Lufthansa is currently trying to update its long haul hard product, with the introduction of the “Allegris” cabin concept. The execution there has left a bit to be desired, to put it mildly. However, as it turns out, Lufthansa is also working on completely overhauling its soft product on long haul flights, which is long overdue (thanks to aeroTELEGRAPH for reporting this).
In this post:
Lufthansa plans “Project Fox” overhaul by 2026
Lufthansa Chief Customer Officer Heiko Reitz has this week revealed that Lufthansa is currently working on “Project Fox,” with “Fox” standing for “future onboard experience.” Lufthansa’s net promoter score has plummeted in recent years, and the airline is looking to turn that around with this project.
So the goal is to completely revamp the soft product across all cabins on long haul flights. 180 Lufthansa employees from various departments have been tasked with “turning every single detail inside out,” ranging from plates, to glasses, to cutlery, to meal components, to pillows and blankets, to amenity kits, to entertainment. Essentially, everything is being looked at, and “revision of all service components” on long haul flights is on the table.
Nearly 2,000 Lufthansa customers have reportedly also been involved in the analysis of the weak points of the onboard service. Based on that feedback, the company has “developed 150 scenarios and 150 prototypes for new service components.”
The expectation is that the first elements of the project will be noticeable by the end of 2025, and in 2026, all measures will be implemented. 2026 is also Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary, so it’s an important year for the airline. Reitz promises that the onboard experience will “shine in a completely new splendor.”
A representative for Lufthansa flight attendants had the following to say about the current state of Lufthansa’s product, plus the planned changes:
“The need for a change of course in the on-board experience is unavoidable. A worrying complacency has manifested itself in the established structures. The former core of the brand — an authentic, distinctive service — has been systematically sacrificed to the red pen. The result: an increasingly interchangeable, emotionless product that has lost its appeal in all classes.”
Snnnnnapppp…
An overhauled Lufthansa soft product is long overdue
I’m delighted to see that Lufthansa is working on overhauling its soft product across cabins, and that these changes should be live by 2026. I’ve been flying Lufthansa regularly for nearly 20 years, and honestly, almost nothing has changed about the experience across cabins. It’s amazing how the airline hasn’t substantially overhauled its passenger experience, especially in premium cabins.
We’ve seen other European airlines invest in their product considerably. Air France has a solid soft product in business class, while British Airways has also invested very nicely in business and first class catering and bedding. Meanwhile Lufthansa has changed virtually nothing.
Unfortunately, I think the representative for Lufthansa flight attendants is spot on in explaining the current state of Lufthansa’s product. Look, here’s my concern, though — is Lufthansa’s current management team actually capable of revamping the experience?
I mean, based on the way they’ve handled the Allegris rollout, I’m not sure I’d trust them procure new blankets, bedding, plates, etc. I know they’re aiming for a 2026 rollout of these changes, but is that realistic, or are we realistically talking 2033, give or take?
Sadly, the only thing I have faith in Lufthansa Group management being able to do is to form new “creative” subsidiaries to reduce labor costs.
Bottom line
Lufthansa is finally planning a full overhaul of its soft product, as the airline has launched “Project Fox.” The goal is to completely update the passenger experience on long haul flights, from new catering concepts, to new bedding, to new amenity kits.
I’m very happy to see that Lufthansa is finally working on making some soft product improvements. I’m not sure I have faith that the management team is capable of carrying this out, but I’m crossing my fingers!
What do you make of Lufthansa’s planned soft product overhaul? What would you like to see change?
Flew LH First Class (Munich to LAX) a few months ago for the first time. The level of service from the staff was outstanding (so too ground and lounge service), but the food served onboard was IMHO just okay. My main meal (pasta) came seriously overcooked and close to inedible, I left 90%+ of it uneaten. I much preferred the food served on Qatar business class.
WE hope this overhaul includes their back office and EXECUTIVES.
Dealing with them for problems proved horrendous, their attitudes were dictatorial and it was your problem not theirs.
We contacted the CEO and explained, if Lufthansa wishes to be an international airline, then they need to handle complaints from international clients like other international carriers.
We hope that helped. But time is of the essense, making changing, we hope Lufthansa is looking to...
WE hope this overhaul includes their back office and EXECUTIVES.
Dealing with them for problems proved horrendous, their attitudes were dictatorial and it was your problem not theirs.
We contacted the CEO and explained, if Lufthansa wishes to be an international airline, then they need to handle complaints from international clients like other international carriers.
We hope that helped. But time is of the essense, making changing, we hope Lufthansa is looking to improve customer service as well.
While some other airlines have a much more limited budget and offers, a friendly service with a genuine smile will compensate for a lot. Take care of your front line workers, and they'll take care of you.
I know it's too much to ask.
