- Introduction: Starluxing Through A Zombie Apocalypse
- Review: Delta Air Lines A320 First Class
- Review: The Club Boston Airport (Terminal E)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Boston Airport
- Review: Virgin Atlantic 787 Upper Class Business Class
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Arrivals Lounge London Heathrow
- Review: National Express From Heathrow To Gatwick
- Review: Yotel London Gatwick Airport
- Review: China Airlines A350 Business Class
- Review: Starlux Airlines Galactic Lounge Taipei Airport
- Review: Starlux Airlines A321neo Business Class
- Review: The Edison Hotel George Town Penang
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Penang Airport
- Review: Starlux Business Class
- Review: China Airlines Lounge Taipei Airport Terminal 1
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei Airport
- Review: Philippine Airlines A321 Business Class
- AWFUL: Connecting In Manila On Philippine Airlines
- Review: PAGSS Lounge Manila Airport
- Review: Philippine Airlines A350 Business Class
At long last it was time to fly Starlux Airlines, which had launched operations just a few days prior. What was it like to fly with this self-proclaimed “detail-oriented luxury airline?”
In this post:
Booking Starlux Airlines Business Class
Starlux Airlines currently flies to just three destinations, and I decided to book a roundtrip ticket on them from Taipei to Penang, simply because this is their longest route, and I wanted the “full” experience.
I booked just hours after ticket sales opened in mid-December, and paid ~$1,000 for the following roundtrip ticket:
01/27 JX721 Taipei to Penang departing 9:20AM arriving 2:00PM
01/28 JX722 Penang to Taipei departing 3:00PM arriving 7:45PM
Starlux Airlines does have the COSMILE frequent flyer program, though since the airline is brand new, it’s not practical for many people to redeem miles on them. Starlux Airlines doesn’t have any airline partners or credit card transfer partners as of now, though hopefully that changes over time.
Starlux Airlines Business Class A321neo Review
I left the Starlux Airlines Galactic Lounge well ahead of the 8:50AM scheduled boarding time for my 9:20AM flight to Penang. My flight was departing from gate B6, about a five minute walk from the lounge.
Starlux Airlines departure gate Taipei
Starlux Airlines departure gate Taipei
I watched at 8:10AM as the plane was towed into the gate, and around the same time the crew showed up, consisting of six flight attendants and two pilots. The enthusiasm among the crew was obvious, as I saw the captain photographing the plane as it was pulled into the gate, and the crew taking photos with one another. Cute!
Boarding started at 8:55AM, with business class passengers being invited to board first.
Starlux Airlines 721
Taipei (TPE) – Penang (PEN)
Monday, January 27
Depart: 9:20AM
Arrive: 2:00PM
Duration: 4hr40min
Aircraft: Airbus A321neo
Seat: 3C (Business Class)
At the forward door to the A321neo I was greeted by two fabulous flight attendants, who welcomed me onboard with big smiles, and escorted me to my seat. Starlux Airlines’ A321neos feature a total of eight business class seats, spread across two rows in a 2-2 configuration.
Starlux Airlines A321neo cabin
Starlux Airlines A321neo business class cabin
Before getting into the details of the business class seats, I had a quick look into the Starlux 180 seat economy cabin. I thought the color scheme was nice, and each seat had a personal television, outlet, pillow, and blanket.
Starlux Airlines economy class cabin A321neo
Legroom looked about average — not too bad, but not great either.
Starlux Airlines economy class seats A321neo
Anyway, back to business class. Starlux has Collins Aerospace Diamond seats in business class, which are a common choice for narrow body flat bed business class. I thought they did a phenomenal job with the finishes, from the gold trim around the headrests, to the stitching down the center of the seats.
Compare these to American’s 757 business class seats, for example, which on the surface are the same kinds of seats.
Starlux Airlines business class seats A321neo
Starlux Airlines business class seats A321neo
Starlux Airlines business class seats
I had assigned myself seat 3C, the aisle seat on the left side in the second row. As you’ll see, each seat has a fixed privacy partition. It’s low enough so that most people can look over it, but at least it adds a bit of privacy between seats when you’re trying to sleep.
