When researching which airline to fly to Vietnam with from Los Angeles, I came across a few familiar airlines including EVA Air and China Airlines, but a new unfamiliar airline at an incredible price caught my eye immediately—STARLUX. This unknown airline would quickly become one of my favorites that I’ve ever flown with, even surpassing Singapore Airlines! Here’s my review and experience flying with STARLUX for the first time:
Who is STARLUX
STARLUX is a Taiwanese airline that launched back in January 2020 (bad time to go into the travel industry, I know) by EVA Air former chairman, Chang Kuo-wei. Given the setbacks due to the COVID pandemic, the airline was off to a bumpy start. Luckily, they prevailed and introduced North American services in April 2023 with regular services to LAX. They currently flight to the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Macau, and Guam. STARLUX also made its first strategic partnership with Alaska Airlines earlier this year, allowing members to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles through their mileage program.
Booking a STARLUX flight
You can book directly on STARLUX’s website with either cash or using miles accrued with their frequent flyer program COSMILE (they really do love using all caps for everything). You can also book with their partner Alaska Airlines using either cash or Mileage Plan miles.
In my case, I booked using Chase’s travel portal. This was one of the rare cases I don’t recommend transferring points for the best value. Since STARLUX is not a transfer partner with any credit cards yet, and transfer to Alaska Airlines wasn’t the best value for this flight, I booked through Chase’s travel portal since you get a 25% higher redemption rate. Instead of paying $586 for this one-way economy class flight, I used only 39,127 points (a $391 value). Not bad for an international flight!
I did make a COSMILE account for the future and paid $50 directly with STARLUX for an aisle seat, which is more reasonable than many airlines. I just recently paid $99 for an aisle seat on a transatlantic flight with American Airlines for comparison.
At the Airport
The only hiccup I had with STARLUX was discovering they have not submitted the paperwork for TSA PreCheck / Global Entry yet. Although I was on a redeye flight, I assumed there wouldn’t be much traffic late at night in LA. Despite giving myself 4 hours before take off, I cut it closer than I’m comfortable with after being stuck in stand-still traffic for over two hours due to construction.
I rushed to the check-in counter, but the airline representative took forever checking my visa for Vietnam and even called over several employees to help her verify it. In the end, she printed my boarding pass and checked in my luggage and even gave me a free promotional Dodgers Passport Protector in honor of STARLUX’s partnership with the baseball team.
As I rushed towards the security checkpoint, I noticed my ticket was missing the words “TSA PreCheck”. I ran back to her and told her there must be a mistake since I always enter my known traveler number when purchasing tickets. She apologized and said that the airline is still in the process of submitting the paperwork for TSA PreCheck.
I never knew that airlines had to apply to be a part of the program. Why would it matter as long as the individual went through the background check and paid the fee to be in the program? This added to my ever-growing frustration. I now had to wait in the normal TSA line for the first time in years. Thankfully, it wasn’t too bad and I was able to make it to my gate in time.
Good News: Starting December 23rd, 2023 STARLUX has joined the TSA PreCheck program, so the issue I encountered is no longer an issue!
Boarding
All the airport frustrations would soon be forgotten once I boarded the airplane. Unlike, most new airlines that purchase used airplanes when starting up, STARLUX got themselves a brand new fleet. I was greeted with a complimentary water bottle as I boarded the new airplane which was pristine and fresh smelling.
At my seat awaited me a fancy travel kit with an eye mask, ear plugs, slippers, and dental kit as well as a thick blanket. I’ve only ever gotten complimentary slippers at hotels before. This in-flight convenience kit was better than that of United or Delta’s business class.
The tray table had two tiers so that open up just a little tray to hold a snack and drink or open both for full meal service. I haven’t experienced that set up before, and prefer it over the traditional single tray.
The best part, though, is the MASSIVE touch screen for each seat. These were the largest and clearest screens I have seen in economy class. Equipped with a USB charging port, a wide selection of movies, music, tv, games, and more, I was sure to be entertained for the entirety of the over 14 hour flight.
My favorite feature on this massive touch screen, which I wish every airline would adopt, is the ability to change the screen to say “Wake me up for food service” or “Let me sleep”. My mind was blown. As someone who flies solo frequently, I always worry I’m going to miss food service on the plane due to my Dramamine-fueled ability to nap through the apocalypse in a plane. Giving me the option to easily let the stewardess know I wish to be woken up for food is a game changer.
Right before I dozed off, I watched what had to be the most entertaining in-flight safety video ever. Using little cartoon alien creatures and humor, this childish video caught my attention. I, admittedly, never pay attention to the safety videos anymore, but this one kept my attention the whole time. Props to whoever came up with such a novel concept!
The only critic I honestly have is that the seats are just as small as on any other airline in economy class.
Restroom
Airplane restrooms are never a fun experience. They’re usually cramped and smelly with a long line of passengers waiting to use them. STARLUX decided to change the status quo.
The restroom on STARLUX was the largest one I’ve seen on an airplane in economy class. I didn’t realize you could have a decent sized restroom in an airplane. Not only was it fairly roomy, but there was calming spa music playing and succulent plants in the restroom. It was like I was in a spa instead of 35,000 feet off the ground. I deeply regret not taking my phone in the restroom with me to grab photos of it, since it’s really hard to believe it until you see it. It was even better than Singapore Airline’s restroom!
Food
You can take a look at the menu 24 hours before departure and even pre-book your meals. For the flight from LAX to Hanoi, there were two complete meals served with the option of an Asian meal or a Western option, as well as snacks throughout the flight. The flight attendants came constantly with snacks. As with most international flights, economy class also has free alcohol, though I found them to be less generous with the pours of white wine than other airlines.
I normally bring snacks with me, especially on long haul flights, since I always am hungry on airplanes. This was the first time that I felt stuffed with how much food I was given and didn’t need to tap into my personal snack supply at all.
Service
I quickly noticed that all the flight attendants where ridiculously attractive in addition to being very attentive. It’s like STARLUX plucked people from an open call model casting and trained them to be flight attendants. The flight attendants weren’t just good looking, I found them to be very polite and catering too. This isn’t something unique to STARLUX, as I’ve had this experience with other Asian airlines. It is a pleasant surprise compared to flight attendants on many domestic airlines who can come off as if they absolutely hate their jobs.
STARLUX surpassed all my expectations and raised the bar of air travel. This brand new airline has proven that luxury is attainable in economy class. The closest airline I can compare it to is Singapore Airlines, but if they were just starting off and needed to prove themselves. I can see STARLUX rising up to be a competitor of in the luxury airline tier. But for now, they offer affordable luxury like I’ve never experienced before.
