Taiwan-based STARLUX Airlines took delivery of STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA Silver at the Airbus Delivery Center in Toulouse, France, bringing to life its landmark collaboration with visionary Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama. Conceived as the world’s largest flying canvas, the aircraft’s liquid-metal fuselage represents STARLUX’s first-ever special livery.
STARLUX Chairman K.W. Chang and CEO Glenn Chai personally led a delegation to Toulouse to mark the occasion alongside Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner, Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace President Rob Watson, and MANKIEWICZ Director Jacques Robillard.
For Chairman Chang, the occasion extends beyond the unveiling. He personally piloted STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA Silver on its maiden journey to Taiwan, departing Toulouse at 3pm local time on July 4 and arriving at Taoyuan Airport at 11.05am on July 5.
STARLUX selected two next-generation Airbus A350-1000 aircraft as Sorayama’s new artistic medium, creating STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA Silver and STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA Gold. The Gold also made an appearance at the delivery ceremony.
The STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA Silver livery carries Sorayama’s signature aesthetic throughout, with silver as the dominant tone and gold as an accent, and the AIRSORAYAMA co-branded logo rendered on the fuselage, belly, wingtips, and crown.
To achieve Sorayama’s signature liquid-metal effect, STARLUX collaborated closely with Airbus and leading coatings manufacturer MANKIEWICZ over a period of three years to develop a specialised multi-coating process that delivers the layered, fluid depth of Sorayama’s work while meeting rigorous aircraft requirements.
That effort also led to the creation of AIRSORAYAMA SILVER and AIRSORAYAMA GOLD, two custom metallic shades developed with Pantone and officially incorporated into the Pantone Color System, the first proprietary metallic colors engineered specifically for commercial aviation.
The collaboration extends beyond the exterior. Themed inflight amenities, a safety video, and a collection of co-branded merchandise bring the AIRSORAYAMA experience to passengers throughout their journey.
STARLUX is a boutique international airline serving a total of 32 destinations across the US, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. STARLUX passengers traveling between North America and Asia are able to enjoy an easy transfer in Taipei with its five US destinations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Ontario, California, and Phoenix.
You can watch the launch ceremony here and video of the aircraft landing in Taipei