26th April is a big day for the new Taiwanese airline Starlux, it finally launched its first long-haul flight to Los Angeles, CA.
Starlux started operation at the beginning of 2020, it was the worst time in aviation history due to the pandemic. The airline persisted and now flies 20 brand new Airbus including 13 A321neo, 4 A330neo and 3 A350-900. Opening the first long-haul destination means Starlux can finally connect passengers between the U.S. and Asia.
I was invited by Starlux Airlines to be onboard this historical inaugural flight. My opinion remains independent. At the end of this trip report, I gave my own thoughts about them.
Video of my Starlux Flight
Taipei Ceremony
There is a ribbon cutting and speech delivery ceremony at the gate.
Many Avgeeks and passengers were actively participating in the fun event. It’s been almost 3 years since I attended a launch flight like this. I almost forgot how fun it is!
VIP Service for First Class Passengers
Starlux Airlines First Class passengers can enjoy limo transfer and access to Huan Yu VIP Terminal which has private rooms and a separate immigration clearing facility.
Starlux Business Class Lounge – Galactic Lounge
This is a boutique size lounge in Terminal 1 of Taipei Taoyuan Int’l Airport.
There are decent F&B on offer including several on-demand menu items. Given the limited room, I think it may be more crowded in the morning.
Seating on Starlux A350-900
Configuration: F4C26W36Y240 total seats 306
Starlux Airlines Airbus A350 Seat Maps. Provided by seatmaps.com
First Class
4 fully enclosed private suites in the front of the cabin. Note: no cabin divider or bulkhead between First and Business Class.
Business Class
26 suites with privacy doors immediately behind First Class
Premium Economy
32 deep recliner seats
Economy Class
240 seats in 2 cabins. Seat pitch: 32 inches
Onboard the Inaugural Flight of Starlux
I was lucky enough to be seated in First Class Suite 1G.
There are many amenities available exclusively to First Class passengers such as personal storage space, personal mini-bar, a unique amenity kit, pyjamas, slipper and wireless Bluetooth headset.
Flight JX002 Taipei to Los Angeles
The flight time is about 11 hours and 10 minutes with favorable tailwinds on Eastbound.
We flew over Japan and Northern Pacific at final cruising altitude of 39,000 ft.
What’s interesting is the airline chairperson Mr. KW Chang personally flies the A350 on the inaugural flight as captain.
Starlux Airlines In-Flight Dining
Dining service starts immediately after take-off.
The dining service is fully on-demand.
In fact, there are 5 starters and 5 main course items on a very extensive menu (also available on IFE screen) to choose from.
I pre-ordered the Hutong Yakiniku style steak which is easily the best steak I’ve eaten on an airplane!
After the meal, I visited the rest of the cabin briefly and take note of the food service.
There are 3 main choices in Business Class dining but passengers can also pre-order their preferred meals online.
Onboard Wi-Fi has 3 options.
Chat is free for all passengers. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi availability was intermittent on this flight
Given it is a day flight, I slept about 2.5 hours and woke up again.
I tried out the snack menu and order a Boba latte which is fantastic.
There were a couple of small glitches in that my seat failed to recline after being upright. The crew has to reset it during the flight. The wireless Bluetooth headset also lost connection after 10 minutes and I have to replace it with the wired headset to enjoy the movie.
Before landing, a full breakfast was served. It wasn’t the usual airline offering, there are plenty of choices.
At this point, I wasn’t feeling hungry anymore but tried out just the dim sum platter.
Landing into Los Angeles was an exceptionally smooth one, which is the chairman’s landing. Watch it on my video.
My Thoughts About the Flight
I think the overall product is fantastic onboard Starlux, it has advantage of using new airplanes and starts from a clean sheet design with no legacy issues. I am especially impressed with the details and soft products such as food and beverage, the wireless headset and the privacy features in premium classes.
The First Class Suite is a larger version of Business Class, some may even called it a Business Class Plus. What set the First Class apart is the exclusivity, ground service (limo transfer, VIP lounge) and amazing food and beverages. Without a divider or bulkhead, I did notice there are some noise coming from the galley and Business Class during meal times on the full inaugural flight.
I wish Starlux good luck, the airline needs to grab market share quickly and open up more U.S. destinations so they can build up connectivity between the U.S. and Asia. The chairman has mentioned the next destination is San Francisco by the end of this year, with Seattle next year. Starlux will receive the A350-1000 in early 2025. I have no doubt the competition is going to be fierce between the 3 Taiwanese full service carrier.
