As I think all OMAAT readers know by now, Allegris is the name of Lufthansa’s new long haul travel concept, and this includes all-new cabins for long haul aircraft. However, the actual rollout of this has been challenging, to put it mildly.
While I’ve written about several of Lufthansa’s Allegris rollout and certification woes, here’s a new one for me, as I wasn’t aware that the airline can’t seat people in the first row of Allegris economy, and this problem persists after many months.
Lufthansa’s first row of A350 economy remains empty
If you’re on a flight operated by Lufthansa’s new Airbus A350-900 with Allegris interiors, you’ll notice that the first row of economy (row 19) shows as blocked on the seat map. Once onboard, you’ll see signs on the seats, indicating that they shouldn’t be occupied. I actually wasn’t aware of this, but it was reported by airliners.de.
What’s the reason for this? Well, these seats haven’t been properly certified. Since there’s no full bulkhead between economy and premium economy, and since the Allegris premium economy seats have hard shells, the seat belts in the first row of economy need special airbags (just as you’ll find in some premium seats).
However, these airbags haven’t yet been certified by regulators. Obviously not being able to sell seven seats onboard isn’t ideal, especially since these are front row seats that the airline could probably charge passengers extra to assign.
A spokesperson for the airline explains that the expectation is that these seats will have to remain empty for the coming months. Given that these planes have been flying since May 2024, that suggests that the certification may only happen a year or so after the aircraft entered service. Ouch.
This is one of a countless number of Allegris issues
Keep in mind that when Lufthansa’s Allegris Airbus A350-900s started flying, the space of the first class cabin was empty, since there were supply chain and certification delays with that product. Fortunately that has finally changed, and that cabin is now being retrofitted on previously delivered Allegris A350s.
Lufthansa’s biggest Allegris certification issue at the moment involves the Boeing 787-9. Shortly, the airline will have 15 of these 787s ready to fly, but there’s just one issue — the business class seats haven’t been certified, and there’s no timeline for when they could happen. As a matter of fact, the airline hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the seats not being certified at all.
So Lufthansa is faced with a tough decision — does the airline start flying these jets with all business class seats unoccupied (and probably empty bulkhead economy row), or keep the planes grounded? A decision is expected to be made soon.
Lufthansa Group carrier SWISS will also soon introduce its version of Allegris, known as SWISS Senses. The airline has its own issue with these seats. SWISS A330s will get the new first class cabin, though there’s an issue — the cabin is too heavy. As a result, the airline will have to install a 3,000 pound weight near the back of the aircraft.
Bottom line
As it turns out, Lufthansa’s first row economy seats on Allegris A350s haven’t yet been certified. This is due to the lack of a proper bulkhead, plus the hard shell of the premium economy seats in the row in front. As a result, these seats need special airbags with seatbelts, but they haven’t yet been certified.
The airline thinks it’ll be months before that happens, so given that these planes have been flying since May 2024, that’s not exactly ideal, eh?
What do you make of this Lufthansa Allegris A350 economy seat issue?
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