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A new luxury carrier with all-flat seats has chosen cities in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Germany as among the inaugural routes it will serve when it launches operations in November.
Beond, the newly established all-business class airline targeting affluent holidaymakers, will fly from Male in Maldives to Riyadh from November 9. It will be focusing on premium travel and has no economy-class seats.
Two other initial flights are scheduled, with the inaugural service from Munich departing November 15 and Zurich departing November 17.
The airline raised $17 million during a seed round last month, with the funds coming from family offices, angel investors and strategic partners.
It has chosen Maldives as its first hub and will initially operate a 44-seat Airbus A319 with lay-flat configuration.
A return ticket from the Saudi capital could cost more than SAR 9,000 ($2,400), the airline’s website indicated.
According to the carrier’s route map, the Riyadh-Male service will be a direct flight, while flights from Zurich and Munich will make a stopover in Riyadh, which also serves as a refuelling stop.
Future routes to be covered could also include Dubai, Paris, Mumbai, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong, among many others. Beond plans to operate to over 50 destinations in more than 25 countries with a fleet of over 30 aircraft in the next five years, Arab News reported.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
