Starlux Airlines is boosting its lounge capacity at Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE), which is most definitely necessary. The new lounge continues with the carrier’s unique space theme (thanks to Lester for flagging this).
In this post:
Starlux opens lounge at Taipei Terminal 2
I’ve reviewed the Starlux Galactic Lounge Taipei Terminal 1, which up until now, has been the carrier’s only lounge at its hub. This setup hasn’t been ideal for a few reasons:
- While the lounge has a nice design and above average selection of food and drinks, it doesn’t even have bathrooms, let alone showers
- The lounge is quite small, not nearly big enough to handle the needed capacity during peak periods
- The lounge is located in Terminal 1, while all of Starlux’s flights to and from the United States operate out of Terminal 2
There’s a positive update on that front. As of February 1, 2024, Starlux is opening a second Galactic Lounge in Taipei, specifically in Terminal 2. Not only will this add lounge capacity, but it means that the airline will operate its own lounge prior to departures to the United States, rather than sending passengers to contract lounges.
Details of the new Starlux Lounge Taipei Terminal 2
Starlux uses a space theme for many of its products, and the new Starlux Galactic Lounge Taipei Terminal 2 is no exception. The airline is promising “a journey through time and space” with its new lounge. Personally I’m just happy to see that the lounge will offer a journey to the bathroom that doesn’t involve going through the terminal. 😉
Let’s start with the bad news — the lounge is only 220 square meters (~2,400 square feet), and that’s very small. Unfortunately lounge space at airports can be hard to come by, as I’m sure the airline would’ve liked to open a larger lounge.
That being said, the lounge sounds pretty great otherwise:
- The lounge has separate sections for first class and business class passengers, with the first class section having 17 seats, and the business class section having 116 seats
- The lounge is described as having a blend of a sci-fi and modern design
- The lounge has restrooms, shower suites, and lockers, which is a great improvement over the other lounge
- The lounge features a buffet, a la carte dining, an extensive wine selection, and cocktails
- The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 11:30PM, and is located in Terminal 2, near gate D7, on the third floor
Below you can find some pictures of the new lounge. That is indeed quite a unique design, and is unlike any lounge I’ve seen before. This should make a nice start to a journey on Starlux, whether flying the carrier’s A350-900, A330-900neo, or A321neo.
Bottom line
Starlux is opening a lounge at Taipei Terminal 2, which will be the carrier’s second lounge at the airport. This is a great development, because Terminal 2 is where Starlux’s flights to the United States leave from, so passengers will no longer have to use a contract lounge.
The new lounge looks large and unique, and features bathrooms and showers. The only downside is that it’s quite small, so I imagine this is going to get very busy during peak hours. Then again, that’s the case for most lounges nowadays.
What do you make of the new Starlux Galactic Lounge?
Hi, I wonder if it's possible for J class passenger that depart from T1, to visit this lounge instead?
It is 220 “Taiwanese Ping", not 220 square meters. "Ping" is the measurement used in Taiwan for calculating the space. Usually 1 Ping = 3.306 square meters = 35.59 square feet. Therefore, 220 Ping = 727 square meters = 25885 square feet. It will be a HUGE lounge, not small lounge. "Ping" is not used in US, I believe that's the reason you misunderstand.
7828 square feet
Taiwan is old school One Ping is approximately equal to the size of two tatami mats, (i.e. 6' X 6', or 36sq. ft.).
That makes a lot of sense. Frankly I was confused comparing the pictures to a lounge size of 220 sqm… like there’s no way they could fit all of that into such a small space.
My bad...it should be 7830 sq ft. Sorry for my bad calculation.
In a very size restricted airport, this is better than nothing. I went to the T1 Galactic lounge, and the pictures did not prepare me for how small it was. It was literally the size of someone's living room. This at least seems notably bigger.
Time to start building a new airport.
they are building Terminal 3! although very behind schedule...
The Red Army plans to take over the project in a few months...
Does anyone know if it’s possible to access the lounge on arrival?
Based on the layout of TPE, probably not.
No, international arrival passengers need to go CIQ directly, just like you arriving US.
How about if you're coming off a JX J flight and transiting to a separate flight (CI/BR) on a separate ticket? That could easily be a scenario with people wanting to know if access on arrival would be granted.
Why does the lounge have a First class section, if those passengers get the VIP Terminal anyway? Or is this benefit changing?
VIP terminal is at LAX (PS Suites)
they have a vip terminal in TPE as well!
they have a vip terminal in TPE as well
Okay, okay - everyone's wondering so I'll just clarify... This is an imperial OFFICERS' lounge. Stormtroopers are not permitted in the officers' lounge and are free to avail themselves of the DeathSTARLUX cantina.