I finally had the chance to fly Lufthansa’s new Allegris first class on the Airbus A350-900! In a previous post, I covered how that didn’t exactly go as planned, due to a downgrade situation. In the comments section of that post (goodness, y’all had some opinions!), there were endless question about Lufthansa’s utterly confusing Allegris first class seating layout.
Before I can even share my thoughts on the flight and the Allegris first class product, I need to dedicate a post to the actual layout of the Allegris first class cabin, because it’s mighty confusing, particularly as it relates to the double suite. Does the cabin have three seats? Or four seats? Or 3.5 seats?
Buckle in, folks, because I’ll explain everything you need to know, I’m happy to report that I have a PhD in Allegris, and if it’s any consolation, at least the Allegris first class layout is a bit more straightforward than the Allegris business class layout.
This might be the only first class product in the world where it’s advantageous to not select a seat in advance, which kind of gets at the absurdity of this whole concept…
Lufthansa Allegris first class has 3-4 seats
Currently Lufthansa only offers its new Allegris first class on a subfleet of Munich-based Airbus A350-900s. The first class cabin consists of 3-4 seats, in a single row, in a 1-1(ish)-1 layout:
- The two window seats — 1A and 1K — are the standard first class seats, marketed as Single Suite
- The center seat — 1D — is the special first class seat, marketed as Suite Plus
The thing to understand about the center suite is that there’s also seat 1E, in theory. Essentially, if you so choose, two people can share the Suite Plus product, in which case the passengers would be assigned seat 1D and 1E.
However, as a standard, you’ll always see seat 1E blocked on the seat map, since that’s only made available specifically if requested, and it can’t even be booked by phone.
I’ll have a separate post with my impressions of this product, but just to share a couple of pictures of what this looks like, below is what the standard window suites look like…
…and below is what the special center suite looks like.
How you can sit in the Lufthansa Allegris double suite
That Lufthansa Allegris first class double suite looks pretty cool, eh? So, who gets to sit in it? As it currently stands, there are three ways you can secure this special suite in the center of the cabin.
The first method is that if you book two first class tickets on an Allegris flight, you can call Lufthansa and request to be seated together in the Allegris Suite Plus product. To be clear, there’s no discount (or extra cost) for doing so, and there’s no way to even do it directly online.
Ordinarily if two people book Allegris first class, there would only be one seat remaining for sale. So if two passengers called in to request to be seated together in the center suite, Lufthansa would then be able to put an additional first class seat on sale, to increase the capacity to four people.
The second method is that if you book a seat in Allegris first class as a solo traveler, you can pay a surcharge to assign that Allegris Suite Plus product, and have it all to yourself. On my Newark to Munich flight, that fee was $2,760. To be clear, that’s the fee once you’re already confirmed in first class.
The third method is the most interesting. With just three first class seats, a majority of Allegris first class cabins will go out with all seats occupied. I have to imagine that on most flights, there aren’t couples who choose to book the double suite, and there also aren’t people who are willing to shell out thousands of dollars to assign that product, when the other seats are perfectly nice.
So if the cabin is fully booked, someone will be assigned the double suite at check-in, without having to pay extra. How does this work, logistically? If two first class passengers assign seats, then the third passenger who doesn’t assign a seat will automatically be given that center suite.
Just as an example, on the flight my dad and I took, someone else reserved seat 1K, and one of us reserved seat 1A. Up until check-in opened, it was still requesting I pay $2,760 to assign that center suite.
However, as soon as online check-in opened, I accessed the seat map, and it allowed that center suite to be assigned at no extra cost.
Lufthansa Allegris first class seat assignment strategy
Ordinarily, passengers want to reserve seats in advance, since you have your choice of options. Allegris first class might be the only product in the world where you’re probably consistently best off not choosing a seat, so that you end up in the double suite:
- Between seats 1A and 1K, I’d probably choose 1K, since you have full privacy, as both 1A and 1D open up to the left aisle, while 1K has the right aisle all to itself
- That being said, if the cabin does end up full, odds are that most people will select one of the two window seats prior to check-in, so if you don’t select a seat, you have good odds of ending up in the double suite
The double suite monetization makes no sense
It seems bizarre to me to have a first class cabin that has just two standard seats, since that’s such a tiny footprint. But let’s ignore that for a moment. Let’s also ignore how the only way for couples to assign the double suite is by picking up the phone (why not require passengers to request it by fax?).
What I can’t wrap my head around is how Lufthansa is trying to monetize its double suite, because it makes absolutely zero sense.
The pricing for Lufthansa Allegris first class should incentivize couples to book the double suite, when that’s currently not the case. After all, if couples book the suite, it allows Lufthansa to sell a whole additional first class seats. If you ask me, the double suite is not more than twice as good as two single suites, so there should be some sort of a discount for couples to select that.
The double suite has the same size tray table as other seats, and offers limited flexibility if one person wants to sleep, and the other person wants to be awake. Heck, there’s only one entertainment monitor, so you better be wanting to watch the same thing. Unless your goal is to cuddle (or whatever) the entire way, I just don’t see it as a compelling option for couples, when the alternative is having two separate suites.
But here’s the bigger issue. Say you’re a couple and you go to book an Allegris first class flight. Say there’s already one person assigned in the cabin, and they select seat a window suite. When you book, you have absolutely zero incentive to “consolidate” into the double suite, when you can instead have both a window suite and a double suite.
Why would anyone limit themselves in that way, when there’s no incentive to do so? You can still hang out in the double suite together — there are no rules against that — but one person can then retreat back to another suite, if they want to.
Man, I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall when this concept was first pitched in the board room. I really wonder how that interaction went, and if everyone was like “yep, this makes perfect sense, let’s do it.”
This is purely speculation on my part, but I would hazard a guess that on a vast majority of flights, the Allegris first class double suite doesn’t actually generate any incremental revenue. Lufthansa is going to have to do something to rethink how it monetizes this.
Bottom line
Lufthansa’s Allegris A350 first class layout tends to confuse travelers. The cabin has two single suites by the windows, and one center suite that can act as a double suite, if so desired. The monetization of that center suite makes no sense to me.
The good news is that if you’re confirmed in first class, you have solid odds of getting the center suite if you’re just strategic — don’t assign a seat, and as long as the other seats get selected, you’ll automatically be assigned it at check-in.
Anyway, stay tuned. Shortly I’ll share my take on the actual product and experience, and some will be surprised by my conclusion.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s Allegris A350 first class layout?
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