TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Starlux Airlines on Tuesday (Sept. 12) announced it will launch direct service from Taipei to San Francisco in mid-December.

Starlux Airlines said on its website that direct service from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) will begin on Dec. 16, and tickets will go on sale immediately. It said there will be three direct flights per week until March 2024, when the carrier will operate daily flights to San Francisco.

An Airbus A350 will service the route with 306 total seats, including four first-class seats, 26 business class seats, 36 premium economy class seats, and 240 economy class seats. Initially, flights will depart at 11:30 p.m. from Taoyuan Airport every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and land in San Francisco at 6:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

The flight time from TPE to SFO will take 12 hours and 10 minutes, according to the airline. Return flights will depart from San Francisco at 11:40 p.m. local time and arrive at Taoyuan at 5:30 a.m. Taiwan time.

Starlux Airlines launched its first destination in the U.S., Los Angeles, on April 26, 2023. There is currently one flight per day on the TPE to LAX route.

In addition, Seattle is planned to be Starlux’s third destination in the U.S. The launch date will depend on the delivery schedule of the new aircraft, but the airline said it believes it can begin operating the route in mid-2024.

In its fleet, StarLux Airline currently has 13 Airbus A321neos, four Airbus A330neos, and three A350-900s. It is expected to take delivery of a fourth A350-900 in October this year, bringing the total fleet to 21 aircraft.

In addition to Los Angeles, StarLux currently flies regional routes to 18 cities in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, including Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Macau, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Okinawa, Kumamoto, Sendai, Singapore, Manila, Cebu, and Clark. It will start flying to Nagoya, Japan on Dec. 1.