Review of Starlux Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Taipei in First

Hi everyone! I've been a fan of flight report for a couple years, but never took it upon myself to share any experiences. This is my first flight review here, and also one of my favorite flights ever. Please share all your thoughts and areas for improvement. I hope this review is enjoyable and can shed a light on an otherwise lesser known first class experience, aboard Starlux. 
I start my journey at LAX, just off a bounce over from Vancouver. I walked around 25 minutes to the plane spotting location right next to an in-and-out. Really could've spent a whole day here. 
Starlux first class departing from LA comes with access to the P/S, AKA LA’s private terminal. Having never heard of this, I jumped in my lyft expecting to be dropped off at a gate in front of some terminal. However, to my shock, we approached a set of massive metal gates guarded by a security member, only being let through after confirming my details and flight information. I was greeted off my lyft by five fully suited gentlemen in a parking lot surrounded with luxury cars. This was far too overwhelming and nerve-wracking for an introvert like me! I was guided to the ‘salon’ where caviar and champagne was offered following a Starlux representative confirming my information and handing off my boarding pass. The salon had a large bar and ample seating space. Apparently if you're in travelling as a pair you can use their private rooms at no extra charge. 

There was a full a la carte and drinks menu, I tried the steak and scallops as well as a charcuterie board that followed. 

There were around 6-7 people at the private terminal during my stay, one of whom being another first class passenger on Starlux. The airline operates two direct flights out of LAX to Taipei within around 30 minutes, I later found out he was on the flight departing earlier, meaning I had the first class cabin all to myself. The lounge also has two shower rooms and I was quickly offered its use. Like the rest of the P/S, the shower rooms share a sleek and modern black design throughout (even the toilets are too!). There are almost too many amenities, with the same set seen here at the sink being available next to the actual shower. Around an hour and twenty minutes before takeoff, I was told it was time for security. P/S at LAX has private TSA within its premises (directly across from the salon space), and after a quick check I was guided to a car which would drive me directly onto the tarmac and to my plane. A quick journey took around 10 minutes.

Although the flight experience, as you will soon see, was incredible, the drive to the plane and stepping onto the tarmac next to these beasts was an experience of a lifetime. Never could I have imagined standing a few feet away from a Boeing 747, or an A380. I knew this was going to be a special journey. I scrambled to the other side of the car to snatch what I could of this Hawaiian beast casually passing me in parallel.

Korean Air 747-8i passing right in front of my eyes

Right next to our A350 was this Qantas A380. You really feel like an ant looking at a human with this giant towering over you.

Here it is, our A350. My driver graciously offered to snatch some photos of me with the plane

After taking a service elevator up from the tarmac, our journey onboard truly began. A starlux representative walked checked my passport one last time and guided me onto the plane, during which she asked "did you enjoy your time on the tarmac", to which I responded with "oh you bet I did. :)". 

Here is the first look at our cabin. Starlux's A350's feature a four class configuration with 4 first class seats, 26 business class seats, 36 premium economy seats, and 240 economy class seats. What's odd is that first and business class share one cabin, and also quite a few features. The four first class seats offer slightly larger space and higher walls. A few flight reviewers have argued that Starlux's first class hard product finds itself outclassed by many competitors, but it's the soft product that really outshines. I totally agree with this statement. The cabin is beautiful with its gold touches and sleek finishing. Today, we're in seat 1A, on the left window of the front row. 

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I was immediately greeted by my purser, who offered to place my bags into a cubby located on the outside of my seat. There is also an Emirates style minibar that has a few drinks including non-alcholic beer, coca-cola, green tea and apple juice. There is, however, no refrigeration function. 

There were a multitude of goodies waiting for me at my seat. First, there were two very  luxurious Venchi chocolates which were both delicious. In particular, the chocaviar on the right was unlike any chocolate I've tried in the past. The amenity kit was massive and very elegant. Starlux partners with FPM Milano, on its amenity kits. Inside were socks, a dental kit, glasses cloth, a hairbrush, eyemask, and earbuds. Starlux also provided a refreshing facemask and an Aesop goodie bag filled with body lotion, lip balm, and other skincare products. 

Starlux also have a massive IFE screen featuring Dodgers stadium, a part of their collaboration with the LA based baseball team. Other cute touches throughout the flight include co-branded napkins, wetwipe packaging, and their goodie bag which we will tackle in a bit.

When heading to the toilet near the cockpit, I asked if I could potentially grab a quick picture of the cockpit, to which the (lovely) flight attendants took some time to converse with the pilots, and they agreed. Speaking of the toilet, my apologies as I forgot to snatch any pictures of it, but I did get a quick snippet of their famous co-branded toilet paper from a later flight from Taipei to Tokyo. I will be sure to include a few pictures of the interior and amenities in the future. As I recall, however, the lavatory matched the lavatory's elegant gold finish, and had a plethora of amenities. 

