STARLUX Airlines A350-900 Long-Haul Business Class TPE - LAX Flight Report - An Archive of Journeys and Stories with Sky

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX Airlines A350-900 Business Class Cabin

STARLUX Airlines | A350-900 Long-Haul Business Class | TPE - LAX | Inaugural Flight

Silhouette Archived in Apr 2023, Developed in Feb 2025

The Stats

Date: 2023-04-26

Route: Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) - Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

Flight Number: JX2

Aircraft: B-58503 (Airbus A350-900 MSN 593)

Schedule: 14:10 - 11:00+1

Actual: 14:32 - 11:04+1

Flight Time: 9:49

Used with Permission

The Departure

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX Airlines Transfer Counter at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Today's journey brings me to Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).

I arrived at TPE on China Airlines from Singapore, and I am going to do a separate ticket transfer at the airport. The onward journey is on STARLUX Airlines' flagship aircraft, the A350-900, and is on the very first long-haul commercial flight operated by the airline to Los Angeles. Needless to say, I am extremely lucky and excited to be on today's flight.

STARLUX Airlines launched in 2019 and is one of the few airline start-ups in recent years to adopt a full-service business model. The airline operates an all-Airbus fleet, including the A321neo, A330-900, and A350-900, serving regional destinations across Asia as well as long-haul routes to the US west coast.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX Airlines Business Class Boarding Pass

Silhouettes of Sky - Terminal Train at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

I arrived quite early and there was nobody at all at the counter. After calling the airport to request assistance and just as I was starting to feel a bit desperate, a few STARLUX ground staff finally arrived and promptly handed me my boarding pass.

They even escorted me all the way from the transfer counter, which is at Terminal 1 at TPE, all the way to the lounge at Terminal 2 - truly above and beyond!

The Lounge

Silhouettes of Sky - Oriental Club Lounge at TPE Entrance

Back then, STARLUX uses the Oriental Club Lounge at TPE T2, which is also accessible by third-party lounge memberships such as Priority Pass. As its operations grew, STARLUX now operates its own lounge at both T1 and T2.

Silhouettes of Sky - Oriental Club Lounge at TPE Interior

Despite being a third-party lounge, the Oriental Club Lounge is actually quite nice, with great interior design, plenty of seats, and various food and drinks to choose from.

Silhouettes of Sky - Oriental Club Lounge at TPE Shower Room

What I truly needed after an overnight flight was a shower, and to my great delight, one was available. The shower room was well-equipped, clean, and spacious; showers are always such a fantastic amenity to have at any airport!

Overall, the lounge experience is excellent, and I’d rank it among the best third-party lounges.

The Gate

Silhouettes of Sky - Departure Area at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Silhouettes of Sky - Gate Area at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Although not the latest and greatest by any standard, the Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is generally well managed and quite pleasant to travel through. Each departure gate has its own style, pretty cool.

As of the time of travel in Apr 2023, air traffic in Asia is still recovering from Covid-19 and the airport is not too busy.

Silhouettes of Sky - Gate Area at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

As this was the airline's inaugural long-haul flight and first ever flight to the US, there are some celebratory event at the gate area. The entire gate is very lively (albeit a bit crowded), with loads of media and everybody seems very happy and excited for the flight.

I also met the OG avgeek Sam Chui, and managed to get a nice selfie with Sam during the flight:)

The Aircraft

As of February 2025, STARLUX Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising 26 aircraft: 13 A321neos, 5 A330-900s, and 8 A350-900s.

The A350-900s are primarily deployed on long-haul routes to the US west coast, including destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Ontario, California. Additionally, these aircraft serve premium regional destinations like Tokyo and Bangkok. The A330-900s and A321neos are utilized for other regional routes across Asia.

The airline has an additional 2 A350-900 on order, as well as 8 of the larger variant, the A350-1000, on order.

