Starlux Airlines is Taiwan’s newest global airline. In terms of service to the United States, the airline currently flies between Taipei (TPE) and Los Angeles (LAX), and plans to start flying to San Francisco (SFO) as of December 2023. The airline operates long haul service with its Airbus A350-900s, which feature a first class product.
Nowadays there aren’t many new airlines introducing an international first class product, so it’s cool to see Starlux Airlines offering this. However, the airline is taking an unconventional approach to this cabin, and I wonder if the strategy will stick. Now that the airline has been flying to the United States for several months, I wanted to take an updated look at this product.
In this post:
Starlux Airlines’ modest A350 first class seat
Starlux offers special first & business class products on its Airbus A350-900s, which are primarily used for long haul flights (though also used on some intra-Asia flights). Starlux Airlines is the only airline in Taiwan to offer first class.
Starlux’s A350 first class cabin consists of just four seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration. Arguably it’s not even a separate cabin, as it’s simply the first row of business class, and there’s no curtain between first class and business class. The airline is known for incredible quality, so in that sense, many people were surprised that the airline didn’t go more over-the-top with its first class.
Based on the hard product, this also seems like some of the “business class plus” seats we’ve seen introduced in recent years, like the JetBlue Mint Studio, Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suite, Condor Prime Seat, etc. More than anything else, it efficiently utilizes the space at the bulkhead.
The seat has some useful features, like 60-inch doors and privacy partitions, 32-inch 4K screens with bluetooth audio, zero-gravity seat settings, and personal wardrobes for storing luggage. However, there’s no denying that the airline didn’t set out to create the world’s best first class hard product.
First and business class is exclusively between doors one and two, and the airline managed to fit 30 seats in this space (four first class seats and 26 business class seats). As a point of comparison, Qatar Airways’ A350-900s with reverse herringbone seats have just 24 seats in that space (though there is a little bar at the back of the cabin).
To be clear, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with introducing a first class product that’s incrementally better than business class, though you’d also hope that the price reflects that.
Starlux Airlines investing in first class service
Starlux Airlines is known for its great soft product in all cabins, and that also extends to first class on the A350:
- In Taipei, Starlux first class passengers receive chauffeur service to & from the airport (TPE), plus receive access to the Huan Yu VIP Terminal
- In Los Angeles, Starlux first class passengers are able to use PS, the private suite that offers chauffeur service to & from the plane, allowing you to skip the terminal altogether; if you’re traveling alone you have access to The Salon (a shared space), while if you’re traveling with someone, you have access to The Suite (a private space)
- Starlux has a great first class inflight service, with caviar, La Mer gifts, and more
Starlux is definitely investing in its first class soft product both in the air and on the ground. Whether that makes up for the lack of separation from business class remains to be seen, though.
Starlux Airlines first class pricing is steep
When we first saw Starlux Airlines’ first class product, many of us assumed it would come at a reasonable premium over business class, since it’s not even in a fully separate cabin. That didn’t turn out to be the case, though. Since flights went on sale, Starlux has maintained very steep first class pricing, at least triple the price of business class.
Admittedly lots of airlines have very high sticker prices for first class, but then there are ways to get a much better deal. However, most of those presumably don’t apply here:
- Starlux Airlines offers limited opportunities to redeem miles for first class; it’s bookable through Starlux COSMILE, but I can’t imagine many people have huge balances with the program
- While it could change, as of now fares aren’t considerably cheaper if connecting, as is often the case with other airlines
- I can’t imagine Starlux Airlines has many corporate contracts right off the bat that offer huge discounts to travelers, since this will be the carrier’s first long haul route
- Many airlines will sell buy-ups to first class, though I don’t believe the airline is offering these (someone correct me if I’m wrong)
At these fares, I can’t imagine Starlux will be able to consistently fill any substantial number of seats. Even with just four seats, you’re not going to regularly find people willing to pay these kinds of fares, in my opinion. Furthermore, while Taipei is an amazing city, it’s not Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Singapore, in terms of pricing power for tickets.
Is Starlux Airlines selling first class seats?
