Overview: Starlux Airways new enterprise class on the Airbus A350

The introductory one-way redemption charges begin at 20,000 miles for economic system, 40,000 miles for premium economic system and 60,000 miles for enterprise class — implausible values in comparison with Starlux’s money fares. (Sadly, first-class awards by way of Alaska gained’t be accessible.)

It isn’t clear but how a lot companion award availability Starlux will launch, however hopefully, the airline will at the very least make awards accessible when it has unsold seats on the final minute.

In case you do find yourself splurging for a round-trip money ticket from L.A. to Taipei (which begins at round $5,500 in enterprise class and a whopping $18,000 in top notch), now you can credit score your flight to Mileage Plan.

Starlux’s COSMILE loyalty program will quickly permit mileage incomes and redemptions on Alaska, Liu stated, besides, most U.S.-based vacationers could be higher off banking miles with Mileage Plan.

Starlux isn’t at present a member of a serious airline alliance, although “becoming a member of an alliance is at all times our purpose,” stated Liu. Of the three main alliances, Starlux would appear to be finest suited to Oneworld, presumably as a “Join” member.

As talked about within the disclosure above, Starlux supplied TPG with a free round-trip business-class ticket for the inaugural L.A. to Taipei flight, however all opinions expressed listed here are mine alone.

Curiously, the first-class cabin went out utterly empty on my flight. I inquired a few last-minute improve on the check-in desk, hoping for the same end result to my latest Air France La Premiere expertise.

I used to be shocked when the agent advised me the astronomical charges:

• Financial system to premium economic system: $1,000.
• Premium economic system to enterprise class: $3,000.
• Enterprise class to top notch: $5,000.

Suffice to say, I caught with enterprise class.

Starlux Airways enterprise class floor expertise

Whereas most flight experiences start on the check-in desk, this one was particular.

To rejoice the inaugural, Starlux hosted an invite-only media occasion on the Flight Path Museum and Studying Heart, which is situated adjoining to the overall aviation space of Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX).

The occasion started with speeches from the airline’s chairman, CEO and different companions. The road that caught with me most was the chairman’s imaginative and prescient that “luxurious shouldn’t be the unique expertise of the elite however available to everybody [on Starlux].”

After the speeches, the airline previewed its upcoming tie-up with the Los Angeles Clippers and Dodgers. When the partnership begins in June, you’ll discover Clippers- and Dodgers-themed meals and branding all through the aircraft on flights from L.A. to Taipei.

The media occasion concluded with a stroll down the purple carpet to the two-week-old Starlux Airbus A350, registered B-58503, that had simply landed from Taipei and could be heading again there later that night with me onboard.

After a quick tour of the aircraft’s 4 cabins, I used to be much more excited for my 14-hour flight — the business-class seats seemed extra spectacular in individual than they did in renderings.

5 hours later, I used to be on my method to LAX’s Tom Bradley Worldwide Terminal to start the Starlux business-class expertise.

I rapidly discovered the airline’s check-in counters situated in row B — it was the one space with extra workers than passengers.

The precedence business-class counter had no line, and my boarding cross was issued inside a couple of minutes. (Simply be aware that Starlux’s check-in desks don’t open till about three hours earlier than the flight — some passengers bought there too early and had been annoyed by the wait.)

My solely gripe concerning the check-in expertise is that Starlux doesn’t but take part in TSA Precheck. The airline is supposedly engaged on a tie-in, however till then, you’ll have to clear commonplace safety at LAX, a course of that took me round half-hour as a consequence of how busy the terminal will get earlier than the late-night departure financial institution of transpacific flights.

As soon as airside, I made my method to the Oneworld business-class lounge, which is situated simply up a set of escalators in the primary departure corridor.

That’s the place Starlux’s business-class passengers can loosen up earlier than their flight, however I definitely wouldn’t advocate arriving early to camp on the market.

The excellent news is that with over 600 seats, the practically 42,000-square-foot lounge doesn’t undergo from overcrowding even throughout peak durations. There are many seating choices, starting from couches to particular person recliners to coworking tables.

You possibly can even loosen up on a round sofa surrounding an digital fire.

That stated, the remainder of the lounge expertise will be finest described as “adequate.” The buffet featured an assortment of three ready salads and three scorching entrees, none of which seemed too appetizing.

The loos and bathe rooms are situated within the far again nook of the lounge, and whereas they had been clear, they weren’t essentially the most spacious or luxurious.

So far as worldwide lounges at LAX go, this one is in the course of the pack. It’s not practically as drabby because the Korean Air lounge, but it surely’s additionally inferior to the Star Alliance Lounge, which options an outside terrace and extra pure mild.

I’ve heard significantly better issues about Starlux’s Galactic Lounge in Taipei, so I’m trying ahead to checking that out on my return journey.

I spent the remainder of my time earlier than the 12:10 a.m. boarding name wandering across the terminal, which I discover to be one of many nicest in America.

I bought to the gate a bit early to see if there have been any festivities happening, however apart from a couple of hanging posters, you wouldn’t have essentially identified that this was Starlux’s inaugural U.S. departure. I assume the airline stored the celebration restricted to the outbound service from Taipei (and the media occasion).

