Starlux launching new A350 cabins on Bangkok, Macau and Tokyo routes

There’s some unfortunate news for many of our readers eager to try out the new Starlux Airbus A350 cabin products, with confirmation that the airline is launching three intra-Asia services with the new aircraft from this week, but is sadly skipping Singapore from that list for the time being.

Good news though is that if you are really keen to give these products and the airline’s renowned high service levels a try on the A350, you will be able to do so on the carrier’s Bangkok, Macau and Tokyo routes from as early as Friday this week.

These services come ahead of Starlux’s inaugural long-haul route from Taipei to Los Angeles using the A350s, which will include the ability to book the First Class cabin, from late April 2023.

Meanwhile these intra-Asia routes of up to four hours could be a good opportunity to try out the carrier’s new A350 Business Class and Premium Economy cabins, to check if they live up to your long-haul expectations.

Starlux Airbus A350 routes

Unlike the initial rollout of Starlux’s Airbus A330neo aircraft, Singapore is not on the list of inaugural Airbus A350 routes, with the type instead being deployed to and from Taipei as follows:

• Bangkok (BKK): 20th January 2023 to 25th March 2023
• Macau (MFM): 20th January 2023 to 31st May 2023
• Tokyo (NRT): 1st March 2023 to 31st May 2023

Here’s how the schedules look for these A350 flights.

Bangkok
20th Jan – 28th Feb 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	JX741 A350
TPE 08:10		BKK 11:00
	JX745 A350
TPE 14:45		BKK 17:45
	JX742 A350
BKK 12:10		TPE 16:40
	JX746 A350
BKK 18:55		TPE 23:25

Bangkok
1st Mar – 25th Mar 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	JX745 A350
TPE 14:45		BKK 17:45
	JX746 A350
BKK 18:55		TPE 23:25

Bangkok sees twice daily Starlux A350 flights from 20th January 2023 through to the end of February 2023, which is great since that’s the route many of our readers will likely be targeting to try out these new cabins on the four-hour flights to or from Taiwan.

Bangkok A350 service drops to once daily for the first 25 days of March, before being withdrawn altogether. Any Starlux flights not listed above on the Bangkok route are served by the A330-900neo, not the A350.

Macau
20th Jan – 31st May 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	JX205 A350
TPE 18:00		MFM 19:55
	JX206 A350
MFM 21:05		TPE 22:45

Again, do note that any other Starlux flights to and from Macau during this period are not operated by the A350, but the A321neo in this case.

Tokyo
1st Mar – 31st May 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	JX800 A350
TPE 08:30		NRT 12:30
	JX801 A350
NRT 13:40		TPE 16:45

For the Tokyo route, Starlux flights not listed above during this period are operated by the A330-900neo.

Starlux Singapore flights (JX731/732) will continue to be operated by the Airbus A330-900neo, offering the carrier’s regional wide-body Safran Skylounge Core Business Class seats.

First Class won’t be available

One of the big selling points of the new Starlux A350s is the inclusion of a four-seat single-row First Class cabin, with 60-inch-high closing doors for privacy, a wardrobe to store your belongings, and a huge 32-inch 4K in-flight entertainment screen.

Unfortunately if you want to try out the First Class cabin on these Starlux A350 flights, the bad news is these will not be available on regional routes, even to Business Class passengers without service differentiation.

Instead Row 1 will remain empty on these shorter services, but with no physical partition between that section and the Business Class cabin (just a higher wall around the seats themselves), there should still be the opportunity to have a peek and snap some photos of the hard product, which we look forward to seeing more of.

Starlux has confirmed to us that First Class on the Airbus A350 will be available on its upcoming Taipei – Los Angeles route “in late April”, though no firm launch date or schedule has been loaded for that service at the time of writing.

Starlux A350 Business Class

One thing these regional flights will feature of course is the new Starlux long-haul Business Class product, with 26 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, also sporting 48-inch-high closing privacy doors.

The herringbone arrangement in this cabin sees window seats and middle seats angled away from the aisle, in a similar layout to the new British Airways Club Suite.

Starlux has provided the following seat map of the A350 First Class and Business Class cabin, though remember only row 2 to row 8 is being offered to Business Class passengers on these regional flights.

