Former EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) is moving closer to getting his new airline, Starlux, off the ground after saying last week that the carrier could start recruiting in September and disclosing the airline’s new logo.
Starlux would be the new hope of the nation’s aviation industry, Chang told members of a closed fan group, adding that it would be a first-tier international carrier.
Chang said he might introduce Airbus A321s, Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s, as well as longer-haul Airbus A350-1000s or Boeing 777Xs.
StarLux, which is to be headquartered in Taipei, would also have its own maintenance department, he said.
However, details remain sketchy on how Chang intends to position the new airline in an already crowded market that is dominated by the nation’s two major international carriers — China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and EVA Airways — and is served by many budget carriers.
The Starlux brand is intended to convey luxury, he said, without explaining how that would translate to its flight operations.
There are other obstacles Chang has to overcome before getting Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) approval to start an airline.
Chang became chairman of EVA Air in January 2013, but when his father, Evergreen Group founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發), died in January last year, a succession battle erupted among the children and Chang Kuo-wei was eventually removed as chairman.
In March last year, Chang Kuo-wei was replaced as chairman by Steve Lin (林寶水), a long-serving Evergreen Group executive, and he no longer holds an executive position in the group.
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