Starlux is currently a bit of an enigma. Slowly but surely, parts of the passenger experience are being revealed ahead of its launch in January 2020. The airline has already revealed its uniforms which are part-astronaut, part haute couture. There are also product ranges, fully-flat beds on their short-haul aircraft and now a cute, comic-book style safety video with a branded range of characters, exclusive to Starlux.
While it’s yet another safety video – that is seemingly now illegal for any airline to have in a normal, informative and vanilla approach – it certainly will turn heads and generate interest in this carrier. There’s even another video that introduces each of the ‘Star Wonderers’
However, there’s now a clear brand direction, which seems to be celebrating the future of travel, positioning itself more as a space-liner than jet-liner, where space travel may just be a few years away.
It’s certainly going to capture the imagination of younger travellers, who will enjoy the Manga-style references to space travel, and alien cultures. The safety video references all sorts, from Wall-E to Neon Genesis Evangelion, but what is odd, is that this positioning is a far cry from the super sleek ‘luxury’ approach that the hard product seems to be taking.
Those who can afford luxury travel are certainly of an older age group, so this whimsical flight of fancy won’t resonate as well to the airline’s target market. Considering the market – and Taiwan especially – is already so crowded it is important to stand out. China Airlines has taken the brand position of ‘future meets tradition’. Eva is courting the modern traveller, and Starlux, by taking this futuristic approach is now competing head on.
It’s a catchy video, and certainly will garner a lot of attention, but we fear that Starlux might be spending too much time on building a futuristic lifestyle brand, rather than promoting a premium product for today’s traveller. Positioned right, Starlux could compete with some of the premium behemoths in Asia and further afield, but time will tell on how 2020 shapes up for this alien-toting brand.
The Big Picture
TheDesignAir 
People seem to be thrilled with this airline.
I, sincerely, can’t understand the idea of a luxury airline flying to low yield/vacation places.
To me, right now they have a good solid capital and they are using it to create momentum. But as we know, in this industry hundred of millions can disappear in a matter of days.