In the past couple of years, Lufthansa sure has made a 180 when it comes to its Airbus A380 plans. The airline has now revealed a timeline for when these whale jets will be getting a new business class product.
In this post:
Lufthansa sees long term future for A380s
At the beginning of the pandemic, Lufthansa grounded its fleet of Airbus A380s, and the intent was that these planes would be retired, and would only reenter service “in the event of an unexpectedly rapid market recovery.”
With the strong recovery we’ve seen in transatlantic leisure demand, the airline made the decision to start bringing back Airbus A380s as of the summer of 2023. The plan is for the company to bring back all eight A380s that it still owns by 2025 (there were initially 14, but six of them have been sold), meaning we can expect to see these jets on an increasing number of routes.
At first, the return of the A380s was mostly described as a temporary measure, in light of delayed Boeing 777-9 deliveries. The airline didn’t commit to keeping these planes around in the long run, though that changed over time.
In September 2023, Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr outlined how the A380s have a long term home in the Lufthansa fleet. While he hasn’t committed to an exact timeline for how long they’ll stick around, he said that the super jumbos “will be flying again for longer than we thought a year ago.”
The most telling part of this plan is how the airline intends to invest in these planes…
Lufthansa plans new business class for A380s
Lufthansa has confirmed plans to introduce a new business class product on Airbus A380s as of the summer of 2025. We don’t know about whether Lufthansa plans to refresh other cabins on the A380 as well, or just business class — the lack of mention of other cabins suggests to me that it might just be business class getting an overhaul.
Lufthansa management has claimed that the A380s have been proving very reliable for long haul flights, and that many passengers specifically book the A380 for comfort.
As many of you are probably aware, Lufthansa is in the process of introducing its new Allegris cabins, but is experiencing delays with that:
- Lufthansa’s new business class, which was first announced in 2017, is now expected to be introduced as of May 2024
- Lufthansa’s new first class is now expected to be introduced in the fall of 2024, due to supply chain delays; these A350-900s will initially enter service with the area of the first class cabin empty
That’s where this gets interesting — Lufthansa’s plan is not to install Allegris seats on its Airbus A380s, but rather to install a whole different new business class product. This decision is due to delays with the Allegris seats. So it’s anyone’s guess what kind of a seat Lufthansa will install on its A380s, though odds are that it will be a generic product available on many airlines.
Lufthansa also has plans to reconfigure some other existing planes, including the Boeing 747-8. The carrier’s 747-8 plans are bizarre, as Lufthansa intends to introduce the new Allegris business class product on the lower deck, but keep the old business class product on the upper deck. Words fail me.
Bottom line
Lufthansa plans to keep its Airbus A380s around for years to come, and the plan is to introduce a new business class product on these aircraft. That should be installed on these planes as of the summer of 2025.
The big question is what product Lufthansa will select, since the airline reportedly doesn’t intend to install the Allegris cabins on these aircraft.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s plans for a new A380 business class?
You guys are right and even as a shareholder, i feel ashamed when it comes to "alegris". looking back into lufthansa history, we remember the last 2 business class seat's were replaced by a new product, that was already outdated when the rollout was finished fleetwide. Its a desaster which describes the bubble lufthansa management is fencing themself. I just returned from ITB Berlin where Lufthansa Group presented the alegris cabin virtually. A big show...
You guys are right and even as a shareholder, i feel ashamed when it comes to "alegris". looking back into lufthansa history, we remember the last 2 business class seat's were replaced by a new product, that was already outdated when the rollout was finished fleetwide. Its a desaster which describes the bubble lufthansa management is fencing themself. I just returned from ITB Berlin where Lufthansa Group presented the alegris cabin virtually. A big show about nothing, i mean we are not talking about air India (bevore the aquisition) or Biman Bangladesh Air... Apart from the fairy tale of providing 7 different seat situations (to be paid) there is not a single detail which stays above the seat features in use by competitors already. History repeating.
Does Lufthansa have any credibility left when it comes to announcing new business class seats? I mean, are there still some benighted avgeeks or industry journos in 2024 who still take these announcements at face value?
How about Lufthansa does something instead of talking about doing something?
Just for a change.
Reality: ridiculously bad seats every day on super old A340 flights
Phantom award spaces are so 2020. Lufthansa has pioneered the phantom new business hard product.
So in other words, these will be installed a couple months before they retire the plane!
I wonder if this gets Lufthansa to the coveted 6 star Skytrax airline rating??
ScamTrax and Lufyt go together like a fly on sh*t
The current long haul fleet of LHG is quite extensive.
A330, A340-300, A340-600, A350-900, A380-800, 747-400, 747-800, 767 (at OS), 777-300, 787 and forthcoming 777-900.
Is there any other carrier with this extensive fleet? Seems like a collection of all existing of long haul wide body's.
April Fools Day is not yet for another few weeks..
According to this German travel blogger, LH‘s A380 will get Super Diamond business class seats by Collins Aerospace:
https://frankfurtflyer.de/dies-wird-also-die-neue-business-class-im-lufthansa-airbus-a380/
The content gift that keeps on giving!
2025 deserves air quotes, but the only question is which digits the air quotes should go around.
Maybe for sake of consistency, just use what is already on the adopted A350s from Philippine airlines...or at least an attempt at consistency. I haven't flown, but they look ok and while lacking doors, are otherwise a considerable improvement. They can take out these seats of 3 A350s and just re-install on A380 or just maintain tradition to ensure "diversity".
Damn, what is going on with LH? Is this really the best their management can do? They will be going from one of the most consistent business class products (not always a bad thing) to one of the most diverse.
4 out of 6 board members are being replaced in the coming months...
Hope they have the common sense to realize the stupidity of the 747 plan
@Julia, you're being too nice by using the word "diverse" to describe what LH has done :)
Lufthansa's new seat launch is being managed about as well as the launch of Berlin Brandenburg airport
"The carrier’s 747-8 plans are bizarre, as Lufthansa intends to introduce the new Allegris business class product on the lower deck, but keep the old business class product on the upper deck. Words fail me."
The well thought out plan pays tribute to the legacy of Five-Star Hansa. Customers will be immersed in the rich proud history of SkyTrax's award and recognition while indulging in footsies on an elevated deck.
LOL, one more seat type? Hasn't LH noticed the A380 is a double-decker? They should be installing 2 different business class seats, one on each deck (a la 747)! That would get them another skytrax star or maybe 2!
Lol yes, and don't forget 7 different seating options for each of the 2 types of business class seat design!
Lufthansa . . . new seats? Ben, you're such a kidder.