beOnd is an all-business class airline hubbed in the Maldives, and which has tried to fly Airbus narrowbodies in all-business class configuration between Europe and Male via the Mideast. They have two planes that don’t make the journey non-stop, and they’ve had operational challenges.
Things haven’t gone well. The Maldives is a premium destination, which can make sense for all-business class service, but they don’t have enough aircraft or demand for a robust schedule. Their reliability hasn’t been great. And they need somewhere to send the planes March or April through October.
They’ve suspended commercial operations for the summer (officially they plan to resume scheduled Maldives service in October), and have been operating some charters. They’re trying to pivot with Saudi Arabia service. But in the meantime cash is clearly tight – the airline revealed to employees in a memo earlier this month that they are two months behind in paying staff.
I reached out to the airline about this, and they blamed the Iran war.
“BeOnd declines to comment on the memo. The current situation in Middle East makes cash management for all the airlines difficult. Beond has the funding secured for the growth and company will be making announcements in the coming days.”
According to the memo, it’s funding for their Saudi project that will be used to cover back pay owed to its crew, and their CEO is asking everyone to keep flying even without pay because otherwise they won’t be in a position to fund outstanding wages.
Beond has still been operating charter flights, apparently with their Airbus A321 (8Q-FBB) which over the past week has flown Mumbai – Riyadh – Malta – Marrakesh – Reykjavik. The carrier calls itself “the world’s first premium leisure airline” which isn’t really correct. And right now they’re charter-only.
Back in December, they announced a plan to launch a Saudi-based airline as the “cornerstone” of its growth plan, with up to 20 aircraft by 2030 and a goal of carrying one million premium leisure travelers. They claimed a new $100 million investment to spur airlines based in the Middle East, the United States, and India, growing to a fleet of 56 aircraft.
This plan has struggled, even before the Iran war and the spike in fuel prices.
- On November 13, 2025, Beond announced ‘beOnd America’ in partnership with New Pacific Airlines (née Northern Pacific) operating eight aircraft under the Beond brand. Less than two weeks later New Pacific shut down. They claim to be launching a U.S. airline in October anyway. Okey dokey.
- In February 2026, a Maldives civil court ordered Beond to pay $16,160 to an Italian passenger who hadn’t received funds back when cancelling tickets. The case was uncontested.
Beond has no economy cabin to fill with lower-yield traffic. They have no large loyalty program. They lack frequency, not even operating routes daily. There’s not really meaningful connecting passenger feed from other airlines (though they’ve signed some agreements). They have little ability to reaccommodate passengers when they have operational issues. And they’re operating in a highly seasonal market.
Their product is nice but not top-tier. Their Airbus narrowbodies are configured in a 2-2 layout with lie flat seats that lack direct aisle access for passengers at the window and lack privacy. Entertainment uses iPads rather than built-in large screens. But mostly they lack the range to fly non-stop from Europe, they make sense as a Gulf carrier to some degree but lack the product, frequency and loyalty of major airlines in the region.
Update: A spokesperson shared that they’ve closed an investment and used some of the proceeds to cover back wages owed.
The memo was issued on June 4. Since then, beOnd has made the necessary progress to address the matters raised. While the delays had an impact on some employees, including members of management, as part of our cash management measures amid the current investment for fleet growth and AOC expansion, all outstanding salaries have now been paid and are fully up to date.
Oof. Heh, you know an all-business all-lie-flat airline that regularly flies between the US and Europe that does actually pay its people and its bills? La Compagnie. Try them. They’re superb.
To the employees of Beond, run, run far away from that operation. You will never be made whole. Guarantee you the executives are still getting paid.
@Coffee Please — Hmm, almost sounds like the ‘free market’ is a bit of a scam without sensible guardrails for worker and consumer protections… You are correct that the top still gets paid…