When Beond, the world’s first premium-leisure airline, announced its intention to transcend the boundaries of an all-business class service, they were not merely making idle claims. The new luxury airline from the Maldives endeavors to provide travelers with an unparalleled level of service en route to their Maldivian vacation, now augmented with the inclusion of the Apple Vision Pro. This business-class-only airline represents the epitome of luxury travel, offering fully flat beds akin to flying privately, alongside the newly introduced Apple Vision Pro headsets for select passengers, promising “an immersive inflight entertainment experience.”
Beond has already set a benchmark in travel comfort, providing luxurious lie-flat seats and Apple iPads for in-flight entertainment. CEO Tero Taskila expressed, “The Apple Vision Pro will revolutionize the inflight entertainment experience, and we are proud to be the pioneers in offering it to select passengers. Alongside our extensive and continuously expanding library of inflight content, including movies and games, Beond will showcase breathtaking resort destinations and activities in the Maldives. We are currently collaborating with partners in the Maldives to curate truly remarkable footage. This inflight experience aims to heighten anticipation among passengers before they reach the Maldives. Introducing the Apple Vision Pro is another stride towards realizing our vision of providing a premium travel experience to our customers, from the commencement to the culmination of their journey. We take immense pride in being the inaugural airline to embrace this cutting-edge technology.”
Beond initiated operations on its first three routes in November last year, connecting Maldives to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and select European destinations. As a premium leisure airline boasting a streamlined fleet predominantly composed of Airbus A320-family aircraft, Beond will commence offering Apple’s groundbreaking content experience from July 2024. Though the duration of the experience may not extend throughout the entire journey due to the Vision Pro’s battery life of approximately 2 1 ⁄ 2 hours, it promises to be an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
The leisure model bears a similar traveler profile as the Four Seasons Private Jet service, per Forbes, which serves luxury vacation packages offered by the Four Seasons hotels brand. The seats are designed by the same aircraft seating manufacturer Optimares but that is where the similarities end. One way tickets from Zurich, Milan and Munich to Male (Maldives) cost an average of $3500++.
