Lufthansa is preparing to introduce its new premium cabin experience, known as Allegris. This will include a new business class product (to be installed initially on newly delivered A350s and 787s), as well as a new first class product (to be installed initially on newly delivered A350s).
Lufthansa’s rollout of its new premium cabins has been the laughing stock of the industry for years. Lufthansa announced its new business class in 2017, and nearly seven years later, not a single aircraft with these cabins is in service.
Fortunately there’s a very exciting update. Lufthansa has taken delivery of its first jet with Allegris seats, and we’re just weeks from this aircraft entering service.
Lufthansa Allegris introduction timeline
Lufthansa plans to introduce its Allegris product on newly delivered jets, with the following timeline:
- Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class will launch on newly delivered Airbus A350-900s out of Munich in May 2024
- Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class should next launch on newly delivered Boeing 787-9s out of Frankfurt as of July 2024
- Lufthansa’s new Allegris first class should launch on newly delivered Airbus A350-900s out of Munich as of September 2024
The Boeing 787-9s are in a three cabin configuration (with business class, premium economy, and economy), while the Airbus A350-900s are in a four cabin configuration (with first class, in addition to the other three cabins).
However, Lufthansa is having issues with its new Allegris first class, so A350s are being delivered without a first class cabin, so that space will remain empty for months.
Lufthansa is blaming the delay in getting these new planes into service on suppliers. And, I mean, fair enough, it’s not like Lufthansa really had time to work with suppliers to make sure these seats were delivered on time. After all, the airline only had *checks notes* nearly seven years.
Lufthansa Allegris first routes & logistics
Lufthansa has now formally announced the first routes to get the new Lufthansa Allegris business class product:
- Lufthansa Allegris will debut on the Munich (MUC) to Vancouver (YVR) route as of May 1, 2024, though the service won’t initially be daily; seat maps have now been updated to reflect the new Allegris product, so you can see which flights are scheduled to feature the product
- Lufthansa Allegris’ next destination out of Munich will be Toronto (YYZ), with subsequent destinations including Chicago (ORD) and Montreal (YUL), though there’s no exact timeline yet for that happening
- Lufthansa Allegris consists of several different kinds of business class seats, and many will have an upcharge; however, the upcharge isn’t expected to kick in for the coming months
When you go to Lufthansa’s website, you’ll now see that certain flights are labeled as having the new Allegris product…
…and sure enough, the seat maps reflect that. How cool!
Is this the worst airline product rollout ever?
A genuine question — has any airline ever done a worse job with rolling out a premium product? To Lufthansa’s credit, the initial issue was that these new cabins were supposed to debut on Boeing 777-9s, and those planes have been delayed by at least five years (and with Boeing’s latest issues, it may be even longer than that).
However, Lufthansa has taken delivery of all kinds of new jets since then, featuring the carrier’s outdated business class product, and is only finally now starting the process of introducing this product on A350s and 787s.
At this point, it will be nearly seven years from when the product was announced to when it actually enters service. And that’s just for business class, while first class is being delayed even further. And that’s just the start of the product being rolled out.
Let’s not even talk about how Lufthansa is planning on retrofitting other jets:
- Lufthansa Airbus A380s are expected to get a new business class product, but it won’t be the Allegris product
- Lufthansa Boeing 747-8s are expected to get the new Allegris business class product, but only on the lower deck, while the upper deck will keep the same business class seats
This entire rollout is simply wild…
Bottom line
Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabins are expected to debut as of May 2024. The plan is to first introduce this on A350s out of Munich as of May 2024, followed by 787s out of Frankfurt as of July 2024. As of May 1, 2024, we’ll see the A350 with Allegris cabins flying on select dates between Munich and Vancouver, with Toronto being the next destination, followed by Chicago and Montreal.
It’s exciting to see Lufthansa Allegris finally becoming a reality. Better late than never, eh?
What do you make of Lufthansa finally rolling out Allegris cabins?
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