We tested BeOnd, the Maldives carrier that's offering 'cheap' private flights

BeOnd is a Maldives airline that’s offering something that’s as close as you can get to flying private on a budget.

The goal is to democratize access to something akin to flying private, or at the very least, business-class flying.

It’s not cheap, but still less expensive than people might think.

We tested it, and we discovered that there’s only one sizable elephant in the room.

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The Maldives airline is headquartered in Dubai, based out of Velana International Airport in the Maldives, and it only covers six destinations with two aircraft in its fleet.

Then again this is a new airline, as it was founded in 2022 and only commenced operations in 2023.

At the time of writing, BeOnd’s fleet consists of an Airbus A319-100 and an Airbus A321-200 – that’s it.

Both are ex-EasyJet planes, and both were completely overhauled to make them look fancy and make them more comfortable.

The airline opted for a corporate-style black livery with a dash of gold, and then they got rid of the thin seats to replace them with much larger armchairs upholstered in plush leather.

Ordinarily, the A319 and the A321 can accommodate over 180 passengers, but in this configuration, there are only 44 seats on the A319 and 68 seats on the A321, which means each passenger has a lot more room.

We tested the A319, the one with 44 seats, only 22 of which were actually occupied during our flight.

This is the first elephant in the room, because we got the distinct impression this wasn’t a one-off and most BeOnd flights are half empty, and it’s hard to keep a business running like that.

Still, that really doesn’t matter to you, the passenger, as you get on board and are welcomed with cookies, drinks, snacks, an iPad that you can use for in-flight entertainment, and Beats headphones to go with it.

Unfortunately, you don’t get to keep the iPad or the headphones (duh), but you do get to keep the amenity kit, which includes a lot of stuff that smells great.

Even the pochette bag smells like it’s been bathed in Eau-De-Something.

You have three options when it comes to your fare, which BeOnd calls Delight, Bliss or Opulence.

You get bottomless everything and fine dining included with all three, and you also get fast track and checked baggage.

The key difference is lounge access, which you can’t get with the Delight, and ‘Premium transfer’, which you only get with Opulence.

Premium transfer, in plain English, means you’ll be chauffeured to the aircraft door, which is nice, and more importantly it’ll really make you feel like you’re flying private.

Return prices start at around $1,800-$2,000, but the price goes to $3,000-$4,000 if you pick the Opulence option, the one that’s (almost) like flying private.

Once you’re on board, you’ll realize the seats are a lot larger than they look in the pictures, and they fold completely flat, which means you can lie down and sleep like you’re in a proper bed.

You obviously do get covers and pillows and so on, and they also smell nice – this is a recurring theme with BeOnd.

The food is great, and we don’t mean great for an airline, we mean great in general.

If this was a restaurant, you’d probably give it at least four stars.

It all sounds too good to be true, which means that there must be a ‘but’ coming… and there is.

Our flight’s was delayed by several hours, and it got further delayed mid-journey due to the scheduled fuel stop in Dubai.

Again, this didn’t feel like a one-off event, especially after checking reviews.

The fuel stop was supposed to last 45 minutes, but it lasted close to three hours.

The problem is that these planes don’t have the necessary range to fly from Europe to the Maldives, which explains the 45-minute refueling stop at Dubai airport.

But we all know how things work in aviation, and it’s the work of a moment to turn 45 minutes into hours, especially when you’re a small airline and bigger airlines might get priority.

Still, paying around $2,000 for a return ticket to the Maldives with bottomless everything on a plane that smells like a fragrance store at a five-star hotel isn’t a bad deal.

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