Earlier today, StarFlyer – an airline currently operating only domestic scheduled services – announced that it intends to reenter the international scheduled market starting with 2018 winter schedule.
StarFlyer International Scheduled Routes Set to Return
The airline is planning to launch the following three international routes during 2018 winter schedule:
- Kitakyushu to Taipei Taoyuan
- Fukuoka to Taipei Taoyuan
- Nagoya Centrair to Taipei Taoyuan
All three of the routes are expected to operate twice a day, however, detailed schedules are not known yet. And, while the latter two routes are currently operated by numerous other airlines, StarFlyer is set to become the first airline operating on the Kitakyushu to Taipei route.
Other StarFlyer’s International Operations
Even though StarFlyer currently operates scheduled flights only domestically, the new routes to Taipei won’t be the first time for the airline to operate internationally.
Besides regularly operating international charters, StarFlyer also used to operate a scheduled international route between Kitakyushu and Busan in Korea. The route operated twice a day between July 2012 and March 2014.
While the flights to Taipei are still quite far in the future, it is great to see StarFlyer attempting to return into the international scheduled market. It is especially good to see the airline planning to open an international route out of its home base in Kitakyushu.
And, personally, I am interested in seeing what the fares and in-flight service will be like. Given the fairly comfortably configured A320s the airline operates, StarFlyer could become a great option for those traveling between Japan and Taiwan.