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‘This is your chairman speaking...’
July 19th 2019
Chang wants to fly first A320 delivery at Starlux, which has received route authorities. Read More »
Starlux Airlines chairman Chang Kuo-wei is preparing to receive the start-up’s first aircraft, which will have a special pilot: himself.
Chang intends to be at the controls of his airline’s first aircraft, an A320 due for delivery in October. Starlux’s Instagram recently posted an update about Chang’s A320 training.
This is not the first time Chang will fly company aircraft. He is a certified 777 captain and flew the type when he held the reigns at EVA Air.
The October aircraft delivery is ahead of commencing commercial service in January 2020. Taiwanese authorities have granted Starlux approval to operate 11 scheduled routes and two charters.
All of the initial scheduled routes are to Japan and Thailand. This includes eight to Japan: Okinawa (OKA), Osaka (KIX), Fukuoka (FUK), Sendai (SDJ), Sapporo (CTS), Hakodate (HKD), Nagoya (NGO) and Tokyo Narita (NRT). The three in Thailand are Bangkok (BKK), Chiang Mai (CNX), and Phuket (HKT). All are to be served from Taipei Taoyuan. Starlux’s charter routes are from Taichung to Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai.
Next, Starlux will need to secure foreign slots.
Japan and Thailand are large local markets for Taiwanese travellers while Thai destinations can later feed Starlux’s long-haul network. Establishing feed for long-haul is a major undertaking. For now, Starlux seems focused on local traffic.
