Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines has just put flights to LAX on sale. This also represents the first time that Starlux is selling its Airbus A350-900 first class product. It’s exciting to see a brand new first class product being introduced, though I can’t help but point out the unconventional approach that the airline is taking to first class, and wonder if this strategy will stick.
In this post:
Starlux Airlines’ modest A350 first class seat
Starlux has introduced all new first & business class products on its Airbus A350-900s, which will be used for long haul flights. Starlux Airlines will be the only airline in Taiwan to offer first class. The airline is known for incredible quality, so in that sense many were surprised that the airline didn’t go more over-the-top with its first class.
Specifically, 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.
In some ways the product sounds like some of the “business class plus” seats we’ve seen introduced in recent years, like the JetBlue Mint Studio, Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suite, 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 incredible soft product in all cabins, and that will also extend to first class on the A350. While we don’t know the full details of Starlux Airlines’ first class soft product, here are some things we do know, as observed by readers Gary and Ryan:
- In Taipei, Starlux first class passengers will receive chauffeur service to & from the airport (TPE)
- In Los Angeles, Starlux first class passengers will be 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’ll have access to The Salon (a shared space), while if you’re traveling with someone, you’ll have access to The Suite (a private space)
- While exact details of food & drinks in first class aren’t known, dine on demand will be offered, and there will be caviar
It sounds like Starlux is really going to invest in its first class soft product both in the air and on the ground, which doesn’t surprise me. 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. Now that flights to Los Angeles are on sale, we see that’s not the case. First class fares are really steep, consistently, at least triple the price of business class.
I can’t help but wonder if Starlux Airlines will be able to find people willing to pay $10K+ for its first class product. 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 has limited opportunities to redeem miles for first class, especially as the program doesn’t have any airline partners
- 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
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.
So I’m curious if Starlux adjusts its pricing strategy going forward, if the airline provides lots of ways to upgrade from business class, or what.
There’s one other important point to address when it comes to transpacific pricing at the moment. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve seen huge increases to transpacific fares, especially in premium cabins. Why? Because pre-pandemic, mainland Chinese carriers were capacity dumping like there was no tomorrow, and other airlines were forced to compete.
With airlines from mainland China having reduced transpacific service so much over the past few years, and with transit in mainland China not even having been possible for so long, that hasn’t been a consideration. I imagine that this is a trend that we’ll start to see reversed as more mainland Chinese carriers restore their networks in North America.
Bottom line
Starlux Airlines will finally be launching 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, I expect we’ll see an amazing soft product both in the air and on the ground.
Starlux’s first class pricing is optimistic, and I just can’t imagine the airline can sustain this pricing. I’m curious to see how this plays out.
What do you make of Starlux Airlines’ first class strategy?
Maybe there was no plan for first class, and they decided to add it with no changes. That is definitely still business class.
But the good news for them is, they also have to make no changes to eliminate the first class option and increase business class
Having flown with them a number of time I can tell all of you thisd airline is falling apart at the seams. Its a classic BS and mirrors operation spearheading by the arrogant CEO who also showed his true arrogance when he was at EVA Air. First of all they are cancelling flights left right and centre right now and its impossible to rebook. They have no customer service and ask you to go to...
Having flown with them a number of time I can tell all of you thisd airline is falling apart at the seams. Its a classic BS and mirrors operation spearheading by the arrogant CEO who also showed his true arrogance when he was at EVA Air. First of all they are cancelling flights left right and centre right now and its impossible to rebook. They have no customer service and ask you to go to the office in Taipei to sort out your booking. Thats great !!! unless you are not in Taipei when they screw up your flights and you cannot get anyone to answer the phone. They have closed all the outstation offices.
Even as a top tier member you cannot get free seat selection and the lounge at their home base is a joke. They dont even have showers and the selection of food and drink is not far short of useless.
Service on board is poor to say the least. Last weeks flights there was no offer of any drinks whatsoever and the crew spent most of the flights at the back of a plane that was 65 % empty.
Now they are trying to raise another 5 billion Taiwan Dollars to keep afloat and the share prices are up and down and are now classed as volatile. https://focustaiwan.tw/business/202302220006 On Wednesday, meanwhile, the Taipei Exchange set restrictions on the trading of StarLux shares because of their volatility in recent sessions. On Tuesday alone, the stock traded between NT$31.35 and NT$50.
