Starlux Airlines A350 First Class: A Quirky Product That Exceeded My Expectations

Hello from Taiwan, as I just flew Starlux Airlines’ Airbus A350-900 first class on the 13-hour flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Taipei (TPE). I recently wrote about why and how I booked Starlux first class, as it’s the second to last first class product in the world I’ve yet to try (Air Côte d’Ivoire, I’ve now got my eyes on you!). It’s also the second most cash I’ve ever spent out of pocket on a flight. Bleh.

Look, I came into my Starlux first class flight with low expectations, given that the hard product looks more like a “business class plus” seat, and I wondered if this would actually be a competitive product, since Starlux’s first class commercial strategy makes little sense.

But you know what? I’ve gotta say, I walked away from the experience impressed, and this flight greatly exceeded my expectations. Is it quirky, and does the hard product leave something to be desired? Yes. But the ground experience is phenomenal, the inflight service was exceptional, and the food and amenities were pretty great.

Let me share some initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full review.

Starlux’s A350 first class seats are incredibly strange

Starlux’s A350 business class is excellent, as the airlines has the Collins Aerospace Elements seat, which I rank as being among the best business class seats in the world. But rather than having a fully separate first class cabin with a curtain, first class is instead just located in the first row, and on the surface, looks more like a “business class plus.”

Y’all know how skeptical I was of this product, but several elements exceeded my expectations.

In terms of spaciousness, I’d say the first class seat is probably comparable to British Airways’ 777 first class, so it’s not an amazing hard product, but it’s actually not uncompetitive either, in my opinion. The seat’s tech is excellent, from all the charging options you’d expect, to a huge 32″ 4K UHD.

The walls around the seat are also really so high that you don’t even realize the rest of the cabin is there. That might sound silly, but I was fully expecting to be bothered by light pollution and other things, but that didn’t at all end up being the case. You really feel like you have your own cocoon.

The other thing is that no one seems to actually ever book first class on Starlux, so I had the whole cabin to myself, meaning I could lounge in one seat, sleep in another seat, etc.

I was curious how the lavatory situation would work, since the forward lavatory is reserved for first class passengers, but I figured passengers would constantly be coming up to try and use it, given the lack of a curtain between the two classes of service.

Nope. I heard the crew clearly explain to business class passengers that lavatories are located behind the cabin. Only once did I see someone try to use the forward lavatory, and they were promptly directed to the rear lavatory. So that ended up being a non-issue.

Also, the business class service is performed from the galley behind the cabin, so there’s virtually no light or foot traffic in the forward galley. Speaking of cabin lighting, I feel like lighting in the entire cabin was adjusted based on where I was in the service, which was sort of funny. For example, cabin lights were turned off the second I finished my meal.

So yeah, in terms of hard product I’d say this is probably slightly below average, but it wasn’t as much of a disadvantage as I was expecting.

Starlux’s first class soft product is very competitive

I have to say, the Starlux first class soft product was really spectacular. I had two flight attendants, Birdy and Lori, exclusively taking care of me, and the service was flawless. Like, every time I’d be served something they’d both come out, and it was so perfectly orchestrated. They were personable, and had great attention to detail.

Starlux first class is unlike any other first class product I’ve flown in the sense that guests aren’t typically offered a menu onboard (though there is a very extensive drink list). You just make a selection from a variety of options before your flight, and then they cater that exactly to your preferences.

I know that might sound undesirable, but it worked really well, and the food quality was really good. I also appreciate that from a food waste perspective — that’s better than loading one of each option, only to have most of it go to waste.

I’ll have more details in my full review, but below are some pictures of my main meal…

When it comes to drinks, Bollinger La Grande Année 2015 was the champagne on offer, though I also really enjoyed the wine selection beyond that, including some options from Taiwan.

There were so many cute touches to the service, from a mini suitcase hard-shell overnight bag from FPM Milan, to a box of Aesop products and a face mask, to pajamas from Huntsman, to a Loro Piana blanket, to a diffuser placed next to the bed with turndown service.

Starlux’s first class ground experience is great

I think what Starlux really nails is the ground experience. After Air France, I’d argue that Starlux has the most consistently excellent first class ground experience of any airline in the world, in terms of the consistency with which you’re looked after.

I’ve already covered how Starlux first class passengers get access to PS LAX, the airport’s private terminal. That’s not even the only airport where Starlux sends first class passengers to a private terminal.

Then upon arrival, I was picked up at my gate and driven in a golf cart to the (very strange) first class lounge. By the way, Starlux might have the coolest first class luggage situation in the world. When your bag is checked, it’s literally placed inside a huge, hard-shelled case, which has all kinds of first class branding on it, and then it’s loaded separately, brought out first, etc.

As much as we (myself included) love to rave about the gimmicks of first class, like double beds and inflight showers, the truth is that an excellent ground experience is worth a lot. Ultimately premium travel is supposed to be about a seamless end-to-end experience, and that’s something Starlux nails.

Bottom line

I’m not suggesting Starlux has the world’s best first class. However, I came into my flight with very low expectations, and they were greatly exceeded in terms of the soft product. The hard product is definitely quirky and I wish it were a fully separate cabin, but it was better than expected in practice, as I almost didn’t realize there was a whole cabin behind me.

But the soft product, from the ground service, to the food, to the amenities, and in particular the flight attendants, were all very good.

I’m still processing everything, but I think all-in-all, this might just make it toward the bottom of my list of the world’s 10 best first class products… or at least would rank slightly behind that.

What’s your take on Starlux’s A350 first class?