Starlux Airlines business class seats
Starlux Airlines business class seats
As is the norm for these seats, there was an exposed storage compartment to the back side of the seat, with a headphone jack and power outlet.
Starlux Airlines business class seat storage
The seat control functions were on a panel on the center console, and were easy to use.
Starlux Airlines business class seat controls
The tray table extended from the center armrest, and could be folded over in half.
Starlux Airlines business class seat tray table
Entertainment controllers were also underneath the center armrest.
Starlux Airlines business class entertainment controls
One downside to these “Diamond” seats Is that the footwells are quite small, which is because they’re to the sides of the seats in front.
Starlux Airlines business class seat footwell
On Starlux Airlines I’d highly recommend sitting in the first row of business class (row two), because the footwells are significantly bigger.
Starlux Airlines business class seats
Each seat had an individual reading light and an air nozzle, which is much appreciated.
Starlux Airlines business class individual air nozzles
As far as the amenities go, there were pillows and blankets at each seat, which were super comfy. The pillows were quite thick, while the blankets were cozy and huge.
Starlux Airlines business class pillow & blanket
There were also a pair of reasonably high quality noise canceling headphones, with full-on Starlux branding.
Starlux Airlines business class headphones
Then there were slippers.
Starlux business class slippers
Then in the literature pocket were the menu and wine list.
Starlux business class menu & wine list
Literally a couple of minutes after settling in the flawless service began. Grace, the business class flight attendant, introduced herself and welcomed me onboard on behalf of the purser as well (who was also named Grace).
She confirmed she was pronouncing my last name correctly, and then throughout the entire flight I was addressed by name in a natural way (as was everyone in business class).
To kick off the flight I was offered the signature pre-departure drink, which was a cold-pressed guava and pineapple juice with a warm towel.
Starlux business class pre-departure drink and towel
Since I tend to notice this stuff and care about it more than most, I also loved Starlux Airlines’ soothing boarding music.
Every business class seat was taken, while I’d say the flight was probably 90% full in economy.
As you’d expect, it was a very leisure oriented crowd. In business class there was a mother with her young son, two young ladies traveling together, and then a group of three young guys.
At 9:20AM the captain made a welcome aboard announcement, and she informed us of our flight time of 4hr31min (which is awfully long for a flight with a 4hr40min block), and anticipated smooth flight.
At 9:25AM we began our pushback, at which point Starlux Airlines’ ridiculously adorable safety video was screened:
That’s not your average startup airline safety video, eh?
At 9:30AM we began our taxi, and after a very short taxi we were cleared for takeoff at 9:35AM.
Just five minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off, and about 10 minutes after takeoff purser Grace stopped by to personally introduce herself to each passenger, and she even apologized she wasn’t able to introduce herself during boarding.
I can’t emphasize enough how genuinely friendly and polished the business class team of Grace and Grace were. I’ve flown a lot of startup airlines, and it almost always feels like amateur hour. Yet in both cases it felt like they had been doing the job for a decade (more later on that).
Anyway, as we continued our climb out I browsed the personal entertainment selection. The selection was quite good, but not amazing. There were about 65 movies and about 55 different TV shows, though there were multiple episodes of some TV shows not accounted for in that total.
Starlux Airlines entertainment selection
Starlux Airlines entertainment selection
Starlux Airlines entertainment selection
For the most part I just watched the moving map on my personal television.
Map enroute to Penang
Starlux Airlines has Wi-Fi on their A321neos.
Starlux Airlines Wi-Fi system
Ordinarily the pricing is as follows:
- Free messaging is available through WhatsApp, WeChat, Instagram, Viber, Messenger, iMessage, and Line
- You can buy 30MB of data for $5
- You can buy 100MB of data for $10
Starlux Airlines Wi-Fi pricing
However, business class passengers receive unlimited free Wi-Fi with no data caps. You simply have to enter your email address, last name, and date of birth (and make sure it matches your ticket), and then you’ll automatically be connected. You can even switch between devices.
