For our trip to Kyoto, we had a nearly three hour layover at Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE), after landing from Los Angeles in Starlux’s A350-900 business class, and prior to connecting to Osaka in Starlux’s A330-900neo business class.
Continue reading: Review: Starlux Airlines Lounge Taipei Airport (TPE)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
You don't eat pork because pigs are cute but you feel comfortable eating other animals like cows and sheep? I don't see the consistency of your logic.
@ Bruce -- Well, I actually don't eat lamb either. And I only ever rarely eat beef. I think that's besides the point here, though? I'm not trying to convert anyone into my eating style, and I'm not claiming to be 100% consistent in my logic (I think it's easy to pick apart anyone's logic when it comes to their personal habits). I'm just saying that it would be nice to have non-pork options, and billions of people agree with me.
Why does he have to be consistent? I don't go hunting because I don't want to shoot animals, but I eat meat. He is entitled to his tastes.
@ David -- For sure, I'm not saying anything should change about that. I'm just saying there are also billions of people who don't eat pork, so it would be nice to have some more options for them as well.
Given these factors, do you think the lounge's offerings justify its use during a layover, especially for those traveling on long-haul flights who might need more comfort and facilities?
Totally with you on this, Ben. Our food choices are a personal thing, often not just about logic but about what feels right for us. It's like picking a favorite movie or song - it doesn't have to make sense to everyone. And asking for more variety, like non-pork options, just makes sense in our diverse world. It's all about having choices that suit everyone's taste. At the end of the day, it's about enjoying our meal and respecting others' choices, right?"
The worst part is that they don't have a lounge in terminal 2, which is where their long haul flights to the US depart from! I learned that the hard way a few days ago, where we did the reverse trip from t1 to t2 (and also found the signage to be just awful). I was expecting to find a Galactic lounge there and nothing, so literally had to go to Starlux website to figure out which lounge they use. They use Oriental lounge, a typical average Priority Pass lounge.
It all sounds very Taiwanese to me. I went to Taipei for the first time last summer, and expected some Singapore/HK international city vibes, but what I got was just your average Chinese megacity, with all the good and bad that comes with it. Not at all surprised to hear about strange signage or unconventional buffet spreads. That's just how it is, all very very non-Western, and not always in a positive way.
Daniel - expecting Taipei to look and feel like Singapore is a little unrealistic.
" all very very non-Western, and not always in a positive way" - so basically you are saying that travel comes with new experiences. Some great, some not so great. So?
Likewise, increasingly more places are deleting meat options on menus for all vegan or vegetarian items, just as bad IMO. Give something for everyone. I’m a meat eater and Vegan is a non option for me.
According to OECD/FAO, people in Vietnam, Korea and China are consuming most pork meat per capita - around 30 kgs per year. No separate stats on Taiwan but I think largely follows trend. On average, chicken is most consumed (around 15kgs per year, per capita).
Yes Donna, you must be well informed. Check how all the companies that thought plant-based meat would be the future are doing financially. Deleting meat options will never be a reality. There will be both options as always but meat, chicken, pork, lamb consumption keeps going up.
@Larry - Would you tell a Vegan to eat the meat? Would you tell a Muslim to eat pork? Why would you suggest that I eat plants!? I have no problem with the plant based eaters, just don’t force those choices on me.
We were there last Sunday, departing Taipei for Penang, and enjoyed the friendly service, ramen, and pineapple cakes very much. The lounge is comically small but a pleasant place to hang out for a couple of hours.
Whole lot of comments about a persons’ dietary interests.
To each their own. What’s complicated about that to comprehend?
Crap airline since joining the Sky Team - will refute the concept of flying with them again
Tom
Oh yes, the famed Pocari Sweat. Perfect refreshing beverage for the hot and humid Pacific Asian climate. I always wondered how many Pocari’s they have to chase around to collect enough sweat to fill one of those cans.
Just curious if I'm arriving in taipei starlux business and connecting onwards on a different airline, would i still be able to access the starlux lounge upon arrival?
