OK Starlux, you have my attention now...

Other than the middle eastern carriers, the international First Class of the 90s and 00s has largely vanished in favor of lie-flat Business Class. 

Lately we've seen some airlines installing a few extra-special Business Class seats that they can sell for a premium (eg, JetBlue's Mint Studio, Virgin's Retreat Suite, Singapore's A380 couples seats). 

Taiwanese luxury airline startup Starlux decided to do this on their new planes, but branded this one row of seats "First Class" and are asking 3 times the price for them versus their normal Business seats. (For real, $19,000 round trip LAX-Taipei versus $6000). I rolled my eyes. No amount of Krug and caviar could justify that. Furthermore, they aren't comping people into the seats or offering discounted upgrades to them if they're going to go out empty. 

But then i saw this nugget: 

Now this is a seldom-seen perk that sounds amazing – never having to enter the normal airport terminal at all. Having experienced this type of thing when I flew JSX during a family emergency, I can tell you it's really nice to not have to deal with the normal TSA/Terminal/crowded lounge BS, especially when you're under a lot of stress. 

I don't know that it'll make me want to spend $19,000 on a flight, but it's a way better perk than Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class limousine pickup service or Air France chauffeur-ing you from the gate to the plane. 

$19k for First!