The cockpit, preparing for departure.

Back at my seat, I was offered a welcome drink but was reminded Starlux could not serve alcholic beverages pre-departure. So I went with a nice sparkling water, which was accompanied by a hot towel and some nuts.

Here is a quick look at the two center first class seats, ideal if you were travelling with a partner. There is a divider which can be lowered and raised. There is some storage space in the rectangular cut-outs which also houses your noise cancelling headphones (which I forgot to take a picture of, sorry!). The image below is of the cubby on your seat's exterior. It is interesting that it's placed in an area you couldn't see when sitting in your seat, hypothetically someone could take your belongings without you knowing (not going to happen, of course).

Soon after, we blasted out of LAX at 00:41 and on our way to Taipei. The flight would take around 13 hours and land in Taipei at 04:42 am local time. I have to admit, Starlux's flight time has received praise allowing a seamless transition through time zones. Sleeping right when it's time for bed in LA and arriving fresh and early in Asia, well done Starlux!

Wifi is free to all First and Business Class passengers, with high speeds and consistency for most of the flight. There were times mid-flight where wi-fi signal was briefly lost. The IFE system, despite the massive screen, remains much to be desired content-wise. Although there's a large selection of movies in different languages, the TV-series selection was extremely limited. Many shows only had one or two select episodes, and is surprusingly among one of the smallest selections on any airline. 


The crew quickly began preparing for meal service shortly after takeoff. Starlux allows first class passengers to pre-select their meals on the app up to 24-hours before their flight. You can choose 2 out of 6 starters and 1 main dish for dinner, and the same procedure applies for breakfast. 

I started service off with a diet coke and a few cocktails. Starlux offers 5 signature cocktails, of which the crew insisted I try all. There was no phyiscal food menu booklet which was provided on my shorter Taipei to Tokyo flight. Starlux also has an incredibly thorough drink list of at least ten pages full of anything you can imagine from soft drinks to multiple types of tea, to seemingly unlimited alcoholic beverages. They also offer freshly-made bubble tea but only on routes departing out of Taipei.

My first starter was the 'Poached Lobster with Pomegranate Quinoa, Cantaloupe Bail, and Yuzu dressing' The lobster was fresh but rather plain. The yellow colored sauce was rather bland. Two of the five signature cocktails also arrived, the now famous blue cocktail is the Sci-Fi Cosmos 2.0 featuring Gin and the brown cocktail, whose name I can't recall, featured whiskey and what tastes like either iced tea or juice. Sorry to all the Sci-Fi Cosmos fans, but I much preferred the latter (Gin maybe isn't my thing). A quick note is that although the bread was warm and really quite tasty, I think I made the right call not to overindulge in it as I struggled to complete my entire main course even without really touching the bread. 

The second starter was the 'Beek Cheek Truffle Ravioli with Fried Sage Leaves, Sauteed Chaterelle Mushroom, Parsley Oil.' This was outstanding. The sauce was impeccable and the beef so tender. Definitely more suited for my salty food preferences. I also think I had moved onto my second glass of the Whiskey cocktail.

I was also offered another one of their five signature cocktails. This was the Bo Li Chun Galaxy featuring Bo Li Chun Tea, Gin, and soda water. Not as strong of an alcoholic hit as the others, but still very delicious.

Here is the grand finale to our dinner service, and my word is this some way to finish. People usually stray away from ordering steaks on planes, since it's very difficult not to cook any piece of meat into a well done and dry steak. But Starlux somehow worked their magic to produce this delicious ribeye. Steak is without doubt my favorite food, and this paralles or even surpasses some I've had on the ground. The only problem was there it was far too big for my now already quite stuffed stomach. Starlux calls this the 'Grilled USDA Prime Ribeye Steak 16oz with Brussel Sprout, Garlic Mushroom, Truffle Demi.' 

Although I gave it my best shot, I couldn't get myself to finish the entire steak. I was also quite tired (and tipsy) at this point and kindly asked the crew to hold off any desserts or fruit until later, to which they agreed and offered to begin turndown service.
As mentioned earlier, Starlux's first class does not feature its own exclusive cabin like many other carriers, and has been compared to resembling their (far cheaper) business class seats. Small details such as those I'm about to discuss really do highlight their attention to detail when it comes to the soft product. 
First, the crew insisted I tr a glass of their signature resting tea before bedtime. Tea usually isn't my choice of beverage, but I must give it some credit after waking up refreshed the next morning. 

