Starlux Airlines’ Next US Destination Is… Ontario, California!

Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines has revealed its next destination in the United States, and it’s not what you’d expect… or maybe it is? While I first wrote about the schedule for this flight being filed several days ago, there’s now an update, as the flight is on sale.

Starlux launching Taipei to Ontario flights as of June 2025

As of June 2, 2025, Starlux Airlines plans to launch 4x weekly flights between Taipei, Taiwan (TPE), and Ontario, California (ONT). Flights are now on sale, with the following schedule:

JX10 Taipei to Ontario departing 8:05PM arriving 5:05PM
JX09 Ontario to Taipei departing 11:10PM arriving 4:15AM (+2 days)

The 6,831-mile flight will operate in each direction on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The flight will be blocked at 12hr eastbound and 14hr5min westbound.

As is the case on all of the carrier’s routes to the United States, this will be flown by an Airbus A350-900. That plane is equipped with 306 seats, including four first class seats, 26 business class seats, 36 premium economy seats, and 240 economy seats. I’ve reviewed Starlux’s excellent A350 business class.

Ontario will be Starlux’s fourth destination in the United States, complementing flights to Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA).

Keep in mind that Starlux has a partnership with Alaska, meaning that it’s possible to earn and redeem Mileage Plan miles for travel on Starlux. With this flight having just been loaded into the schedule, I see a fair amount of award availability. Most flights seem to have one business class award seat, two premium economy award seats, and four economy award seats.

My take on Starlux’s latest long haul expansion

I think most people would’ve assumed that Starlux Airlines’ next destinations might’ve been to some place not on the West Coast. However, I can’t really say that I’m that surprised by this addition.

Taiwan has three global airlines, and keep in mind that China Airlines already operates this exact route. The airline launched the service back in 2018, and it has been very successful, to the point that it now operates daily.

There’s a huge Taiwanese population in Southern California, so obviously this is primarily about point-to-point traffic, and isn’t about feeding into other markets in the United States.

Back when China Airlines launched service, the airport provided significant incentives for that service to launch. I have to imagine that Starlux is getting the same. It’s kind of funny how Ontario will have long haul flights on two airlines, both serving the same route.

In general, Taiwan just generates an unbelievable amount of traffic. I mean, just look at the amount of volume in other markets out of Taiwan. San Francisco has up to seven daily flights on four airlines, Los Angeles has up to seven daily flights on three airlines, and Seattle has up to five daily flights on four airlines.

A lot of people are exclusively traveling between Taiwan and the United States, but Taipei is also a big connecting hub, for those traveling to and from other points in Asia.

Bottom line

As of June 2025, Starlux Airlines plans to launch 4x weekly flights between Taipei and Ontario, which will be the carrier’s fourth route to the United States. This route is already served by China Airlines. So while Ontario might seem like a random destination given its lack of long haul service, this ultimately reflects the size of the Taiwanese population in Southern California.

What do you make of Starlux launching Ontario flights?