currently using the Marhaba Lounge at Dubai World Central – but has a new permanent space coming soon, which I'm sure will be a much more premium experience. While comfortable, this lounge feels rather off-brand, with drinks and snacks laid out on a table alongside a Costa menu for travellers to select from while staff collect the orders from the main departures waiting area. The lounge is also unlicensed.

After a lengthy wait, I'm told that the flight is ready for boarding and, along with a handful of other travellers, I'm ushered on to an airport bus and ferried on to the tarmac towards a gleaming navy and gold-toned jet that wouldn't look out of place on an episode of Succession.

Onboard, smartly dressed crew sport runway-worthy uniforms and smile warmly as they show us to our seats – each of which is upholstered in cream leather and comes with a gold-hued pillow and blanket, the latter being one of the softest I’ve ever had the pleasure of wrapping up in.

The retrofitted plane has less onboard storage than traditional passenger aircraft, which helps to create a spacious aesthetic in the cabin. However, the same lack of storage also means that crew sometimes need to put travellers' bags in overhead bins further down the aisle than their seats as items that would typically be stored in the galley or crew spaces – also minimal on this aircraft – seem to fill the smaller overhead storage bins at the front and rear of the jet.

Advance booking and fine dining

One of the best parts of my experience is the in-flight catering, which goes well beyond the classic “chicken or beef”. Taskila explains that the airline partners with top-tier caterers for every destination, and it certainly shows.

On the Dubai to Maldives flight, lunch is a three-course menu featuring smoked tuna carpaccio, Maldivian lobster tail and New York cheesecake, served with a selection of premium beverages, and all presented to a standard I’d expect when dining in a five-star restaurant. Despite the flight only being four hours long, there's also a variety of small bites and snacks that served on demand.

I pair my lunch with a screening of a film I’ve been wanting to watch for a while – enjoying the experience of doing so on my personal iPad, which comes in a leather wallet with a handy stand to dock it in. It is accompanied by a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones.

While traditional in-flight entertainment (IFE) can be bulky for passengers (and often outdated) iPads are much easier to use, and means content can be updated more easily, keeping things fresh. Wi-Fi is off-limits, however.

“Wi-Fi tends to be more relevant for business travellers who need to stay connected. Our approach is a bit different – we are encouraging a digital detox. We invite our passengers to disconnect from technology and instead focus on mindfulness or reconnect with loved ones during the flight; after all, they are headed to the Maldives,” says Taskila.

One perk of flying with this airline over more mainstream carriers is that Beond allows travellers to book trips almost two years in advance of travel, something that most airlines do not. Not only does this align with booking patterns for some of the Maldives' most luxurious resorts, which tend to book up far in advance, but it also simplifies the process for travellers hoping to holiday in a large group.

But it's not all plain sailing for Beond. As is often the case in aviation, when the airline first took off, it was riddled with reports of delayed flights or cancelled services, something that Taskila holds his hands up over. “As a new airline, we have naturally experienced some growing pains, but we are well beyond that stage now. We have recently launched our Free Flight Guarantee to further enhance our service.” The service means that if travellers experience flight disruptions, they will be booked on to the next available business-class flights with another airline.

It's a good concept in theory, but given there were so few flights operating from DWC on the day I was due to fly, I think the airline would have also had to provide transfer services to transport me from there to DXB if my flight had been cancelled. When business-class alternatives aren't available, passengers are given the option of flying economy class with another airline and will receive a full refund on their ticket.

Discounted business class tickets for flexible flyers

Beond is growing in popularity, something that is likely down to the airline’s comfortable in-flight experience and airfares that represent a small discount when compared to business-class flights to the Maldives on mainstream airlines.

“Our approach is different from that of budget carriers as we aim to fill our planes by offering the right fare for the right distance, catering to passengers who are willing to pay for a premium leisure experience,” says Taskila.

A round-trip ticket for a Beond flight from Dubai to Male starts at Dh7,429 – while airfares for a business-class ticket on the same route with Emirates start at Dh10,387. Even flydubai's business-class seats are pricier, starting at Dh8,896. The base fare with Beond is for the airline's Delight tickets which don't include seat selection, lounge access or premium transfers. To get all of the above, as well as 60kg of check-in luggage, fares start at Dh9,792.

Like most airlines, fares fluctuate depending on the date of travel, so passengers with flexibility will likely benefit the most. There's also no legacy carrier airmiles to be earned on flights, which will be off-putting for those who collect frequent flyer miles. However, for leisure travellers who are flexible on dates and enjoy excellent dining in the air, or for holidaymakers planning a big group getaway to the Maldives, there’s a case to be made for flying with Beond.