Aside from the obvious row 1 space and privacy benefit in First Class, the only apparent downside is seen at the middle seat pair 8D and 8G, sandwiched between the two toilets at the rear of the cabin and closest to the galley area, where foot traffic and noise disturbance is more likely.

Window seats 3A, 3K, 7A and 7K also have partially obscured external views.

Each seat in this cabin boasts a 24-inch 4K in-flight entertainment screen, bigger than any SIA offers in Business Class, and unsurprisingly also converts to a fully-flat bed.

One of the nifty new features on the Starlux Airbus A350s is one many of us are already familiar with when flying on the Boeing 787 – electro-dimmable passenger windows (EDWs).

Starlux is the launch customer to add this option to its A350s, which Airbus claims will transition twice as fast between light and dark, plus block out more light, compared to the original versions on the market.

As you can see there is therefore no physical window shade installed, with the EDW brightness controlled by a panel at the window base.

Further photos of the product are still awaited, with Starlux teasing only a few details to date, including a screen at the back wall of the cabin, greeting passengers on boarding with “a digital illustration of [an] ever-growing bouquet of flowers”.

Hopefully the international rollout of this product on Bangkok, Macau and Tokyo routes will mean more photos and features of the Business Class cabin will be shared in due course.

Other cabins

The Starlux A350 also features a Premium Economy cabin, a first for the carrier, with 36 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

Unlike First Class, this cabin is being sold on these regional flights, in some cases (quite inexplicably) at a cheaper price than Economy Class!

This could be a good time to try these seats out to see if they are worth considering once the carrier’s long-haul flights to and from the USA kick-off in late April.

Finally the largest cabin on the Starlux A350s is the 240-seat Economy Class section, which has a 3-3-3 layout – not so friendly for couples, unlike the carrier’s 2-4-2 layout in Economy on the A330neo.

These are the same Recaro CL3710 seats fitted to the airline’s A330neo aircraft, including a 13.3-inch 4K Ultra-HD IFE screen.

Taipei lounge

Starlux Business Class passengers and elite COSMILE status holders also get to enjoy the fantastic looking Galactic Lounge in Taipei before their flight, which has only recently opened its doors.

Fine dining is on the agenda here, with “carefully prepared dishes served by professional chefs”.

Travel to Taiwan

If you’re interested in a trip to Taiwan to try out these new Starlux cabin products on the A350, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s now a quarantine-free affair, with only seven days of “self-health monitoring”.

This includes taking up to four self-administered COVID-19 rapid antigen (ART) tests, with kits provided free of charge when you arrive. Reporting of the results is not required, under an ‘honour system’.

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Travel to Taiwan

Eligibility & Vaccination

Hold one of these 65 nationalities to enter Taiwan visa-free Vaccination is not required. Travel insurance is not mandatory. Tourist stays are limited to 14-90 days, depending on your nationality. Singapore Citizens can visit for 30 days. Arrivals cap of 200,000 travellers per week (managed by flight capacity controls).

COVID-19 Tests (travellers aged 2+)

No pre-departure test required. Self-administered ART test on the day of arrival (Day 0) or the next day (Day 1). Self-administered ART test within 48 hours of leaving your accommodation, during your first seven days in Taiwan (e.g. on Day 2, Day 4 and Day 6). Reporting is not required

  Taiwan Entry Requirements

  Taiwan Arrival Testing

Like many countries in the region, including Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, Taiwan does not require arriving travellers from overseas to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter quarantine-free.

There are no additional quarantine or testing requirements for passengers who are not fully vaccinated.

Starlux is launching its Airbus A350 on international flights in time for the lunar new year holiday celebrations, with Bangkok and Macau services from 20th January, and Tokyo flights joining the roster from March.

It’s a shame not to see Singapore on that list, but twice daily operation to and from Bangkok still provides a relatively easy way to try out these new cabin products for many of our readers.

That’s especially true with a new long-haul Business Class product and Premium Economy Class seat to try out, plus don’t forget Starlux has recently opened its own luxurious lounge in Taipei for eligible departing travellers.

Unfortunately there won’t be an opportunity on these shorter flights to try out the airline’s new First Class product, which Starlux is (perhaps understandably) holding back for its inaugural long-haul Taipei – Los Angeles route from late April.

(Cover Photo: Starlux Airlines)