Starlux Airlines has one of the odder first class setups in the sky. Instead of a walled-off cabin at the front of its Airbus A350-900, the airline simply gives the first row of the plane a beefed-up business-class-style seat. On a recent 13-hour flight from Los Angeles to Taipei, travel blogger One Mile at a Time tested it out and came away more impressed than expected.
The hard product itself is only fine. The reviewer compares the space to British Airways' 777 first class — decent, not spectacular. But the details make up ground. Walls around the seat are so high that you effectively forget there's a cabin behind you, creating a genuine cocoon effect despite the lack of a dividing curtain. Tech is strong too: plenty of charging options and a huge 32-inch 4K screen. The feared problem of business class passengers wandering up to use the forward lavatory? Crews politely redirect them, and it barely happened.
Where Starlux really wins is the soft product. The reviewer had two dedicated flight attendants who delivered tightly choreographed, personable service. There's no onboard food menu — you pre-select your meals before departure and the crew caters exactly to those choices, which worked surprisingly well. Champagne comes in the form of Bollinger La Grande Année 2015, alongside a wine list featuring Taiwanese options. Amenities lean luxurious: Huntsman pajamas, an Aesop product box with a face mask, and a hard-shell mini suitcase overnight bag from FPM Milan. Even turndown service includes a diffuser next to the bed.
The ground experience may be the biggest draw. The reviewer ranks Starlux second only to Air France for consistency in first class ground service. At LAX, first class passengers get access to PS, the airport's private terminal, and Starlux offers similar private terminal treatment at other airports too. On arrival in Taipei, a golf cart whisks you to the lounge, and checked luggage gets sealed inside a branded hard-shell case and delivered out first — a small gimmick that's genuinely useful.
An interesting wrinkle: hardly anyone books this first class, so the cabin is often yours alone. That means you can eat in one seat and sleep in another. The reviewer suspects the overall package lands near the bottom of a hypothetical top-ten list of world first class products — behind the double beds and showers of the Gulf carriers, perhaps, but ahead of what the quirky layout suggests.
For travellers, the takeaway is that Starlux first class is less about the seat and more about the end-to-end experience: private terminals, proactive crews, pre-ordered meals and pampering extras. If you're redeeming miles or splashing cash on the LAX–Taipei route, it's a legitimately competitive alternative to the bigger Asian carriers — just don't expect a separate cabin.