Drawing of STARLUX Airlines A350-900 Aircraft is Produced and Provided by Aviation Volume (AVLM)

Used with Permission

Silhouettes of Sky -STARLUX A350-900 B-58503 at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 B-58503 at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Today's aircraft is B-58503, a March 2023-built A350-900 aircraft. At the time of this flight, the aircraft is only one month old. The aircraft is owned by STARLUX Airlines, and is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

The Cabin

STARLUX' A350-900 aircraft are configured with a total of 306 seats in a 4F 26J 36W 240Y four-class configuration. This makes STARLUX the only airline offering First Class among all Taiwanese carriers.

STARLUX Airlines is the launch customer for Collins Aerospace's Elements suite, the latest generation of Business Class seating from the manufacturer.

Drawing of STARLUX Airlines A350-900 Business Class Seat is Produced and Provided by Aviation Volume (AVLM)

Used with Permission

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Cabin

What a beautiful cabin! The overall design follows STARLUX's signature color palette of orange and grey, and are extremely modern, while also aligns perfectly with STARLUX’s space-inspired theme. A lot of designs have went into the cabin and it is definitely one of the best looking ones out there.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Seat

The seats are arranged in the classic 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout, providing direct aisle access for every passenger. The seat is exceptionally spacious and modern, with great premium finishes. Privacy is great too with very high walls, and the seat does come with a door.

A pillow and blanket is already waiting on the seat.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Seat IFE

The seat features 24-inch 4K IFE screens. The screen is vibrant and has very good picture quality, one of the best among all Business Class seats. Also, the positioning of the screen is quite close to the seat, making it actually look bigger. The footwell is also quite large, and I don't have the issue of foot space being limited on some reverse herringbone seats.

It is worth noting that the IFE supports Bluetooth connection, one of the most convenient features of the latest generation IFE system.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Seat Tray Table

A large table comes out from below the IFE screen. There was an issue with the tray table that it would vibrate violently while cruising, despite there is no turbulence.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Seat Control

A control panel can be found on the side of the seat that controls both lighting and seat position. The seat is very comfortable, and I love the Zero G position very much.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Lamp

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Seat Storage and Control

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Seat Storage

A storage space can be found on the side of the seat as well, along with the reading light and some more seat control buttons. There is also a very beautifully designed lamp on the edge of the seat.

Inside of the storage space, you can find a pair of headphones and a bottle of water, along with the IFE remote control, a universal power socket, the headphone jack, as well as one USB-A and one USB-C port. There is also a wireless charging pad just below the water bottle.

You can also find some more storage space near the footwell, where the literature pocket is located.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Overhead Panel

No personal air nozzles provided.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Window

All in all, the Business Class seat on STARLUX's A350-900 aircraft combines excellent space, privacy, and tech. It is one of the most well-designed reverse herringbone seats out there, and a serious contender for the best overall.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Safety Card

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 First Class Seat

However, the same can't be said for the four First Class seats, which occupy the first row within the same cabin as Business Class. While they are undoubtedly more spacious, featuring larger screens and higher privacy walls compared to Business Class, they fall short when compared to many other top-tier First Class products.

Additionally, the lack of a dedicated First Class cabin significantly diminishes the "First Class-ness" of the cabin.

The Amenities

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Amenities

A few amenities are available on this inaugural flight, including an amenity kit, a La Mer gift set, and an eSIM for usage in the US. In addition, a set of very high quality pajama is also provided.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Amenity Kit

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class La Mer Gift Set

The amenity kit is from luggage brand Bric's, and the content includes travel essentials such as ear plug and eyeshade, in addition to skincare products from Hyugens.

The La Mer gift set was offered during the initial operations of the route as a special gift, and includes some of the brand's signature products.

The Departure

Silhouettes of Sky - TPE Apron View

Pushback was late due to the celebrations. A Tigerair A320 aircraft in Rakuten livery was parked next to us.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Safety Video

The safety video of STARLUX is quite well made and came in the airline's space theme with a cartoon style. Although I don't mind the safety video, I feel the cartoon style is a bit of a mismatch with the overall sleek and premium feeling of the airline's aesthetics.

