Luxury Escapes is continuing to hint at a Sydney expansion, with co-founder and CEO Adam Schwab making a surprise appearance at the company’s Bondi Junction store yesterday where business development manager Claire Bradley revealed that 30 per cent of seats on the company’s upcoming direct Melbourne-Maldives charter have already been sold to NSW residents.
The figure drew a strong reaction from the room of travel advisors, and Schwab continued to tease a Sydney expansion throughout the evening – notably declining to rule out Western Sydney when the question was jokingly put to him directly by an audience member.
The Maldives-themed trade night, held at Luxury Escapes’ Bondi Junction store, brought together travel advisors and representatives from resort partners including NH Collection, Outrigger, Centara and Accor – all of which feature in the company’s growing Maldives portfolio. The evening featured Maldivian-inspired food and drink, and prizes on the night included flights and accommodation to the islands.
Bradley also highlighted the commercial opportunity for agents, who earn a 10 per cent commission on the total trip value – making it an attractive sell alongside what is shaping up to be a popular new routing.
The Melbourne-Malé direct service, operated by Maldivian, the national airline of the Maldives, cuts travel time to around 11 hours and eliminates the need for stopovers through hubs such as Singapore or Dubai. It is scheduled to launch on 18 May 2026. The flight fills a long-standing gap in Australia’s aviation map – the Maldives has historically been one of the country’s most aspirational long-haul destinations, yet has remained accessible only via indirect routings adding several hours to the journey.
With nearly a third of bookings already coming from NSW, the pressure on Luxury Escapes to bring a direct service to Sydney appears to be building – and the company is showing little sign of wanting to dampen that speculation.
UPDATE: Luxury Escapes adds air-only Agent Hub direct bookings to its Maldives offer
