Taiwan's Starlux pushes Airbus on deliveries as it adds long-haul routes

EVA Airways

20/04/2023 06:00

By Ben Blanchard
       TAIPEI, April 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Starlux Airlines
Co Ltd  2646.TWO  is pushing Airbus SE  AIR.PA  to speed up
deliveries as it seeks to expand its routes beyond Asia to keep
up with booming post-pandemic demand, the carrier's chief
executive said.
    Starlux, Taiwan's newest full-service airline, launched its
first flights in 2020 and serves destinations including Tokyo,
Bangkok, Macau, Hanoi and Singapore.
        The all-Airbus operator competes against the island's
long-established carriers China Airlines Ltd  2610.TW  and Eva
Airways Corp  2618.TW , which are expanding and updating their
own fleets with Boeing Co  BA.N  787s.
        Starlux took delivery of the first of 18 A350s in
October as it expands operations to long-haul routes from
Taipei, starting with Los Angeles next week.
    The airline, which also operates the A330neo, expects to
receive five widebody jets next year, but that is not enough to
keep pace with strong post-pandemic demand, CEO Glenn Chai told
Reuters at the company's headquarters in Taipei. 
    "We have been pushing Airbus to provide the aircraft as soon
as possible, but their production rate is not able at the moment
to return to pre-pandemic levels," he said.
    North America is the focus for now with Starlux launching
San Francisco before the end of the year, Chai added. The
airline is targeting transit passengers given the small size of
its domestic market.
    "New York is a must - it's the largest city in North
America, but it depends on aircraft deliveries," he said. "The
headache for us is Airbus can't hand them over."
    Airbus said it was in "direct contact with all our
customers" but declined to comment on talks with individual
airlines. The planemaker has reaffirmed production targets for
2024 and beyond.
    Chai said Starlux, which reported a net loss of T$5.3
billion ($173.75 million) last year, aimed to have a fleet of 39
planes in the "first phase" and then expand to 50, with Boeing
Co  BA.N  jets a consideration depending on pricing.
    "We welcome Boeing to take part in the price quotation
process," he said. "We absolutely are not ruling them out."
    While its initial long-haul focus is on North America, it
plans to eventually fly to Europe and Australia, Chai added.
($1 = 30.5030 Taiwan dollars)

 (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((ben.blanchard@thomsonreuters.com;))