Star Flyer will resume operations on its Kitakyushu–Taipei/Taoyuan route on September 2.
The airline will operate three round trips per week, with departures from Kitakyushu on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and from Taipei/Taoyuan on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. It is considering increasing the frequency to daily service in the future.
The flights will operate as late-night and early-morning services, and the airline plans to offer light meals, local confections, and drinks tailored to the time of day. Fares and the start date of ticket sales are scheduled to be announced around June.
This route and the Nagoya/Chubu–Taipei/Taoyuan route were launched in October 2018. Both routes have been suspended since March 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the outline of its next medium-term management plan announced in February, the airline stated that it will first expand its international network into East Asia, and after 2030 aim to further expand routes into Southeast Asia, targeting an increase in annual revenue to 15 billion yen in fiscal year 2028.
President and CEO Osamu Machida revealed that the airline is considering South Korea, Hong Kong, and coastal regions of mainland China as potential destinations. He noted that there is strong demand for flights departing Japan in the morning and returning from overseas during the daytime, and said that the airline will carefully expand its route network while prioritizing profitability.
