Starlux Airlines to lease six A321neos as it targets expansion

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) Starlux Airlines, the newest international carrier in Taiwan, is to lease six A321neo aircraft as it eyes future expansion amid a tourism boom.

In a statement, Starlux Airlines said it will spend about NT$2.16 billion (US$67.69 million) on each of the first three planes, which will be leased from GY Aviation Lease 2405 Co.

The price of the last three planes is still being negotiated and will be disclosed after an agreement is signed, Starlux Airlines said.

A Starlux Airlines prospectus posted in June on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, which has approved the carrier's application to list its shares on the main board, stated the airline has a fleet of 22 passenger planes -- 13 A321neos, four A330neos and fiveA350-900s of the end of May.

According to the prospectus, Starlux Airlines is expected to take delivery of an additional five planes by the end of this year to boost the fleet to 27.

The carrier said in the prospectus that it would introduce its first A350-1000 aircraft in 2025 to serve long-haul routes to the United States.

Starlux Airlines launched direct flights between Taipei and Seattle on Aug. 16.

The city is the third destination in the U.S. the airline flies to, after Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Starlux Airlines also flies to more than 20 destinations including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong.

On Oct. 27, Starlux Airlines will launch a daily round-trip flight between Taichung in central Taiwan and Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam on the A321neo.

In September, the carrier will begin five weekly flights between Taipei and Jakarta, also on the A321neo.

Due to the growing tourism industry post-COVID-19, Starlux Airlines posted NT$900 million in net profit in the first half of this year, up 172 percent from a year earlier. Earnings per share were at NT$0.39, up NT$0.21 from a year earlier.

The carrier's consolidated sales for the six months surged 65 percent from a year earlier to hit NT$16.33 billion.

In July, Starlux Airlines posted a new monthly high of NT$3.47 billion in consolidated sales, up 53 percent from a year earlier and up 13 percent from a month earlier.

While the revenue generated from its passenger flight operations stood at around NT$3.03 billion in July, Starlux Airlines posted NT$301 million in sales from its cargo flights, up 122 percent from a year earlier, largely due to the growing demand to transport AI-related gadgets.

In an annual meeting held in June, Starlux Airlines Chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said the carrier aimed to eliminate its cumulative losses of more than NT$11.5 billion in three years.