The exchange decided that for five trading days starting Wednesday, any investor buying 10,000 Starlux shares in a single trade or 30,000 shares in a single day will have to pay for the shares in full at the time of the trade.
As I am typing they have just cancelled another flight in April and have told me I have to fly at close to midnight arrival in Taipei which makes it very difficult to get to my office at this time of day. Yet again I have now been calling for the last 15 minutes and no one answers the phone.
Looking online there is a huge amount of complaints from customers and today they have come up with another BS story that on a 2.5 hr flight they dont have time to serve tea or coffee. Funny how China Airlines and EVA air have no problem with this. Or is it a cost cutting exercise as they are in deep **** financially.
How gauche! No separation from the dregs in business class? Is nothing sacred anymore?
This just seems like a bad idea.
First class is largely nice because of the privacy and the cabin crew ratio.
So you already lose the privacy aspect because you are sharing the massive business class cabin, and then also, either the cabin crew are obsessing over the first class passengers the whole flight while all the business passengers notice and fail to receive the same attention, or they just provide a uniform...
This just seems like a bad idea.
First class is largely nice because of the privacy and the cabin crew ratio.
So you already lose the privacy aspect because you are sharing the massive business class cabin, and then also, either the cabin crew are obsessing over the first class passengers the whole flight while all the business passengers notice and fail to receive the same attention, or they just provide a uniform service. Also, kind of awkward to be getting all these special treats like upgraded spirits and champagne and caviar while the person sitting behind you just has to watch and can't get it.
It just seems like it would be uncomfortable regardless of which side you are on.
I can’t even begin to imagine the horror of sharing the cabin with all the riff-raff back in business class. Not even a magic curtain to separate us? Truly horrific. Hard pass from me, I’ll go via Tokyo thank you very much
Expect kiosk and email bid upgrades to abound on this route. I'd pay USD$600 to upgrade to F from J oneway LAX-TPE, altho' I doubt they'd accept that little. I'd expect them to start partnering soon, but not with AC, despite Ben's fervent hope and very public pleas LOL. Emirates? Etihad? Porter LOL. Hawaiian... Hey if they joined an alliance, which? Most likely Oneworld right? That would be great
Local media reveal more detail about the first class.
https://www.walkerland.com.tw/subject/view/351138
-After booking, passengers will be contacted by a dedicated first-class service agent who will likely help with in-flight needs and arrangements.
- A welcome chocolate will be provided by Yu Chocolatier, a renowned store in Taipei.
- Wine from Weightstone Vineyard Estate & Winery, a Taiwanese winery, will be served. (Taiwanese Winery)
http://weightstone.tw/en/our-wine/
- Whiskey options include:
"Kavalan...
Local media reveal more detail about the first class.
https://www.walkerland.com.tw/subject/view/351138
-After booking, passengers will be contacted by a dedicated first-class service agent who will likely help with in-flight needs and arrangements.
- A welcome chocolate will be provided by Yu Chocolatier, a renowned store in Taipei.
- Wine from Weightstone Vineyard Estate & Winery, a Taiwanese winery, will be served. (Taiwanese Winery)
http://weightstone.tw/en/our-wine/
- Whiskey options include:
"Kavalan Solist Amontillado Sherry Single Cask Strength" (Taiwanese Distillery)
https://www.kavalanwhisky.com/en/product.php?act=view&id=16
"The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old"
https://www.themacallan.com/en-us/sherry-oak-18-years-old
- Tea options include "KALON TEA," a Taiwanese brand https://www.kalontea.com as well as Mariage Frères.
- Champagne from BOLLINGER
- Gesha Coffee from Zou Coffee will be offered, which is known to have one of the best coffee in the country.
- Cocktail from Bar Home (from Tainan) (same bar as their signature galaxy cocktails)
- Ice cream from NINAO, a bucket-list food place in Tainan.
https://www.ninaogroup.com
- Meal by Longtail, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Taipei. The meal will include a 16-ounce US Ribeye Steak and Baked Maine Lobster https://longtail.com.tw
- Tableware will be provided by Williams Edwards & Robert Welch.