Video of my Starlux Flight
Los Angeles Event and Partner with Alaska Airlines
After landing, there is a ceremony at LAX about the inaugural flight.
Starlux has smartly teamed up with LA Dodgers and LA Clippers to celebrate the occasion. I believe some in-flight products from LA will feature the Dodgers and Clippers.
Starlux has also announced partnering with Alaska Airlines in the U.S.
Starting now, Alaska Mileage Plan members can now earn Alaska miles on their Starlux flights. Soon, they’ll be able to redeem miles to book Starlux’s transpacific flights to Taipei and other Asian destinations. Economy one-way redemption starts from 20,000 miles while Business Class can be redeemed with 60,000 miles.
BTW, a little personal note: Time flys. It has been almost 30 years since KW Chang and I last met in person. I was working at BR as aircraft dispatcher in LAX. KW Chang would visit our office under the old (now demolished) boarding area of TBIT in LAX from time to time, and ride along with us (yes, I had the permit to drive inside LAX) or BR maintenance reps to the aircrafts to chat with cockpit crews, and most importantly, cabin crews ;-).
It’s a smart move by Starlux Airlines to utilize Huan Yu VIP Terminal at TPE/RCTP for the first class passengers. As such, Starlux Airlines can truly compete against NH, JL, SQ, premium European airlines, and the ME3 in terms of first class passenger departrue services. Sadly, flying the very crappy & over-priced airlines (with only one exception) of the entire American Continent (North + Central + South) in any class of service feel like riding in cattle cars.
During my Q4 2022 trip to Taiwan, my family & I utilized Huan Yu VIP Terminal’s arrival services (paid separately on our own — as the competing airlines did not have such amenity). The staffs were courteous; the private pickup & the “golf cart” ride & the luggage retrival were great, espeically for my 88-year-old mom; the private VIP room was clean & very confortible; the foods were excellent; and the private immigration & custom clearance was fast & easy.
Based on Sam’s trip report, I can see that Starlux Airlines is distinguishing itself from the competitors in everything other than the hardware seat products (which I will have my complaints against the entire airlines industry below), especially in terms of its staffs and onboard food & beverage services, in addition of utilizing Huan Yu VIP Terminal for first class passanger.
Can’t wait to try Starlux Airlines on my next trip to Taiwan.
Now, my complaints against the entire airlines industry in term of the hardware seat products:
I miss the old business class seats of BR — its version of B/E Aerospace (now Collins Aerospace) MiniPod. With width of 22 inches (measurement between two armrests) & pitch of 61 inches, I actually enjoyed much more 3-dimensional personal space than most of today’s cramped business class seats.
Nowaday, the staggered business class seats, the herringbone business class seats, & the reverse harringbone business class seats, have average width of 20~21 inches (screw the bulls***s shown on airlines’ own websites & seatguru.com) & average pitch of 44~45 inches (the tiny footstall shall NOT be counted as part of seat pitch).
In comparison, I might even be more comfortable in a premium economy seat with average width of 19+ inches and average pitch of 38~40 inches, especially when NH and JL also provide airport lounge access to premium ecoomy passengers (not the case for both JX & BR & CI). One cannot help but wonder what’s the point? The lots of extra money and/or mileages paid are not proportional to the tiny extra 3-dimensional personal space gained (sometimes even lost).
Besides, I can never lie flat & sleep anywhere unless I am in my own home or in a hotel room, behind locked door. However, I have no problem taking power-naps while seating.
The only current business class seats that are worth the money are NH’s The Room (its version of Safran Fusio) & B6’s Mint Studio.
As for the first class seats, only SQ’s suite on A380-800 & EK’s new suite on 777-300ER are worth the hypes.
Why don’t you try air Greenland and the brand new a330 neo they got
Amazing review, thanks
Enjoyed watching your video! Starlux looks like they have put some thought and elegance into their product! Thanks for posting and always tell myself that you have the best job in the world!
First I love your content. 2020 and 2021 were hard years. The pandemic and I had a heart attack. I was in the hospital and didn’t know if was going to make it. I was on You Tube surfing and ran across a video. You were on your third flight on Etihad on the Residence. It was inspiring because I realized that I’ve traveled but haven’t experienced in that way. I realized that I want more out of life. Since that point I made a promise that I would realize my passions and dreams more. I watch your videos and would love to have you on my national gospel radio show to talk about travel and food. Thanks for being an inspiration.
Santoria Black
Weekend Praise Party