Saturday 29 October 2022

Starlux Airlines' first A350 piloted by Zhang Guowei arrives in Taoyuan on 29 October 2022

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA / Image credit : Starlux Airlines

Starlux Airlines' first A350 piloted by Zhang Guowei arrives in Taoyuan 

 
Image : The first A350 of Starlux Airlines was delivered, with 4 first-class cabins on board, and the aircraft piloted by Zhang Guowei arrives in Taiwan this afternoon. (Provided by Starlux Airlines)

Starlux Airlines's first Airbus A350-900 wide-body passenger plane, fuselage number B-58501, was officially handed over for delivery at 12 pm on 28 October 2022, Toulouse, France. The plane was in Toulouse, France. At 6.39 pm on 28 October 2022, Zhang Guowei, chairman of Starlux Airlines, piloted the aircraft back to Taiwan from Toulouse under flight JX2359. which  landed at Taoyuan International Airport at 2.03 pm (scheduled arrival time 2.39 pm) on 29 October 2022. The Class cabins will let passengers enjoy an unprecedented flying experience.

In order to go to Airbus to pick up the first A350 passenger plane, Zhang Guowei started the model transfer training in June this year, and went to Singapore in early October 2022 to obtain a license, and successfully obtained the flight license of the original Airbus A350. Zhang Guowei said that with the arrival of the new A350 aircraft, there will be a breakthrough in the service destinations of Starlux Airlines starting from 2023, and the airline route network will expand from Asian regional routes to North America.

As the first A350-900 passenger aircraft of Starlux, the First Class cabin in personal space is expected to bring a different flight experience to the passengers and at the same time push Taiwan's exquisite local culture to a higher level through flight.

The A350 is Airbus' most advanced long-range wide-body aircraft. More than 70% of the body is made of the most advanced carbon fiber and titanium alloy composite materials, which can greatly reduce the weight of the aircraft. The new wing design can improve the overall flight performance of the aircraft, and is designed for pilots. The best flight system and interface, with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine. Trent XWB is built with the best technology and materials, it is currently the industry's most efficient large aircraft engine, and the overall fuel consumption and carbon emissions can be reduced by 25% .

Starlux Airlines A350-900 is the only First Class and Business Class aircraft in Taiwan with personal sliding door space. There are 4 classes in total, including 4 seats in first class, 26 seats in business class, 36 seats in premium economy class and there are 240 seats in Economy Class with a total of 306 seats. This is the world's first evolutionary version of the A350. The cabin is 4 inches wider than the general A350, providing a more spacious and comfortable passenger space. In addition, the aircraft also uses the latest technology to maintain a pleasant temperature and humidity inside the aircraft, and the cabin air is refreshed every 2 to 3 minutes.

According to Starlux Airlines, the cabin design style of the new aircraft inherits the A321neo and A330neo, and the BMW Designworks team continues the earth colour system with rose gold as the main colour. The seats are made of warm and tactile fabrics and leather, and are installed with unique and novel design dynamics. The A350 with welcome trim panel creates a cabin space that combines luxury, sophistication and comfort like home. As the A350-900 will fly long-haul routes, more efforts have been made in the ambient lighting. Not only can the lighting be adjusted according to the flight time period to switch the cabin atmosphere, but also the mood lighting is specially designed for important festivals to upgrade the five-sense experience.

For the most important in-flight entertainment system for killing time on the plane, Starlux Airlines has also built it with the highest specifications. All cabins are equipped with 4K high-definition screens and support Bluetooth wireless audio transmission. The screen sizes for  First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class are 32 inches, 24 inches, 15.6 inches and 13.3 inches.

With the first A350-900 arriving in Taiwan today, the second one is expected to be delivered in December 2022, and the entire Starlux Airlines fleet is ready for route rationalization. Initially, the A350neo will complete test certification flights in January 2023 before deployment on regional routes to Southeast Asia in February and March 2023, and it is planned to officially inaugurate scheduled flight to Los Angeles in April 2023.

星宇航空首架A350交機,機上設有4席頭等艙,將由張國煒駕駛於今下午抵台。(星宇航空提供)
Image :The first A350 of Starlux Airlines, with 4 first-class cabins, will arrive in Taiwan this afternoon, driven by Zhang Guowei. (Provided by Starlux Airlines)

Images in the news below: The Starlux Airlines fleet of A321neo, A330neo and A350 completed the difficult aerial three-aircraft formation shoots.

Three aircraft formation aerial photo exposure

星宇航空機隊到齊,A321neo、A330neo及A350於地面魚貫滑行及起降瞬間。(圖:星宇航空提供)

Before the delivery, Starlux Airlines said that in order to show the momentum of the fleet and uphold its passion for aviation, it went to Airbus in Toulouse, France, and cooperated with the local professional aerial photography team Master Films to complete the magnificent three-aircraft formation flight.

星宇航空機隊到齊,A321neo、A330neo及A350完成高難度空中三機編隊拍攝。(圖:星宇航空提供)

Starlux Airlines said that this three-plane combination shooting, from the selection of the shooting team in the early stage, the communication and presentation of the pictures to the official shooting and delivery, took nearly a year. The airline and the shooting team continued to communicate and negotiate back and forth. Under the careful arrangement, the dream was finally turned into reality at the end of September 2022, and the shooting task was completed in Toulouse.
星宇航空機隊到齊,A321neo、A330neo及A350完成高難度空中三機編隊拍攝。(圖:星宇航空提供)

This three-aircraft formation filming is performed by air-to-air shooting, which depends on the right time and place. Starlux Airlines said that the air-to-air videos of airlines around the world are all shot by a single aircraft. It is an Airbus model, and it is in a period of intensive aircraft delivery. It is a rare opportunity to gather all models in Toulouse to carry out the mission. The shooting team specially rented a helicopter to capture the moment of the aircraft sliding on the ground, taking off and landing, and using light jets. The aircraft is responsible for the follow-up flight in the air, in order to capture the beautiful picture of the three aircraft flying together above the blue sky and white clouds.
星宇航空機隊到齊,A321neo、A330neo及A350完成高難度空中三機編隊拍攝。(圖:星宇航空提供)


Starlux Airlines pointed out that the aircraft carrying out this important mission are the A321neo with fuselage number B-58207, the A330neo with fuselage number B-58304 and the first A350-900 of Xingyu Airlines with number B-58501. Airbus also fully cooperated , dispatched experienced pilots from the original factory to fly, the pilots participated in several pre-flight meetings, intensively discussed formation and route planning with Starlux Airlines and the shooting team, and arranged a different flight attitude, including three straight lines. A321neo, A330neo and A350-900 are slightly tilted in sequence to show the separation of the Starlux logo behind the belly, showing the various angles of the Starlux aircraft under the sunlight.

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