Taiwan-based luxury carrier, STARLUX Airlines inaugurated nonstop service between Taipei and Los Angeles, the airline’s first destination in North America. STARLUX Flight JX002 departed Taipei at 11:00 a.m. PT and landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and prior to Flight JX001’s 12:50 a.m. PT departure today. STARLUX Chairman K.W. Chang, who holds the rank of Captain for the Airbus A350 type rating, piloted the inaugural flight from Taipei to Los Angeles.
The inaugural flight is the first of a series of new long-haul intercontinental routes planned for North America, Europe, and Oceania. Starting today, STARLUX service to Taipei departs from Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday. Service to Los Angeles will depart Taipei Airport on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. STARLUX will operate the route with its next generation Airbus A350 aircraft. The five-times weekly service is expected to ramp to daily in June.
STARLUX’s inaugural flight celebration was held at the Flight Path Museum at LAX. Featured speakers included STARLUX CEO Glenn Chai, LAWA CEO Justin Erbacci and TECO Director General Amino C.Y. CHI. Partner sports teams the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Clippers also joined the cerebration. MLB legend and former Dodgers first baseman, Steve Garvey, and LA Clippers alum Craig Smith signed autographs. The Clippers Spirit Dancers, for the first time, performed in front of an aircraft and on the ramp. Event guests toured the luxury A350 cabin, perused sports-themed amenities which will be provided starting this June, like meal packaging, playing cards, eye masks, luggage tags, and more. Several lucky ones won raffles and brought home jerseys signed by the Dodgers and Clippers.
The new flights will be flown on STARLUX’s Airbus 350 aircraft and feature four seats in First, 26 in Business, 36 in Premium Economy and 240 in Economy.