Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year.
In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan.
Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs.
Photo courtesy of Starlux Airlines
The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories.
Joining Oneworld would also help boost the efficiency of Starlux, Chai said.
China Airlines, one of the two leading international carriers in Taiwan, is in the SkyTeam alliance, while the other, EVA Airways, is a member of Star Alliance.
There is room for Starlux Airlines to expand into the global market, Chai said.
The capacity of China Airlines and EVA Airways is only 65 percent of that of the international Singaporean carriers and Starlux could help expand the Taiwanese airline business, he said.
Starlux Airlines said it expects to continue raking in profits in the third quarter. As international crude oil prices are falling, its profit is likely to rise.
Starlux Airlines, which was set up on May 2, 2018, and launched its maiden flights in 2020, turned a profit for the first time last year, when it posted a net profit of NT$149 million (US$4.67 million) with earnings per share (EPS) at NT$0.08.
In the first half of this year, the carrier’s EPS stood at NT$0.39, up from US$0.18 over the same period last year.
Starlux operates 29 routes to 27 destinations, the carrier said.
It plans to launch new flights to North America, Europe, China and Australia.
Starlux Airlines launched its direct flights between Taipei and Seattle on Aug. 16.
The city is the third destination in the US that the airline flies to, after Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) last week said that the carrier is looking to increase its flights to Los Angeles and Seattle, and is also eyeing other US destinations such as New York, Dallas and Houston.
The average number of Starlux flights hit 238 a week this year. That figure is expected to rise to 278 next year.
At the end of last month, Starlux took delivery of its sixth A350-900 passenger aircraft and is to introduce two more by the end of this year, boosting its fleet to 26.
The fleet is expected to expand to 33 next year and 53 in 2029.
Starlux is to take delivery of five A350F cargo planes from 2027 to 2029 and said it is upbeat about the transit and cargo business.
Starlux has secured approval from the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) to move its listing to the local main board from the emerging market.
Its shares are expected to trade on the TWSE by the end of this year.
In Taiwan, a company must list its shares on the emerging market for at least six months before seeking to transfer to the main board or the over-the-counter market.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS