Flight Review: STARLUX Airlines (II) Economy Class A321neo
Flight#: JX726
From: Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
To: Taipei-Taoyuan (TPE)
Flight time: 4h 30min
Aircraft: Airbus A321neo
This is the second installment of our thorough review of STARLUX Airlines narrow-body product.
If a few days ago, I posted the Business Class flight review of STARLUX Airlines A321neo, this time is the turn of economy class, since I completed one leg in each cabin.
Those of you that have read the first review will notice that there are some common elements. In fact, this is not unusual when flying relatively short segments on narrow body aircraft and, after all, STARLUX prides itself in providing a well rounded, high quality product throughout!
The flight was provided courtesy of STARLUX Airlines. Opinions are all my own.
The Cabin
STARLUX fleet is really new and it shows the moment you step in. It helps that is is kept impeccably clean. Also, the earthy, brownish tones give it a warm vibe throughout.
The RECARO seats have a very decent seat pitch for an economy (31”) class product and have also adjustable headrests. They also recline a bit (5”). You can see it in the pictures below.
Unlike many airlines nowadays, that opt for leather (either faux or real), STARLUX has opted for this cloth material (not sure what material is it made of), with grainy texture.
Although STARLUX doesn’t fit their narrow body aircraft with Premium Economy (which is available in wide-bodies), there are some seats, in the first rows and emergency exits, with extra seat pitch that can pre-selected when booking.
You can see how they look like here, below on the right.
What do you get when getting onboard as an economy class passenger?
This was a relatively short flight, so there was a pillow and a set of headphones (not surprisingly this is a much simpler type than the one given to business class passengers), because all seats are equipped with seatback screens and IFE access, but more on this in the corresponding section further down…
One thing that caught my eye is how spacious the overhead bins are in the newest Airbus aircraft cabins! You see it when you go to Toulouse or at trade shows like the Hamburg aircraft interiors expo, but you really notice when experiencing it for real!
Here below you can get a general view of the cabin after the ambient lightning has been switched on.
Finally, a quick check of the toilets.
Food and drink
This was an evening flight, so dinner was served.
We started first wtih some rice crackers. Then it was time to order the main course. Which in my case was the Rendang Chicken.
The menu is available both in paper and digital form, on the IFE system.
And here is the meal. Pretty good for an economy class product!
The portions were quite substantious and tasty. It consisted of main, bread with butter, dessert and fruit. Plus the accompanying drinks.
It must be highlighted that STARLUX has also a pretty comprehensive drinks section, which includes not just soft drinks, wine and liquors, but also some cocktails. And, for the most part is also available to economy class passengers. The servings were also quite generous!
Inflight entertainment
STARLUX Airlines has quite a good mix of entertainment options: seatback IFE, inflight wifi and inflight paper magazines.
Let’s start by the two paper magazines: one is the traditional inflight magazine with a mix of editorial stories (mostly about inspiring places and travel) and information about the airline, with some advertising thrown into the mix. The other is more of a shopping catalogue.
Then, the IFE system. Each economy class seat is fitted with a 10.1” touch screen providing access to a library of movies and series as well as to an inflight moving map.
The content is the same for economy and business class, although, of course, the screen is a bit larger in business. There is also a USB socket just underneath the screen.
Then, there is the “Galactic” inflight wifi, service which has some interesting features, like an meter showing you how many people are connected at any one time.
The service is supplied by SITA ONAIR, which uses Inmarsat GX system.
While business class passengers get wifi access included in their fare, economy class passengers need to purchase specific data packages (30 or 100MB for US$5 or $10 respectively), EXCEPT for very light types of online communication, such as messaging services via social media, which are offered for free…at least in theory, since I tried several times to use whatsapp and it didn’t really work, despite my phone telling me I was properly connected. But perhaps other passenger will be luckier with this! In theory it is a capability that is there for all passengers to enjoy.
Our Take
STARLUX Airlines has a nice economy class product which covers well all the main points of the experience (seat pitch, food, service, entertainment).
The only thing that didn’t work as expected is the messaging service, but this is not really essential to me, since there were plenty of other things to do and a break from constant messaging from time to time is also welcome (it may have been a temporary glitch anyway).
Overall a well-rounded product that is better than the economy class most airlines offer on similar aircraft in Europe.
In any case, and to get the whole picture about this very young Taiwanese airline, I encourage you to check also my STARLUX Business Class flight review as well!