I Flew Lufthansa’s 787 Allegris Business Class: It Was Pretty Good, With Several Misses

Hello from Germany, as I just flew Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787-9 Allegris business class on the 9hr25min flight from Austin (AUS) to Frankfurt (FRA), kicking off what should be a very fun trip.

While this was my first flight on Lufthansa’s new purpose-built Dreamliner, it was my second flight in Allegris business class, as I had also flown the product on the Airbus A350-900. The added twist here is that Lufthansa recently rolled out its new “FOX” business class soft product, so I was looking forward to experiencing the new catering, amenities, etc.

How is the Lufthansa long haul business class experience, when you combine Allegris and FOX? Well, it’s solid. It’s a huge improvement over the old product, and it’s competitive with what other airlines offer. It’s nothing that’s going to blow anyone away, though. When it comes to the new meal service, I got the distinct impression that the changes are much bigger when departing from Germany rather than an outstation, because I still found the catering to be sort of lackluster.

Anyway, while I’ll have a full trip report soon, I’d like to share some initial impressions on the experience.

Lufthansa’s 787 Allegris business class seats are pretty good

Lufthansa’s Boeing 787-9s with Allegris cabins are equipped with 28 business class seats, spread across nine rows, in an alternating 1-2-1 and 1-1-1 configuration. Lufthansa promotes how Allegris business class offers customers a lot of choice, because there are so many different seating types to choose from.

That’s of course a double edged sword, as there’s a fee to assign most types of seats, and on top of that, your experience will differ massively based on which seat you end up in. Furthermore, if you’re traveling with someone, there are literally no seats next to one another, except the pair of front row seats, which you have to pay a lot extra for. I’ll talk more about the best Allegris business class seat assignment strategy in a separate post.

On the plus side, I think the cabin is pretty spiffy-looking overall, and I do prefer being in business class when there’s not a first class cabin (which is a benefit of the 787 over the A350), in terms of service, lavatory access, etc.

I ended up in one of the “privacy” window seats, and to Lufthansa’s credit, this is actually quite a spacious seat, both when lounging around and when in bed mode.

The tech is obviously solid, with USB-A, USB-C, AC, and wireless charging, a crisp seat back monitor, and bluetooth audio.

But it’s the little aspects of the experience I don’t understand. I found the seat to be extremely hard, and while in theory you can control the firmness of the seat, I found there to be very little change. Fortunately there’s a mattress pad, which helps. Furthermore, there are no individual air nozzles, and while the A350 has seat cooling, I didn’t notice that feature on this plane (but maybe I just couldn’t find it)?

Lufthansa’s 787 Allegris business class entertainment & Wi-Fi are solid

Lufthansa’s Allegris business class entertainment system is quite easy to use, and there’s a good variety of movies and TV shows, along with the map feature, and even an external nose camera. So I had no issues staying entertained.

The plane also has Panasonic Wi-Fi. The speeds weren’t great, and perhaps what I found strangest is the bait and switch pricing, which is obviously a glitch — the page shows a price of 25 EUR, but then the payment page asks for 29 EUR. That obviously shouldn’t happen. These planes should get Starlink Wi-Fi eventually, which will be great.

Lufthansa’s new business class amenities are much improved

Lufthansa recently overhauled its soft product, so what all has changed in business class? Well, in addition to the new business class pillow and blanket that the airline has long offered, there’s also a mattress pad, which is well padded, and useful, especially given how hard the seats are.

There are also slippers, handy for going to the lavatory.

Then there’s the 100th anniversary amenity kit, with all the basics, plus a couple of products from BABOR.

There were also loungewear tops handed out, from van Laack, similar to what you’ll find in first class, minus the bottoms.

Before landing, all passengers were offered a box of chocolates with Lufthansa branding, a nice goodbye touch.

Lufthansa has definitely put some effort into improving its business class experience, and addressing some of the previous shortfalls, so kudos to the airline for that.

Lufthansa’s new business class catering was a miss on this flight

Okay, so this topic is sort of rough. Just days before taking this flight, I flew Lufthansa’s old business class across the Atlantic in the other direction, originating in Germany. I didn’t review the flight since we were traveling with two little kids, and that’s a handful, and I figured I’d review the new soft product on this flight.

