Lufthansa Group is reportedly about to unveil some changes to its fares, which customers will no doubt be unhappy about (though you know the airline will spin it as if it’s a positive).
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Lufthansa introducing basic fares in premium cabins
Travel-Dealz reports that on March 17, 2026, Lufthansa Group will announce new basic (or “light”) fare bundles for premium cabins. This will apply across Lufthansa Group airlines, including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, and Brussels.
While the airlines have long offered these in economy, this spreading to business class and premium economy is new (these aren’t coming to first class… for now). So, what can we expect? According to reports, here’s what will change:
- The basic business class fares will include one checked bag (instead of two), a seat reservation fee of a minimum of around €80–€120, and a higher change fee than before
- The basic premium economy fares will include one checked bag (instead of two), a seat reservation fee, and a higher change fee than before
As you can see, the changes in business class and premium economy are identical, except business class gets new fees for assigning even standard seats (meanwhile in premium economy, you already had to pay for those, so nothing is changing).
Initially, these fares will only be available on select routes to & from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and South America. North America, and many parts of Asia (China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.), will initially be excluded. It remains to be seen if award flights will book into these “light” fares, and if that differs based on whether you book through Miles & More or a partner program.
What’s perhaps most punitive about these new fares is how some elite perks won’t apply on these fares. While Star Alliance Gold members will still get an allowance of an extra bag (for a total of two bags), no elite members will receive complimentary seat assignments on basic fares. That’s right, even top-tier Miles & More HON Circle members will be asked to open their wallets if they want to assign seats.
My take on Lufthansa’s new “light” business class fares
I’d argue that Lufthansa Group’s new premium basic fares are really punitive, at least in some ways. Not even allowing elite members to assign seats on these basic fares is rough — clearly the company is worried that if it doesn’t make these fares undesirable enough, it won’t be able to convince elite members to pay extra to avoid these fares.
At the same time, in some ways the fares maybe aren’t that bad. For example, unlike some other airlines, at least Lufthansa will still offer lounge access on basic fares. Furthermore, with Lufthansa moving to Allegris, non-elite members having to pay for most seat assignments is also becoming the norm.
I’m of course not happy to see these changes, but I don’t think anyone should be surprised to see these roll out, as this was bound to happen. Keep in mind that Delta also plans to introduce basic business class soon, and I expect that American and United won’t be too far behind.
As you can see, these basic fares won’t initially apply on flights to the United States, and that’s because Lufthansa Group operates as part of a joint venture with Air Canada and United. So presumably that will only be rolled out once all airlines are on the same page. That’s another reason to expect that the joint venture partners are headed in that direction as well.
Bottom line
Lufthansa Group is expected to shortly announce the introduction of new “light” fares in premium cabins, which means we’ll see basic business class at the airline (along with premium economy). The restrictions aren’t too bad, except for the fact that all basic business class passengers will have to pay for seats, including the highest tier elite members.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s basic business class plans?
Charging people for the privilege to reserve a seat is just a bridge too far IMO. I hope airlines reverse this, but i fear they won't. It's literally no cost to an airline. I can wrap my mind around checked bags, there is a direct cost associated with handling baggage. But reserving a seat is automated on their software. the cost is zero or near zero.
It's like when BMW tried to do subscription pricing on seat warmers.
Uncomfortable seats. Crummy meals. Mediocre amenity kits…
There is competition. Bueller? Bueller! Isn’t there?
Disgusting … once you spend a certain amount of cash … as in thousands of dollars , you really don’t want to be nickel and dimed. Self destruction to a 5 star brand lol
Flying Lufthansa is punitive as it is.
Leave it to Lufthansa to further enshittify the travel experience in the premium cabins - and they will indeed come for first class next. And then next they'll do it to SWISS.
I just hope that AF, EK, and SQ manage to preserve the simplicity and quality of their FC cabins.
Personally I am very afraid for TAP, I think that they've been making real strides since the pandemic and they're now a great option both regionally and across the pond. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that LH won't be allowed to mess too much with them if they do succeed in grabbing 49.9%.
KLM (part of AF) already charged for seat selection (150 EUR) and sell business tickets without lounge accessso sorry Willy I suspect it's only a matter of time for AF.
Two thoughts (maybe slightly contradicting)
1. I don't usually care about the introduction of these basic fares. I also don't think they automatically mean that prices go up. Lufthansa operates in a competitive market, and prices will be determined by supply and demand.
2. That being said... I used to fly Lufthansa quite a bit and am doing so less and less in recent years. I feel that every aspect of their product...
Two thoughts (maybe slightly contradicting)
1. I don't usually care about the introduction of these basic fares. I also don't think they automatically mean that prices go up. Lufthansa operates in a competitive market, and prices will be determined by supply and demand.
2. That being said... I used to fly Lufthansa quite a bit and am doing so less and less in recent years. I feel that every aspect of their product (soft or hard) and pricing is designed by a team of people who have absolutely no clue. It has become just an unpleasant airline to deal with.
They're great for short haul because they've got more flights to more places than anyone else. Places like Katowice, Thessaloniki, Debrecen, Genoa, Stavanger and even Birmingham mostly rely on LCCs and, while other airlines may offer a bit of connectivity, it's not easy to travel between them on a single ticket outside of LHG. Plus they generally get there on time and without losing any luggage. SEN lounges are also above average - they're clean...
