Starlux aims at clearing accumulated deficit in 3 years

Taipei, June 14 (CNA) Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines expressed optimism Friday that it can eliminate its cumulative losses to date of over NT$11.5 billion (US$355 million) in three years, helped by the planned expansion of its fleet.

During a shareholders meeting, Starlux Chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) announced that the airline anticipates a surge in aircraft deliveries by 2026 that will effectively double the size of its fleet.

StarLux Airlines currently operates a fleet of 22 aircraft, consisting of 13 A321neo, four A330neo, and five A350-900. In the next three years, it expects to receive an additional five A350-900, eight A350-1000, seven A330neo and six A321neo.

That fleet growth will help it achieve economies of scale that will boost its profitability, Chang said, predicting "explosive growth" in 2026 that will help offset the carrier's past losses.

Starlux's cumulative losses totaled half of the carrier's paid-in capital of NT$20.89 billion as of the end of 2023.

Chang expressed confidence in the resilience of the company, founded in 2018, noting that despite enduring heavy losses during the COVID-19 outbreak, the airline managed to generate over NT$100 million in earnings in 2023.

"Achieving profitability in just four years was not easy," he said.

Anticipating strong growth in 2024, the company expected its net income in 2024 to exceed NT$1 billion.

Still, Chang was realistic about the company's profit potential in the meeting with shareholders.

"Being in the aviation industry is like charity work. It's hard to make a lot of money, and profit margins are very low," adding jokingly that investors "might be better off investing in TSMC."

He nonetheless described the development of the aviation industry as critical to Taiwan and the company's passion.

Meanwhile, Starlux said, it is set to launch four new routes from Taoyuan in the second half of this year-- Phú Quốc (Vietnam) on July 1, Hong Kong on July 16, Seattle on Aug. 16 and Jakarta on Sept. 1.