Taiwan's Starlux Airlines to launch flights to Prague on Aug. 1

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) Starlux Airlines, the newest international carrier in Taiwan, will launch direct flights on Aug. 1 between Taipei and Prague, its first destination in Europe, the Prague Airport said Wednesday.

In a statement posted on its website, the airport said Starlux Airlines will initially provide three round-trip flights between the two cities every week. The flights are scheduled to depart from Prague every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Starting in October, the number of the weekly flights will increase to four, the airport said.

Starlux Airlines, which had said earlier that it would launch direct flights to Europe for the first time this year with two destinations, confirmed with CNA plans to launch the direct flights to Prague.

Jiří Pos, chairman of the Prague Airport Board of Directors, said in the statement that he was pleased with the new route and believed that the regular flight services "will contribute to the further development of tourism between the Czech Republic and Taiwan."

According to the Prague Airport's estimates, the new route could be patronized by more than 95,000 passengers during the first year of operations.

Starlux Airlines will use the wide-body Airbus A350-900 with a total of 306 seats to serve the new long-haul route, featuring four classes -- first class, business class, premium economy class and economy class, the airport said.

"Prague is a long-favored destination for Taiwanese travelers, and growing semiconductor industry ties are expected to further drive demand between Taiwan and the Czech Republic," Starlux Airlines CEO Glenn Chai (翟健華) was quoted as saying in the statement.

"With Taiwan serving as a convenient hub in Asia, our extensive Asian network will provide seamless connections to major cities across the region, while our all next-generation Airbus fleet delivers a premium, five-senses travel experience," Chai added.

Echoing Chai, the airport said passengers who use the new route will be able to take advantage of Starlux Airlines' network of onward flights to destinations across Asia, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, and Hong Kong among others.

Chai has said Starlux Airlines will take delivery of 14 new aircraft this year to boost its fleet to 43, while intensifying its efforts to expand its global flight network, including two new destinations in Europe.

In early January, the airline took delivery of Taiwan's first wide-body A300-1000. Five more of the 18 A350-1000s Starlux has on order are expected to be delivered in 2026.

China Airlines is the first Taiwanese international carrier to start direct flight services to Prague in 2023.