Silhouettes of Sky - TPE Apron View

Several ground staff lined up to wave goodbye to the aircraft, celebrating STARLUX's inaugural flight to the US.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Window

Silhouettes of Sky - A Silhouette of Sky

Shortly after pushback, a smooth takeoff. Once we climbed over the clouds, the sky cleared up nicely. Love flying these brand new aircraft - the super clean windows and perfect paint finishings really makes a difference.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Window

STARLUX is the launch customer of the electronically dimmable windows on the A350 family, so many firsts are featured on this aircraft!

The overall product is much more refined than the EDW on the 787 family. The glass touch control is super elegant and also comes with a progress indication, the window dims extremely fast, and also blocks out more light than 787 when fully dimmed. This is also the first time that I got to try the Airbus' take on EDW, and I am impressed.

The Meal

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Menu

A pretty high quality menu and drinks list was provided; the menu can also be viewed on the IFE system, a nice feature. Interestingly, the drinks list focuses a lot more on specialty cocktails that was crafted for the airline and a total of five are available - all in the airline's space theme, in addition to various other alcoholic and soft drinks.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Amuse Bouche

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Soup

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Starter

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Bread

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Main

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Dessert

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Chocolate

The first meal service only started quite a while after takeoff. Having pre-selected my meal online in advance, I opted for the Yakiniku Beef from the renowned local restaurant Hutong.

The dining process included an amuse-bouche, soup, appetizer, main course, dessert with fruit, and chocolate. Each dish was presented on individual plates (no trays to be seen). The entire meal service stretched over three hours, and by the time the last course was cleared, we were already cruising above Tokyo.

This was an exceptional Business Class meal service, one that few airlines can match. The table setting was detailed and premium. While the crew was attentive, service was slightly on the slow side. As for the food itself, the flavors were outstanding, and the ingredients were remarkably fresh.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Towel

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Breakfast

Two meals were provided on today's flight, the other one being a breakfast service before landing.

The meal included yogurt, a main course (I had pre-selected congee, served with a variety of side dishes), and fresh fruit. I can confidently say this was the most authentic and delicious Chinese meal I’ve ever had on a plane - even featuring fermented tofu, which was absolutely fantastic!

IMO, STARLUX has truly mastered the art of in-flight dining. Every detail, from the meal presentation and tableware to the pairing of dishes, ingredient freshness, and flavors, was executed to perfection.

The Lavatory

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Lavatory

Lavatory is of a relatively standard size, and is shared between First Class and Business Class passengers. The lavatories are kept clean by the cabin crew throughout the flight.

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Lavatory Amenities

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Lavatory

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Business Class Lavatory Amenities

Single-use towels is available in the lavatory, along with dental floss, mouthwash, body lotion and facial mist.

The Arrival

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 Inflight Map

Silhouettes of Sky - View Inflight over California

Shortly after breakfast, we were starting our descent into LAX, along with a United aircraft next to us. Although Business Class passengers gets free Wi-Fi access, the Wi-Fi was not working for the entire flight, and I also noticed several passengers were having issues with their seats. Hope these will be fixed down the road.

Silhouettes of Sky - Apron View at LAX

Silhouettes of Sky - STARLUX A350-900 B-58503 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

Silhouettes of Sky - Baggage Claim Area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

To my surprise, there was not a water salute for the flight's arrival. We were parked next to an ANA aircraft, and as we disembarked, one more gift was handed out to all passengers - a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball.

The Conclusion

STARLUX's A350-900 Business Class is undeniably a strong contender for the best in the world. The hardware, dining, and service are nearly flawless (aside from potential issues with Wi-Fi and seat malfunctions). If you set aside the not-so-attractive pricing, it truly lives up to my expectation.

Thank you for exploring this silhouette.

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