You may not have heard of Starlux Airlines before, but if you’re planning a trip to Southeast Asia from the United States, chances are you’ll see the option. For those of you considering flying this route, here’s a comprehensive review and guide to Starlux Airlines economy class.
Personally, I chose to fly with Starlux Airlines because I heard they have one of the best economy classes for long-haul flights. After flying 18 hours with Starlux, plus an additional 6 hours with partner Alaska Airlines, I can confirm this is true.
Starlux is a Taiwanese carrier that recently started flying from the United States (currently Los Angeles and San Francisco). However, they only fly direct from North America to Taipei City. Once you’re in Taipei City, you can connect to your final destination. For me, this was Bangkok.
What sets Starlux apart from the competition is their experience onboard. I found the flight attendants to be kind and attentive. I had a few issues getting my tickets in the airport, and the employees were quick to help.
Another reason I chose to fly with Starlux Airlines is because of a recently formed partnership with Alaska Airlines. When flying from the United States to Southeast Asia, you need to fly out of San Francisco or New York City. As I needed to fly domestically anyways, I thought it might be easiest and best to hop on the Alaska and Starlux partnership.
Well, it may not have been the easiest choice, but I’m glad I did it.
Let me explain.
Booking with Starlux Airlines via Alaska Airlines Partnership
As mentioned, Starlux Airlines and Alaska Airlines have a partnership. This meant that I actually purchased my tickets for Starlux via Alaska. I originally liked that all my tickets were under this partnership, but I later realized that meant I couldn’t pick my seats for my flights with Starlux.
While disappointing, this wasn’t a dealbreaker for me. I was able to pick my seats for my domestic flight with Alaska, though.
This also meant that I couldn’t check in online for my flight, so I arrived at the airport 3 hours early, just in case.
Check In and Boarding
The luggage I brought with me included a 40L Osprey Fairview bag and a 12L Osprey Daylite bag. This worked out perfectly as I didn’t need to check in any luggage. As someone with anxiety that my bag might get lost, I was happy to carry it on.
To check in, I went to the Alaska Airlines counter and figured they could help me with checking in for my Starlux connecting flights. While I was able to check in for my domestic flight with Alaska, I couldn’t check in for my flights with Starlux.
I was told that seats can be assigned pretty late – up to twenty minutes before the flight. This worried me as I had a layover of about 1.5 hours in San Francisco, and as I was going from a domestic to international flight, it was going to take additional time anyways.
However, shortly before my first flight boarded, I talked to the agent at the gate, who was able to print out my tickets with the assigned seats.
My first flight from Orlando to San Francisco was delayed about 30 minutes, but having one hour in San Francisco was just enough time to get to my connecting flight.
Seriously, when I walked up to the Starlux gate in the San Francisco airport, they were paging me!
This was because even though I got tickets printed with Alaska Airlines back in Orlando, these weren’t my “final” tickets. I had to meet with the agent to scan my passport and print out new tickets.
Again, one hour in San Francisco was just enough time to get to my gate. I boarded my flight from San Francisco to Taipei City as soon as I got my ticket printed.
My Starlux Airlines Economy Route
Here’s the full route I took with Starlux and Alaska:
Orlando -> San Francisco
Boeing 737-900
6 hr, 5 min flight time
1 hour layover
San Francisco -> Taipei City
Airbus A350-900
13 hr, 50 min flight time
5 hour layover
Taipei City -> Bangkok
Airbus A321neo
4 hr, 0 min flight time
Starlux Airbus A350-900 Economy Class Review
Once I made it through the hassle of getting to the gate and getting my ticket, the boarding process on Starlux was simple. I sat near the back of the plane, and there was plenty of room for me to store my bag in the compartments above the seats.
The 240 economy-class seats on the plane are arranged in a two-cabin configuration. As I was one of the last to receive a seat, I wasn’t surprised to get a middle seat! The flight itself seemed pretty full.
