Luke Diaz is a freelance military writer with experience with active duty experience in the US Navy as well as defense and industrial engineering. He is a former Naval Flight Officer who performed tactical air control on the carrier-based E-2 Hawkeye.
To inaugurate the first Airbus A350-1000 to be delivered to STARLUX Airlines, the Founder and Chairman, Chang Kuo-wei, personally piloted the brand new “Xtra Widebody” jet from the plant at Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS) to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).
The brand new stretched A350 widebody touched down at 10:41 AM local time in Taipei on January 6, 2026, according to Flightradar24. The new jet will bring a greater capacity airframe to the steadily growing STARLUX stable of Airbus jets.
STARLUX & Airbus Growing Together
STARLUX has proven to be a strong customer of the A350 family. The airline’s 28-strong fleet is exclusively Airbus-made jet liners. Last year at the Paris Air Show, the airline ordered 10 more A350-1000 variants adding on to the order which also includes A350F cargo hauling models.
The Airbus A350 family is steadily growing as the maker attempts to recapture the market segment that has been dominated by the 787 Dreamliner. Although the composite Boeing jet beat the A350 to market, the A350 offer is more range and greater capacity than even the largest 787-10 variant. This combined with the reputational dent that Boeing has suffered in recent years, has helped the European manufacturer gain favor with operators, like STARLUX.
STARLUX Airlines CEO Glenn Chai made these remarks in the press releases following the carrier’s additional order of A350-1000s in June 2025:
“Expanding our international fleet with additional A350-1000s is a significant step toward reinforcing our global presence … [It is] the perfect fit for our strategy to optimise long-haul operations while delivering an exceptional passenger experience.”
First For STARLUX & First For Taiwan
STARLUX’s rivals in Taiwan, EVA Air and China Airlines, have also ordered the A350-1000 but have yet to receive their first examples. As Air Insight reported, STARLUX was the first to sign on the dotted line for the extra-long “Xtra Widebody” at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2018.
The airline’s competitors did not finalize their first order until 2025, highlighting how early adoption of Airbus’s latest and greatest clean sheet airliner is giving STARLUX a leg up today. With the first already on the ramp in Taipei, the airline has a backlog of 17 A350-1000s expected to be delivered in the future.
STARLUX also flies the A350-900, the first of which was received in 2022. The exceptional fuel efficiency and range, paired with the dramatically improved cabin comfort of the A350XWB has been received enthusiastically. In addition to the growing order book of STARLUX Airlines, more operators around the Asia Pacific region have shown strong interest in A350 models, such as Cathay Pacific and others.
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Posts 10 By Luke Bodell The Xtra Widebody Difference
The A350 is the first Airbus aircraft made from scratch with composite in mind as the primary material for its construction. The aircraft has proven to be exceptionally fuel efficient, low maintenance, reliable, quiet, and, thanks to its very strong fuselage, much more comfortable for passengers.
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Inside the A350XWB jetliners are upgrades that are both obvious immediately once you step off the Jet Bridge, and those that are invisible but make a dramatic difference in comfort for long-haul flyers, especially. The cabin is pressurized to a lower altitude than legacy aircraft and has a higher humidity level, significantly reducing discomfort in flight and jet lag after landing.
Airbus probably declares that the A350 is already able to operate with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in its effort to greatly reduce emissions, even beyond the 25% lower fuel consumption. Airbus aims to make its aircraft up to 100% SAF capable by 2030.
The A350 family has more than 1,400 orders from 60 customers, with 157 ordered in 2025, and over 650 planes in service with 38 operators today. There were 44 A350s delivered in 2025. The manufacturer’s scramble to achieve its 2025 goal of 820 deliveries saw 793 reach customers before the new year. While falling short of the original goal, that number was right on target for the revised tally after supplier issues slowed things down.
