Review of Starlux Airlines flight from Sendai to Taipei in Business

SJX

JX - Starlux Airlines

Flight taken on 15 July 2024
JX863
17:20 03h 50m 20:10
Class Business
Seat 3A
johnchanmk
544 · 41 · 6 · 11

Introduction & Heading to the Airport


Previously that I have typed the report of travelling on Starlux Airlines flying from Taipei to Hong Kong, featuring the inaugural flight of this route. This time, the other flight of Starlux Airlines will be featured. You may refer to the below post for the inaugural flight report: 



After having fun in Hokkaido and Aomori, it is time to fly to Taipei in order to catch up the inaugural flight of Starlux from Taipei to Hong Kong. After searching the flight schedule at the nearby airports, seems the one from Sendai to Taipei suits the needs. Travelling back to New Chitose Airport near Sapporo from Aomori seems is not a good idea, as it takes quite a long time to travel back there.


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Thanks to the punctual (in most of the cases), fast and convenient railway network in Japan, in order to get on the flight departing at around 5pm, I can spend time near Aomori in the morning, and then take the Shinkansen train back to Sendai in the afternoon to get the flight to Taipei.


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Sendai Main Station. Reminds me the days of visiting different spots in Tohoku region of Japan to see the cherry blossom. 


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Travelling to Sendai Airport is quite convenient, there is a railway line linking Sendai Station and the Sendai Airport. It takes around half an hour travelling time, and as I remember that there is a train going to the Sendai Airport from Sendai Station every 15 minutes.


Arriving at the Airport


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There is a direct access between the station and the Sendai Airport Terminal building. The terminal building looks much nicer than I expect. And there are two parts of the terminal building, one is for the domestic flight and the other part is for the international flight.





Right after entering the airport building, you could see some huge decorations hanging from the ceiling. And actually they are from traditions of Japan, during the summer time there is a famous festival at Sendai and the decorations symbolise the festival. Simply speaking it refers to people's wishes would be hang on the decoration and it hopes that those wishes would become true.


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Check in at Starlux counter


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There is not much international flight departing from Sendai Airport, it seems that during that timeslot mainly there would be only our flights departing there. And so the check-in process is smooth.

Due to the historial / political issues, for people from China, Hong Kong and Macau entering Taiwan, apart from passport, another kind of permit is required. It seems that they seldom see people from these region departing from Sendai to reach Taiwan and enter Taiwan, and so they first were not sure about the documents / procedures. Luckily there seems an agent from Starlux familiar with such issues and she explained that to her colleagues. But they spent some time to check the documents lol 


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Currently Starlux is having promotinos with Snoopy. On all except some Taiwan - US routes that you would find Snoopy and get Snoopy products on the plane.

Even there is a box at the check-in counter, for passengers to get the luggage tags. The luggage tags are also themed with Snoopy!


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Even the boarding pass is themed with Snoopy! 


As checked that the lounge at Sendai Airport seems does not worth visiting and so I did not spend time there. For business class passengers, you could choose to get some coupons or the lounge invitation card in this case and i selected the first option. (But it turns out that I did not have time to spend them, but anyway I dont mind :D )


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If there are more time available I would definitely find a restaurant with beef tongue at the airport and enjoy the last taste of Japan. But then I tried the other famous drink of Sendai at the airport - the milkshake of green soybean. The taste is refreshing and delicious!


After passing through the Security


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And it is time to move into the restricted area! Actually for business class passenger, you would get some priority when passing through the security. But during my time there was no long queue. But Sendai Airport opens one immigration counter at that time only, compared with four or more at other international airports in Japan.

After passing through the immigration and reached the restricted area, there are some souvenir shops. I did not spend much time there, as I already did a lot of shopping in the past weeks. It is not crowded and so I just sit back and relax before the gate and wait for boarding.


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So nice that there are some information telling customers that what can be brought to the plane and what cannot.


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Let's get on the plane


And this is today's plane that would bring me to Taipei.


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Registration No.: B-58206
Model : Airbus A321neo
First flight date:  27/10/2021


It was my first time to try on the business class of this plane model offered by Starlux. It seems that it is a narrow body aircraft and so the business class is arranged in a 2-2 configuration. There are totally 8 seats in business class. Today 6 seats were occupied. In between the seats, there is a fixed divider. But the amount of privacy it could provide is limited.


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And an photo showing the business class section of the plane.


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For the storage capacity, I guess that for this type of seat, maybe a little bit limited. Mainly you could only store at the overhead compartment and the space under the footrest. There is a drawer right underneath the TV, but during takeoff and landing, the items must be cleared. There is another open storage space right near the head of the seat. But then there is no cover for this area.

And the headphone, safety cards, printed menus and other printed materials are placed at the thin pocket near the seat.


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From the configuration you may think that this is similar to the regional business class product. But unlike regional business class products that, the seat can be lied flat totally. 


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Fruit Juice is served as the welcome drink for business class passengers. 


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Safety Card for the flight. 


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Like other business class flight, menu and the wine menu printout can be found at business class seats. And the relevant information could also be seen from the inflight entertainment system of the flight. 


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The table of the seat could be found under the handrest between the seats. To open the table, you would need to pull the table up, and then open the table. 


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Snoopy as the welcome screen, and with some cartoons featuring taipei's attraction. 


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I did not play much attention to the inflight entertainment system. But like what mentioned in other flight reports, the interface was clean, stylish and responsive. And the screen is really big. But like other planes from Starlux that there is no camera from the plane. Wish that they would change their mind and install some cameras. 


Why not try the food on the plane?


