The golden plane. Photo: kamilpetran / Shutterstock.com One of the world's most intriguing and notable aircraft has landed at Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague.
This is a STARLUX Airlines Airbus A350-1000 aircraft in the AIRSORAYAMA GOLD design, which landed for the first time in the Czech capital as part of the company's operations on the direct route between Taipei and Prague.
Prague Airport did not hide its enthusiasm and defined it as "the world's largest flying artwork." The unusual paint job gives the fuselage a liquid metal effect and was created in collaboration with renowned Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, who is associated with futuristic works and metallic aesthetics.
The STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA project includes two special Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, one in gold and one in silver. The silver aircraft is also expected to arrive in Prague regularly, so yesterday's landing is not a one-off event.
STARLUX's golden plane. Photo: kamilpetron / Shutterstock.comPrague was chosen to be one of only three destinations in the world that AIRSORAYAMA aircraft will regularly fly to, alongside Tokyo and Phoenix.
The move is part of a much broader collaboration between STARLUX and Sorayama. To create the unique gold and silver shades, STARLUX also partnered with Pantone, Airbus and the Mankiewicz color company, who specifically developed the AIRSORAYAMA GOLD and Silver shades.
Starting October 1, the experience is set to extend into the cabin. Passengers on AIRSORAYAMA flights between Taipei and Prague, and Tokyo and Phoenix, will receive specially designed items, including boarding passes, luggage tags, amenity kits, and even a Sorayama-inspired cocktail.
Today's landing comes just a month after STARLUX made history by launching its first-ever line to Europe in Prague.
On August 1, the company's Airbus A350-900 landed in the city, inaugurating the direct route between Taipei and Prague. The route began operating three times a week, and in October, it is planned to increase the activity to four weekly flights.
Starting in September, the aircraft on the route is scheduled to be upgraded to the Airbus A350-1000, which will have 350 seats in four service classes: First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy. Business class offers seats that open into flat beds with private doors, while first class has only four seats. STARLUX is the only airline to offer first class on the direct flight between Prague and Taipei.
The line is not only intended for traffic between the Czech Republic and Taiwan. Through STARLUX's hub in Taipei, passengers can continue on a long list of destinations in Asia, including Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Prague Airport estimated that when the line launched, it could serve more than 95,000 passengers in both directions during its first year of operation. Beyond tourism, the company also points to the expansion of business ties and the chip industry between Taiwan and the Czech Republic as a significant factor in demand for the line.
And now, after the opening of the line and the transition to the larger aircraft, comes the most visual part of the move: the golden AIRSORAYAMA aircraft has already been spotted on the runway in Prague, and later its silver brother will join it.