Now that Starlux Airlines has been flying to the United States for several months, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how well the carrier’s first class is selling. How many first class seats has the airline sold over the next 21 days (for departures between September 18 and October 9)? As a reminder, there are a total of 84 seats for sale in each direction (four seats per flight across 21 flights):
- From Los Angeles to Taipei, the airlines has sold a total of four first class seats, representing a 5% load factor
- From Taipei to Los Angeles, the airline has sold a total of three first class seats, representing a 4% load factor
Admittedly some people book first class very last minute, but that’s… not a lot of seats to sell.
This product seems like it could be better monetized
It doesn’t seem like Starlux Airlines is having much luck so far selling its first class. Based on everything I’ve heard (and I look forward to experiencing it for myself soon), Starlux’s transpacific business class product is exceptional. But first class is priced more than three times as much, all while not even offering a fully separate cabin.
This cabin ultimately comes at a fairly limited opportunity cost, given that the airline has a total of 30 seats between doors one and two, consisting of first and business class. Other airlines fit the same number of business class seats into that space.
If Starlux wanted to maximize revenue, it seems like selling upgrades to first class would be the best way to do that. These transpacific flights are quite long, so say the airline tries to charge somewhere in the range of $1,000-1,500 to upgrade a business class ticket to first class, without the extra ground services. I’m sure that’s something that some people would take advantage of, and it certainly seems better than consistently letting those seats go out empty.
But best I can tell, it seems like the airline is trying to maintain “cabin integrity” so far, unless I’m missing something?
Bottom line
Several months ago, Starlux Airlines introduced its first class product, with the introduction of the Airbus A350s on transpacific flights. Starlux has an intimate first class cabin, with just four seats. Oddly it’s not even separated from business class, but is just the first row of the cabin.
While the hard product probably won’t blow anyone away, the soft product seems to be very good, both in the air and on the ground. Then again, the carrier’s business class inflight product seems to be very good as well.
It seems to me like Starlux is struggling to actually sell its first class seats, and I feel like the airline could pursue a better strategy to monetize the cabin.
What do you make of Starlux Airlines’ first class strategy?
side note: starlux just announced a rather unpleasant new award chart starting oct 3 with only 2-week notice. on top of the mileage devalution (inflation), stopovers completely eliminated ( it was never allowed on 1-way to begin with).
postponed to mar 1 2024. less than 20 hours after announced, that was quick. damage is done though. apparently fanatic applies both to the blind loyalty and backlash of starlux.
Ben,
I agree with your assessment on Starlux First Class. Bottom line, what has been the "utilization" of First Class seats on LAX-TPE route? I believe that it is almost 0% for paid first class.
The cabin configuration indicates that they can easily revert this row of first class seats to business class.
I guess the strategy in forseeable future is to NOT discount any premium seats (First/Business) and see if they...
Ben,
I agree with your assessment on Starlux First Class. Bottom line, what has been the "utilization" of First Class seats on LAX-TPE route? I believe that it is almost 0% for paid first class.
The cabin configuration indicates that they can easily revert this row of first class seats to business class.
I guess the strategy in forseeable future is to NOT discount any premium seats (First/Business) and see if they can develop market share. I wonder what their flight loads are for business class across all their routes including LAX-TPE. This will tell the true story of their strategy.
I am looking forward to my trip from LAX-BKK on Starlux in early October (got it for 85K AS miles, but I think the 25K add-on for TPE-BKK was a little bit much). However, I am still keeping the Singapore Airlines return to USA. I still SQ is the best of all over even Qatar, but let's check out Starlux.
Definitely not a fan of there mileage partner program with alaska, seems typical cost to s.e. asia is 350k miles which is beyond a joke, especially when they said it would be around 60k.. i was looking from day 1 and it's never been 60k miles ever in business and rarely below 235k but mostly 350k miles.. not sure what happened to alaska airlines mileage program but its gone down hill since joining oneworld that's...
Definitely not a fan of there mileage partner program with alaska, seems typical cost to s.e. asia is 350k miles which is beyond a joke, especially when they said it would be around 60k.. i was looking from day 1 and it's never been 60k miles ever in business and rarely below 235k but mostly 350k miles.. not sure what happened to alaska airlines mileage program but its gone down hill since joining oneworld that's for sure..
Use to fly emerites from states to s.e. asia now qatar but can't fly past Doha using miles so one less option whe few are available to begin with..
