Starlux launches Taipei-Prague route; chairman pilots inaugural flight

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) Starlux Airlines launched its first European route Saturday with its inaugural Taipei-Prague flight, becoming the second Taiwanese carrier to offer direct services to the Czech capital after China Airlines.

The maiden flight, which was piloted by Starlux Chairman K.W. Chang (張國煒), took off at 12:50 a.m. from Taoyuan International Airport and landed in Prague at 9:01 a.m. local time, according to flight tracking website Flight Aware.

In a statement, Starlux said it will initially operate three round-trip flights per week between the two destinations on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using an Airbus A-350, with service increasing to four weekly flights beginning Oct. 1.

The outbound flight is scheduled to depart Taipei at 12:10 a.m. and arrive in Prague at 7:50 a.m. local time. The return flight leaves Prague at 10:20 a.m. and lands in Taipei at 5:10 a.m. the following day.

Starlux CEO Glenn Chai (翟健華) described Prague as a milestone in the airline's global network expansion, saying the new route would support growing business and leisure travel demand as semiconductor supply chain ties between Taiwan and the Czech Republic continue to deepen.

Chai also announced that Starlux will soon begin selling tickets for flights to Barcelona, which would make it the first Taiwanese airline to operate direct services to Spain.

David Steinke, head of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said he hoped the direct flights will attract more Taiwanese visitors to the Czech Republic while promoting exchanges in tourism, trade, education and culture.

To mark the launch, Starlux and Taiwan's Tourism Administration invited Czech baseball player and engineer Ondřej Satoria, best known in Taiwan for striking out Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani at the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, to fly on the inaugural Prague-to-Taipei flight for a nine-day tour of Taiwan.