Starlux Planes Has Received Its First Airbus 350

Taiwan’s STARLUX Airlines has received its first Airbus A350 which arrived from France on the weekend. This is the first of eighteen A350s, and it will help the company continue to expand their fleet.

This will be B-58501’s first long-haul flight

The Airbus A350-900, registration B-58501, left the French airport of Toulouse Blagnac (TLS) at 18:39 on Friday October 28th. After a 13:25-hour flight, it touched down at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) at 14:03 on Saturday.

At STARLUX Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of AIR FRANCE KLM, the A350-900 is joining an all-Airbus fleet that already features eleven A321-200neos and four A330-900neos. As well as the 17 A350s, it has three A330neos and three A321neos on order.

Here are some of the great features it includes

The STARLUX A350s will be powered by two Rolls-Royce XWB-84 engines. In August, the Trent XWB-84 had accumulated more than 10 million engine flying hours and is used in airplanes of various routes, from short-range sectors to ultra-long hauls lasting more than 18 hours. Rolls-Royce claims that the XWB is the world’s most efficient engine, with a 15% fuel consumption advantage over its first Trent engine.

The XWB is the global market leader in fuel efficiency. It not only uses less fuel, but it can also use 50% sustainable aviation fuels, which will likely be used sometime in the future. Additionally, Rolls-Royce points out that they’ve avoided more than 15 million tonnes of CO2 since 2015, which is the equivalent of providing electricity to two million homes responsibly.

Starlux has access to a complete set of Airbus aircraft

Having complementary aircraft is a long-standing principle of Airbus marketing strategy. This is especially true in Asia, where the airlines use a mix of aircraft to open longer routes and optimize frequencies. For instance, it may be possible to start by using a smaller plane, such as the A321, on routes with lower demand so that routes have time to grow before larger planes are needed. As demand grows, the airplanes will then work well together: quieter times for the A321 and more services for the A330, which can eventually be handed off to the A350 as routes take off!

Throughout the journey, Airbus designs cabins with a consistent level of comfort and experience–regardless of aircraft size. This is due to what we call commonality, which gives operational and maintenance costs a lower impact, giving pilots type ratings, and giving airlines the flexibility to match needs with demand. It’s a tried-and-true strategy in Asia, where the A330 has been integral in building increased demand and frequencies on new routes for many airlines.