- Between meal snacks :
Nuofu Rice Pudding, which is also a bucket-list food place in Tainan
https://www.instagram.com/nuofuliou/
Truffle Wagyu Burger Pineapple Bun from HUTONG YAKINKU
https://gyenshop.com.tw/products/61/359/370
HUTONG Clear Stewed Beef Noodle
https://eatfoodgod.com/product/hutong-clear-stewed-beef-noodle/
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Nice to see the focus on promoting Taiwanese Brands, not sure if that is enough to complement the gap in hardware offering compared to other competitors in the region. Also, there is a private terminal in TPE, not sure why they don't provide a similar service in Taipei.
Not that surprising, they have to compete against BR and CI for O&D J, no direct competition for F. In Asia, it's not uncommon for companies to pay for F for top executives, that's one of the main reasons so many carriers in Asia still have an F cabin while it's become uncommon elsewhere in the world. TPE has a lot of wealthy people and LAX is where a lot of them like to send...
Not that surprising, they have to compete against BR and CI for O&D J, no direct competition for F. In Asia, it's not uncommon for companies to pay for F for top executives, that's one of the main reasons so many carriers in Asia still have an F cabin while it's become uncommon elsewhere in the world. TPE has a lot of wealthy people and LAX is where a lot of them like to send their kids / move overseas to. Plus, with a 4-seat F cabin, they won't need to fill up the cabin with award ticket passengers, they only need a handful of paying passengers plus OLCI upgrades to fill the cabin. From a revenue management perspective, that's probably the right thing to do anyways, international F is usually less profitable than J even with 6-8 seat cabins because of lower load factors and more free upgrades for top elites / mileage redemptions than J, which sells well to both corporates and luxury leisure / VFR passengers. That's why even EK or SQ are dialing back the number of F seats in their new 777-300ER / new A380 suites. If on average you're selling an extra saver award seat in F (which some of the 7th and 8th seats on international F cabins are definitely primarily being sold as), you might as well rip out the seat and replace it with J, which will be able to sell many more full-fare cash bookings
Even with scant details, it appears to be a colossal waste of money.
With PS included, the price difference was never going to be small between business and first, even if they almost certainly negotiated a better price.
Maybe if the tech industry isn't in money saving mode atm, some c suites at a tech company might bite. For me, I'd take JAL or ANA over Starlux instead in F.
I'm surprised they wouldn't do a mini cabin, a la Air France.
"Starlux’s first class pricing is aggressive"
I'd say the exact opposite. In typical context "aggressive pricing" means they're making sacrifices on their price in order to increase sales.
This seems like more of a left-handed turndown.... in favor of whatever other strategy (e.g. Offer huge private corporate discounts? Sell upgrades at the gate?) that they ACTUALLY intend to employ with these seats.
@ ConcordeBoy -- Good point, thanks. That wasn't a good word choice. Replaced it with "optimistic."
Alternatively, they may simply be recognizing that there are enough aviation/travel bloggers/youtubers/tiktokers out there that until most of them have had the opportunity to do their reviews, there's an audience that's pretty price-insensitive when it comes to a brand-new product on a basically brand-new airline ;) .
took the words out of my mouth.
my other speculation is the halo effect. just like haute couture, it isn't (for decades) a profit source nor meant to be. rather the prestige it creates help tremendously to sell other products that's actually profitable/higher yield. somehow, starlux already managed to have a sizeable cult following locally. with such few seats and a tiny total capacity involved, it's not far fetch to assume this and starlux would...
took the words out of my mouth.
my other speculation is the halo effect. just like haute couture, it isn't (for decades) a profit source nor meant to be. rather the prestige it creates help tremendously to sell other products that's actually profitable/higher yield. somehow, starlux already managed to have a sizeable cult following locally. with such few seats and a tiny total capacity involved, it's not far fetch to assume this and starlux would be able sustain loss on this small scale.
This looks like the classic (i.e. pre-FCM) US airline approach of overpricing F and then giving the seats away to elites (or perhaps being aggressive with selling OLCI upgrades to business class travelers).