Review: Maldivian Dash 8-300 Malé To Kooddoo Via Kadhdhoo

Our domestic Dash 8-300 flight on Maldivian took us quickly and safely to Kooddoo, where our holiday on the Maldives really began.

After a couple hours in the Maldivian Moonimaa Lounge, we were escorted to the Maldivian check-in desk to check in for our flight to Kooddoo. Check-in took mere moments and we soon had boarding passes in hand for our short trip that today would make an extra stop.

Whether the nonstop was sold out or just not operating at the time we needed, today’s flight to Kooddoo would make a stop in Kadhdoo. Though hardly out of the way, it added about 40 minutes to overall flight time. Boarding commenced late, but soon we were on our way out of the domestic terminal and onto the apron to board the aircraft via airstairs.

Maldivian (Q2) 270
Male (MLE) – Kadhdhoo (KDO) – Kooddoo (GKK)
Wednesday, January 6
Depart: 11:00AM
Arrive: 12:45PM
Duration: 1hr45min
Aircraft: Dash 8-300
Seat: 1B (Single Cabin)

On Maldivian, you can tell the difference between Dash 8-200 and Dash 8-300 by the placement of rear-facing seats in the first row. Our aircraft, a -300, featured those seats, though they remained unoccupied. We were fortunate to score 1A/B, which offered the best legroom on the aircraft. The plane was only about half full and it appeared we were the only tourists onboard. The seats were well-padded and comfortable.

Prior to takeoff, a moist towelette was offered with mostly Chinese writing on it.

We took off and immediately the views were quite beautiful out the window.

Shafnaz, the flight attendant onboard, offered a choice of guava or apple juice.

It wasn’t long before we approached Kadhdhoo, a beautiful green atoll.

During our 20-minute ground stop, connecting passengers were instructed to remain onboard.

We took off again and touched down in Kooddoo about 20 minutes later. Park Hyatt staff were waiting for us and after retrieving our luggage, would transport us on a golf cart to our awaiting boat.