Newly established luxury airline Beond has announced it will offer Apple Vision Pro headsets to select passengers for "an immersive inflight entertainment experience."
The premium leisure airline said it will provide the Apple devices to passengers on its flights to the Maldives, where the airline is based. From the press release:
Beond's Chairman and CEO, Tero Taskila, said: "The Apple Vision Pro will transform the inflight entertainment experience, and we will be first to offer it to select passengers. In addition to our existing and ever-growing library of inflight content such as movies and games, Beond will showcase stunning resort destinations and activities in the Maldives. We are working now with partners in the Maldives to prepare truly amazing footage. The inflight experience will 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."
The overall response to Apple Vision Pro from users, critics, and the broader public has been varied. However, the consensus is that wearing the headset during flights stands out as one of its most widely appreciated applications.
Acknowledging the headset's potential to make long-haul flights more private and liberating, Apple has included a Travel mode in visionOS that stabilizes visuals for users on an airplane, allowing them to, for example, watch movies on a massive virtual screen.
Beond said it will offer "Apple's ground-breaking content experience" beginning in July 2024. The news follows Beond's launch of commercial passenger services in 2023 from Munich, Zurich, and Riyadh to Malé, Maldives. Beond says it plans to debut flights from Milan, Dubai, and Bangkok to the Maldives in mid-2024, in an all-lay flat seating configuration.
