A first-hand look at Starlux Airlines' A350 first class from LAX to Taipei, covering the ground experience, seat, food, and standout crew service.
Excellent review, Ben!
Even if the hard product (single row of 'sorta' first class suites) isn't literally The Residence or even La Première, it still seems quite nice. On board, the additional privacy, elevated dining (c'mon, that caviar), additional amenities (fancy PJs, Aesop... niccce), and dedicated service. And, that VIP-style ground experience, while not worth paying outright for P/S, was a great inclusion, too.
Fine, it's definitely not necessary for most; like, if I can find that sweet-deal 75-85K/way in J with AS points (like @samar pulled off recently from PHX), I'll go with that instead. Ahh, how I wish JX flew JFK-TPE nonstop. Overall, I think the airline deserves a higher ranking than Hainan (#8? Psh) on the recent Skytrax updates (feels like pay-to-play, over there).
Anyway, "as a completionist" ... Ben, I take it you'll be at ABJ, soon enough! (Finish it!!)
Great review! Just such a late flight not to get a glass of champagne on the ground, especially with you presumably still being on Eastern Time. Well done eating all of that food overnight! Hey, someone has to do it.
Almost feels like they should be offering buy-ups to the seat at check-in if no one else is in F, and then just deliver a J experience. But I guess that wouldn't preserve the exclusivity of the product, even if it would be a logical way of monetizing it. Don't have to give J customers Loro Piano blankets and Huntsman PJs and such for them to enjoy the more spacious bed on overnight flights such as this one.
@ Peter_ -- Yeah, they've really chosen an unusual method of monetization. I've heard that their paid upgrades at check-in on long haul flights cost $5K, and that's without the first class ground experience or catering. That's of course completely ridiculous, and a ripoff.
Meanwhile I also get how it's tough to basically create a product that's on the one hand all about exclusivity, ground experience, and soft product, while on the other hand, having flexibility with assigning people into it at the last minute.
I think the fair compromise would be to offer buy-ups at a certain point that are more reasonably priced, while still trying to offer most of the onboard soft product, except the special ground experience.
I think the bigger point of confusion is that the airline only has a total of 30 seats between first and business class, with four being in first class, and 26 being in business class.
China Airlines and EVA Air have closer to 40 business class seats on most aircraft that fly to North America. At a minimum, you'd think the airline would frequently oversell business class if the demand is there, and just upgrade people to first class. However, that just doesn't seem to happen a lot, since the airline seems to avoid operational upgrades to first class.
It's all very strange, and I'm confident this current product isn't the one that maximizes revenue or profitability. It's just so rare to see a cabin where actually filling it up isn't in any way a priority. Even Air France proactively sells La Premiere upgrades at check-in.
Is it me or was that the largest breakfast @Ben has ever been served?
@ hbilbao -- Hah, for sure. The two starters were the size of mains on other airlines, so it was almost like having three breakfasts. I only ate some of each, because it was way too much.
The one thing all carriers who call TPE home have in common is having some of the best whiskies for their class.
Now this is the only first class product out of TPE carrier so was interested to look at the whiskies list on the menu. It does not disappoint. Kavalan Solist Amontillado is definitely very, very fine whisky.
@ BBT -- I'm not at all a whisky drinker, so that's interesting to hear and good to know.
@BBT I would struggle to decide whether sleep or drinking those whiskies were more important on this flight. Definitely a great list.
What do you think they do with the rest of the champagne? I felt bad after having a single glass of Salon in JAL F, being the only one drinking it. I was interested in trying the whiskeys and sakes as well.
@ Sel_D -- While I wish they'd offer it to business class passengers, I suspect it just gets poured out, unfortunately. This is one of the downsides of selling so few first class seats. Oh well. I won't feel bad about it, since at least the airline doesn't waste as much food as other carriers.
Anxiously awaiting ORD_is_his_asylum to chime in with his customary insane garbage.
No skimping here. The Loro Piano pillow & throw retail for about two grand. Nice way to make you feel cozy for a couple hours! And the caviar with mother of pearl shovel very elegant! And I remembered the cost.....
Thanks Ben for such an in-depth review!
On the champagne and wine list Starlux truly deserves a round of applause. While pretty much every first class product nowadays has gone cheap on their wine list and only shell out for the champagne, Starlux offers something pretty special. Here’s just the champagne and the reds:
Bollinger Le Grande Annee Brut 2015 95 pts $215
Chateau Belair-Monange 2014 93 pts $165
Pahlmeyer Jayson Cab Sauv 2021 93 pts $100
Macan Rioja 93 pts $130