Starlux Airlines free business class Wi-Fi log-in
Speeds weren’t amazing, but for free Wi-Fi with no data caps, I was very happy.
Anyway, about 20 minutes after takeoff meal and drink orders were taken. Starlux Airlines lets you pre-order meals, so I had already done that.
The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
“Mr. Schlappig, I just wanted to confirm you pre-ordered the roasted chicken normandy style for your main course? What may I get you to drink? We’ll be serving drinks shortly with the amuse bouche, which is a truffle puff today.”
I decided to order Starlux Airlines’ signature cocktail.
About 30 minutes after takeoff I was served the “Starlux Limited Sci-Fi Galaxy” drink (which is gin based), along with the amuse bouche.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — amuse bouche
The cocktail was cute, though a bit too sweet for my liking. After that I decided to switch to champagne. Starlux has Bollinger champagne in business class, which is spectacular for a regional business class product (or any business class product, for that matter).
Again, the service was flawless. Both of the Graces would come out together — one would bring the glass and place it down, while the other Grace would hold the bottle, present it, and then pour it in front of me.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — Bollinger champagne
The meal service was extremely drawn out, and for once I didn’t mind. Often I complain that meal services take too long, but I only feel that way when:
- It’s an overnight flight, and/or it’s a daytime flight where a lot of people are connecting off overnight flights and are tired
- When the meal service isn’t anything special, and service isn’t proactive
Why didn’t I mind Starlux’s drawn out service? Because it wasn’t drawn out in the sense that an empty tray sat at my seat for an hour and I wasn’t offered a drink refill, but rather it was drawn out in the sense that for the first 90 minutes of the flight passengers were still looked after, and constantly offered drink refills.
One of the Graces was in the cabin every couple of minutes to see if anyone wanted anything, and my glass of Bollinger never even got close to empty. Heck, at one point it was decided that I had the glass for too long, and it was time for my glass to be refreshed.
Anyway, about 90 minutes after takeoff the actual meal service began. First warm towels were distributed, and then tablecloths.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — warm towel
To start I selected the salad over the soup, which was an excellent kale salad with smoked salmon and blue cheese. That was offered with a side of bread, olive oil, and butter.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — appetizer
With the starter I switched to a New Zealand sauvignon blanc.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — wine
About 20 minutes after the starter the main course was served, for which I selected the roasted chicken normandy style with apple cider relish and fondant potato. Generally chicken normandy isn’t my favorite dish, but this was a pretty good version of it, at least. I would have gone with the local option, but I don’t eat pork.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — main course
About 20 minutes after that the next course was served, which included a pink guava mousse for dessert, and then a fruit and cheese plate.
I also had a cappuccino to go along with it, which was served with a chocolate as well.
Starlux Airlines business class lunch — dessert, cheese, and cappuccino
The meal service was done about 2.5 hours into the flight. The food, drinks, and presentation were great for a regional flight, though it’s the service that was exceptional. I can’t put into words how lovely and truly passionate the two Graces were about their jobs.
Let me give one example — when passengers went to use the bathroom, the flight attendants would come into the cabin and fold the blankets and then place them neatly on the armrest. You’re super lucky if you experience that in first class, but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that in business class on any airline.
What a simple way to show attention to detail.
Great service in Starlux business class
After the meal I checked out the lavatory at the front of the cabin, which had a flower and some THANN toiletries. I know Starlux Airlines apparently has a signature scent — I didn’t notice that in the cabin, but the lavatory definitely had a very strong scent, which I imagine is the brand’s signature one.
Starlux business class lavatory
Starlux business class lavatory amenities
When I walked through the galley I stopped briefly to chat with the two Graces, since I was curious to find out more about them, and I discovered some interesting things.
