Starlux moving to Changi Airport Terminal 2, downgauging some flights to A321s

Back in September 2021, new luxury boutique airline Starlux launched its first flights from Singapore, linking the full-service carrier’s Taipei hub to the Lion City three days per week using Airbus A321neo aircraft, including flat beds in Business Class.

The airline later upgraded to larger aircraft for its Singapore flights, introducing the Airbus A330neo with direct aisle access Business Class seats from July 2022, and then the Airbus A350 from June 2023, which also feature a First Class cabin.

Throughout its operation on the Singapore route, Starlux has used Terminal 1 as its base of operations.

Starlux moving to Changi T2

Starlux has announced that from 1st August 2024, the carrier will be moving to Terminal 2 at Changi Airport, becoming the 19th airline to operate from the facility since it reopened post-COVID.

Here’s the full list of airlines operating from Changi Airport Terminal 2, in order of commencing operations at the reopened terminal following its two-year closure.

All Changi Airport T2 Airlines
(from 1 August 2024)

Airline		Started T2 Operations*	Weekly Departures
	Singapore Airlines (SQ) Only South East Asia, Bangladesh, Japan (except SQ12 to Tokyo Narita), Maldives, Nepal, South Korea and Sri Lanka departures	13 October 2022	550
	Air India (AI)	18 October 2022	38
	Air India Express (IX)		28
	Royal Brunei Airlines (BI)	6 February 2023	10
	Lufthansa (LH)	9 February 2023	14
	Swiss International Air Lines (LX)		7
	Sichuan Airlines (3U)	17 February 2023	7
	Air Macau (NX)	23 March 2023	7
	Ethiopian Airlines (ET)	26 March 2023	8
	Firefly (FY)		7
	Malaysia Airlines (MH)	23 May 2023	68
	United Airlines (UA)	20 July 2023	14
	All Nippon Airways (NH)	5 October 2023	21
	Etihad Airways (EY)		7
	IndiGo (6E)		58
	TransNusa (8B)	20 November 2023	7
	Air Canada (AC)	4 April 2024	4
	AirJapan (NQ)	26 April 2024	5
	Starlux (JX)	1 August 2024	7

* Post T2’s COVID closure

This follows a transfer of Singapore Airlines’ Japan and South Korea flights to T2, joining other South East Asian destinations, and most recently this year the addition of Air Canada and AirJapan to T2’s roster.

In total, T2 will handle 867 passenger flight departures per week (an average 124 per day), based on August 2024 flight schedules, its busiest since post-pandemic reopening.

Starlux currently uses the SATS Premier Lounge in T1 for its First Class and Business Class passengers, and while the carrier has not updated its website at the time of writing to reflect the new arrangement at T2, the SATS lounge there is likely to be the chosen pre-flight facility for these passengers.

For those using Priority Pass or similar lounge access programme before departure, the selection in Terminal 2 is a little more sad and tired that that in Terminal 1 (including the SATS Premier Lounge, in our opinion).

On the flip side, there is a wider range of non-lounge food and spa redemption options using your Priority Pass in T2, as we recently covered in detail, including a fixed S$33.50 off the F&B bill at Asian Street Kitchen.

Over 40 flights downgraded to the Airbus A321

Starlux currently operates a daily flight between Singapore and Taipei using its four-class long-haul Airbus A350 aircraft.

Singapore – Taipei
Now – 26 Oct 2023

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	JX771 A350
TPE 08:10		SIN 12:40
	JX772 A350
SIN 14:00		TPE 18:50

Unfortunately though there’s some bad news, with the carrier downgauging from its best cabin products, on the A350s, to its most basic ones – with A321neos back on over 40 Singapore flights in the coming months.

Here are the affected dates where JX771/772 will see narrow-body A321neo operation, according to schedule changes recently loaded in GDS:

July 2024

A321neo dates:
17, 18, 21, 22

4 flights in each direction

August 2024

A321neo dates:
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30

17 flights in each direction

September 2024

A321neo dates:
9, 10, 11, 12, 13

5 flights in each direction

October 2024

A321neo dates:
1, 2, 3, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

15 flights in each direction

In total the downgrade affects 41 flights on this route between mid-July and late October 2024. All other dates during these months feature Airbus A350 operation on JX771/772

For the upcoming northern winter season from late October 2024 to late March 2025, Airbus A350 service is loaded on a daily basis, with slightly amended timings as shown below.

Singapore – Taipei
27 Oct 2024 – 29 Mar 2025

			Days
			M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	JX771 A350
TPE 09:00		SIN 13:40
	JX772 A350
SIN 15:00		TPE 19:40

Business Class sees a big impact, with a long-haul Collins Elements suite on the Airbus A350 currently plying this route on a daily basis, and previously loaded across the schedule.

These seats boast direct aisle access, great privacy with 48-inch-high closing doors, and a 24-inch 4K in-flight entertainment screen.

On the Airbus A321neo, however, the configuration is quite different.

These Collins Aerospace (formerly B/E Aerospace) Diamond Seats still convert into a fully flat bed, but privacy is lacking with a slightly staggered 2-2 configuration.

These seats are equipped with 15.6-inch HD in-flight entertainment screens, a fair bit slightly smaller than those on the A350.

The main disadvantage of these seats is the need for window passengers to climb over their seat neighbour to reach the aisle, especially problematic when the aisle seat is in bed mode.

You can read some recent reviews of both of these Starlux Business Class products below:

• Starlux A321neo Business Class TPE-HAN (Apr 2024)
• Starlux A350 Business Class LAX-TPE (Apr 2024)

On dates where Starlux is substituting its regular Taipei A350 service with an A321neo, there will also be no First Class or Premium Economy cabin option offered, both of which feature and are indeed bookable on the wide-body flights.

If you’re flying Starlux to or from Singapore with a connection to the carrier’s new USA routes, rest assured that all services to and from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle (from August) are still operated by the four-class Airbus A350.

Starlux is moving its Singapore flights across from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 from 1st August 2024, becoming the 19th carrier to operate from the reopened and recently remodelled facility.

There has also been a relatively late aircraft type swap announced on many of the carrier’s daily Taipei flights between July and October this year, with smaller Airbus A321neos replacing wide-body Airbus A350s on more than 40 services over the coming months.

That not only means an inferior Business Class product, but also the removal of a First Class and Premium Economy option on affected dates.

(Cover Photo: Kittikun Yoksap / Shutterstock)