New all-business class airline raises funds, introduces first plane, plans to launch in fall
Six months ago, I wrote about BeOnd, which was set to launch as an all-business class airline with a hub in the Maldives.
This seemed unreasonable to me. But this project involves people with real experience in airlines. The company's CEO is a former Gulf Air and AirBaltic executive. And they just announced that they received funding and plan to launch just a few months from now.
- Beond calls itself the world's first premium leisure airline, but that doesn't seem right. What about La Compagnie? EOS Airways, founded in 2004, also operated from New York JFK to London Stansted on a Boeing 757 with 48 business class seats.Perhaps the argument here is that they are almost entirely focused on leisure. destination Rather, it focuses primarily on leisure transportation.
- The $17 million they raised isn't a lot for an airline that could quickly lose a lot of money, but it only has one plane in its fleet so far, so it's hard to get off the ground. may be sufficient.
- As they have said in the past, I understand how they are growing an all-business class leisure airline with 68 premium seats on the A321neo that flies to 60-80 destinations. you can't. But they have a plane, they plan on doing more, and they also have a little money now.
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We don't know if it will fly in the fall as they have suggested, but for now this airline seems like more than just a paper napkin business plan. It remains to be seen how it will be possible to grow a hub in Male, but the airport is finally set to use the second runway and new south-west apron built five years ago. Previously, it was not even possible to have planes on the runway at the same time. The waiting time between plane landings was reduced from 15 minutes to 3 minutes. I don't know if they have the gate for that yet.
At the end of the day, my skepticism is about growth projections and even more about whether they can be realized. And my skepticism lies in the business model.
- They offer a premium product and if there is a destination for that, the Maldives seems to be the perfect choice. However, if the aircraft is one or even two, he cannot provide a solid schedule.
- Is it going to attract more customers who don't fly with Qatar Airways or Emirates because of connections, even though they have fewer flights and therefore less convenient service and an inferior in-flight product compared to Qatar?
- Maldives is also seasonal destination. This might work from November to March, but where are they going to send the planes from April to October when the rainy season keeps tourists away?
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The airline currently has a 44-seat Airbus A319 aircraft. They added the 68-seat A321ceo and plan to introduce the A321LR next year. And yet they sent me the LOPA showing 76 seats?
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Initial destinations are initially targeted at Dubai and Delhi and eventually Perth. It seems like an odd play to play against Dubai and Emirates, which already offers direct flights. less frequently. They seem to need destinations that offer more convenience, not less.
A second hub is required for BeOnd to work. They are planning this, but have not yet talked about what it will look like. The location should be against the seasonal peak of northern summer. Maybe southern Europe?
As it turns out, BeOnd has not yet obtained an air operator certificate from the Maldives government. They don't sell tickets. They would rather release it in the fall than miss this year's season and have to wait a year. Will they succeed?
