I've flown business class on dozens of airlines. My favorite premium cabin is on this lesser-known Asian carrier.

I'm a regular business-class traveler, having flown on dozens of airlines and hundreds of thousands of miles complete the years.

I frequently get asked the identical question: What's the finest business-class place you've always flown in?

It's not the customary fan favorites of Singapore Airlines or Emirates. It's Starlux Airlines, a Taiwanese carrier many Americans have never heard of.

Starlux archetypal flew in January 2020 and bills itself as a "boutique" global transporter that operates nonstop flights from Taipei to multiple US cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

My escape was on an Airbus A350-900 from Taipei to San Francisco, a nearly 12-hour overnight flight. It was the second leg of a trip that started in Kuala Lumpur, and the complete itinerary disbursal 85,000 Alaska Airlines miles.

The prosperity diet on this path ranges from $2,600 to complete $5,000, depending on the season, so the points redemption — Alaska is a Starlux partner — was a extremely fine deal. And the cognition blew me away.

The entire idea from the commencement was to build a luxury transporter from nothing alongside exact notice to item and an accent on the small stuff.

After flying Starlux, those insignificant particulars made all the difference. Here's what my escape was akin and why I'd effortlessly publish again.

The place felt akin a personal suite

Every place in Starlux's business class opens direct into the aisle, and all one has a sliding door. The division is adorned alongside faux marble finishes and shiny dreary panels. It honestly looks additional akin a boutique inn lobby than the inner a plane.

This extreme notice to item is what sold me most.

My favorite example: there's a small gap under the retention cupboard door, so you can depart a charging cable operating out of it alongside the entrance closed. Exploring the place illuminated multiple thoughtful scheme choices. The pod felt deliberate in a way several brand-new transporter seats fair aren't.

Some group call business category doors a gimmick, mostly since they don't go all the way up. I loved quarry anyway. Once the place was flat and the entrance was shut, it felt akin my own small room, additional emphasized by the heated mood lighting, pristine leather accents, and ample place walls.

A escape attendant handed me pajamas before we'd equal pushed back, so I changed correct away.

After dinner, the squad made up my bed alongside a thick mattress pad and among the softest blankets I've always been stated on a plane.

The footwell angles inward slightly, which makes it awareness a bit tight whenever you're lying flat, but I slept fine regardless. On an overnight escape this long, that's what matters most.

The food was several of the finest I've had in the air

Dinner is anywhere Starlux remaining all another business-class flight behind.

It started alongside warm, fluffy ail bread, which felt out of location alongside the Asian meal, but I was thrilled to see it. When the escape attendant came to apparent my appetizer, she asked if I'd akin additional bread, to which I evidently stated yes.

Then a creamy miso mushroom broth showed up, and I'm not exaggerating whenever I say it's among the finest things I've eaten on a plane. It was affluent and savory, the benevolent of item I can motionless sensation if I think concerning it today.

The chief was beef alongside fried rice, which was flavorful and cooked to perfection.

Dessert was Italian gelato that was really gentle adequate to eat direct away, which basically never happens alongside ice lotion at 38,000 feet.

Breakfast before landing: waffles alongside figs were additionally notable. One of the few airline breakfasts I'd happily command again.

All of the food served looked as fine as it tasted. Every way was correctly plated, the escape attendant talked me through all dish, and she reset my array between courses without me noticing.

The squad really elevated the experience

Starlux isn't perfect, and the archetypal 20 minutes of my escape proved it. Pre-flight assistance felt as if the squad was merely going through the motions fairly than trying to create a fine experience.

But whenever the meal assistance started, it was akin a toggle flipped.

One flight attendant greeted me by name and knelt downward next to my place to obtain my order. At one point, my seatbelt locked up during I was reaching for my amenity kit; she saw it happen and handed me the kit before I'd stated a word.

My chief way came out a few minutes late, and she apologized profusely for it, which she really didn't need to do, but it tells you what norm this squad holds itself to.

By the period meal was over, equal the squad members who'd seemed checked out at archetypal were heated and attentive. When I woke up and asked for tea, it was there nearly immediately, alongside citrus and sugar on the side.

I affection how fun Starlux is

The another item I affection concerning Starlux is that it doesn't obtain itself too seriously.

There's a area theme operating through the entire airline, from the Galactic Lounge in Taipei to the COSMILE loyalty program. Since 2024, it's been operating alongside Peanuts, so Snoopy turns up on themed flights and merch.

On my flight, the amusement display displayed a Snoopy greeted for me, and I motionless transport my things in a Starlux Snoopy tote bag.

Even the toilet document is tradition printed alongside a runway design. All of these things create the transporter awareness akin it's enjoying itself.

Starlux got the three things that really matter right: the seat, the food, and the crew. And it did it alongside a awareness of fun that a lot of the big-name carriers have somehow misplaced alongside the way.

I've flown endeavor category on dozens of airlines, including several of the world's most celebrated seats. If you're flying between the West Coast and Asia, I'd publish Starlux.

Starlux did not react to a petition for comment from Business Insider.