It's definitely been 60k, Ben even posted when they were 60k points one way. Sad you missed it.
For a day
A huge question remained, why no true first class in any airline's A350? Is it because the poor economy in recent years cut the demand for the true first class, or A350 is not appropriate for installing first class?
LH will have F on A350
Their chairman pretty much said out loud in a Taiwanese Youtube TV program they are not that serious in actually having to sell the first class seats. It is there as their halo product.
They have positioned themselves as a new comer luxury airline, they got to have a first class product to show to everyone: hey, first class is available.
It was a small interview section on a travel program to promote their...
Their chairman pretty much said out loud in a Taiwanese Youtube TV program they are not that serious in actually having to sell the first class seats. It is there as their halo product.
They have positioned themselves as a new comer luxury airline, they got to have a first class product to show to everyone: hey, first class is available.
It was a small interview section on a travel program to promote their route between Albany and Penang. Unfortunately the whole thing is in Mandarin ;)
To be fair, F demand in the ALB-PEN market must be huge. I've always thought running a bunch of RJs was such a missed opportunity.
To me, much of the appeal of first is that it is generally very private and quiet and the crew to pax ratio is usually quite high. This really seems like a business+ more than anything, despite their willingness to throw in some very high end perks.
I can not imagine being in a cabin of more than 30 people and feeling like it is a true first class experience...
FYI, Starlux price difference between First/lowest business r/t for intra-Asia flights (Random dates, but pretty consistent.) Currency converted to USD.
TPE-SIN F: 3760USD J: 1040USD
TPE-NRT F: 4925USD J:1250USD
SIN-NRT F: 4495USD J: 2050USD
SIN-LAX F: 14710USD J:4680USD
SIN-NRT seems to have better F:J ratio and much cheaper than direct Singapore Airlines F fare.
But irl speaking, SIN-NRT are a very saturated market, flying non-stop is the only viable option for cash J unless it's very cheap(500-600USD level)
They should only give VIP terminal and chauffeur for paid F to reduce the cost for those using awards
I think they went with a more conservative strategy in that if First Class doesn’t work out for them, they can always rebrand the cabin as J+.
While all the Taiwanese carriers have great J products, Taiwan isn’t as premium heavy of a market as other Asian cities. That coupled with their current O&D connection strategy, makes F a harder sell. It’s arguably why BR gave up on F in the early 2000s and CI a nearly decade ago.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I had read the inaugural flight review from LA on TPG, and the person flying asked for the last minute upgrade prices at the counter and it was:
Economy to premium economy: $1,000.
Premium economy to business class: $3,000.
Business class to first class: $5,000.
All of these rates are insane.
Consider that La Mer kit alone is probably almost 20% of the price, maybe it's not that insane if you compare how many times of what Delta's Someone Somewhere kit price. Not even close to 5x, more like 5000x.
I honestly can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but in the off chance you're not, La Mer is not that expensive and those are sample size products. The whole bag would retail for a couple hundred dollars probably which means Starlux pays a fraction of that.
I recently flew LAX-TPE in business, and it was a great product. Business class was mostly full but first class was completely empty.
The First Class cabin isn't there to sell tickets, but to provide upgrade opportunities to politician VIPs as a silent and subtle quid pro quo.
Given that the Taiwanese community in New York is by far the single largest in the USA (although LA is close if you add up Taiwanese in LA, SGV, Orange County and San Diego), and nonstop capacity is always tight, I don't know why they are joining the scrum from the West Coast before coming to JFK.
You mean the seat where Hunter left his laptop?
Or it's what defense contractors overpays to lobbyist to help sell obsolete F-16s.
In the old days (not so long ago) the Taiwan Air Force had the aviation market wrapped around its fingers, and it took what was then one of the biggest companies in Taiwan (Evergreen Group) to get them to open it up a crack. Skyluxe has the same sorts of issues to deal with, and lots of people that it will need to make happy. Although the White House is evidently for sale (with 10%...
In the old days (not so long ago) the Taiwan Air Force had the aviation market wrapped around its fingers, and it took what was then one of the biggest companies in Taiwan (Evergreen Group) to get them to open it up a crack. Skyluxe has the same sorts of issues to deal with, and lots of people that it will need to make happy. Although the White House is evidently for sale (with 10% to the Big Guy) I don't know what Hunter could do for Skyluxe . . . so he can sit in the back.
