Family Feud: Trip Planning

The story behind STARLUX Airlines is, as many have observed, almost Shakespearean in its undertones.

It begins, of course, with the death of a patriarch– in this case, Chang Yung-fa, the founder of Taiwan’s Evergreen Group and EVA Air. Following his demise in January 2016, control of the company was turned over to his son Chang Kuo-wei, who had been the chairman of EVA Air since 2013.

By all accounts, Kuo-wei was an ideal fit for the role. He was already an accomplished aircraft technician and pilot, and well-regarded in the industry. But as the youngest son, and the only child of Yung-fa’s second wife, Kuo-wei found himself on the wrong end of a coup staged by his three half-siblings. Kuo-wei had just piloted an EVA Air flight into Singapore, when he learned he had been ousted in mid-air.

Now, there are many things a man could do in such a situation to get even. He could rant about it on the internet. He could cross people off his Christmas card list. Or, he could start his own airline, as one does.

While STARLUX has always publicly disavowed the revenge narrative, I’m sure they wouldn’t be terribly bothered if becoming the “Emirates of Asia” also involved sticking it to EVA in the process.

I decided to pit both airlines’ long-haul products head-to-head, to see which side of this feud I’d rather be on.

Flights

✈️ Family Feud: Flights
✈ SIN-TPE	✈ TPE-SFO
JX772 Cabin: Business Aircraft: A330-900neo	JX12 Cabin: Business Aircraft: A350-900
Cost: 85,000 Mileage Plan miles + US$93
✈ SFO-TPE	✈ TPE-SIN
BR27 Cabin: Business Aircraft: B777-300ER	BR225 Cabin: Business Aircraft: B777-300ER
Cost: 75,000 Infinity MileageLand miles + US$202

Back in January 2025, there was a surprising glut of transpacific award space on STARLUX loaded onto Alaska Mileage Plan. This cost just 85,000 miles + US$93 between Singapore and San Francisco, and I jumped at the opportunity.

The Singapore to Taipei leg is operated by an A330-900neo. I reviewed this Business Class seat in 2022 and 2023, so I’m not going to review it again suffice to say it’s an excellent regional Business Class seat, though not particularly couple-friendly (as you can see from the cabin photo above, it’s not easy to see your seatmate regardless of which pair of middle seats you take).

It’s the Taipei to San Francisco leg where things get interesting. This is operated by STARLUX’s flagship A350-900, which feature all-new First and Business Class seats.

The 26 Business Class seats are configured in a 1-2-1 layout. Both window and middle seats are angled away from the aisle, providing greater privacy and a better couple’s experience for those in the middle seats. 

Seats have 48-inch (1.2m) privacy doors, 24-inch screens with 4K resolution and Bluetooth audio connectivity. There’s also 44-45 inches of seat pitch, zero-gravity settings, and of course full-flat beds.

Both the San Francisco to Taipei and Taipei to Singapore legs were operated by EVA Air B777-300ERs. 

I last flew with EVA Air in 2017, and unfortunately, this is the same reverse herringbone seat that was introduced in 2013. These aren’t the worst Business Class seats out there, but they’re certainly starting to look very dated compared to the competition. 

You might say it’s unfair to compare this to STARLUX’s latest and greatest, given that EVA Air has a new suites-style Business Class in the works, but realistically speaking that’s still some time away. If you’re choosing between STARLUX and EVA Air today, these are the options.

Besides, EVA Air can still punch above its weight with its excellent soft product, which features, among other things, Piper-Heidsieck Rare and Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame champagne (the most expensive champagne you’ll find in Business Class), Jason Wu-designed sleepware, and Giorgio Armani amenity kits.

Either way, a good time is guaranteed!

Hotels

There are trips where I visit some pretty nice hotels, and trips where all I need is a place to sleep. This is the latter. 

Unless you’re keenly interested to read about the merits of the Holiday Inn Express Mountain View Silicon Valley and similar roadside accommodations, not much is lost if we skip all of these. 

What’s there to say? The beds were comfy, the rooms were clean, the parking was free, and the complimentary breakfasts were a reminder that RFK’s crusade against ultraprocessed food might not be the worst idea. 

I used this as an opportunity to burn some orphan IHG points that I would probably never get around to using otherwise.

Lounges

STARLUX uses the rather uninspiring SATS Premier Lounge in Changi Terminal 2, which Matthew reviewed back in 2019 and doesn’t really warrant an update.

What I’m more interested to write about are the STARLUX and EVA Air flagship lounges in Taipei.

The STARLUX Galactic Lounge in Terminal 2 is themed like a spaceport, and it’s quite easily the coolest lounge I’ve ever seen. The employees wear flight suits, the doors swoosh open like something out of Star Trek, and the whole thing could pass for a Disney ride queue.

It was one heck of an experience, even if the F&B was rather disappointing.

EVA Air’s lounge setup in Taipei is much more confusing, with four different facilities:

• The Club: For Infinity MileageLands Silver members
• The Star: For Star Gold members
• The Infinity: For EVA Air and Star Alliance First and Business Class passengers
• The Garden: For Infinity MileageLands Diamond members

I had access to The Star and The Infinity, by virtue of my Star Gold membership and Business Class ticket, but only really had time to check out the latter. I did grab some photos of The Star though, and I’ll throw them in for comparison, but spoiler alert: neither is fantastic. 

In San Francisco, EVA Air uses the Air France Lounge instead of the Polaris Lounge because its flights depart from Terminal A. This was refurbished in June 2023 to add a refreshed design, more floor space, and new amenities like a bar and shower suites. While I still prefer the Polaris Lounge (and indeed, paid it a visit at Terminal G before crossing the concourse to A), this was much better than expected.

Conclusion

The STARLUX-EVA Air rivalry is a fascinating one, and while STARLUX has the upper hand when it comes to new and shiny — as you’d expect for an airline which operated its first flight in 2020 — it’d be interesting to see if EVA can counter that with its soft product and service.

Stay tuned for the reports!

STARLUX vs EVA: Pick your side!