Fleet development
In March 2019, Starlux announced it would start operations for select destinations in Asia, and to Europe and North America. Its inaugural fleet consisted of 17 Airbus aircraft, which included five Airbus A350-900s and 12 Airbus A350-1000s. The airline later planned to add 10 Airbus A321neos to its fleet to serve their Asian routes.[96] In November 2019, Starlux decided to swap four Airbus A350-1000 orders to four A350-900s. Therefore, at the start of 2020, the orders stood at 9 A350-900s and 8 A350-1000s.
Starlux had also considered the addition of the Airbus A330neo to its fleet.[97] This was followed by the airline placing an order for 8 Airbus A330-900s, alongside three additional A321neos and one leased A350-900 to its order backlog on 10 September 2020.[89] Starlux also announced during September 2020 that its Airbus A350s would feature a first class cabin.[98]
As part of the plans, Starlux was to become the first Taiwanese airline to fly the Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330-900, and Airbus A350-1000,[12][99][89] but the remaining A350-1000 orders were later converted to the -900 variant instead. In October 2022, Starlux received their first Airbus A350-900 at Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, France. Their chairman personally flew this aircraft back to Taiwan.[100] The airline became the first to take delivery of the next generation of Airbus A350 aircraft, which notably features wider cabins and electronically tinted windows by default.[101]
In late 2023, Starlux Airlines entered into a leasing agreement with Avolon Aerospace Leasing, an Irish lessor, acquiring three Airbus A330-900 aircraft, according to a filing submitted to the Taiwan stock exchange.
During the 2024 Singapore Airshow, Starlux finalised a deal to buy three additional A330neo aircraft and five new A350Fs (with options of five more A350F), marking its first purchase of freighters for the Starlux Cargo Division. The A350F order would later be increased by an additional five planes in January 2025.[102] In addition, Starlux opted to revert the purchase order from 2020 to acquire eight A350-1000 aircraft for routes serving the east coast of the United States, as confirmed by Airbus Orders and Deliveries in January 2024.
In light of the increasing travel demands observed within the geographical regions of Japan and Southeast Asia, Starlux has introduced strategic modifications to its aircraft leasing arrangements from Air Lease Corporation (ALC). Initially scheduled to acquire eight A330-900 aircraft in the year 2020, the company has chosen to amend this arrangement in response to unanticipated delivery delays. As a result, the revised agreement, effective as of May 22, 2024, involves the acquisition of five A330-900 aircraft alongside a supplementary allocation of six A321neo aircraft.[86]
