Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) Taipei-based StarLux Airlines Co. made its maiden flight to Cebu, Philippines on Tuesday, with 90 percent of available tickets sold.
Excited passengers at Taoyuan International Airport, some wearing beach shorts and straw hats, said they had waited a long time to take a StarLux flight after three years of avoiding overseas travel due to the COVID-19, and Cebu is the perfect destination.
A passenger surnamed Chen (陳), who originally planned to travel to Japan, said the new StarLux route came at the right time as Cebu offers warmer weather.
Greeting passengers at the boarding gate, StarLux spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei (聶國維) said flights to Cebu, the second Philippine destination operated by StarLux, after Manila, are expected to lay a foundation for when the carrier launches services to the United States in April.
Many Americans are interested in traveling to Southeast Asian countries, and the new route offers them convenient transit options, Nieh said.
The daily Taoyuan-Cebu flight departs at 10:10 a.m. from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, with the returning flight taking off at 2:05 p.m.
The route is served by a single-aisle Airbus A321neo, which has 180 economy class seats and eight business class seats.
StarLux launched flights to Hanoi, Vietnam on Jan. 13, following its other Vietnamese destinations Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.
With the addition of Cebu, StarLux -- which has a fleet of 11 A321neo, four A330neo and one A350-900 aircraft -- currently flies to 15 destinations, all in Asia.
