Starlux Airlines received its first delivery of an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft on Tuesday, Jan. 6, with a ferry flight from Toulouse, France, to Taipei, Taiwan.
The aircraft is B-58551. The delivery flight was JX2351, departing France at 2:10 p.m. local time and arriving in Taiwan at 10:14 a.m. local time, after 13 hours of flying.
“B-58551 will debut on regional routes within Asia, then move on to support our expansion into North America and Europe once operational experience is built,” the carrier said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
The first destination for the A350-1000 will be announced in February.
Founder and Chairman K.W. Chang piloted the ferry flight:
Starlux has ordered a total of 18 Airbus A350-1000s. That is in addition to 10 A350-900s, all of which have been delivered. The airline has had its eyes on international expansion outside of Asia, and currently serves Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Ontario, and will soon launch a Phoenix route.
Additionally, the Taiwanese carrier has expressed its desire to join the Oneworld alliance and has developed a partnership with American Airlines. However, this may be met with some pushback from Cathay Pacific, a founding member.
The livery of B-58551 reflects the aircraft type, including a large 1000 painted on the back half of the fuselage.
Photos by Starlux Airlines.
