Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s youngest international carrier, is planning to launch flights to Zurich and Barcelona next year as part of its efforts to extend its reach into Europe as reported by Focus Taiwan.
Speaking at the airline’s annual shareholder meeting on 29 May, Starlux Chairman Chang Kuo-Wei said the company has applied to fly to Zurich and Barcelona to expand its network in Europe in 2027.
The airline will begin services to Prague on 1 August 2026.
Expansion to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand
In addition to Europe, Chang said New Zealand and Australia will be expansion targets next year, with Sydney and Auckland as possible destinations, and the airline also has plans for increasing its presence in the United States.
Starlux already serves Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, but Chang said the airline has set its sights on further expansion in the U.S. and is considering Chicago, Washington D.C., New York and Dallas as possible destinations.
Starlux is also partnering with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, two of the Oneworld alliance’s members.
Flights to Bali will commence on 1 October, 2026 and to Busan in South Korea in June this year.
Fleet expansion
On the cargo side, Chang said Starlux has ordered 10 A350F cargo planes to bolster its air cargo services and turn the carrier into both a passenger and cargo airline.
Starlux CEO Glenn Chai said after taking delivery of two A350-900s and one A330-900neo last year, Starlux is operating a fleet of 29 aircraft, handling 4.9 million passengers and 87,000 tons of cargo.
In mid-2025, Chai said Starlux signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase 10 A350-1000 passenger flights to boost its capacity of wide-body aircraft, eyeing long haul routes.
Simple Flying reported that the airline it will upscale its flights from Taipei to Phoenix by swapping the Airbus A350-900 with the A350-1000. This will be the airline’s first long-haul route operated with the -1000 variant. The change will take place from July, as the airline amends its four-weekly service to Arizona. Starlux only commenced its first flight to Phoenix in January this year, and its move to a larger aircraft is a positive sign that demand for the route is strong.
Also in a Facebook post, the airline said as its fleet continues to expand, with 43 aircraft expected by the end of this year.
