Lufthansa is (sadly) notorious for Allegris, the name of its latest generation passenger experience concept. This includes new long haul first class and business class products, with the rollout of the new business class being perhaps the most botched product introduction we’ve ever seen in the airline industry.
While I’ve covered this in general, in this post I’d like to talk about one aspect of Allegris business class that maybe doesn’t get enough attention. This post is prompted by a (sort of) hilarious information sheet that has been shared with me, showing just how absurd things have become.
In this post:
Lufthansa Allegris business class is terrible for families
Lufthansa claims that one of the reasons it created a custom product for Allegris business class is because it wanted to offer passengers choice, unlike anything we’ve seen before. The airline is very proud of how there are five different types of seats in business class (initially the airline claimed there were seven types of seats, but I guess that has been scaled back a bit — maybe too much a good thing is a bad thing?):
Five different seat types, tailored to different wishes and needs – in Lufthansa Allegris Business Class the choice is yours. Experience more privacy, more comfort, and more ways to personalize your trip.
Indeed, it seems like Lufthansa has thought of every possible traveler who could want to fly business class… except couples and families. You see, despite having a staggered layout, Allegris business class has very few seats that are good for those traveling together:
- All the window seats are single, as they’re staggered in each row
- In the center, rows alternate between having one seat and having two seats; for the pairs of seats in the center, they’re further from one another, rather than closer (so they’re not “honeymoon” seats)
- The only seats that are potentially good for those traveling together are the business class suites in the center section of the first row of each cabin, and these are also the most costly to design
So there’s certainly some irony to Lufthansa emphasizing how Allegris is all about choice, while introducing a product that has impressive choice if you’re traveling alone (and are willing to pay extra for seats), while it has very little choice if traveling with someone.
Over time, I’ve had a countless number of OMAAT readers ask me which Allegris seats they should select as a family, and there really isn’t a great answer. But I actually just learned about something I wasn’t aware of when it comes to flying Allegris as a family…
Lufthansa Allegris business class family seating rules
Here’s something interesting. A travel agent in Germany shared with me the document that Lufthansa has published about assigning seats for families in Allegris business class. First, the document notes the following:
Please note these permitted seating configurations when booking for one adult with one or two children (2-11 years old). Three or more children per adult are expressly not permitted in Lufthansa Allegris Business Class.
Maybe I just haven’t paid attention to this, but I wasn’t aware that any airlines restrict the number of children an adult can travel with, especially when they need their own seats. So it sounds like each adult can only travel with up to two children up to the age of 11?
But here’s where it gets interesting. Lufthansa actually has rules around which seats have to be assigned when an adult travels with a child in Allegris business class. You can find the chart below for the A350. For what it’s worth, “Kind” means “kid,” and “Erwachsener” means “adult.” The first section is about adults traveling with one child, while the second section is about adults traveling with two children.
The one benefit here is that according to Lufthansa’s website, “for flights in Allegris Business Class, seat reservations for children are free of charge, with the exception of the Business Class Suite.” So at least you can assign acceptable seats together, even though none of those seats will actually be together. They’ll simply be less far apart than some other seat combinations.
Like I said, it’s possible that I’m missing something, but I don’t think such complicated rules for accommodating children in business class are standard?
Bottom line
Lufthansa’s Allegris business class has been called over-engineered, and I think there’s no more prime example of that than the family seating situation. The only real seats that are good for couples and families are the business class suites, which are also the most expensive seats in the cabin.
The airline actually has rules for family seating, including which seats must be assigned for children ages 2-11, when traveling with an adult (and each adult is limited to traveling with two children).
What do you make of Lufthansa’s family seating situation?
Finnair doesn’t allow children in Business class on long haul if the child can not put on the car style seat belt by themselves. Difficult for a 3-5 year old.
Bravo to the use of "Luf-Kafka". It fits all too well. If anyone hasn't seen The Onion video on Prague's Kafka International airport, look it up.
It's so on German brand to over-engineer something. Then the Netherlands copies it and does the same thing, but then they don't follow any of the rules that they just made.
Another example of Germany being on the wrong side of history.
I am sure that all carriers with the so called “suites” have the same issue. I started from scratch at working in an airline, in all classes an adult can travel with maximum 2 children up to 11 years of age, for safety reasons.
If this is true - and I have no reason to believe it is not - then it was pretty bad research on Ben's part simply for the purpose of once again rant about Allegris.
