Premium airline Beond to offer passengers Apple Vision Pro headsets in-flight

In Virtual Reality News

February 19, 2024 – Beond, a premium leisure airline based in the Maldives, has recently announced that it will offer the new Apple Vision Pro virtual reality (VR) headset to select passengers on its flights to the Maldives.

According to Beond, passengers will be able to enjoy immersive experiences on the Apple Vision Pro, along with the airline’s onboard content that showcases the best of Maldives.

The announcement marks a recent trend in the airline industry’s embrace of immersive technologies for enhancing the passenger experience. Notably, this development follows on the heels of another recent announcement by China-based Hainan Airlines, which introduced in-flight augmented reality (AR) experiences to passengers in partnership with Rokid.

In keeping with its premium brand, Beyond’s offering will involve the far more expensive Apple Vision Pro device, as opposed to more consumer-friendly priced devices such as XREAL’s smart glasses or Meta’s Quest 3 headset.

Beond’s Chairman and CEO, Tero Taskila, said: “The Apple Vision Pro will transform the in-flight entertainment experience, and we will be first to offer it to select passengers. In addition to our existing and ever-growing library of in-flight content such as movies and games, Beond will showcase stunning resort destinations and activities in the Maldives.”

According to Taskila, Beyond is now working with partners in the Maldives to prepare footage for these in-flight experiences, which the company hopes will help to build anticipation for passengers before they arrive in the Maldives.

“Offering the Apple Vision Pro is another step in our vision of delivering a premium travel experience to our customers, from the start to finish of their journey. We’re proud to be the first airline to deploy the technology,” added Taskila.

The news follows the receipt of Beond’s second aircraft last week, and the company’s successful launch of commercial passenger services in 2023 from Munich, Zurich, and Riyadh to Malé, Maldives. Beond will debut flights from Milan, Dubai, and Bangkok to the Maldives in mid-2024, in an all-lay flat seating configuration.

For more stories on the use of AR and VR technology throughout the aviation and aerospace industry, click here.

Image credit: Beond / Apple

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.