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Taiwan's self-proclaimed “luxurious” airline will land on its third U.S. gateway later this yr.
Starlux Airways will launch flights from its hub at Taiwan Taoyuan Worldwide Airport (TPE) to Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) 3 times every week beginning August 16.
The Taipei-based service will deploy an Airbus A350-900 on the route, that includes 4 first-class suites, 26 business-class pods, 36 premium financial system recliners and 240 financial system seats.
This new 6,075-mile is on sale now, with round-trip tickets departing from the US beginning at about $950 for financial system, $2,200 for premium financial system, $6,000 for enterprise class and $10,000 for firstclass.
Moreover – and maybe most fun – Starlux has launched Saver Rewards availability for this new route. Whereas availability could change at any time, it seems that a business-class award seat is obtainable for 75,000 miles (and $46) via the Alaska Airways Mileage Plan program on some flights.
Should you can rating one in all these award seats, you'll probably have an unprecedented flying expertise. Starlux's A350s embody Collins Aerospace's new Parts suite (designed in partnership with BMW Designworks), a product that builds on some extremely well-liked predecessors to raise enterprise class seating.
The service's catering, personalised onboard service and facilities additional improve the premium expertise.
Starlux was the launch service for the Parts suite, and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways additionally launched this seat on its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries.
Starlux additionally affords a singular four-seat firstclass cabin on the pointy finish of the A350, however there's no nice solution to redeem miles for this expertise. With round-trip fares beginning at $10,000, I can't think about these seats will promote out so rapidly.
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Though Starlux affords the most effective business-class experiences on the planet – belief me, I've tried it – there may be additionally fierce competitors within the Seattle-to-Taipei market amongst another world-class carriers. By the point Starlux begins flights, Taiwan's two different main carriers, China Airways and EVA Airways, will already be working the route.
Moreover, Delta Air Traces will start day by day flights from Seattle to Taipei in June.
With such stiff competitors, it's doable we'll see aggressive fare wars (and probably extra award availability) within the coming weeks and months.
Past Taipei, Starlux flies to greater than 20 well-liked locations in Asia, giving Seattle-based vacationers loads of one-stop itinerary choices. The airline additionally has a codeshare partnership with Alaska Airways, permitting vacationers to e book flights past Seattle to cities akin to Denver and Houston.
Starlux launched flights to the US final April with flights to Los Angeles. The service expanded to San Francisco in December.
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