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STARLUX Airlines is a Taiwanese carrier that launched operations in 2020. The airline currently serves four US destinations from Taipei Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE): Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport (ONT), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). A few months ago, it announced that it would begin flying to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in February 2026. Now, it has some more news as it has signed an interline agreement with American Airlines.
This interline agreement will allow passengers on both carriers to enjoy seamless travel between North America and Taipei (expanding route options and simplifying the travel experience). It will introduce convenient single-ticket booking and through-checked baggage between American Airlines’ vast North American network and STARLUX’ transpacific and Asian routes. Passengers will be able to connect from numerous US cities including Boston, Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, Dallas, New York, and Philadelphia on one streamlined itinerary.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is a strategic hub for American Airlines. When STARLUX’ new route begins, it will be able to piggyback on American’s operation to get customers just about anywhere in the United States and beyond. STARLUX has timed its Phoenix flights to align with American Airlines’ domestic schedules. Flight JX026 will arrive in Phoenix at 5:40 PM, which gives travelers access to more than 40 US destinations on American Airlines. The return flight, JX025, departs Phoenix for Taipei at 10:45 PM. This enables passengers from over 60 US cities to easily make connections.
Anmol Bhargava, American’s Senior Vice President of Alliances, said:
American is delighted to offer more travel options for customers with STARLUX. Through this interline partnership, customers can enjoy convenient connections from Taipei to more than 250 destinations in North America. We look forward to working with STARLUX to enhance opportunities for American’s customers to travel from North America to Taipei.”
STARLUX CEO, Glenn Chai, added:
We are very honored to have the partnership with American Airlines — one of the United States top airlines. The partnership will greatly expand STARLUX’s reach into the U.S., with customers accessing American’s vast North American network. It will also increase travel choices for American Airlines customers looking to travel to Taipei.”
This interline agreement is nothing to get too excited about, but it could be the start of something larger. STARLUX has aspirations to join an airline alliance and oneworld® doesn’t currently have a Taiwanese carrier (SkyTeam has China Airlines and Star Alliance has EVA Air). STARLUX’ CEO has stated that the airline would like to join the oneworld® Alliance this year. That seems a little rushed since no timeline has been publicly released, but adding flights to an American Airlines hub won’t hurt when/if it does join.
Anthony’s Take: This will make travel a bit more seamless for some, but the big news will come if STARLUX decides to join oneworld®.
(Image Credits: American Airlines and STARLUX Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