First of all, I complimented them on the amazing service they were providing, and couldn’t help but ask if they had experience in the airline industry, because they were acting like seasoned professionals.
As it turns out, both of them had worked at Emirates before coming to Starlux, and the purser was even at Emirates for a decade… wow!
The purser noted this was her first ever airline job working on a narrow body plane, and that was quite an adjustment (this was only their second trip ever with Starlux).
I asked more about the company as such, and she noted how people have very high expectations of the airline given all that has been promised, and they do everything they can to live up to it. And sure enough they did.
I also found out that Penang is their only destination where they don’t turn directly around, so I would be flying back to Taipei with them the next day. I had assumed they even did a direct turn to Taipei, so that surprised me somewhat.
The most telling part of the interaction was what Grace asked me.
“How has your experience been so far with Starlux?”
“Exceptional. I can’t say enough how impressed I am.”
“Please give me more feedback than that, I want you to be honest. What could we do better?”
That question tells you just about everything you need to know about the quality of this crew.
Anyway, I was intrigued by Starlux’s massive beverage list, and there was one other drink in particular that I wanted to try. I was impressed by the quality of their cappuccinos, and I also noticed iced coffee on the menu (which I love), so I ordered one of those. It was very good.
Starlux business class iced coffee
I worked on my laptop for a bit, and then about 30 minutes before landing the crew passed through the cabin to hand out some Starlux Airlines candy and playing cards.
Starlux business class candy
Starlux Airlines playing cards
At 1:30PM the captain announced that we’d be descending in five minutes, and that we would be landing at 2:05PM.
Map enroute to Penang
While some airlines have music that they play in the cabin during boarding and during the taxi in, Starlux Airlines starts playing music about 20 minutes before landing. I quite liked that, since it was soothing/non-offensive background music.
Sure enough we touched down in Penang at 2:05PM, and from here had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate. As we pulled into the gate the crew closed the curtain between business class and economy, to make sure business class passengers could disembark first.
Upon arrival in Penang we received this lovely greeting…
Health checks upon landing in Penang
Immigration was quick, and within minutes I was in a taxi headed to my hotel, ready to explore Penang for the next 24 hours. Funny note about the taxi ride — when the guy found out I was from the US he wanted to talk politics the whole way (and by “talk politics” I mean he wanted to just talk and have me listen), and he made the point of how he really likes Trump and thinks he’s an amazing president.
Fair enough if you believe that, but his logic was a little unusual — he liked Trump because he’s tough on China, and because he’s stupid, and that’s exactly what America needs right now.
Hmmm…
Starlux Airlines Business Class Bottom Line
I came into my Starlux Airlines flight with outrageously high expectations, and they were met. The truth is that business class within Asia is usually to a high standard, so I was curious how Starlux could really differentiate themselves.
The truth is that Starlux’s food selection was good, their drink selection was excellent, and the service was exceptional. I’ve flown a lot of startup airlines in the first few days/weeks of operations, and you always notice it with the service. Heck, you even feel it when you’re flying an existing airline and they take delivery of a new plane.
To get such flawless, detail oriented, and genuinely enthusiastic service on a brand new airline is a real testament to Starlux’s hiring choices and their training.
I can’t wait until Starlux Airlines gets A350s and starts long haul flights!
This looks like fun with Starlux in these covid times
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202008070015
Excellent review ! And seems like an excellent airline. If I recall correctly Penang was one of the first destinations for EVA Air as well.
So that sepcial menu was pretty good huh?
Kudos for the Whittard tea and NZ wine.
Great review ! Let’s hope Starlux begin services to London, my home city.
Malaysia is such an interesting country, and one whose cuisine I really enjoy Although I am hesitant to visit & spend my hard earned money in a country which has such an anti Israel policy.
Just got off two SQ flights. A350-900 MNL-SIN and 787-1000 SIN-DPS.
Both short haul 3-5 hours in J. Very disappointed with hard (horrendous seats for new aircraft) and soft (marginal food, wine and economy style tray service (not even a tablecloth)).