At least as of a few months ago, the cabin crews or ticketing agents didn't follow that seating chart. I flew in an allegris cabin in November of last year. The parents sat in the suite seats in the first row (2d and 2g), kids were in 6d and 6g (they were definitely below age 10) and I was in 5f.
Allegris is a failure. Rip it out and replace with an off-the-shelf consistent seat product.
Should one wish to avoid this latter day ’rug rat’ conundrum, book an F cabin seat onboard a real world class airline.
Should one need to travel with today’s ‘little monsters’, the majority of decent airlines have a most accommodating premium economy class cabin …. or, so I understand from reading Ben’s flight reviews …. :-)
Where will my cat sit? He won't tolerate some prole middle seat.
Lufthansa for booking purposes sees anybody over 11 as an adult, it is in their booking mask. I actually even questioned this since legally in Germany on is still a child until 18, at least if u commit a crime. This whole children, infant, youth, etc is the biggest BS in IATA’s pax rules.
The British expression "a bit of a bugger's muddle" springs to mind.,.
I noticed this while trying to book seats on LX A350 for a family of four. When you select one of the kids, many seats grey out and cannot be selected. Honestly, my kids are 10 and 11 and do their own thing, but I can see this being just terrible for younger kids who need more attention. In all fairness, I rarely see young kids in J/F on LX flights.
What about children with priceless violins?
What kind of "business" do children conduct?
nun-yuh
Nunya
Before writing this post pull some metrics. How many PNRs would have 3 or more kind? You build digital solutions for the largest segment. If you are building these solutions for the edge case you have screwed over 90% of your base.
Since when did everyone start taking like they were working at tech companies? Deliverables, PNRs, KPIs, "edge cases" (not in that way / phrasing.
"talking", not "taking"
Clearly one of my areas of opportunity is proofreading.
For the last several years, every new article about LuftKafka has presented another reason not to fly LuftKafka.
You can say that again! LuftKafka!
Part of this has to do with EU rules. If there is an equipment swap or operational downgrade, children must be seated within a specified distance of the adult the kid (or kids) is traveling with. So limiting the number of kids per adult makes adhering to this rule if needed far easier to handle.
Sounds like someone (I'm looking at you, Lufty" is trying to ban children in business class, without actually banning them in business class. I wonder if Swiss has a similar policy.
I'll bite... if you are putting your kid in the throne seat why is the middle seat with opposite aisle access possible? They seemed to try really hard to optimize this but then gave a terrible choice?
Good Catch
And people complain about Bilt? Lufthansa is Sporh-nicated.
Oh, no, let's be clear, BILT is still more complicated than this... *wink*
The reason for this is that in case that oxygen is required the children will need help reaching the oxygen masks, thats why parents need to be in the closest possible seat to the kids.
@Jan. Yes, that's exactly the reason. I overheard a gate agent on United, once tell a mom who had two small children traveling by herself, that she had to sit in a specific seat on an ERJ-145 because of the oxygen masks requirement.
The E145 issue may be slightly different. If memory serves, United's ERJ-145s have certain rows that have 3 masks over 2 seats-- an extra mask-- which can accommodate lap children-- rows 3,7,11, 21, and 24. When traveling with a lap child, you get assigned to an appropriate row with an extra mask.
I don't think this particular Lufthansa policy is about lap children or extra masks, but it's reasonable for carriers to want to seat...
The E145 issue may be slightly different. If memory serves, United's ERJ-145s have certain rows that have 3 masks over 2 seats-- an extra mask-- which can accommodate lap children-- rows 3,7,11, 21, and 24. When traveling with a lap child, you get assigned to an appropriate row with an extra mask.
I don't think this particular Lufthansa policy is about lap children or extra masks, but it's reasonable for carriers to want to seat young children near to parents for a variety of reasons-- hopefully they have similarly elaborate plans for kinds in economy.
Gus Chiggins - very nuanced for an old prospector.
This is also a common requirement for reverse herringbone seats, e.g. when travelling on Air Canada, I have been told I need to sit either beside, or behind my daughter with the reason being given the ability to assist with O2 mask deployment (though in their case certainly not consistently enforced)
How does the parent in 5G get the mask on the kid in 4D when they are on opposite aisles? I guess you have to climb over the seat back.
Yeah I'm actively booking away from LH on their new product when it comes to our family of four. The old product was terrific for the 4 of us (though dated overall) but this one? No thanks
Where's @All Due Respect at? Is this peak "Luft-kafka"??
Yeah dude I came out of retirement for this one.
Hahaha