This trip was in Starlux Airlines A350-900 business class on the route San Francisco SFO – Taipei Taoyuan TPE – Macau MFM. The ticket was booked with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles: 75,000 miles for transpacific business class plus an intra-Asia economy segment, which is a very solid value. I used the BofA Alaska Summit card to ticket it, which waived the $12.50 partner award booking fee.
From a redemption perspective, this is currently one of the sweeter uses of Alaska miles. Starlux is an Alaska partner, the award pricing is easy to understand, and award availability is fairly good. For frequent travelers, especially those based on the US West Coast, flying nonstop SFO–TPE and then connecting onward to Southeast Asia is both time-saving and comfortable. Note that Alaska’s award pricing for Starlux is dynamic.
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Check-in and Lounge
Back to the trip itself. Starlux check-in at SFO was in the International Terminal INTL, but the gate was in T1, so it required a bit of extra walking. Although Starlux does not have its own lounge at SFO, passengers with a business-class boarding pass can access the T1 Alaska Lounge, which is right by the gate. It was decent enough—nothing especially elevated, but at least the space was quiet and the food and drink selection was sufficient. Since my second segment was not in business class, I wasn’t able to try Starlux’s Galactic Lounge at Taoyuan Airport, which was a bit disappointing.
Boarding
After boarding, the first thing that stood out was Starlux’s signature Collins Aerospace Elements business-class seat. The overall color palette leans dark, understated yet elegant, which fits well with the boutique-airline image Starlux has always tried to project. I chose the solo window seat, 7K, though the window alignment was a little awkward—I could only really see “two and a half” windows. For someone like me who always likes looking outside, it wasn’t perfect. The good news is that the screen was plenty large.
The cabin crew, as always, showed that distinctly Taiwanese gentleness—soft-spoken and very delicate in tone—which actually took me a little time to get used to. Since this was a late-night departure, I chose to recline the seat fully after takeoff and get a little rest before the meal service.
The business-class door was just a little hard to open, and the footwell wasn’t especially spacious either, though it was enough for me.
Dining
Starlux performed quite well on dining for a transpacific flight. The main meal started with an appetizer and soup. The highlight this time was unquestionably the main course: baked lobster. This dish is not something randomly available onboard; it is exclusive to online pre-ordering through the Starlux website/app. If you want to try one of Starlux’s most distinctive signature dishes, I highly recommend pre-ordering online before departure, otherwise you may miss out. The lobster was fresh, paired with roasted vegetables and potatoes, with attractive presentation and flavor that still stood out at altitude. It even came with two rocks on the plate.
For breakfast, I chose the Chinese congee option: a steaming bowl of plain congee with pork floss, salted duck egg, and small side dishes. On a long-haul transpacific morning, Starlux’s Chinese-style breakfast felt especially thoughtful and well suited to the eating habits of many Chinese travelers.
In-Flight Entertainment and Wi-Fi
As for entertainment, Starlux’s content library felt a bit thin. There were not many movies to choose from, and after browsing through the catalog, only a few looked worth watching. Compared with other major transpacific carriers, it still lags behind. Fortunately, the seatback screen was sharp and the headphones were good quality, but if you are relying on the entertainment system to fill more than ten hours in the air, you may find it a bit dull. Business-class passengers get complimentary Wi-Fi, which is normally a nice perk on a long-haul flight. Unfortunately, the internet performance on this flight was very disappointing—it almost completely dropped out about three hours after takeoff and did not recover until before arrival in Taoyuan. I had hoped to handle some emails or scroll social media in the air, but that ended up not happening. With no good movies and no internet, it would have been pretty rough for anyone who wasn’t sleeping. I slept for most of the flight, so it did not affect me too much.
Final Thoughts
The flight arrived at Taipei Taoyuan Airport early in the morning. Since it was a redeye, going to sleep and waking up in Taiwan saved quite a bit of time. I was a connecting passenger, and ground staff simply let me into the departure area to wander around.
Overall, this Starlux Airlines A350 business-class experience was quite solid. On the hard-product side, the Collins Elements seat delivered good space and privacy, with a calm and elegant color scheme. On the catering side, pre-ordering reserved dishes like the lobster online in advance helps highlight what makes Starlux different. Service-wise, the crew showed that Taiwanese attention to detail and thoughtfulness; while the gentle tone took me a little getting used to at first, the professionalism was still clear.
That said, it was not without drawbacks: the in-flight entertainment selection was limited, and the Wi-Fi was almost unusable for most of the flight, which definitely hurt the long-haul experience—though maybe I just had bad luck. If you are the kind of passenger who sleeps whenever possible like I do, the impact may be minor. Redeeming 75,000 Alaska miles for this ticket, especially while using the fee-waiving BofA Alaska Summit card, still offers excellent value. For travelers who want to try Starlux business class and are happy to spend most of the flight resting, this is still a redemption well worth considering.