In recent times, Lufthansa has started taking delivery of factory fresh Boeing 787s, featuring the carrier’s all-new Allegris cabins. Management at the airline has reportedly decided that the configuration of these planes isn’t quite right for many routes, so now it’s planning some updates.
That’s a sensible change, but it always just feels like Lufthansa is a step behind when it comes to acting logically and catching onto trends, no?
Lufthansa 787s could get more business class seats
Lufthansa currently has a fleet of 20 Boeing 787-9s. Four of these were acquired secondhand (they were former Hainan Airlines jets), while 16 are brand new, and feature Allegris interiors. Not only that, but Lufthansa has at least another 22 of these planes on order, which will be delivered in the coming years.
In the long run, the Dreamliner is supposed to be the carrier’s primary long haul aircraft based in Frankfurt, complementing the Boeing 747-8s and Boeing 777-9s. Meanwhile Munich (MUC) is primarily getting Airbus A350s (including the A350-900 and A350-1000).
Lufthansa’s 787s are configured with 287 seats, including 28 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 231 economy seats. Keep in mind that three of those seats aren’t even certified yet (but should be certified before the end of 2026), so actual business class capacity is currently just 25 seats.
Anyway, even with all seats certified, Lufthansa Group management has decided that the capacity doesn’t actually match demand on many routes, with CEO Carsten Spohr indicating that the airline is working on installing more business class and premium economy seats on upcoming Dreamliners.
Reportedly nothing has been finalized yet, as this is still in negotiations with suppliers, but the idea remains that the current configuration doesn’t offer enough premium seats.
Given the eventual size of Lufthansa’s Dreamliner fleet, it would also be reasonable to think the airline may have two configurations in the long run, to reflect the demand of different destinations. For example, one would assume that the potential customer demand profile would be different to New York (JFK) than to Columbus (CMH), both of which are going to be Dreamliner routes in the coming months.
Lufthansa seems to be one step behind the competition
I know ragging on Lufthansa is just too easy, from its challenging labor relations, to its botched Allegris rollout, and more. However, I can’t help but feel like the airline is a little behind on trends.
I mean, for how long have we been talking about the surge in premium travel demand? American is taking delivery of 787-9s with 51 business class seats, United is taking delivery of 787-9s with 64 business class seats, and British Airways is reconfiguring 787-9s with eight first class seats and 38 business class seats.
So Lufthansa just taking delivery of dozens of factory fresh 787s with just 28 business class seats seems a little off, especially since Lufthansa only recently started adding these planes to its fleet.
I get that demand differs between markets, and the 787 is actually supposed to be the less premium plane in the fleet, in the long run (with the Boeing 747s and 777Xs being the most premium Frankfurt-based planes), but still, 28 seats just doesn’t seem like a lot by any metric. Heck, the Airbus A330s that are slowly being retired have 42 business class seats, and that’s an overall smaller plane.
Of course the whole Lufthansa Allegris and SWISS Senses situation is just sort of messy, from the 3.5-seat first class cabin that makes no sense, to the need to install a weight on SWISS A330s to balance out the weight of first class, to the new Allegris seats delaying entry into service for planes by years, despite it not actually being that cutting edge at this point.
Bottom line
Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr has indicated that the airline is considering a new configuration for many upcoming Boeing 787s. Management has decided that 28 business class seats and 28 premium economy seats isn’t sufficient, which strikes me as a rather obvious, when you look at trends. Heck, these Dreamliners are partly replacing planes with 50% more business class seats.
I’m curious to see what Lufthansa eventually settles on for a premium Dreamliner configuration, because I agree, 28 business class seats isn’t a lot!
What do you make of Lufthansa reconsidering its 787 layout?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.