You can pre-select the food from the internet before departure. This time i selected the following offered from Starlux: 


AUTHENTIC ASIAN

Starter
Smoked Duck with Shishito Pepper, Boiled Octopus with Wakame Tosazu Jelly, Japanese Roasted Eggplant

Main: 
USDA Beef Sukiyaki

Sokuji
Koshihikan Rice, Wakame Bamboo Shoot Bonito Clear Soup, Pickles

Sweet Finish:
 Kuzukiri with Brown Sugar Sauce, Soy Bean Powder
Seasonal Fresh Fruit


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The whole meal was absolutely delicious! The rice is soft, warm and with moisture, not overcooked. The same applies for the meat. 


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Of course, you can find Snoopy everywhere, like the packages of tissue, and the small paper cup coaster. But I remember for the fruit, it is a little bit sour, but it is not the fault of the airline. 


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Every time I must try the Sci-fi Cosmos, the signature cocktail from Starlux. It consist of Gin / Lactic Acid Drink / Blue Curacao Syrup / Tonlc Water. But you could request an non-alcoholic version of the drink. 


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Let's try another signature drink from Starlux - Star Mojito. It consists of Whiskey/Green Tea/ Mint/Orange. But as a non-frequent drinker, i select the non-alcoholic version. But it is strange that for some flights, they will say that for drinks other than the Sci-fi Cosmos, they cannot offer the non-alcoholic version. The drink is refreshing! 


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Even you can taste the Signature Drink from Taiwan on the plane! It is called Boba Tea Latte . Boba Tea Latte is the first Taiwan local signature drink to be served onboard. The bobas (tapioca pearls ) are simmered in an Assam black tea jam, lending them a sweet aromatic flavor and unique chewiness. Adding fresh milk completes the Boba Tea Latte, providing the signature smooth taste the beverage is known for. 

Even i ordered some many drinks from them (maybe a little bit too much? -.- ) Those flight attendants always wear smile on their face, and tried their best to offer the best service to you, and you dont need to wait for a long time. What a nice service, Starlux!


Souvenirs !


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Since Snoopy is the theme and so i requested politely that to have some souvenirs related to Snoopy. The flight attendants then pack some souvenirs for me, like the playing card, the sticker book, some snoopy bags. I also bought some Snoopy products from the plane. Currently you can get Snoopy products from all Starlux planes except some flying to US. 




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Here is the flight path, from Sendai to Taipei. 


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Shadows of the clouds. 


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Near the end of the flight, some candies were distributed. They are all delicious! 


Seeing the night view of Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and you would know that the journey nearly comes to the end. 


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Display all

Tourism bonus

travel illustration

johnchanmk invites you to continue reading with the tourism bonus section below :

Product ratings

Airline

Starlux Airlines 9.1

  • Cabin9.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew9.5 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi8.5 / 10
  • Meal/catering9.5 / 10
Departure airport

Sendai - SDJ8.9

  • Efficiency9.0 / 10
  • Access9.0 / 10
  • Services8.5 / 10
  • Cleanliness9.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Taipei - TPE8.5

  • Efficiency8.5 / 10
  • Access8.5 / 10
  • Services8.5 / 10
  • Cleanliness8.5 / 10

Conclusion

Like the previous Starlux experience, it is a joy of travelling on Starlux Airlines. The flight attendants always serve you with smile, politeness and efficient. The cabin is well decorated and comfortable. Wish that to stay on the flight for a longer time, to enjoy the service offered from Starlux for a longer time!

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Comments (6)

  • Great report once again, thanks for sharing your experience with us, Starlux seems to be a very nice airline with a lot of attention to details.

    Some interesting drink options on board.

    This cabin is perfectly suitable for some Asian Medium Haul flights.

    • Yes Starlux is famous for its attention to details. And thanks and glad that you like the report!

      Actually there are two more kinds of signature drink from Starlux, but seems that they cannot offer the non-alcoholic version of that two kinds of drink and so i did not have a try on them. As i remember my first time to drink the Sci-fi Cosmo and underestimated the power of alcohol even after the flight attendant asked if i want a non-alcoholic version :P

  • I'll say again that Starlux have really done a great job with cabin design. The overall look is very chic and elegant and these typed of lie-flat seats are great for narrowbody regional flights. The catering looks fantastic ! That presentation is just 😍

    Thanks for sharing!

    • yes, the color scheme used by Starlux is really elegant ! And the dish is far more attractive than those from CX to be honest :P

      will consider more to take starlux and go to other areas in the future :D

      Thanks and glad that you enjoy this report :)

  • For the storage capacity, I guess that for this type of seat, maybe a little bit limited.

    Definitely one of the quirks of this seat, as this is typically what is found on these narrowbodies when they tend to install flat beds. That and the footrests🥴.

    Very interesting to see 3A and not 2A, guess that they market seat 1A only for their First Class like GA, SQ, CX etc.

    The whole meal, service, amenities, and even the beautiful blue cocktail (sci-fi Cosmos); everything looks just wow for such a short flight!

    Loved your report on the 339, and also this one. Starlux is an airline that I really want to try out, but the fares just seem to be a little expensive especially on the TPACS. You have made me want to give them a go though! It’ll be interesting to see if they do in fact join oneworld as EVA is with SA and CA is with Skyteam.

    Thanks very much for sharing this great flight report!

    • I think that the chance for JX to join oneworld successfully is not that high, as usually people from Taiwan may connect to HKG or Japan to change flight to other places, like europe and north america. seems that CX and JL earns quite a lot with such market. i doubt if they would allow such competitor to enter the alliance lol

      anyway, the service from Starlux is really nice and worth trying. See if have chance to try the A350 one from Starlux in the future.

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