That stated, loads of passengers knew what was happening; many had been lined up in opposition to the glass home windows snapping photos of the aircraft. Some even got here from the alternative gate throughout the corridor — an EVA Air departure to Taipei — to seize some photographs, too.

The thrill continued as soon as I bought onboard, as I noticed lots of my fellow flyers taking movies and posing for photos within the new cabins.

As for me, my fast focus was on testing out each nook and cranny of this brand-new business-class product.

Starlux Airways enterprise class cabin and seat

Starlux’s Airbus A350 incorporates a single seven-row business-class cabin situated between the primary and second exit doorways on the aircraft.

The 26 seats are organized in a reverse herringbone 1-2-1 configuration, giving every flyer direct aisle entry with privateness.

Starlux determined to market the bulkhead row of the business-class cabin as top notch, however there are not any curtains separating the cabin. Quite, the 4 first-class suites are demarcated by greater privateness partitions and sliding doorways.

At first look, I used to be struck by how visually interesting the cabin was.

From the gold headrest accents to the illuminated seat quantity panels to the flower-themed design on the galley wall, Starlux enterprise class definitely exudes a way of understated luxurious.

Furthermore, the dimmable facet lamps at every seat contrasted superbly with the darkish grey and brown tones of the seat finishes.

Mixed with the temper lighting and the shortage of overhead bins above the middle seats, this is likely one of the nicest business-class cabins I’ve seen. (The one draw back is that the overhead bins above the window seats had been overstuffed.)

Don’t neglect to take a whiff of the cabin as soon as onboard — the airline partnered with fragrance producer P.Seven for a customized “Dwelling within the Air” perfume that it sprays onboard its planes.

Collins could also be finest identified for its widespread Tremendous Diamond seat discovered on many main airways, together with American and British Airways, however this next-generation product raises the bar for the business-class expertise.

Many points of the seat design will likely be acquainted in the event you’ve flown on Etihad’s Airbus A350 or within the British Airways Membership Suite.

The 21-inch-wide seat was comfy, and you might alter the seat and its lighting utilizing the 4.7-inch touchscreen panel situated on the armrest.

The seat additionally featured a novel “Zero-G” place, which was supposedly developed primarily based on NASA’s impartial physique posture specs to assist alleviate fatigue.

Identical to the Tremendous Diamond seat, there’s a small storage compartment that may be unlatched alongside the facet desk. It’s not that large or deep, so don’t count on to maintain greater than a pockets and AirPods inside it.

That stated, the brand new Starlux seat options one of many largest and deepest storage closets I’ve ever seen in enterprise class. It opens on the push of a button and has loads of room for your whole free gadgets. It may simply match an iPad, however not a laptop computer.

I cherished the gold-lined end, the built-in lamp and the big selfie mirror on this closet — three design selections that present Starlux actually paid consideration to the main points.

Lastly, there was a small, uncovered storage compartment alongside the facet of the seat close to the footwell and literature pocket, which was the right place to maintain my amenity equipment throughout the flight.

One other enchancment over the Tremendous Diamond seat was the armrest design, which not solely may very well be raised or lowered but it surely additionally may very well be moved ahead to enlarge the floor space of the mattress by at the very least six inches.

When it was time to sleep, the seat transformed right into a 77-inch-long mattress on the push of a button, however maybe the largest enchancment with the Components suite was the noticeably bigger footwell space.

Personally, I had no bother getting six hours of uninterrupted sleep throughout my flight.

Whereas many airways have put in doorways in enterprise class, the Starlux suite sports activities one of many tallest doorways I’ve seen. It rose 50 inches excessive from the ground.

I booked my flight on the final minute, and sadly, no window seats had been accessible. I wasn’t initially trying ahead to being a solo flyer sitting within the center part, however the privateness panel between the middle seats (which defaults into the locked place) stored me shielded from my neighbor your complete flight.

In truth, at 18 inches excessive, the privateness divider seemed to be a lot taller than many current merchandise within the skies.

Identical to the Tremendous Diamond seat, the bi-fold tray desk will be prolonged from beneath the leisure monitor. It measured 16 inches large and 18.5 inches lengthy, and I appreciated the faux-wood design that Starlux selected right here.

The Starlux A350 can be the primary of its form to function electronically dimmable home windows.

I performed round with the home windows whereas we had been on the bottom, and I discovered the slider controls to be intuitive and responsive, much more so than the comparable system on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Sadly, Starlux did not set up private air nozzles on its A350. The passenger service unit above every seat solely featured a light-weight and a digital seatbelt and a no-smoking signal.

With out overhead bins over the center seats, the studying lights shine from manner above, which may very well be distracting in case your neighbor makes use of their mild at evening.

There are three properly appointed toilets shared between the 30 first- and business-class passengers. Two of them are situated subsequent to row 8, so I’d keep away from seats 8D and 8G in any respect prices — the lavatory door primarily opens instantly into these seats.

The opposite bathroom is situated within the ahead galley. It’s a tiny bit bigger than the opposite two, however all three of them function touchless sinks, an association of inexperienced succulents and a few additional facilities, equivalent to Huygens hand cream and moisturizer, in addition to fabric towels and floss picks.

True to the airline’s mission, Starlux’s business-class seats are among the most luxurious within the sky. It might not be the Qatar Qsuite or ANA The Room, however Starlux enterprise class is definitely up there as top-of-the-line merchandise flying round.