Tigerair to launch Kaohsiung-Hokkaido route; Starlux plans flights to Kobe

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) Two Taiwanese airline companies -- Tigerair Taiwan and Starlux Airlines -- have announced plans to increase services to Japan, one of the most popular international destinations for Taiwanese travelers.

Tigerair Taiwan said Tuesday that it will launch flights between Kaohsiung and Sapporo starting Jan. 21, 2025, the budget airline's first route from the southern Taiwan city to Hokkaido in northern Japan.

Tigerair Taiwan said the route will initially operate twice a week, with flight IT260 departing from Kaohsiung International Airport every Tuesday and Saturday at 8 a.m., with the return flight IT261 departing New Chitose Airport at 1:55 p.m. the same day.

The new service will be the airline's 11th international route departing from Kaohsiung, after Tokyo Narita, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Gimpo, Macau, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc Island.

Meanwhile, Starlux Airlines, Taiwan's newest international carrier, said the company is strengthening its network in Japan by making its Taichung-Takamatsu charter flights into a regular service in December, and launching a Taichung-Okinawa route.

The airline also plans to operate flights to Kobe in central Japan in the summer of 2025, making it the first Taiwanese airline to fly to the city, according to Walter Liang (梁文龍), chief passenger commercial officer of Starlux's Passenger Sales and Marketing Division.

Data from the Tourism Administration showed that from January to August, 36 percent of outbound Taiwanese travelers flew to Japan, the highest among those traveling abroad in that period.