USD 
Written by Paul Chai
Luxury Escapes’, and Australia’s, first-ever direct flight to the Maldives took off on Monday night and I was lucky enough to be on it. This is not my first Maldivian rodeo and the time savings are without a doubt the most impressive thing about this bold new route.
In just under fifteen hours, I was sitting poolside at the Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives, complimentary Champagne popped and poured, staring over the pale blue waters of the lagoon and out to the protected roof. Black-and-orange crabs crawl over the rocks, herons dip their beaks hopefully into the sea, and my flight feels like a week ago already.
The last time I flew to the Maldives, I went via Kuala Lumpur, and I would have been lining up again to get on another plane. For many Australians, the Maldivian archipelago sits stubbornly on their travel bucket list with the hassle of travelling there often keeping it from getting a much-deserved tick; this new route brings it a step closer.
Airport celebrations
Upon arrival at Melbourne Airport’s Terminal 2, I located my gate not by a screen, but by the melody coming from the Q check-in area where a yellow-shirted acoustic guitarist strummed and passengers queued with a sense of excitement. Smiles abounded and people genuinely looked like they were “checking in to paradise” as the sign gleefully read.
Through security and into the Marhaba Lounge where Maldivian dignitaries and Luxury Escapes staff, media and passengers were treated to nibbles, drinks and a cake cutting to celebrate the flight’s departure. At the gate itself, guests boarded under a Luxury Escapes arch and received white caps embroidered with the inaugural MEL-MLE route.
Up, up and away
We are heading to overwater bliss on an Airbus A330-200 with a 2-4-2 configuration. My seat 14G is on the aisle; it has a good amount of legroom and its own Luxury Escapes-branded headrest and in-flight magazine. Printed menus have a welcome message from Luxury Escapes CEO Adam Schwab, and offer stir-fried chicken with egg fried rice or casarecce with a mushroom cream sauce; I opt for the latter which comes with chunks of mushroom and cooked spinach and gets a plane food thumbs up. Drinks remain soft in line with Maldivian religious beliefs. The captain announces a flight time of 10 hours and 50 minutes – destination, in his words, “the sunny side of life”.
After supper, most of my fellow passengers seem keen to get as much sleep as possible and the peace in the cabin makes this easier for all. A breakfast of banana bread with a berry coulis arrives just before touch down and we arrive into Malé on time.
One of the best parts of the flight is the cabin crew who are happy, efficient and attentive across the whole flight.
The ease of transfer
There is no point arriving quickly at your resort only to sit around in reception, but early check-in and late check-out are built into the Luxury Escapes Maldives hotel and flight bundles. You’ll step off the plane and straight into paradise, and wring every last hour out of the other end too.
Immigration and customs take no time at all, and we are soon fist bumping a red dolphin wearing plane wings who is entertaining passengers as we wait for our bags to arrive (the carousel also has gifts of surfboard-riding dolphin plushies). It is a quick 25-minute speed boat trip to Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives, one of the newest resorts in the region opened just last year. Welcome drinks, a cold towel and a buggy to breakfast, then a short stroll to my new overwater home. There waiting for me is my bottle of bubbles; glass in hand I test the pool water and slip in for a refreshing dip.
The usual thought arrives when you are having a fabulous resort moment: what is everyone else up to? For anyone still heading to the Maldives the long way, paradise is likely still a few hours away.
Luxury Escapes’ direct flight to the Maldives departs Melbourne weekly – with the next flight taking off soon, now is the time to book your seat.
