The first aircraft of Beond, the world's first premium leisure airline formed as a joint venture between Maldivian company SIMDI and UAE firm Arabesque, was brought to the Maldives yesterday.
Beond's first jet plane was greeted with a water salute at the Velana International Airport (VIA) on Monday afternoon.
The world's first leisure airline, Beond targets the luxury tourism market and aims to provide high-end air travel services. The airline's flights are to due to commence in November and ticket bookings are now open.
Briefing the press, Beond CEO Tero Taskila said the airline will travel to three destinations when flights begin next month, which are Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Munich in Germany and Zurich in Switzerland. Flights will be scheduled from the Maldives twice a week, Taskila said.
Ticket prices start at USD 1,700 for Riyadh, USD 2,000 for Munich and USD 3,000 for Zurich.
Beond's fight jet. -- Photo: Mirash Nashim/ Adhadhu
"The Maldives is Beond's home. All of Beond's flights will be operated from the Maldives for the next five years... Our target is starting flights from the Maldives to 60 destinations and we will operate 33 aircraft for those flights," Taskila said.
The airline plans to launch flights from the Maldives to six more destinations next year, he said, including Milan, Italy; Bangkok, Thailand; Dubai; and Beijing and Shanghai, China.
SIMDI CEO Dr. Mariyam Shakeela said the company's aim is to provide as many jobs as possible to Maldivians from the airline. Beond has offered several employment opportunities to Maldivians so far and its goal is to ensure that 50 percent of staff are local, she said.
Beond uses Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft for its flights. The number of seats was reduced to increase space and to provide the highest quality of service to passengers.
The jets, which have "All Business Class" seats, have 44 to 68 seats. The seats were designed and provided by Italy's Optimas company, which supplied seats for the Four Seasons A321 private jets.