The seats are so narrow at the shoulder that I felt like I was in the center seat of economy class
Won't fly SQ longhaul with this product.
So wonderful to hear...
Just got off two SQ flights. A350-900 MNL-SIN and 787-1000 SIN-DPS.
Both short haul 3-5 hours in J. Very disappointed with hard (horrendous seats for new aircraft) and soft (marginal food, wine and economy style tray service (not even a tablecloth)).
The seats are so narrow at the shoulder that I felt like I was in the center seat of economy class
Won't fly SQ longhaul with this product.
So wonderful to hear that Starlux will be providing great travel experiences in competition to the other fading stars (CX, SQ, EVA) in the region.
Good review.
Will be doing two longhaul Qatar 787 flights next week and will have a chance to see if they have improved. The last time we flew them (777) the hard product was great but the soft (food/wine) was poor
Looks unbelievable, definitely intend on flying them at some point. The playing cards are a nice touch. I just worry if Starlux can stand out enough by being the most luxurious in the region. There are already two world class full service carriers based in Taiwan, EVA air and China Airlines. They may also be threatened by the full service competitors in the region such as Singapore airlines as well as the low cost juggernaut...
Looks unbelievable, definitely intend on flying them at some point. The playing cards are a nice touch. I just worry if Starlux can stand out enough by being the most luxurious in the region. There are already two world class full service carriers based in Taiwan, EVA air and China Airlines. They may also be threatened by the full service competitors in the region such as Singapore airlines as well as the low cost juggernaut of AirAsia. So I question how long Starlux will stick around for. I hope they prove me wrong.
Smirnoff vodka? That's the best they could do? At least Absolut.
Here's an anecdote from age 10 or 11, excuse my hazy memory. When EVA began they unabashedly proclaimed to local media that, while British Airways asked Landor to design thousands of items during their 80s rebrand... EVA was "clever" enough to only pay Landor to design 27 things (and basically wing the rest). Very soon after launch they then arbitrarily tweaked Landor's design... So that kind of haphazard-ism is EVA's DNA.
Starlux clearly wants...
Here's an anecdote from age 10 or 11, excuse my hazy memory. When EVA began they unabashedly proclaimed to local media that, while British Airways asked Landor to design thousands of items during their 80s rebrand... EVA was "clever" enough to only pay Landor to design 27 things (and basically wing the rest). Very soon after launch they then arbitrarily tweaked Landor's design... So that kind of haphazard-ism is EVA's DNA.
Starlux clearly wants to try a different approach, and that's why they excite me.
The menus look very ambitious (compare with the density of info in Cathay's menu). The music is apparently by Peter White, who's a big "smooth jazz" genre artist. It's telling that they're hiring crew who have been far and away from Taiwan, really been in an "international" context dealing with all kinds of passengers.
I'm hoping Starlux prospers long enough so I can make them my default choice ex-TPE.
I don't care to deal with EVA again.
p.s. I try not to eat pork. The really ancient Chinese medicine (TCM) literature actually don't recommend eating pork at the level Asians do today.
I can't tell you the number of foreigners who want to (sometimes secretly) tell you that they like Trump. If I had a euro for every German who whispered to me that Trump was doing the right things, I'd have at least a hundred euros.
1- you don’t eat pork? Why?
2- “if you believe that...” F trump
Have a great day !
Facsinating review - I excitingly waited for this StarLuxe review for a weeks (much as I excitingly waited for your fun Westjet review); the welcome cold-pressed guava and pineapple juice seems innovative and Bollinger champagne are awesome for a regional flight! I loved your revealing account of this flight with enticing photos; such as the golden hue of the 'breadbasket'
The cover design and fonts of the Starlux business class menu and wine list are...
