A skeptical review of Starlux Airlines' A350 first class from LAX to Taipei, covering the odd cabin layout, standout service, food, and ground experience.
those pajamas are sickkkkkkk wow. usually the PJs from airlines are boring as hell
Glad you got your money's (kinda) worth!
Niccce. (Random, but, good on them for going with Aesop!)
Those PJs are $1,200 USD! Hopefully, you get to keep them
Unless they are silk, which I highly doubt, they are not $1.2k. Probably just branded.
Good catch, their press release mentions these PJs in F being 100% organic cotton. The pricey ($1.2K) PJs that Huntsman sells on their site are silk like you said.
OMG I haven't read the review yet but I'm so happy to see this!
Love the pajamas, I think it should be the gift for this month
I would argue that Starlux first class ground service exceeds La Première. The latter is great in Paris, and sure, AF does its best at outstations, but Starlux's offer of a VIP/GA terminal at every single station is several levels above whatever AF can pull with some third party lounge in Burgas, no matter how exclusive arrangements they make.
Definitely looks impressive! Next trip to Asia, I may consider buying the miles to experience it once, though I'd probably look at the one-way from TPE, since PHX isn't going to have much of a ground experience.
Did it feel strange without anything providing business and first class cabins?
Was the palate cleanser somehow evocative of a "pick off" move to first base with the LA Dodgers branded napkin and the dental floss pick? That's a new one.
Nice flight!
This looks awesome! Looking forward to hearing more about the lounge and your connecting flight. My interest in trying Starlux F is firmly piqued now!
you are the only i have seen who raves about an on board shower.
Honestly, I expected an easy entry into your Top 10 F list. It still looks great, but I expected an even grander wow factor. AFAIK, the day blankets are Loro Piana (branded). I do like the online ordering in advance to prevent massive (and expensive) food waste. Better to preorder and then have actual high-quality stuff. Looking forward to the full review of the flights and lounges.
Food: looks so yummy and the dinnerware looks very refined. Importantly, they kept @Ben very well fed!
Amenity kit: suuuuuuper cool and well stocked.
PJs: fanciest I've ever seen (in photos).
Ground and onboard service: seems to go above and beyond.
Miscellaneous: I still feel they should install a simple curtain rather than having FAs educating every single J passenger who wants to use the forward lavatory.
Really excited for the full review! Now the question that I didn’t hear answered… once factoring in the high price difference between J & F… does perceived value of F decrease? (Especially when thinking of their competitors like JL, NH, SQ, etc). Have a great trip!
Nothing would ruin an immaculate flight experience like being presented with a Dodgers logo. Come on, Starlux, Kai-Wei Teng started his career as a Giant!
What a great preview review Thank you, Lucky. Tells you that even something like AA first class could be elevated with better ground service, but the operator needs to be committed to delivering on service consistently. Starlux first class seems better than first class on Thai Airways and Korean Air, though I myself am curious how much KE F has improved since you last gave them a quite negative review (probably justifiably so); maybe Starlink WiFi, a new F lounge at ICN, and better catering in lounge and on board will put them back in the top ten. Not sure if JX F beats out Qatar or Qantas to make your top ten, given how strong their flagship first class lounges are in Doha and Sydney, respectively, and I guess I’m still partial to operators with A380s, especially for first class. Very curious how you update your best first class list. But I also know many new first class products are on the horizon from EY, BA, QF, SQ, and CX, plus supposedly also from QR and KE, so there might a lot more shuffling of the rankings in the coming months and years, especially after the 777X enters commercial service.
not sure why a caviar course is still a thing....such a niche thing
Because it's just evocative of luxury. Lobsters used to be food for poor people and now it's food for rich people. Potato, po-tah-to.
As far as I'm concerned, luxury is declining to eat anything when the FAs want to feed you.
And agree that business class has gotten so good that first class becomes mostly unnecessary (and something that even corporations will not pay for other than for their most senior executives as a perk). But if you have the money, hey, why not.
Given the cost...not sure if its worth it over the J class product...