Starlux Airlines

STARLUX Airlines (Chinese: 星宇航空; pinyin: Xīngyǔ Hángkōng) is an international airline company headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, and operated its first flight from Taipei to Macau on 23 January 2020.[1]

This article is about the Taiwan-based airline company. For defunct French airline, see XL Airways France.
STARLUX Airlines
星宇航空
IATA ICAO Callsign
JX SJX STARWALKER
Founded
  • 2016 (company registration)
  • 2018 (established)
Commenced operations23 January 2020 (2020-01-23)
HubsTaipei–Taoyuan
Focus citiesTaichung
Frequent-flyer programCOSMILE
Fleet size3
Destinations3
HeadquartersTaipei, Taiwan
Key peopleChang Kuo-wei, Glenn Chai
Websitewww.starlux-airlines.com

History

The company was registered in 2016 with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Taiwan).[2] This was confirmed by Chang Kuo-wei on 30 November 2016. Chang was formerly the chair of the Taiwanese airline EVA Air.[3] The airline registered with the Civil Aeronautics Administration in the first half of 2017,[4] and it was planned, in late 2016, that it should commence operations in 2018.[5] The Ministry of Economics Affairs received the formal application for establishing the airline under the name Starlux Airlines on 22 May 2017.[6] In an interview in 2017, the airline was expected to start operations "by the end of 2019".[7] Chang stated in January 2019 that Starlux Airlines would launch in January 2020.[8] In March, the airline's chairman Chang Kuo-wei signed a total of 17 Airbus A350 XWB orders. This is also the country's largest single Airbus purchase agreement.[9] In September 2019, the airline announced its launching destinations which include Da Nang, Macau, and Penang and will be launched on 23 January 2020.[10] On 25 October 2019, the first A321neo was delivered in Hamburg, Germany. The plane arrived at Taoyuan International Airport on 29 October via Dubai and Bangkok.[11] On 10 December 2019, Starlux received its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aeronautics Administration and opened reservations for its launching destinations on 16 December 2019.[12][13]

Within a couple of months after its inauguration, Starlux Airlines announced to suspend most services except Da Nang.[14] Furthermore, the airline has halted all of its operations prior to 2 June 2020.[15] On 2 June, the airlines resumed its three-weekly services to Macau.[16] Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, the airline has also delayed its Cebu services launch twice and indefinitely delayed Okinawa launch.[17]

Destinations

The following destinations have been announced (as of July 2020):

Hub
Focus City
Future destinations
Terminated destinations
City Country Province/Region IATA ICAO Airport Notes Ref
Cebu
begins 25 October 2020		 Philippines Central Visayas CEB RPVM Mactan–Cebu International Airport [17]
Da Nang Vietnam South Central Coast DAD VVDN Da Nang International Airport [18][19]
Macau Macau Macau S.A.R. MFM VMMC Macau International Airport [18][19][20]
Naha Japan Okinawa Prefecture OKA ROAH Naha Airport [21]
Penang Malaysia Greater Penang Conurbation PEN WMKP Penang International Airport [18][19][20]
Taichung Taiwan Taichung City RMQ RCMQ Taichung International Airport Secondary Hub [22]
Taipei Taiwan Taoyuan City TPE RCTP Taoyuan International Airport Hub [22]

Fleet
Starlux's first aircraft, B-58201, an Airbus A321neo, approach landing in Songshan Airport

As of July 2020, Starlux Airlines operates the following aircraft:[23]

Starlux Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes References
F B E+ E
Total
Airbus A321neo 3 7 — 8 — 180 188 All aircraft to be delivered by the end of 2021.
All leased from GECAS		 [24][18][25]
Airbus A350-900 — 9 TBA Deliveries to commence in 2021.
All aircraft to be delivered by 2024.		 [26][27]
Airbus A350-1000 — 8 TBA [26][27]
Total 3 24

Fleet development

In March 2019, the airline announced it would start operations with 17 Airbus aircraft: 5 Airbus A350-900s and 12 Airbus A350-1000s which will be flying on their new routes to Europe and North America as well as to selected Asian destinations. Starlux has also planned to add 10 Airbus A321neos to its fleet to serve their Asian routes.[28] Starlux Airlines will become the first Taiwanese airline to fly both the Airbus A321neo and Airbus A350-1000.[11][29] The airline is also considering to buy or lease Airbus A330neos.[30]