Facsinating review - I excitingly waited for this StarLuxe review for a weeks (much as I excitingly waited for your fun Westjet review); the welcome cold-pressed guava and pineapple juice seems innovative and Bollinger champagne are awesome for a regional flight! I loved your revealing account of this flight with enticing photos; such as the golden hue of the 'breadbasket'
The cover design and fonts of the Starlux business class menu and wine list are beautiful - a unified design concept from aircraft livery to these important details
Wow - those playings cards are awesome too - please save them
Cannot wait to fly with this airline!
Would be interesting to see how they maintain this standard of service down the line. The dining seems much like the EVA set menus. I wonder if they let you mix and match the courses between menus.
@StevenE
Proper wine glass gives room for the aroma, especially in an aircraft cabin where smell is diminished. Flutes are for things like duc de paris where you want to ignore the taste and just get drunk.
Thanks for the review Ben! So glad to see that Starlux lived up to the hype. Can't wait for them to expand their route network. And I'm holding out hope for them to join an alliance.
I don't understand the Bolly being served in a wine glass ? Did you ask them that question ..its seems odd to me ..
Can you rack up airline miles with Starlux tho ?
I’m flying EVA Air business class on the 797-10 from TPE to HKG.
Fantastic review, and airline. Hope they start flying trans-Pacific soon: would love to have a new connecting option from US to SEA.
@RR
12 hrs in Penang?
Emm....you will regret. Better extend your stay there
Looks like a wonderful flight and airline. Amazing service and photos!
Longtail has one Michelin star and is a favorite of mine in Taipei. Would have loved to see that food.
Vous dites quoi ?
Que Singapore Airlines à chaud ? Entouka j'ai confiance qu'il ne vont pas ce laisser faire même un peu
Thanks for this in-depth review. Hope to review an interesting review of your short stay in Penang.
Love your reviews. Keep up the great work!
@Mike - Nope, no way. Air China is a no go for me and there are plenty other really terrible Asian airlines, like Taiwanese FAT who just hat their license revoked.
were the FAs Taiwanese? or international mix?
@Ex- United flyer - No other direct flights from Taiwan and a fair amount of Taiwanese go there on holiday. It's also a lot of tech companies there, which makes it a viable destination from Taiwan.
@RR go eat at TekSen
Good review. Lets face it. We would rather fly the shittiest Asian airline than the best USA based airline.
Starlux looks brilliant. It's good to see that they live up to the hype.
Great review! Everything about the look of this airline has appealed to me and so I'm happy that you enjoyed the flight as much as you did. I hope Starlux does well and expands their route network. (Wish you could have taken a photo of the two Graces.)
the chocolate, along with the cappuccino, was from amedei.
That is indeed some F level service presented by Starlux. Curious to see if it will hold up after the initial excitement period though.
@ James
I'm hoping we deserve him for another four years.
Nice review Ben. Pity I'm not heading to that part of the world until October.
Great review, and glad to hear Starlux lived up to high expectations and delivered a graceful (ha!) experience.
I’m looking forward to flying them later this year when I go diving in Cebu.
@Andy the CEO of Starlux said in an interview a while back that if HK, a city of 7ish millions, can have like 3-4 airlines (in reality just 2, and one of them is dying), then why can't Taiwan with its 2x million population have 3 airlines?
People in Taiwan is saying this resembles the story of Hamlet. Maybe that's eventually their strategy. ;)
But gotta worry at them launching at just the wrong time...
@Andy the CEO of Starlux said in an interview a while back that if HK, a city of 7ish millions, can have like 3-4 airlines (in reality just 2, and one of them is dying), then why can't Taiwan with its 2x million population have 3 airlines?
People in Taiwan is saying this resembles the story of Hamlet. Maybe that's eventually their strategy. ;)
But gotta worry at them launching at just the wrong time with the corona virus cutting down air travel in the region. They got to at least survive the next 12 months with minimal loading all because of some virus originating from China.
In j class, Sq does fold the blanket and make the bed when I go to the toilet.
Excellent review! Tks
Can’t wait till they partner up with some alliance n redemption becomes available :)
Lucky, how much were you paid for this?
@ John -- Zero...
