Starlux Airlines has revealed its first routes to be operated by the Airbus A350. From its hub at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), the Taiwanese carrier will fly its newest aircraft on double-daily services to Bangkok (BKK), and on daily flights to both Macau (MCM) and Tokyo (NRT).

There are currently two Airbus A350-900s in Starlux Airlines’ fleet, with a further 16 on order. The airline received delivery of its first Airbus A350 in October 2022, with the second arriving earlier this week. They will enter into service on January 20th, with the following daily flight schedule:

• JX741 Taipei to Bangkok 08:05 – 11:00
• JX742 Bangkok to Taipei 12:10 – 16:40
• JX745 Taipei to Bangkok 14:45 – 17:45
• JX746 Bangkok to Taipei 18:55 – 23:25
• JX205 Taipei to Macau 18:00 – 19:55
• JX206 Macau to Taipei 21:50 – 23:30

From March 1st, the aircraft will also operate one of Starlux Airlines’ two daily flights to Tokyo:

• JX800 Taipei to Tokyo 08:30 – 12:30
• JX801 Tokyo to Taipei 13:40 – 16:45

The airline’s flights to Bangkok and Tokyo are currently flown with the Airbus A330neo, while the Airbus A321neo is used for services to Macau. Tickets for all of the above flights are now on sale.

Each of Starlux Airlines’ Airbus A350-900s seats a total of 306 passengers in a four-class configuration – four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy, and 240 in economy class. Although the arrival of the Airbus A350 means that Starlux Airlines will boast first class suites and a premium economy cabin for the first time, the four first class suites are not currently bookable for the inaugural routes on the airline’s website.

Take a look inside Starlux Airlines' Airbus A350-900 here.

New year, new routes

It has been a busy week for Starlux Airlines – in addition to welcoming a new aircraft to its fleet, the carrier also started two new routes to Vietnam and the Philippines.

On January 13th, Starlux Airlines began flying daily to Hanoi (HAN), with the Airbus A321neo aircraft. The carrier will face stiff competition on this busy route, with double daily services from both China Airlines and EVA Air, daily flights from Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet Air, as well as 5x weekly and 3x weekly services from Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways respectively.

On January 17th, Starlux Airlines commenced daily flights to Cebu (CEB), also with the Airbus A321neo aircraft. The airline still intends to begin flying to Los Angeles (LAX) with its Airbus A350s in the near future, although a start date has yet to be announced. Starlux Airlines has also expressed an interest in flying to Europe.

A possible future alliance?

Starlux Airlines was founded in 2018 as a “detail-oriented luxury airline,” and its recovery from the pandemic has so far been strong in the Asia-Pacific region. But in order to boost its worldwide connectivity, is it now time for the airline to join an alliance? In an interview with Executive Traveller, the airline’s chief communications officer, KW Nieh, said,

“We are a new airline in the beginning stages of development, so it is still too early for us to join an alliance. However, once we have reached a certain level of growth, we will certainly become a member of an alliance to provide more convenience to our passengers.”

With China Airlines in SkyTeam and EVA Air a member of Star Alliance, the logical answer would be for Starlux Airlines to join oneworld, which does not currently have an airline based in Taiwan.

Will you be booking to fly on Starlux’s Airbus A350s in the near future? Have you already flown with the airline on other aircraft types? Share your plans and experiences by commenting below.