The seat falls to a full-flat bed and Starlux provides a large pillow, mattress, and a thick blanket. The crew also came by with an Emirates-style snack basket which really couldn't get myself to eat anything at this point, and they happily packed it up for me and handed it in a goodie bag upon arrival. They also provided a small candle-shaped light, similar to that Qatar Airways provide during meal service, which is pictured here next to my snack basket. 

Another delightful touch is the aroma diffuser and scentd sticks they provided. You can also get a closer glimpse of the noise-cancelling headphones provided on board. There is an option to disattach the cable and use a bluetooth function, but I didn't try that this time. 
Although very comfortable, the mattress only stretches to around my ankle, and accompanied with the seat deisgn your feet could feel slightly compacted in a small space. Being 185cm myself, I found it to be quite a struggle especially if you're a side sleeper. 

With the lights dimmed, I took one last snap of the cabin before heading to bed. 
Something to note in this image is that the toilet shows it's being occupied. During my 6-7 hour sleep, I walked back to the business cabin toilet twice since the one in the bulkhead was always occupied. This was not really an inconvenience since at least one of the two toilets in the business section was always vacant. My purser later informed me that she had kept the buldhead toilet locked the entire flight since others from the business cabin kept trying to use it, and she repeatedly informed them that it was reserved only for me. Another example of Starlux's soft product and great service. I just wished she had told me about her nice gesture so I could've been in on her plan:).

Around halfway through my ultimately 7 hours of sleep, I woke up and asked if I could hve my fruit plate. It was accompanied with a Star Mojito featuring Whiskey, Green Tea, Mint, and Orange. 

My purser asked if I wanted either, or both, of the mid-flight snacks available. I went with a Lamb noodle soup accompanied with traditional Taiwanese side dishes of cucumbers and fermented raddish. I also asked for some chili oil which really added to the overall flavor. The noodle soup as a whole was quite bland (pre-chili oil), but the meat was tender and side dishes were very flavorful. The other option was a traditional burger which I didn't try. 

Around an hour and a half before landing, my purser woke me up for breakfast, which began with fruits and oats in yoghurt, accompaied with a lychee honey and some jam. 

My first of two breakfast starters was the 'Spice-Rubbed Burrata with Cracked Peppercorn with Rubard Compote, Pistachio, Orange Segment and Fresh Parsley.' This came with some more fresh bread in a mini baguette, a crossaint and a fruit danish. I also ordered an Iced Americano. The Burrata was ggood but it was completely my fault for ordering something a bit heavy for breakfast. The fruits and salad had a refreshing dressing which helped with the cheese.

My second starter was the 'Chicken Soup with Wonton, Asparagus and Wolfberry.' This was the perfect was to start a refreshing morning and the soup felt as if they had just cooked the broth a few minutes ago. I do wish I could've had another wonton or two:). But luckily we had yet another massive main course incoming.

For the main I ordered the (incoming word crash) 'Taiwanese Congee and Side Dishes Combination: Plain Congee, Scrambled Egg with Black Fungus, Sichuan Chicken in Chili Crisp Oil, Steamed Pumpkin with Black Bean Bitter Gourd with Salted Egg Yolk, Braised Gluten, Pickled cucumber, Salted Duck Egg, Porl Floss, Plain or Spicy Tofu Curd.' This was the perfect way to treat an Asian stomach. I grew up eating so many of these dishes, and it felt so comforting seeing them all at once. The crew asked if I wanted a refill on the congee, and before I could answer displayed a massive bowl of it from the galley. 

Breakfast finished with another fruit plate. Anyone know what those two fruits wrapped in what seemingly are leaves are called?

After breakfast, the crew quickly worked to preparing for our descent into Taipei. Starlux is known to have lots of goodies and souvenirs to take home. No exception here. The crew provided a goodie bag filled with Starlux branded balloons, stickers, wet wipes, notebooks, coloring books, and also some Dodgers co-brandrd playing cards. 
Here's just a few of them I took after getting home. Imagine these, but three to four times as many.

Here are some of the Dodgers' co-branded products on display from dinner service earlier.

A note to anyone thinking of flying this route, leave a good chunk of space in your luggage before boarding since I was given so many goodies to take with me I ended up carrying three large bags off the plane! 
As we descended and arrived into Taoyuan International Airport, this concludes our incredible journey aboad Starlux First Class. Since I was transiting in Taipei to fly onwards to Tokyo, a Starlux representative greeted me and the plane and guided me to the lounge. Even if you are not transiting, all first class passengers receive a designated representative who guides you through security and any other assistance you may need leaving the airport, this extends beyond Taoyuan airport in Taipei and applies also to outbound flights. 

I will try to make a second review following this leg of the lounge and experience on the shorter flight to Tokyo at a later time. 

Thank you to everyone for reading my first review!

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