TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - Recently established StarLux Airlines (星宇航空) will sign a contract this month to buy 17 Airbus A350 passenger aircraft, reports said Friday.

StarLux was officially founded last year by former EVA Air Chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) but will not start flying until January next year, with high-income travelers as its target.

Under the deal with Airbus, the airline will buy 12 large Airbus A350-1000s and five smaller A350-900s to be delivered from 2021 to 2024, the Central News Agency reported Friday.

StarLux has also leased 10 A320neo models, the first of which should arrive this October, with the delivery to be completed by the summer of 2022.

As its launch date approaches, StarLux has also been recruiting more staff, with a group of 13 pilots leaving for the state of Arizona for training and 120 more openings to be filled, according to CNA.

Chang left EVA and the Evergreen Group after an alleged power struggle within the business following the death of his father Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) in 2016.