Premium leisure carrier beOnd is anchoring its next phase of growth in Bahrain, signing a letter of intent with the national regulator to secure an Air Operator Certificate and establish a local subsidiary. The move underscores both the airline’s ambition to scale beyond its initial Indian Ocean focus and Bahrain’s drive to attract high-end traffic and aviation investment.
For beOnd, the proposed Bahrain unit would sit alongside other planned subsidiaries and help diversify its network, fleet and customer base. For the kingdom, the airline’s commitment promises new jobs, added connectivity and a high-profile endorsement of its strategy to become a regional hub for both budget and luxury travel.
What the letter of intent actually commits beOnd to in Bahrain
The agreement between beOnd and the Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs authority is built around two core goals: obtaining a local AOC and creating a Bahrain-based operating company. By signing the letter of intent with Bahrain CAA, the airline is effectively committing to a regulatory process that would let it run aircraft under Bahraini oversight and branding, rather than only through its existing certificates. That structure is particularly useful for long-haul and multi-region networks, where different AOCs can unlock traffic rights that a single home base cannot.
Regulators in Bahrain, for their part, are presenting the letter as a framework to deepen cooperation on route development, safety oversight and future expansion. The emphasis is not only on regulatory approvals but also on using beOnd’s premium positioning to enhance the kingdom’s profile as a luxury destination. The intent to set up a subsidiary signals that the airline is not treating Bahrain as a simple outstation, but as a strategic base with local employment, management and aircraft potentially registered in the country.
How Bahrain’s hub strategy sets the stage for beOnd
Bahrain has already been courting carriers that can reinforce its role as a regional hub, particularly by using local AOCs to anchor operations. The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications has taken a similar approach with other aviation groups, signing a letter of intent with Capital A Berhad, the parent of AirAsia, to explore using the kingdom as a base for services linking Asia, the Gulf, Europe and the United States. That earlier agreement, announced by Ministry of Transportation and Capital A Berhad, showed that regulators were prepared to tailor arrangements for both budget and full-service players.
Alongside those government-level commitments, Bahrain has been explicit about its ambition to become a Middle East aviation, engineering and logistics hub. H.E. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who serves as Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications for the Kingdom of Bahrain, has described partnerships with global carriers as a way to build that hub vision and expand the country’s reach. The beOnd letter of intent fits neatly into that strategy, adding a premium leisure airline to a portfolio that already includes interest from low-cost groups such as AirAsia, and giving Bahrain a chance to balance mass-market volume with high-yield visitors.
Jobs, tourism and the promise of 1,200 new roles
Employment is one of the most concrete stakes in beOnd’s Bahrain plan. The airline and Bahraini officials have highlighted that the undertaking aims to create more than 1,200 jobs once the Air Operator Certificate in the kingdom is in place. Those roles would likely span pilots, cabin crew, ground handling, maintenance, sales and corporate functions, reflecting the decision to base a subsidiary in the country rather than simply station aircraft there temporarily.
The tourism impact is just as central. Bahrain is keen to grow as a luxury destination, and beOnd’s model of all-premium cabins and leisure-focused routes aligns with that goal. Officials see the airline as a partner that can bring affluent travelers directly into the kingdom, complementing the volume-driven strategy pursued with budget carriers. By tying job creation and visitor numbers to the AOC process, the letter of intent creates a clear incentive for both sides to move the certification forward and translate regulatory steps into visible economic gains.
beOnd’s expansion track record and why Bahrain matters now
beOnd is not entering Bahrain as an untested startup. The airline has already reported a strong first full year of operations, describing itself as a premium leisure carrier that closed 2025 with record growth, serving more than 25,000 customers and achieving 37% year-on-year growth. That performance gives context to its decision to seek new AOCs and subsidiaries, as management looks for ways to scale without diluting the brand’s focus on high-end leisure routes.
The airline has also outlined a much larger global plan, with Beond Airlines targeting a fleet of 56 aircraft by 2030 as it pursues long-haul leisure travelers across several continents. That target, far above its current pair of aircraft, implies a network that will need multiple regulatory homes and regional subsidiaries to function efficiently. Bahrain’s AOC, if granted, would therefore be a key piece of a broader puzzle that also includes plans for a Saudi unit and potential expansion into other markets.
Regional competition, Saudi plans and the wider Gulf aviation race
beOnd’s move into Bahrain comes as the wider Gulf region is engaged in a competitive push to attract airlines, maintenance providers and cargo operators. Saudi Arabia is pursuing its own aviation growth agenda, and beOnd has already signaled that it intends to participate there as well. Chief executive Tero Taskila has said the airline is negotiating with lessors for up to 16 aircraft, half the amount it plans to add to the fleet, as part of a strategy to launch a Saudi subsidiary, quadruple capacity and spread exposure across multiple markets. Those comments from Taskila underline how Bahrain is one node in a wider regional network rather than the airline’s only Gulf bet.
Other players are pursuing similar regulatory strategies. Capital A has explored a Bahrain AOC for AirAsia as part of a hub plan for the Gulf, while also looking at engineering and logistics opportunities in the kingdom. At the same time, the government has framed these deals as part of a broader partnership with AirAsia and its parent, Capital, to position Bahrain as a Middle East aviation, engineering and logistics hub. In that context, beOnd’s luxury-focused AOC bid adds a premium layer to a strategy that already includes budget volume and industrial services, intensifying the region’s race to capture every segment of global air travel.
