- Beyond is an airline where all seats are business class like and feature flat beds.
- Most of the seats had small foot rests which made it feel quite cramped.
- It's often cheaper than competitors' business class, but prices are expected to get closer on future routes.
Beyond calls itself “the world's first luxury leisure airline” and launched its first flight in November.
The plane was on display at the Dubai Airshow ahead of the launch of its first three flights from Saudi Arabia, Germany and Switzerland to the Maldives.
Chief strategy officer and co-founder Max Nilov told Business Insider that it's the result of a “20-year dream.”
“We're not afraid to compete with anyone,” he said, explaining why the first three routes were chosen based on demand.
After looking around the cabin, I found Beond to be less luxurious than other airlines' business class, as there are no privacy dividers and everyone sitting in the same cabin can sometimes feel less exclusiv.
And given its current network, it's likely he'll be flying with La Compagnie, a business-class airline that flies between Europe and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
On current routes, Beond is probably worth it because it's cheaper than competitors' business class cabins, but that could change as the airline expands to other routes where the price difference is smaller.
Co-founder Max Nilov told BI that on these routes Beyond is “two to three times cheaper than competitors such as Edelweiss Airlines.”
A one-way ticket on Beond Airlines between Zurich and the Maldives capital, Male, costs about $2,600 in January.
On Edelweiss, economy class costs $1,250 and business class is around $5,000.
No narrow-body jet currently in service can fly that far, but the Airbus A321XLR, due to fly next year, should be able to.
We saw the Airbus A321XLR make its airshow debut and we believe it will be a game changer for the aviation industry.