"Sadly, the only thing I have faith in Lufthansa Group management being able to do is to form new “creative” subsidiaries to reduce labor costs."
Nothing more needs to be said. This sentence nails it.
British might have a few planes with better seats, but on the whole they operate some of the worst mainline biz seats on a ton of planes still and I'd rather hang out in a prison cafeteria than visit one of their lounges. The only thing they really have going for them is the catering, which is easy since they just pay for Do&Co and they're good to go.
Lufthansa lounges are not much better,...
British might have a few planes with better seats, but on the whole they operate some of the worst mainline biz seats on a ton of planes still and I'd rather hang out in a prison cafeteria than visit one of their lounges. The only thing they really have going for them is the catering, which is easy since they just pay for Do&Co and they're good to go.
Lufthansa lounges are not much better, but when traveling as a couple I actually prefer their business seats, and their catering is honestly pretty solid as well. Not to mention their first class is one of the best despite its age, 10x better than BA. I think the view that they're horrible just because Allegris was slow to roll out or because they don't have a lot of privacy on the seats is really specific to solo travel bloggers :)) and yes of course some savvy solo business travelers.
Maybe part of the issue is also that even though LH lounges aren't amazing, they're still better than BA, and unlike LHR, German layovers often have a nice Star Alliance lounge option like AC that you can choose as an alternative.
BA lounges really are a giant middle finger to anyone who flies with them and no more free passes. The situation has been unacceptable for a really long time.
This cannot be good news. Everytime LH changes anything, it makes the passenger experience worse and makes them look chaeper.
"New and improved". Key words that are used to disguise skimpflation.
Increases in quality do not come on existing products offered by companies that try to make money out of them. At least they don't if the price stays the same or moderately increase.
Only a disproportionate fare increase can justify the investment in quality. Disproportionate because the more expensive product has to be paid for but also to recoup the costs associated...
"New and improved". Key words that are used to disguise skimpflation.
Increases in quality do not come on existing products offered by companies that try to make money out of them. At least they don't if the price stays the same or moderately increase.
Only a disproportionate fare increase can justify the investment in quality. Disproportionate because the more expensive product has to be paid for but also to recoup the costs associated with the project itself (development, investment, changes in supply chain).
So either LH is serious about this and you can expect a drastic increase in cash prices / reduction in award value or it will be mostly window dressing intended at improving margins.
It will probably be a bit of both: window dressing for economy and actual improvement of the premium class experience with a further increase in fare split between both.
Can't wait to try their revamped passenger experience on Apr-1-2026 :D
It's unfortunate, but the bean counting is sadly part of German culture and I doubt their national carrier Lufthansa will ever be able to provide the "nothing is too much" hospitality of East Asian carriers. I definitely don't believe the bean counting management have suddenly have had a change of heart of overnight. You mentioned BA and what we saw despite all the hype around getting Do&Co Catering, is it was to use a very...
It's unfortunate, but the bean counting is sadly part of German culture and I doubt their national carrier Lufthansa will ever be able to provide the "nothing is too much" hospitality of East Asian carriers. I definitely don't believe the bean counting management have suddenly have had a change of heart of overnight. You mentioned BA and what we saw despite all the hype around getting Do&Co Catering, is it was to use a very British phrase - "all fur coat, no knickers". Given Lufthansa loves doing "passenger enhancements" gaslighting customers they are an improvement, so I would definitely steady and lower your expectations.
The funny thing is their NPS score is super easy to bring back up.
1. Just finish the roll out of the f*cking seats (take a loss on this and spend whatever is needed to get it out on all planes NOW)
2. Abandon the insanely byzantine monetization of business class. This may work for excessively detail-oriented German culture, but not the rest of the world.
3. Roll out limited subset Austrian's...
The funny thing is their NPS score is super easy to bring back up.
1. Just finish the roll out of the f*cking seats (take a loss on this and spend whatever is needed to get it out on all planes NOW)
2. Abandon the insanely byzantine monetization of business class. This may work for excessively detail-oriented German culture, but not the rest of the world.
3. Roll out limited subset Austrian's coffee menu to the rest of LH. Surprise and delight.
4. Copy ITA's menu for Business Class wholesale and invest marginally more than the current 5 euro pp in catering
5. Just change up First Class menu. It's currently nothing special.
LH has totally lost my business. Been Senator for many years running and HON for a couple of years but have completely stopping flying them. I fly business class from a European LH hub to Asia / North America 10+ times a year. All of this business has shifted to QR / UA. Being loyal to an airline (especially one as terrible as LH group) or even an alliance has little relevance or value to me.
You consider UA better than LH? Wow!
Yes, the hard product is the most important aspect for me. Polaris seats are pretty good and the UA transcon fleet all have it. The Polaris lounges are pretty good too. LH J seats on most aircraft is terrible.
