Preflight Brief
Whenever I try an airline for the first time, I like to come away with an item to remember the experience (hopefully, fellow Avgeeks can relate 😀). Recently, I flew Starlux Airlines in business class on its flagship A350 from LAX-TPE, and I had to research the Starlux branded items that are available for purchase.
During my investigation, I found that Starlux has quite a selection of unique items and fantastic retail stores that you do not come across with other airlines. I am sharing my findings for those with a Starlux flight coming up shortly or those looking to get some branded items while in Taipei.
Starlux has multiple storefronts to purchase branded items which include: inflight/online duty-free (BéShopping), Starlux Online Shop, Starlux Flagship Store, and 7- Eleven Starlux Concept Store. Below, I’ll outline these shopping experiences and what’s on offer.
Inflight Shopping/Online Duty Free (BéShopping)
Your first option to purchase Starlux branded items is from Starlux’s duty free shop called BéShopping. With BéShopping, you can browse an online catalog of duty-free items and place a pre-order before your flight. Your items are delivered inflight, which I experienced myself.
The same duty free items are also available through the shopping catalog inflight if you do not pre-order. However, the item you want may not be in stock onboard. Another advantage of pre-ordering online is more significant discounts. At the time of this post, if you purchase multiple items, you get a greater discount by pre-ordering versus ordering in-flight (see offer below). I took advantage of the buy three items get 20% off, which essentially made the third item I bought free.
BeShopping offers several Starlux items such as flight tags, lanyards (with a really cool seatbelt attachment 😎), model airplanes, crew-style aprons, and apparel. There are several unique items that BéShopping does not offer that you can find in Starlux’s other storefronts that I’ll highlight further down.
I ordered the Starlux A350 model plane, the seatbelt lanyard, and the flight tags. The model plane is of good quality, and I got a kick out of the seat belt lanyard box design with seatbelt instructions.
If you want to place a Starlux Duty Free pre-order for your upcoming flight, you can visit the BeShopping site here. You must sign in with a booking reference or your Starlux Airlines Cosmile membership to access the store.
You can initiate a preorder as early as 14 days before your flight. Do note there are cutoff times for placing an order depending on your flight route. Flights from North America require the longest preorder time of 72 hours in advance. Please see the reference image below for the various cutoff times and double-check the latest time requirements during your order if anything changes.
Once you have signed into the Starlux BéShopping, go to the Starlux Boutique/Collectible menu tab to find branded items. Inventory can change daily, so the items I highlighted above may differ from what’s available for your order.
Starlux (JX) Airlines Shop
Starlux also has an online store you can order from that does not require you to be taking a flight. The Starlux Shop has the advantage of offering more branded items for purchase than BéShopping. Some of my favorites available on the Starlux Shop include a music box (featuring Starlux’s landing music that I love listening to), beautiful city branded cups, and a water bottle with an attitude indicator.
While the online Starlux Shop has more inventory than BéShopping, it’s subject to shipping restrictions. Items can only be shipped to certain countries; for example, the city mugs are shown as available to ship to Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Unfortunately, that excludes North America at the moment. If you happen to be visiting Taipei, you still have a way to get your hands on these items by visiting a Starlux store which I’ll outline next.
Starlux Flagship Store and 7-Eleven Starlux Concept Store
In Tapei, Starlux has two stores to buy branded items in person. I look forward to visiting these the next time I’m in Tapei. The Starlux Flagship Store (Address：No. 168, Sec. 3, Nanjing E. Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City 104 , Taiwan (R.O.C.)) is open from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM Monday to Friday (Find more details here)
The Starlux Flagship Store, while small, looks fantastic with a spaceship-like design. While I haven’t been in person, the store image reflects several of the same items available at the online shop. It also doubles as a ticketing office.
Besides the Flagship Store, Starlux also has a 7-Eleven Concept Store open 24 hours. (Address：No. 149, Sec. 2, Bade Rd., Songshan Dist., Taipei City 105 , Taiwan (R.O.C.))
If you are shopping for Starlux items, I’d aim for the Flagship Store, as I assume it may have a more extensive inventory. Still, the Concept Store is an excellent option if you are in the area on the weekend or in the evening.
Starlux shared some pictures of the store on Facebook, and it, too, has a unique design that resembles an airport and boarding gate. This place is worth a visit even if you shop at the Flagship Store—credit to Starlux for having excellent partnerships with the LA Dodgers, Spiderman, and 7-Eleven.
More 7-Eleven Goodness
Interestingly the Taiwan Times reported in 2021 that 7-Elevens in Taiwan were offering some of Starlux’s inflight meal options, such as roast pork rice. I don’t know if they are still being offered or if this was a limited-time promotion. I can’t imagine US Airlines trying to sell food outside of a plane 😂 but these look decent, and I hope to try them.
Pilot Debrief
I had a phenomenal experience on my recent Starlux Airlines flight and was glad I could utilize BéShopping to take some branded items home. BéShopping is the duty-free option available to those taking a Starlux flight. More items are available online at the Starlux Shop that ships to limited countries in Asia.
The best shopping experience looks to be in person at the Starlux Flagship Store and Starlux 7-Eleven Concept Store in Taipei. I can’t wait to visit someday. Leave a comment below if you’ve been able to see either of these stores in person!
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