Cabin

Business Class

The business class cabin has eight seats in a two-row, 2-2 configuration in the Airbus A321neo. The seats are 20.19 in (51.3 cm) wide and can be converted into a 208 cm (82 in) fully flat bed, featuring a 15.6-inch HD in-flight entertainment touchscreen. Free unlimited Wi-Fi will be available to all business class passengers on board.[31][32]

Economy Class

The Economy Class cabin has 180 slimline seats in a 3-3 configuration in the Airbus A321neo, each with a 10.1-inches SD screen, USB port and fitted with a leather headrest. The seat is 18.36 in (46.6 cm) wide while free "basic Wi-Fi" for texting will be available to all economy class passengers on board.[31][32]

Starlux commissioned smooth jazz guitarist Peter White for their onboard entertainment system. The music was commercially released on November 29, 2019 as Music for Starlux Airlines.[33]

See also

References
  1. "星宇航空23日開航 下半年擬開日本航線" (in Chinese). 中央社. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. "Brand New Airline Starlux Orders 17 Airbus A350 Aircraft". Simple Flying. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  3. "This Unknown Airline Has Just Ordered 17 A350's". Simple Flying. 17 July 2018.
  4. 王子復仇記？張國煒籌設星宇航空　長榮：會很辛苦. ETToday (in Chinese). Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  5. "Former EVA chairman plans new airline". Taiwan News. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  6. 汪, 淑芬 (23 May 2017). 星宇航英文名STARLUX天空閃亮豪華一顆星 (in Chinese). Central News Agency. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  7. Tan, Jason (4 October 2017). "Ousted EVA Airways chairman retaliates with new airline". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  8. Wang, Shu-fen; Huang, Frances (16 January 2019). "StarLux Airlines be launched in January 2020: founder". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  9. "Brand New Airline Starlux Orders 17 Airbus A350 Aircraft". Simple Flying. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  10. "Starlux Airlines Plans Launch". Aeronautics. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  11. "Taiwan's Starlux Receives It's [sic] First Airbus Aircraft Ahead Of Its Launch". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  12. "Taiwanese start-up Starlux Airlines has been approved to fly". Business Travellers. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  13. Yu, Hsiao-han; Huang, Frances (13 December 2019). "StarLux Airlines to start selling tickets next week". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  14. "Taiwan's StarLux Airlines to suspend Penang flights amid coronavirus outbreak". Taiwan News. 4 March 2020.
  15. "Starlux Airlines Suspends Operations". One Mile At a Time. 18 March 2020.
  16. "StarLux to resume limited operations next month". Taipei Times. 16 May 2020.
  17. "StarLux delays launch of Cebu flights due to COVID-19". Focus Taiwan. 11 June 2020.
  18. "Starlux Airlines outlines operational schedules in 1Q20". UBM (UK) Ltd. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  19. "STARLUX Airlines suspends operation 21MAR20 – 30APR20". UBM (UK) Ltd. 18 March 2020.
  20. "Starlux Airlines outlines reduced operation in June 2020". UBM (UK) Ltd. 15 May 2020.
  21. "Okinawa to be first Japanese destination for StarLux - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  22. "Startup Starlux Airlines Receives First Route Rights". Simple Flying. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  23. "Starlux Airlines Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  24. "STARLUX Airlines reconfirms and upsizes its order for 10 A321neo". Flightglobal. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  25. "Starlux Airlines receives its first Airbus A321neo". Business Traveller. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  26. "STARLUX Airlines confirms its order for 17 A350XWB". Flightglobal. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  27. "Starlux Airlines Trades 4 Airbus A350-1000 Orders For A350-900s". Simple Flying. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  28. "Starlux Airlines kauft definitiv 17 Airbus A350". aeroTELEGRAPH (in German). 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  29. Huang, Tzu-ti (15 June 2019). "Taiwan's StarLux Airlines to launch first flights January 2020". Taiwan News. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  30. "StarLux Airlines Unveils Cabin Crew Uniforms and A321neo Cabin Products in Taipei". Airline Geeks. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  31. "Starlux promises premium experience for regional Asia business travel". ExecutiveTraveller.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  32. "Starlux Airlines unveils cabin design and seat products for its A321neo". BusinessTraveller. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  33. Music for Starlux Airlines. Peter White website.
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