@ Ex United Flyer - Penang has quite a numbers of taiwanese investors with their factories being setup in Penang, especially In semiconductor industries who worked closely with Intel and AMD etc. However, prior to JX, only one daily direct flight from PEN-TPE.
@ Ex United Flyer, Penang based reader here. As mentioned above, Penang is a tech-industry hub for SE Asia and a lot of Taiwanese firms have manufacturing based here. Additionally, Penang is a good source market for Taiwan as a leisure destination. Malaysians are food addicted, and love Taiwan for the street food scene (my colleagues regularly go).
Also, the Penang state government has been proactively sourcing new airlines to fly to Penang and...
@ Ex United Flyer, Penang based reader here. As mentioned above, Penang is a tech-industry hub for SE Asia and a lot of Taiwanese firms have manufacturing based here. Additionally, Penang is a good source market for Taiwan as a leisure destination. Malaysians are food addicted, and love Taiwan for the street food scene (my colleagues regularly go).
Also, the Penang state government has been proactively sourcing new airlines to fly to Penang and are offering free or heavily subsidized landing fees. This is one of the main reasons you see more activity from Air Asia out of PEN as well as new arrivals such as Emirates.
China Airlines already flies PEN direct using a B737 and the loading is very good as per my contact at Tourism Malaysia. I think this route should be a success for Starlux.
"On Starlux Airlines I’d highly recommend sitting in the first row of business class"
I'd say that's true for any airline using this type of seat...
I do not think Eskimo can appreciate good service
Are you sure there was not something lost in translation?
"he liked Trump because he’s tough on China, and because he’s stupid, and that’s exactly what America needs right now."
Maybe instead of 'needs' replace it with 'deserves'?
@Andy Taiwan's small population doesn't prevent them from being an important hub for international travel. After 9/11 Air Canada smartly targeted Mexico, Central and South America for Europe-bound travellers afraid of US Border Cops, queues and hassles. In MEX I spoke to people who'd paid more to get to MAD via Toronto rather than MIA or IAH, on longer itinerary. None had any intention to visit Canada. Taiwan gets it and EVA especially knows what...
@Andy Taiwan's small population doesn't prevent them from being an important hub for international travel. After 9/11 Air Canada smartly targeted Mexico, Central and South America for Europe-bound travellers afraid of US Border Cops, queues and hassles. In MEX I spoke to people who'd paid more to get to MAD via Toronto rather than MIA or IAH, on longer itinerary. None had any intention to visit Canada. Taiwan gets it and EVA especially knows what business they're in. Of the 30 or so Torontonians I've spoken to, who've flown EVA's nonstop YYZ-TPE, I'm the only one who's actually visited Taiwan. EVA is a strong preference for many, now, headed to anywhere in Asia. So I, for one, am not in the slightest surprised that EVA punches above their weight with nice loads on their flights. It's not Taiwanese or Taiwan-bound travellers in those tubes. It's us.
Whoa, from your review, it looks like the service is much more closer to F than J (hard product and F&B aside).
Here's to hoping that they fly to KUL eventually (and hopefully MEL as well once they get their A359/A35Ks, where I'm based). I typically fly back and forth between KUL and MEL via TPE on CI. I used to fly via BKK on TG or via SIN on SQ, but not anymore because:
...Whoa, from your review, it looks like the service is much more closer to F than J (hard product and F&B aside).
Here's to hoping that they fly to KUL eventually (and hopefully MEL as well once they get their A359/A35Ks, where I'm based). I typically fly back and forth between KUL and MEL via TPE on CI. I used to fly via BKK on TG or via SIN on SQ, but not anymore because:
- TG was inconsistent (sometimes you get stuck with a bad set of cabin crew, and sometimes you get TG'd with last minute aircraft changes). I haven't flown with them since early 2018, so I don't know whether they're still infamous for swapping aircraft without notice)
- SQ axed the A380 (and hence suites) for MEL. I didn't think it was worth paying what they were charging for B77W F.
