While I’ve flown Starlux Business a number of times since its inaugural flight, this was my first time flying the same A350 aircraft to Thailand. So I figure I give a quick update in how to optimize booking and what it’s like now to fly with this Taiwan airline.
Booking
There’s a little sweet spot with Alaska miles that not many people talk about. If you fly to/from North America, did you know you can add an additional segment to Thailand for just 10,000 miles? You can even manually do it yourself online in the Alaska website now (previously you had to call)
For those that have trouble finding saver rates, remember you can always position yourself with a free transit at another city with the same 75k miles rate (ex. SNA-SEA-TPE)
Experience
Arriving late (oops) to the airport, I didn’t have much time to visit the OneWorld Lounge at LAX. Since Starlux now departs at the new Midfield Satellite Concourse, it’s a good 15-20 minute leisurely walk to the gate past security.
Annoyingly during boarding, Starlux doesn’t serve champagne due to “tariffs” so I settled with sparkling juice. For an airline that wants to be the “Emirates of Asia”, this little cost saving does not go unnoticed.
The cabin is still in pristine condition though with similar amenities.
I especially like the Thailand destination welcome screen on my second segment.
The food and wine catering is consistently still good too. For boba lovers, it’s an important note that they only serve boba on select routes departing from Taiwan but not to Taiwan.
Personally my favorite meal is still the sunrise congee breakfast set before you land
Overall, Starlux is still pretty great. Aside from little quirks like tariff savings, Starlux Business Class is one of the most comfortable ways to fly across the Pacific to Asia. While the crew is still attentive and friendly, you can tell the excitement in the “oh we’re a a new airline!” has definitely faded a little bit. This nitpicking shows just how good the airline is especially if it wants to be the “Emirates of Asia”.
Chai Bear World 