Lufthansa has revealed a sneak peek of its new First Class cabin for selected long-haul aircraft, including those that should make it onto the carrier’s Singapore flights in the years ahead, alongside a new Business Class seat it has been promising for the last five years.
There are also upgrades for Premium Economy and Economy Class cabins in the new “Allegris” product range, which will eventually be fitted to over 100 of the airline’s long-haul jets.
Lufthansa describes the project as “the largest investment in premium products in our company’s history”.
New First Class
The biggest news here is Lufthansa’s new First Class suites, which based on the renderings are indeed quite beautiful, with a navy blue finish, offset with light brown panels and copper trim.
Each suite will have “nearly ceiling-high” walls, according to Lufthansa, with closing privacy doors, allowing you, for example, to remain in your suite with full privacy as you change into your First Class pyjamas.
Emirates’ new First Class on the Boeing 777-300ER (review here) comes to mind as the only product with such high walls currently in service.
The seat itself is almost one metre wide and of course converts into a fully flat bed, while restaurant-style ‘buddy dining’ with another passenger is possible, thanks to the spacious ottoman.
Dining will be an exceptional experience in the new First Class cabin. If preferred, eating together is made possible for the guests at a large dining table, whereby one can sit across from their partner or fellow traveler, just as one does in a restaurant. Gourmet menus are presented, along with the airline’s unique caviar service.
Lufthansa
Each suite also has a large wardrobe for storing your personal items, and of course an entertainment system on a large screen that extends “across the full width of the suite”, including wireless headphones.
The product will debut on 10 new Airbus A350 deliveries, starting in mid-2023, based in Munich.
Later it will also feature on the carrier’s new (but much-delayed) Boeing 777-9 aircraft, plus it will also be refitted to some existing aircraft, including Boeing 747-8s.
Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787-9s, arriving from 2023, will not have a First Class section.
Details are scant at the moment, but the renderings of First Class appear to be in a Boeing 777-9 cabin, which will be 5.97m wide and should easily accommodate these suites in a 1-2-1 configuration.
However, on the narrower Airbus A350s (5.61m) the airline may have to go with a 1-1-1 layout to retain the same lateral space, or squeeze slightly smaller suites in a 1-2-1 configuration.
It will be interesting to see the final layout, including the total number of seats offered on each aircraft type, since that will have obvious implications for award space in what’s likely to be a highly sought-after cabin.
Lufthansa offers a great ground experience in its lounges and the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, plus has very well-rated food in First, so this upgrade to the hard product should see it become regarded as one of the best European carriers in this cabin class.
Lufthansa has promised more details of the new First Class suite, plus “a further innovation in First Class”, in early 2023.
New Business Class
In comparison to the First Class suites, Business Class looks rather functional in comparison, with a dark blue and brown colour palette plus white privacy shells surrounding each seat.
Lufthansa has been hyping-up this product for five years now, and it still hasn’t made it onto a single one of their aircraft, but the good news is we’ll finally see this seat rolled out from mid-2023.
It will certainly be a welcome upgrade from the carrier’s current dated Business Class cabin design, with seats that don’t even offer direct aisle access and are minimal on the privacy front.
The staggered 1-1-1, 1-2-1 layout of the new Business Class cabin also provides very spacious ‘throne seat’ options at alternate rows in the middle section, which look to have oodles of space and good privacy for solo travellers.
Other features of the new Business Class seats will include:
- In-flight entertainment screens measuring nearly 17 inches
- Wireless charging
- Noise-canceling headphones
- The ability to connect personal devices to the entertainment system, via Bluetooth
This new product will finally offer Lufthansa Business Class passengers direct aisle access, with seat walls standing at least 114 centimetres high for added privacy, though closing doors have not been chosen.
However, there’s also an enhanced product offered in the front row of Business Class, which will offer a suite-style layout with closing privacy doors, in a kind of “J+” offering.
Now, guests in Lufthansa Business Class can also look forward to their own suite, which offers even more comfort and privacy due to higher walls and sliding doors that completely close. Here, travelers can enjoy extended personal space, a monitor up to 27 inches in size and ample storage space, including a personal wardrobe.
Lufthansa
So far only one rendering of this seat option has been provided.
As you can see this seat has higher privacy partitions, a closing door and a large 27-inch IFE screen. It will inevitably be sold at a higher cost than other seats in the Business Class cabin.
Lufthansa has promised more details of its new long-haul Business Class products in spring 2023.
Better Business Class already on some aircraft
Lufthansa is already offering direct aisle access Business Class seats, superior to its own long-haul product, thanks to some recent deliveries of ex-Philippines Airlines Airbus A350s and Boeing 787-9s originally destined for Hainan Airlines.
Unfortunately these are not currently deployed on the carrier’s Singapore routes, which use Airbus A350s (Munich) and Airbus A340s (Frankfurt), with the latter upgrading to Boeing 747-8s from late October 2022.
Other cabins
Lufthansa’s “Allegris” range also extends to the Premium Economy cabin, where ZIMprivacy seats will be installed, already in use with Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss International Air Lines.
In Economy Class Lufthansa will improve its “Sleeper’s Row” concept, available an additional fee on long-haul flights, “for rest and relaxation on a reclining surface that is 40 percent larger compared to the original”.
There will also be the option to book a vacant neighbour seat, for a kind of “EuroBusiness” experience.
Summary
Lufthansa’s new First Class suite looks beautiful based on the initial renderings the carrier has unveiled, with almost ceiling-height privacy partitions and closing doors, which should see them regarded as one of the top European carriers in this cabin class, once the rollout is complete.
The airline has also given us a rehashed look at its new Business Class seats, which will finally bring it up to international standards in this cabin starting from 2023. Most of all, there’s the “throne seats” and first row suite-style option to look forward to.
New long-haul aircraft will be delivered with the products from next year, but with a large refit programme also required it may be some years before we actually see these new seats deployed extensively on the Lufthansa network, including on the carrier’s flights to and from Singapore.
The airline is promising more details of both products next year, but it looks like these will certainly be ones to try in years to come.
(Cover Image: Lufthansa)