Thanks.
Ben I didn’t get a chance to read the Starlux flight review because the website kept crashing. I wonder what their champagne , wine , and alcohol offerings were.
I was in Japan and LA around the same time you were. Last summer we were in Milan around the same time hehe
This is insane. This blog is miles and points. Sadly it has been put on hatred and politics. Leave it out. Freedom of speech is fantastic, but not when it is being said negatively. And the author allows it because capitalism. I’m a Delta 360 and United GS. I pay for my first class seats. But over last few week reading comments are distracting and disappointing.
Starlux aren’t in SkyTeam nor any other alliance. China Airlines is a member and they have a great business class product, which I doubt you’ve ever travelled in.
Some people don’t eat pork for religious reasons. Do you eat dog or cat, because by your logic… oh wait.
No as it’s for departures for Starlux passengers. You have to use the lounge of the airline you’re travelling/ departing with.
They are really a small niche airline with just 2 flights a day to the US ( 3 if you include Guam). I doubt they would have lounge built to open just a few hours a day.
I was just there yesterday. I was not impressed at all. After about half hour I went to the plaza premium lounge nearby which was much nicer.
I agree that there should be non-pork options as well. For people who are vegetarians or just don't feel like eating meat at this moment. But certainly not because it offends some people who in the year 2023 still believe some fairytale geriatric in the sky will throw down punishment on them for eating it. Absolutely ridiculous.
It's personal taste... Who cares even if he only wants to eat pork on the first Monday of every odd-numbered month but not in November?
The point is there should be reasonable accommodation for certain common diets. Even a vegan one would satisfy a lot of people who can't do one meat or another.
I'm honestly surprised that there were no real vegetarian meal options. Taiwan has some of the most amazing vegetarian restaurants and has one of the largest vegetarian shares of its population in the world (after India, of course). Overall, understanding the space constraint, it just feels strange that an airline so focused on a "luxury experience" would have such an underwhelming lounge. I'm not really sold on how this is that much better than China Airlines.
Nah. I realise my expectations were all wrong, and obviously that's on me. Had I known what it was like, I would have gone somewhere else.
But Taipei did not really come with any new experiences and that's the problem. Just another Chinese megacity, like I said. I was disappointed. Although I did have a laugh at my 5-star hotel's attempt at Western breakfast items. Spaghetti Carbonara or Beef Burgundy at 6 am, why not 😀 The Chinese (Taiwanese) alternatives were nice, though.
“ Freedom of speech is fantastic, but not when it is being said negatively.”
Congrats on the absolute dumbest take I’ve read all year. That takes effort. Of course you’re from Florida.
JX are currently building a T2 TPE lounge so hopefully that will address some of the issues for USA, Thailand, and Singapore bound pax in T2. The lounge will be located in the space formerly occupied by the now-shuttered Sakura Lounge.
JX have run into construction issues with the airport authority however - their contractor inadvertently cut into some building fire protection, construction has paused temporarily as of July, and the airport authority may require new permits to be issued / designs to be further reviewed.
Source: this Chinese-language article in the United Daily News (UDN), a large newspaper in Taiwan:
https://udn.com/news/story/7266/7275232
Came here to write that I also share the same sentiment as Ben for choosing not to eat pork and how happy to hear that I am not alone in that regard. On that note have you ever gone to the pig cafe in Tokyo?
Ben, FYI, the rest area adjacent to the Galactic Lounge used to be one of two Cathay Pacific Lounges before COVID-19 as far as I can remember.
Having recently flown LAX-TPE-SIN, there's now a Starlux lounge available in T2. If I remember correctly it's somewhere in the vicinity of gate D5. It's not particularly big but it does have bathrooms (which were kept immaculately clean during the time I was there). Sadly no showers.
The lounge has an interesting decor and has a bit of "Star Wars cantina" vibes. There are also self-storage lockers for luggage which is good for keeping the main dining area less cluttered or if you want to step out of the lounge for a while.