- Why didn't I fly MH directly? MH had a mediocre product overall - both hard and soft - and CI was the cheapest despite having the longest routing. Given CI's pricing (usually about AUD 3100-3200 round trip), the combination of its hard product (love the Super Diamond seats) and soft product was the best value for money.
That being said, CI's service is usually inconsistent (sometimes it's good, sometimes it's awful) and I can't wait to ditch them and go with JX the instant they have MEL-TPE and TPE-KUL routes. Not gonna hold my breath though - I figure it'll be at least several years before that happens.
Great review as always, Ben.
The problem with this kind of airlines is, for me, that they don't belong to an alliance. If I have to fork out money for a BC ticket I want to have some kickbacks in the form of building/maintaining status and for longer flights miles as well.
I am eg not flying Emirates as I get nothing out of it.
Where possible I fly ST or *A even when better alternatives in the form of unaligned airlines are available.
Did they hand out the candy and playing cards in economy?
@ Ex United Flyer....
Penang has a lot of industry there that you see driving to and from the airport.
It looks like a very enjoyable experience and a very nice review.
However, I struggle to understand their economic rationale. There are already two (well, including their shorthaul subsidiaries four) high quality airlines in Taiwan. Plus a subsidiary of a regional LCC, plus a few small regional airlines. The population of Taiwan is 23 millions. I don't quite see the market for half a dozen airlines.
Right now, it seems that the strategy of Starlux...
It looks like a very enjoyable experience and a very nice review.
However, I struggle to understand their economic rationale. There are already two (well, including their shorthaul subsidiaries four) high quality airlines in Taiwan. Plus a subsidiary of a regional LCC, plus a few small regional airlines. The population of Taiwan is 23 millions. I don't quite see the market for half a dozen airlines.
Right now, it seems that the strategy of Starlux is to serve secondary destinations (Macao, Danang, Penang), which are more leisure oriented. Their next destination, to be launched in April, seems to be Cebu, which matches the pattern. Possibly, these destinations have been underserved, but not terribly so. Penang has had service by CI, Danang by BR, Macao by BR plus NX and Cebu by BR plus two LCC ...
So, Lucky, can you explain their strategy, please?
Great review! Nice that there is a good option to get to Penang without having to go to KL of SIN.
Are there any great redemptions to Taipei from the east coast?
( BTW, could not watch the YouTube blog on the Starlux flight to Penang. Too painful to listen to that dude that also reviewed the flight. Had to stop watching 5 minutes in to it. Got much more out of this flight.)
I still can't see this is beyond mediocre for Asian regional business class.
Where is the part they differentiate themselves?
The might nail the launch without issues, but that is nothing special for normal ops.
Can't convince me to fly them over China Airlines or EVA aside the nonstop convenience.
@ Eskimo -- Did you read about the service?
I've been waiting for this review since you said you first said you were going to fly with them! It did not disappoint.
It must be so hard to get things right with a new airline from the start, even with the experience the founder is bringing in, so it's impressive a couple weeks into their operations their execution sounded flawless.
I also love to see that they have a bit of a playful side...
I've been waiting for this review since you said you first said you were going to fly with them! It did not disappoint.
It must be so hard to get things right with a new airline from the start, even with the experience the founder is bringing in, so it's impressive a couple weeks into their operations their execution sounded flawless.
I also love to see that they have a bit of a playful side as well (e.g. the video). It seems like they've taken the best from EVA but also have had the freedom to shake things up a bit!
Can't wait to fly them - especially once they go long haul. As someone who regularly travels to Taiwan we are getting spoilt for choice. Here's to their success!
Thanks for a great review with very nice photos. I just don't understand why Starlux would choose Penang to be one of its routes at the beginning. If someone can explain what are the business strategies for Starlux to choose Penang, that would be great.
Wow. I’m
Loving that blue drink :-)
Ben, please put out your review of Penang. I’m doing a 1 day trip there in just 12 short hours.
Finally!
Enjoying....