On January 20, Starlux started operations with the Airbus A350-900, the newest model in the company’s fleet. The first commercial service was on the Taipei (TPE) – Bangkok (BKK) route, where it will replace the Airbus A330-900neo. In addition, the airline will debut its new First Class and Premium Economy products.
Flight JX 741 was operated by an aircraft registered as B-58501, which took off from Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) at 08:40 local time and landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) at 11:08, after three hours and 28 minutes.
The carrier will have a weekly seat offering of 8,568 seats between Taipei (TPE) and Bangkok (BKK), a 106% increase compared to last year’s December offering.
Flight schedule
From January 20
Taipei (TPE) – Bangkok (BKK)
- Flight JX 741 TPE 08:05 – BKK 11:00 daily flights.
- Flight JX 745 TPE 14:45 – BKK 17:45 daily flights.
Bangkok (BKK) – Taipei (TPE)
- Flight JX 746 BKK 18:55 – TPE 23:25 daily flights.
- Flight JX 742 BKK 12:10 – TPE 16:40 daily flights.
The airline is also operating Airbus A350s to Macau (MFM) with daily flights, replacing the Airbus A321neo service, this represents a 62.8% increase in seat capacity. In addition, as of March 1, Starlux will debut with this aircraft in Japan with a service to Tokyo – Narita (NRT).
The company continues to expand its international network, on January 17 it began operations to Cebu (CEB) and Hanoi (HAN) the company’s second and third destinations in the Philippines and Vietnam respectively, it will also add a route to Sendai (SDJ) from April 1, it will be the airline’s sixth in Japan.
Starlux plans to start its first intercontinental operations in April with a service between Taipei (TPE) and Los Angeles (LAX), the most in-demand origin-destination market between the United States and Taiwan, where it will compete with China Airlines and EVA Air.
The Taiwanese carrier’s A350s seat 306 passengers in four classes (4 First Class/26 Business Class/36 Premium Economy/240 Economy) and will be the only Taiwanese airline to offer First Class.
In October 2022, Starlux took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 and in early January received its second, it still has an order for 16 units, this aircraft is the largest in the airline’s fleet, with this model the company plans to land in multiple markets in North America and Europe. The company currently owns 10 Airbus A321neo and 4 Airbus A330-900neo.