By Lisa Barrington
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Taiwan's Starlux Airlines has placed an order for five Airbus A350 freighters and three A330neo widebody passenger jets, its chief executive said on Wednesday.
Starlux CEO Glenn Chai announced the order on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow, adding that the company would also take an option to order five more freighters.
The A330neos will be delivered in 2025-2026, followed by the freighters, said Benoit de Saint-Exupery, the senior vice president of sales at Airbus' commercial aircraft business.
The A330neos and A350 freighters are powered by Rolls Royce (LON:RR)'s Trent 7000 and Trent XWB-97 engines.
Starlux, the island's newest full-service airline, launched its first flights in 2020 and serves destinations including Tokyo, Bangkok, Hanoi, Singapore, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Flights to Seattle will start in the middle of this year, Chai said, saying Starlux wants to become a transit airline for passengers from Southeast Asia to North America.
The freighters will be Starlux's first freighter aircraft.
Taiwan is an important cargo hub, especially for goods from South Asia to North America, Chai said.
The all-Airbus operator competes against the island's long-established carriers China Airlines and Eva Airways.
Airbus' A350 freighters are set to come into service in 2026, bringing as much as a 40% reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions compared with previous-generation Boeing (NYSE:BA) 747 freighters, the European planemaker says.
Airbus has about 50 orders for the A350 freighter, it said.