When I flew out of Frankfurt, I was super impressed by the new catering, and thought the difference in quality was huge. Meanwhile when departing Austin, I didn’t at all find that to be the case, unfortunately. So, what’s the meal service like on this flight?

Before takeoff I was offered a welcome drink (I chose the signature Avionic cocktail), which was served with some packaged nuts. When departing Germany, they’re instead served in a classier bag. No biggie, I’m just pointing out the minor differences.

After takeoff, service began with a carrot yuzu, edamame, sesame, and ginger, amuse bouche, which was a nice touch.

There were then three appetizer choices, and I opted for the beef tenderloin with horseradish cream, honey soy, and pickled vegetables. This was automatically served with an heirloom tomato and cucumber tartare with black garlic, a nice twist on the typical salad. Then there was a selection of bread, plus a cauliflower miso dip with edamame.

For the main course, I opted for the seafood stew, with shrimp, monkfish, mussels, tomato, zucchini, and yukon potato. I’m sorry, but this was bad in every way. The portion was tiny, the seafood was chewy, there was barely any “stew,” and the presentation was awful.

Admittedly before I ordered it, I wondered how they’d be able to do a good job essentially pulling off a bouillabaisse. And the answer is that they can’t, so maybe they shouldn’t have it on the menu? Again, let me emphasize that when departing Germany, I found the new catering to be great, including the presentation.

Then for dessert, there was the choice of fruit, cheese, and/or dessert, and I had the fruit plus dessert, which was a chocolate mousse with strawberry.

Breakfast was then served before landing. Lufthansa now has little menu cards it gives you to fill out before going to sleep, with your order.

There were three options, and I opted for the spinach egg cake, as it was described, but that’s not really what I’d call this. Instead, it was just gross (presumably) powdered srambled eggs with some spinach in them.

It’s weird that the airline lets you customize your breakfast so much via a card, but then also automatically serves both fruit and a meat plate with pork. That seems kind of wasteful, because I don’t eat pork (I love pigs), and neither do two major religious groups, so it seems like that shouldn’t be automatic. Why not ask guests if they want it, rather than assuming that they do?

Anyway, catering on this flight was a miss. I’m not sure if this menu cycle just isn’t great, Austin can’t do catering right, or what, but expect it to be better departing from Germany.

Business class service was excruciatingly slow

With its new FOX soft product, Lufthansa promotes how the crew puts a lot more effort into meal preparation, etc., to the point that some business class lavatories are locked.

On an overnight flight, I was curious to what extent that would impact service speed. Well, on this flight I can say it massively impacted service speed, and that might also just be because of the 787 galley layout.

The main meal service was excruciatingly slow. I was offered my first drink a full 60min after takeoff. Starters were served 1hr45min after takeoff, my main was served 2hr15min after takeoff, and my dessert was served 2hr35min after takeoff.

Look, the crew was lovely, and they seemed to be working hard, but it shouldn’t take that long to serve a three-course meal, especially on an overnight flight where people want to sleep. I’m not sure if this was due to lack of staffing, if they’re still getting used to the new plane or service, or if this is just how long it’s going to take. I guess I should be grateful I wasn’t on a flight from the Northeast to Europe, or else there would’ve been maybe 90min between services.

Similarly, breakfast service was super slow. The cabin lights were turned on 1hr30min before landing, and I ended up being served my breakfast around 55min before landing.

More effort being put into the meal service is great, but if it nearly doubles the service time, well, that’s not so good.

Bottom line

With the introduction of Allegris, Lufthansa offers a much more competitive business class across the Atlantic. I’m happy I had the chance to fly the carrier’s newest long haul aircraft type, and also to experience the new service and amenities.

On the plus side, the Allegris cabin is pretty comfortable, even if the number of seat options confuses passengers. The upgraded amenities are nice too, but nothing life changing.

While I had a great experience with the upgraded meal service on a flight departing Germany, I found it to be a miss in the other direction, with terribly slow service, a main course that didn’t taste or look good, and a disappointing breakfast as well.

Ultimately Allegris business class is good enough. I think the issue is that Lufthansa acted like it reinvented the wheel with the introduction of its new cabins and service (I guess it had to, to justify how long it took), when really, they’re just catching up to the competition.

What’s your take on Lufthansa’s 787 Allegris business class?