Should absolutely have more West Coast options. Who cares about the East Coast for Pacific routes
I flew in business class from NRT to TPE and then to LAX two weeks ago, and I must say that the in-flight experience was truly exceptional. The quality of the food, amenities, and service exceeded my expectations. What stood out the most were the juices; they were probably the best I've ever had on any airline. The mattress pad provided was thick and made a significant difference in the quality of my sleep. I...
I flew in business class from NRT to TPE and then to LAX two weeks ago, and I must say that the in-flight experience was truly exceptional. The quality of the food, amenities, and service exceeded my expectations. What stood out the most were the juices; they were probably the best I've ever had on any airline. The mattress pad provided was thick and made a significant difference in the quality of my sleep. I was seated in 2A, just behind 1A, and I couldn't help but notice that it was noticeably wider and more spacious than the typical business class seat. If there had been an option to upgrade for up to $2000, I would have eagerly taken it, but I wouldn't consider paying more than that.
@ SamFromQueens -- Happy to hear about the good experience! Can't wait for my upcoming flight with the airline.
Hey Ben, just curious, I feel like you give this airline that most people never heard of or will use a lot of real estate. What’s your fascination with this one?
The uncharitable reading is that he's being compensated; the more likely one is that he just gets fixated on certain products and is unable to discern that he covers these in a disproportionate way.
To be fair, I can understand this in the case of Starlux, which does appear to be a superlative product. I don't understand for Lufthansa, which is lackluster but seems to appear in at least 10% of posts on this site.
@ Göran -- I'm not sure if you're trying to troll me or not, but let's dissect that for a moment. The uncharitable reading is that I'm being compensated by Starlux? Have you seen all my coverage about the airline? Heck, does this post sound like something that Starlux would want to sponsor, as I talk about how the airline is seemingly struggling with selling first class?
As far as Lufthansa goes, the reason I...
@ Göran -- I'm not sure if you're trying to troll me or not, but let's dissect that for a moment. The uncharitable reading is that I'm being compensated by Starlux? Have you seen all my coverage about the airline? Heck, does this post sound like something that Starlux would want to sponsor, as I talk about how the airline is seemingly struggling with selling first class?
As far as Lufthansa goes, the reason I talk about the airline a lot is because it's the single best way to cross the Atlantic in first class with miles. As a blog focused on premium cabin travel with miles, surely you can see the value in that, no? And it's not like my coverage of Lufthansa is exclusively (or even majority) positive. I also love poking fun at how the airline can't seem to introduce its new business class product.
@ Andrew Reiser -- Totally fair question. I think it comes down to a couple of things.
First of all, as a passenger experience geek, I'm fascinated by any full service airline startup. While we see lots of airline startups nowadays, a vast majority of them are low cost carriers, and there's not much to report when it comes to their passenger experience. How many full service, global airline startups have we seen in...
@ Andrew Reiser -- Totally fair question. I think it comes down to a couple of things.
First of all, as a passenger experience geek, I'm fascinated by any full service airline startup. While we see lots of airline startups nowadays, a vast majority of them are low cost carriers, and there's not much to report when it comes to their passenger experience. How many full service, global airline startups have we seen in recent years? I can't think of many.
Second of all, while I've perhaps had what seems like a lot of coverage about the airline, it's not more than I'd give any other airline. I write about when the airline announces a new long haul route, I write about when the airline reveals new inflight products, and I write about when the airline takes delivery of a new type of aircraft.
That's the same thing I'd for for any other airline, except with established airlines there's not as much to report. Just to stick to Taiwan, I've written about when EVA Air introduced new pajamas, and about when China Airlines ordered new planes, but there's not much else to report at the moment.
Hopefully that makes sense...
Let's not forget the tabloid aspect of this airline too.
Daddy issues in a bully family fighting over inheritance.
Makes sense! And please know I was not implying you are being compensated by the airline. I am a huge fan of yours (and a client of Ford's) and just noticed this airline appears a lot!
Awesome that he’s covering more Asia Pacific routes…so bored of the Europe / Middle East coverage