They're great for short haul because they've got more flights to more places than anyone else. Places like Katowice, Thessaloniki, Debrecen, Genoa, Stavanger and even Birmingham mostly rely on LCCs and, while other airlines may offer a bit of connectivity, it's not easy to travel between them on a single ticket outside of LHG. Plus they generally get there on time and without losing any luggage. SEN lounges are also above average - they're clean and occasionally offer a decent whisky or two.
For travel beyond Europe, there's virtually always a better option irrespective of which cabin you prefer/can afford.
"I feel that every aspect of their product (soft or hard) and pricing is designed by a team of people who have absolutely no clue. It has become just an unpleasant airline to deal with."
Two words: Carsten. Spohr.
The question is: will these light fares be cheaper than the current basic fares that offer additional benefits, or will the currently lowest fares become light with fewer benefits, and the prices will just go up for basic and flex fares?
I think we all have a good hunch about what's going to happen...
This line of thinking is a bit simplistic, because fares may become more expensive due to fuel prices, then fall due to the incoming financial crisis etc. I suspect they'll be able to get a tiny bit extra per seat kilometre by getting a bit more from Mittelstand business travellers and a bit less from premium leisure pax.
Put money on the prediction markets that the worst seat class will be priced at what is now the normal price, and the tickets that are now priced normally will go up in price. Easy money.
It’s fascinating to see a corporate board allowing their leader to pursue the kind of pennny wise and pound foolish policies that will drive away a good portion of their non-corporate loyal clients and potentially bring their airline to ruin.
@ADR , nobody outside of the DACH-raum is loyal to Lufthansa. People either fly the airline because it goes where they need to go (that's me when flying around Europe) or because it's cheap (€3k for F from Europe to GRU or SIN and back isn't unheard of- I'm still not keen though). They have no pricing power beyond the little bit that's afforded to them by the reach of their network (constrained by LCCs which are cheaper but less convenient).
@Throwawayname I want to see those 3k F flights to, are they ex-BUD/Nordics? :)
FWIW even for frequent fliers within DACH countries, loyalty towards LH is falling. They may still retain contracts with very large corporations (like your VWs and Siemens), but I am also aware of quite a few large and mid-sized ones dropping LH-"exclusive" travel as well as pushing for train travel domestically (routes which given the pricing must be very lucrative...
@Throwawayname I want to see those 3k F flights to, are they ex-BUD/Nordics? :)
FWIW even for frequent fliers within DACH countries, loyalty towards LH is falling. They may still retain contracts with very large corporations (like your VWs and Siemens), but I am also aware of quite a few large and mid-sized ones dropping LH-"exclusive" travel as well as pushing for train travel domestically (routes which given the pricing must be very lucrative for LH). Also, from what I've heard, PartnerPlusBenefit (the portal that SMEs use for corporate LH travel) hasn't recovered that well post-Covid and its performance seems to be leaving much to be desired... it's rumours I've heard from people directly linked with LH, nothing official, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.
Even for me, being based in MUC and whose employer pays for my travels, I avoid LH like the plague because 1) IAG covers my most traveled routes of MUC-MAD/LHR as well as having a better network with IB to South America and 2) Despite improvements in reliability, especially concerning strikes, they still lag behind AFKL and IAG... in my eyes, if I'm travelling for work and am counting on being at my destination on a certain day at a certain time with a packed schedule, I cannot deal with the ever-glooming chance of receiving an email 24h before departure informing me that my flight is cancelled because their incompetent leadership isn't able to reach an agreement with its FAs, ground staff or whatnot.
@Ben Holz, BUD does ring a bell. Travel-dealz publish the offers every so often. I'm normally more interested in the frequent SN business class sales (often from France) to Africa for less than €1.5k return, until that is I realise they book into P[unishment] class which would earn me no miles.
Peter is right; pay the same for less, or pay more for what you used to get. All airlines are gonna do this soon enough. *sigh*
(Reposting again...)
I really don't mind this development. There are no bad seats in an 1-2-1 configuration (assuming it becomes standard) and they'll most likely keep the extra bag for *Gs. Their totally inflexible Business Basic fares within Europe are often priced very close to Economy Classic and work fine for me whenever I need to book within a month of departure. There's no need for a ticket with 'free'/cheap changes (and the associated opportunity...
(Reposting again...)
I really don't mind this development. There are no bad seats in an 1-2-1 configuration (assuming it becomes standard) and they'll most likely keep the extra bag for *Gs. Their totally inflexible Business Basic fares within Europe are often priced very close to Economy Classic and work fine for me whenever I need to book within a month of departure. There's no need for a ticket with 'free'/cheap changes (and the associated opportunity cost for the airline) if you know you need to fly halfway across the world in a week's time- it's not like there's an hourly flight to Luanda and you can just turn up at the airport and catch an earlier one.
I'm less worried about the substance of these changes than the implementation risks when it comes to partner awards, multi-carrier tickets, fare class mapping on *A, travel agents misaligning the letter with the fare family etc.