Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) aims to turn a profit next year by expanding its passenger operations to North American and Southeast Asian markets and by increasing its cargo business, CEO and general manager Glenn Chai (翟健華) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The airline would offer new flights to Okinawa and Sapporo in Japan, as well as resume flights to Da Nang, Vietnam, at the end of next month to meet demand in the fourth quarter — a peak travel season, Chai said, adding that by that time, Starlux would be flying to a total of 13 destinations.
It would offer new flights between Taipei and Los Angeles from April and between Taipei and San Francisco in the second half of next year, he said.
Photo: CNA
It would also be using its wide-body aircraft on Asian routes, he said.
Soon after its launch in early 2020, Starlux’s operations were stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic and tight border controls worldwide.
With countries easing border controls, Starlux is upbeat about the outlook for global travel, especially with Taiwan also opening its borders soon, chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said in a statement.
As of the end of June, global passenger demand had returned to about 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Chang said.
With the deliveries of new planes, Starlux’s fleet size would expand from 12 to 19, with 13 Airbus 321 Neo, four Airbus 330 Neo and two Airbus 350 jets, Chang said.
The airline aims to triple its capacity from a year earlier and double the number of flights in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, he said.
Addressing criticism that Taiwan’s market is too small to support a third airline — after China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) — Chai said that Starlux would not solely rely on the domestic market, but also target transit, business and international passengers.
By leveraging Taiwan’s excellent location, the airline would develop its regional flying network in Asia and balance its operations in Northeast and Southeast Asia to sharpen its competitiveness, he said.
It would target about 1 billion transit passengers who transfer from North America to Southeast Asia, he said.
Ticket prices might be higher than they were in the past given inflation and anti-virus measures, but prices would primarily be determined by market demand and supply, Chai said.
The airline also plans to purchase cargo jets to boost its cargo business and would consider buying ATR aircraft for domestic operations, Chang said, while stressing that Starlux would focus on international flights.
“Domestic flights would come later, and they could cushion impact from unknown factors, such as a pandemic,” he said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS