TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei-based StarLux Airlines launched its inaugural flights to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Thursday (May 13), catering to business travel and cargo shipping needs.

The airline will operate three round-trip flights per week from Taoyuan International Airport to the trade hub in southern Vietnam. The city also serves as a major transit point for passengers headed for destinations across the Pacific Ocean, the company said.

Despite tightened border controls and COVID-19 quarantine measures, the carrier believes the demand from Taiwanese businesspersons and their relatives for travel to and from the Southeast Asian country remains robust.

Currently, StarLux conducts 30 flights a week, including to Macau, Penang, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kuala Lumpur.

The airline has postponed the launch of long-haul flights to the U.S. until the end of 2022 or 2023 due to the pandemic. Planned routes include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Ontario, San Jose, Guam, Honolulu, New York, Washington, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and Miami, wrote CNA.