As I said earlier, the international section of Ktiakyushu Airport was quite small. There are no food outlets at all so please eat before going through security. There is basically a duty-free shop with some vending machines selling drinks.
There are basically two gates – one for JIN Air (and other LCCs) and one for StarFlyer.
Gate 4 – StarFlyer’s décor
Gate 5 – LCCs – mostly Jin Air
The loading for the return flight was pretty light, as expected. I don’t think we had more than thirty passengers, which made boarding super-fast and the service more personable. I even had time to buy some souvenirs from the onboard shop. I could not call it duty free because it did not the typical cosmetic and liquor goods. They mostly sold StarFlyer’s branded goods.
Boarding began at 3:35pm!
Cabin shot
Blankets
I chose a normal seat on this flight – 3A and the legroom was excellent. I basically got the whole row to myself.
3DEF
Power outlets for each seat – one universal power outlet and one USB charging port
Please note the leg-rest too
Door was closed at 3:46pm – yes eleven minutes to board everyone and manage all paperwork.
With little traffic, we headed to R/W36 and took off at 3:59pm.
City of Ube
Yamaguchi-Ube Airport – StarFlyer also flies here!
Oita
Description from magazine – they finally updated the description on the November issue of StarFlyer’s magazine
Flying time was two hours and twenty minutes with a cruising altitude of 36,000feet.
Routing: Kunisaki-OIT-Kitsuki-Oita-Taketa-360-Hitoyoshi-Satsuma-Ichikikushikino-Pengjia Islet-Xinfeng-Yinwu-Dayuan-TPE
The service was similar to the inbound flight, and the meal cart first made its appearance. The tray came with a bento with the smart StarFlyer cover, a bottle of water and a packaged dessert. I was pleasantly surprised that the bento was actually warmed this time. Similar to the inbound, the meal was delicious and the black sugar tart was extremely good too.
Menu
Served warmed
Grilled Mackerel Pike, Karaage (Fried Chicken), Yam Cake, Broccoli, & Egg Omelet, Steamed rice with mushroom and shredded egg, cheese chicken, fish cake, boiled shrimp, carrot, and okra, accompanied by a mini Black sugar tart and bottled water
I love the StarFlyer’s branding
Delicious black sugar tart
Beverage came later and I got a can of Asahi this time.
Asahi Beer
So here is a detailed description of the seat.
Personal TV – touchscreen enabled
Coat hook
Headset plug and another USB charging outlet
Flight map
Cabin shot from the back
Seat pitch was the same in the back too
11F – exit row – non-reclining but there was a cushion available on demand
10F
Trying to show the seat in recline position – very generous – I used Row 2 since someone was sitting behind me.
Beautiful afternoon
As I said earlier, I finally managed to buy some StarFlyer’s pen on this flight. The F/As gave me some additional souvenirs.
Another “Here Now” Destination Guide for Taipei was handed out, after descent had commenced at 4:44pm Taipei local time. Taipei is an hour behind from Kitakyushu.
The weather was pretty bad in Taipei, as it was raining.
We landed on R/W5R at 5:29pm. Taxi to gate A7 wasn’t too long and we were parked at 5:36pm.
I cleared immigration using the e-channel and bags came out at 5:48pm.
In conclusion, I am a fan of StarFlyer and its brand as boutique airline. I sincerely hope that they will succeed at these international flights but these light loads will not work in the long term. First week of operation is perhaps the worst indication of how the flights go, but I notice that the Nagoya flights run a bit fuller. Kitakyushu is a bit off the radar for most passengers, except its Kawachi Fujien Wisteria Garden. They have two major annual events each year and the garden are impressive. I am also a bit irritated about the fact that the inaugural certificate was only available on demand and they never announced it. For an aviation geek, it is a bit frustrated not to have those items. Service wise – given its price, the bento and limited beverage are fine, but they need to change the flow a bit. I think that they need to serve beverage and meal together, and then do a separate tea/coffee run. It will also help if they do an official duty free/inflight shop run. The entertainment program should include some Taiwanese TV materials. Taiwan has plenty of TV programs available and it should be easy to get and inexpensive to do so too. I wish StarFlyer all the best and hope that they will fly to Hong Kong soon. That inaugural will also be high on my list to do.
I hope you all enjoy this trip report!
Carfield