New airline Beond plans September launch on hyper-busy Dubai-Maldives sector

New airline Beond plans September launch on hyper-busy Dubai-Maldives sector

Dubai: Another airline is entering the fray in the hugely popular Dubai-Maldives route, with the Indian Ocean destination emerging s one of the top choices for UAE residents opting for a break at any time of the year. Launching in September, the airline, Beond, features a UAE-based investor, which is the investment firm Arabesque, as well as the Maldivian hospitality company SIMDI Group. Beond, in fact, has signed a 50-year agreement with the Maldives for national carrier status. “We are the world’s first all-leisure airline,” said Tero Taskila, CEO and Chairman of Beond. (He was also a former Lufthansa executive.) “We launched the airline after realising that the leisure travel segment is among the fastest growing and will continue to do so for the next ten years.” The global luxury travel market is expected to reach $1.57 trillion by 2028, rising at a 6.3 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate), according to recent forecasts. The airline’s custom-built Airbus A321LRs narrow-body jet would feature a unique configuration, offering 68 lie-flat seats instead of the standard 220 in a 2-2 format. The one-way base fare from Dubai would start at $1,500. The airline plans on expanding to 52 non-stop destinations in