Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) StarLux Airlines Co. Ltd., a newly established Taiwan-based international carrier, is planning to start services with flights to three Asian destinations on Jan. 23, 2020, one day before next Lunar New Year's Eve, the company said Tuesday.
On the first day of services, StarLux spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei said, the carrier is planning to offer flights to Macau, Penang in Malaysia and Da Nang in Vietnam for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Nieh said the new services are aimed at taking advantage of the strong demand during the Lunar New Year holiday, a traditional peak season in the local tourism industry.
Nieh said the carrier will operate daily flights to the three Asian cities in the initial phase and then extend its reach to other destinations in Southeast Asia and cities in North Asia.
He said StarLux plans to provide at least daily services and added that StarLux hopes ticket bookings for the three routes will start by the end of this year, although an exact timeframe will not be set until approval has been secured from the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
The new airline was founded in May 2018 by Chang Kuo-wei , a former chairman of EVA Airways, one of Taiwan's two leading international carriers.
StarLux has said it will be focusing on routes within Asia in the initial stage of its operations but will expand its network to North American destinations from 2022, targeting high-end travelers.
The carrier expects to build up a fleet of 27 aircraft comprising 10 Airbus A321neo planes and 17 wide-body A350s.
StarLux said it will lease the 10 A321neos the first of which will be delivered by the end of October. Chang, himself a pilot, will personally take delivery of the first A321neo in Hamburg, Germany, a production base for Airbus, it added.
On Monday, the carrier released a photo of its first A321neo, showing fuselage colors inspired by Earth and wood elements with rose gold, iron gray and its logo on the carrier's tail.
StarLux said the first plane needs to undergo testing before delivery and that the delivery of the first three planes will be completed before the launch of the services to the three Asian cities.
Delivery of all 10 aircraft will be completed by mid-2022, the carrier said.
As for the 17 A350s, StarLux said, delivery will start at the end of 2021 and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
StarLux said the A350s will be used on long haul flights to North America, scheduled to start from 2022.