On board, I was immediately greeted on the screen in front of me. There is plenty of entertainment on the flight: games, trivia, and plenty of movies. I was impressed with the movie selection on board.
Aside from the 4K picture quality, the entertainment screens also feature Bluetooth connectivity, so you can connect your AirPods or other wireless headphones.
Regarding charging ports, there’s a USB-C charging port and universal AC outlet at each seat. Great for charging your phone as you fly.
On the seat was a kit with a sleep mask, socks, headphones, slippers, toothbrush/toothpaste, a blanket and ear plugs. This is in addition to the pillow they provide. I’ve taken international economy flights before where they’ve hardly provided more than a pillow, so I was happy to receive this kit.
The flight itself was relatively warm, so I never needed the blanket.
Announcements and the safety video were provided in both Mandarin and English, so I always knew what was going on. The flight attendants spoke both languages.
The seats themselves were standard. Not very much room and not particularly comfortable (to be expected in economy).
Features of Starlux Airlines economy class include:
- High-end RECARO Seating
- Ultra-thin backrest design
- 6-way Bendable headrest
- 6-inch headrest height adjustment
- Tablet holder and cup hole
Flight attendants walked around with snacks and drinks multiple times, and there were two meals included with my ticket. I’ll go into detail more on the food below.
There are six lavatories for the 240 coach passengers — four are located between the two economy cabins and two are located in the back. In-flight Wi-Fi is available for a fee.
The flight was smooth and easy, and we made it to our destination on time.
At 13 hours and 50 minutes, this was the longest flight I’ve ever taken!
Starlux Airbus A321neo Economy Class Review
After powering through my 5 hour layover in the Taipei City airport, it was time for me to board my final flight to Bangkok.
At only 4 hours, this flight was much shorter. It’s a smaller plane, too, totaling 180 seats in economy. This time around, I was assigned a window seat.
Generally, I like window seats for flights under 6 hours, and aisle seats for flights longer than 6 hours. This worked out in my favor!
I found some of the amenities (screen and legroom) to be similar to my first flight. The difference, naturally, was there was no travel kit provided.
The safety video, while the same as the Airbus A350-900, is something I’d like to mention. I’ve noticed some airlines moving to safety demonstration videos instead of flight attendant demonstrations. The Starlux video has a theme of futuristic space travel and feels very Pixar-like.
It was a quick and easy trip, and they even provided breakfast.
Speaking of, let’s get into what the food is like on Starlux Airlines economy class.
What is the food on Starlux like?
In short, good.
To my knowledge, in economy you are able to pre-select your food within 48 hours prior to the flight. Since I wasn’t eligible for online check in as I booked with Alaska, I wasn’t able to pre-select my food.
However, the meals are available via a virtual menu on your entertainment screen.
My first meal on the Starlux Airbus A350-900 was a dinner of pork, pasta and vegetables. With the meal came a bread roll, corn and a side of fruit. After dinner, they served tea.
I was impressed with the taste of the food. That being said…it’s airplane food, so adjust your expectations. As far as airplane food goes, Starlux is pretty good.
Many hours (and a nap) later, I was served a breakfast of a rice dish, yogurt, bread roll and fruit. The alternative option was pancakes. Flight attendants serviced coffee and tea as well.
Unfortunately, I came down with a migraine on the flight, so I was only able to try one bite of food before getting sick. Not to fret, the nausea was due to the migraine, not the food!
Once I was on board the Starlux Airbus A321neo, they served a lunch of shrimp, pasta, vegetables and a bread roll. Fortunately, by this time I was feeling much better and can confirm this meal was very good.
Throughout the flights, the flight attendants walked around to hand out snacks and drinks. Some of the options were cookies, crackers and bread rolls. Relatively standard stuff.
Would I Recommend Starlux Airlines Economy Class?
I definitely would recommend flying economy with Starlux Airlines. However, if you have points for premium economy or business, I would definitely suggest this for a long-haul flight. You can actually redeem Alaska Airlines points for Starlux flights!
I have a feeling Starlux will only continue to expand, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
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