skitraveler

I didn't think I'd be back in Japan so shortly after spending 19 days in last October with my partners, but my dad's friends are racing at Suzuka and he wanted me to be his tour guide around Japan. He'd been wanting to go to Hokkaido for the first time, he's been to Honshu many times, and with high prices on JAL/ANA on their direct TYO flights from Seattle I was booked on Asiana round trip. Then I kept reading more about Starlux after they announced their SEA flights starting in August and had been looking for Mileage Plan award space for a quick get away sometime around Thanksgiving, people faster than me grabbed all the 75K availability which then jumped significantly higher. So with a $500 cancellation fee for my RT Asiana ticket and a positioning flight on AS to get to LAX, I didn't want to risk SFO even though closer due to their runway closure, I was booked on JX LAX-TPE-FUK (hehe). I'm still flying OZ home since the JX arrival in LAX is too late for me to get back to Seattle the same day.
Flight to LAX was uneventful and got some good views, I was super cautious and took a flight with a 4 hour layover when there was one later and even two but that would've been less than 2hrs connection.



Tri-tip sandwich. Good taste but far too much bread, I only ate about a third of it.

skitraveler

I forgot how bad LAX can be, I wish they had a tram like SFO to get around terminals rather than a bus subjected to traffic. Even though In-n-Out was only a mile away I didn't feel like braving traffic to get a burger after check-in, I still had a very heavy backpack and a roll-on. Besides, I just had In-N-Out leaving DFW a few weeks ago.
The OneWorld lounge at LAX is nothing to write about and it was fairly crowded when I first arrived.
I've flown EVA, both J configs of the 777 and 787, but not the new JAL or ANA cabins.
There were only 7 other passengers in J and no one in the row in front or two behind me. The 4 "first class" seats were unoccupied - more on those later.
I really liked the suite compared to all the other similar versions out there but I've only done AC and AA which I think are the same manufacturer and BR which is similar but not the same.I chose 5A as I read it has the best window placement and I would agree.




Biggest side storage I've seen, plenty of room for my Sony full frame and bag with wide-angle lens.



Door has a small gap but not an issue with a light load


Great mattress pad, almost an inch thick. As a side sleeper I loved this and got a decent amount of sleep for me, 5-6hours.

Cute characters used for their spaceship themed safety briefing, but I think would get very annoying quickly.

skitraveler

Standard amenity kit

Comfy but screams more inmate #43708 rather than startup Asian airline

I don't know if anyone should spend the money for their first class. A bit more privacy and bigger screen but not separated from J in its own mini cabin.




1st class gets you about 18" of higher wall

skitraveler

I pre-ordered my meal online, one benefit of booking directly rather than through AS, and got an online only meal.
It was better sounding than the onboard options, I sadly didn't take a photo of the Asian main options page. Being a light load everything was wrapped up within 2 hours of take off. I tried the Taiwanese white wine with my lobster and it was ok. I tried all three reds with the congee and liked the Penfolds the best followed by the Rothschild.
The mid-flight noodles were incredible and I would've much rather have that is a really quick meal after take off as I was exhausted from the late departure. Save the bigger meal for later in the flight.
Overall service was attentive and friendly. I would say the English proficiency of the flight attendants is better than on EVA and they easily switched to English after initially addressing me in Mandarin after a simple "yingwen" reply.
I am looking forward to their arrival in Seattle but hope it's easier to get award space, something I try only fly for personal trips - I think 2015 was the last time I paid cash for a J ticket to a different continent. Fingers crossed they don't go belly up as they are now my favorite Asian airline despite the much longer amount of time needed to transit through Taiwan.


Scifi Cosmos 2.0: gin, lactic acid drink, blue curacao syrup, tonic water

Two types of smoked salmon Truffled parsnip soup with dried apple

Wok Fried Ginger and Scallion Maine Lobster, stir fry noodles, chili garlic sauce

Two flavors ice cream, they weren't listed, and fruit.

Double boiled beef noodle soup. Incredible broth and a huge amount of beef, one of the best inflight noodle dishes I've had.

Plain congee - this wasn't good to me as it was more like slightly overooked rice with a bit of extra water unlike the Cantonese style I'm used too with much more liquid and longer cooked grains. Char siu pork and scallion fritters Stir fried snap peas, shiitake, red pepper Cantonese Soy Sauce braised chicken (this was my favorite item on the tray) The egg still had the shell on which was quite the surprise when I put one end in my mouth and bit down - the yolk was very firm so this is no bueno











Osaka - wish had been closer to also get Kyoto shots

skitraveler

I really like how US arrivals for transit no longer need to go through security. At the end of the jetbridge staff did a quick boarding pass check and I was released upstairs to the departures level. We parked near the new Galatic lounge and it was only a few minutes until I was grabbing a much needed latte.
The lounge is split over two levels and with only two arrivals from SFO and LAX and even fewer transit passengers there were never more than 10 other passengers on the main level. The lower level has showers and much more seating, one wing has a bunch of tables while the other end has another buffet line and a bit more seating. I think I was the only person to have a shower which is good since they only have two. If they keep expanding their North America network this will likely become an issue.
There is also a small on-demand menu of three items for breakfast and I think 5 for lunch and later.
I had an enjoyable four hours in the lounge before making the long walk to my gate for FUK. The lounge is near the end of one end of the H that forms TPE's concourse and my flight was almost at the end of the far wing.




Upstairs seating area









The two types of buns in the steamers

Danzi Noodles - Taiwanese minced pork, shrimp, lean meat slice, yellow noodles

Mini Wagyu Burger - french fries. Fist to show they really meant the mini

Hadn't had this before, not too harsh and not too smooth.

Nice shower room

Great water pressure

Downstairs buffet

Still vacuuming even though the lounge had been open for 30min and the buffet setup

skitraveler

While I wanted to also fly their A330 I had to balance places in Japan I wanted to visit and not spend too little or too much time the lounge. There was an earlier flight to NRT which probably would've given me enough time in the lounge but then getting to Tokyo after dealing with the immigration craziness and having spent enough time there I ruled it out. Other flights were much later departures giving me less time in a city for one night before flying to Sapporo, Fukuoka was perfect at at 13:00 arrival and a very easy immigration experience, I think it was ~20 from disembarking to getting into a taxi. The best thing though was that I was the only passenger in J out of eight seats and had my first "private jet" experience with two flight attendants making this a memorable short hop up to Japan. When the purser heard it was my first time flying with Starlux she gave me a goodie bag with a few pens, playing cards, and sleep mask, the purser on the LAX-TPE flight said he hoped I enjoyed the experience and like them better than their Taiwanese competition when I said it was my very first flight with them.



Gate next to us. I was on a Hello Kitty flight once to SIN, it was cute.

A350, not the one I flew in on








Very nice meal although too much miso butter on the fish, I scraped half of it off, and the onigiri wasn't tight enough and disintegrated when picked up with chopsticks, there was no spoon and just a very small 2 tine fruit fork that did nothing on grains of rice


A nice gesture goes a long way

I would not want to be stationed at this lighthouse just off the Japanese coast


Goodbye beautiful short haul cabin. They closed the curtain as soon as I stood up so I could enjoy the last few minutes without anyone rushing forward.