That was a brutally honest statement by the LH rep. I wonder if they still have their job.
Even if LH manages to pull of a revamp, it will make little difference to their NPS for many years to come. I'm guessing the biggest issue most travelers have is the terrible J hard product across most of their fleet, which isnt changing anytime soon.
The soft product within Europe is relatively important to me, particularly in terms of convincing me to buy up from Y. Their business class catering can be worse than what you get in Y on Aegean and Turkish.
It’s pretty amazing how the big 3 US airlines — which are widely derided by non-Americans and even many Americans — have largely surpassed their European counterparts (at least in business class) in quality over the last decade. Whether looking at the ground experience (e.g., Delta One and Polaris lounges), to the hard product, to the in-flight entertainment, I would pick a US airline over a European airline (with the possible exception of Air France)...
It’s pretty amazing how the big 3 US airlines — which are widely derided by non-Americans and even many Americans — have largely surpassed their European counterparts (at least in business class) in quality over the last decade. Whether looking at the ground experience (e.g., Delta One and Polaris lounges), to the hard product, to the in-flight entertainment, I would pick a US airline over a European airline (with the possible exception of Air France) virtually every time these days.
So you'd fly AA over Turkish or TAP?
It's not surprising that the US3 offer decent premium products, they operate as a cartel and don't compete on price, so they're looking for ways to differentiate themselves from each other.
It's trickier to compete on quality (vs price, schedule, FFP) when you know that e.g. LOT or Air Europa will always have a lower cost base and be able to seriously undercut your pricing.
2050
when you spend time even questioning whether you can afford to serve coffee, they won't revolutionize anything in a positive way.
whatever positives will come w/ a lot more negatives
A reminder that Allegris has been announced for 8 years already... Yet only one type of aircraft has gotten it installed.
A reminder that Allegris was foreseen to be introduced on the 777X. How is it Lufthansa's fault that Boeing can't get their act together?
@Alex
A reminder that Allegris is not made by Boeing. How is it Boeing's fault that Lufthansa can't get their act together?
It's interesting that they're specifically focusing on the long-haul product. I suppose that Taste of Heimat and BOB have been such roaring successes that there's no room for improvement for the passenger experience within Europe.
You're right, but you know already that Eurobiz is mostly a pathetic offering no matter what the airline. Clearly they don't care, cause their only competition in the European point to point business from Germany is... uhm, well, nobody really.
BA Club Europe, Aegean Business, KM Malta Business are few examples of excellent euro business products. Of course they're not on par with Asian airlines, or TK, but they blow US airlines out of water. I flew Copa business few days ago and LOL, they did one round of drinks and the meal offered was a pack of crisps. In business!
As a HON I fly Lh group quite often. Allways starting from the first Class Terminal. For me as a German quite the best Airline. (Not about the Hard product)
And, those based in the UK flying F and using First Wing check-in find BA to be the best airline. And, those based in France flying La Premiere find AF to be the best airline.
Which kind of explains how all these dinosaurs survive (and even thrive) with such subar offerings. Nothing beats geography and the convenience of flying off your local airport for the vast majority of people. Few would fly from London to Doha to fly back to New York only for a better seat and more expensive wines... There are humdreds of airlines, but they're all mini oligopolies in their captive/native markets, they barely have to compete...
Which kind of explains how all these dinosaurs survive (and even thrive) with such subar offerings. Nothing beats geography and the convenience of flying off your local airport for the vast majority of people. Few would fly from London to Doha to fly back to New York only for a better seat and more expensive wines... There are humdreds of airlines, but they're all mini oligopolies in their captive/native markets, they barely have to compete between them for customers.
The point of a network airline is to offer connections. If you're flying from Manchester to Hanoi, there's no benefit to changing planes at LHR instead of CDG, FRA, or IST. That's where you choose on price and/or product.
A real advantage of LH and KLM over BA and other competitors is the fact that their respective hub airports benefit from great rail services so you can get to a large number of places with...
The point of a network airline is to offer connections. If you're flying from Manchester to Hanoi, there's no benefit to changing planes at LHR instead of CDG, FRA, or IST. That's where you choose on price and/or product.
A real advantage of LH and KLM over BA and other competitors is the fact that their respective hub airports benefit from great rail services so you can get to a large number of places with no fuss and often on a single ticket (i.e. no risk of losing out on your flights due to delayed trains).
As a senator, I only have mostly good experiences with LH, especially in F.
And while the F cabin is nothing revolutionary, I do think it has aged fairly well. Especially if you’re like me and don’t care about suites and think the shield is plenty enough privacy
Although it is good to hear all this about soft product (my last short- and long-haul experience in J with LH were considerably below basic expectations), I would first and foremost like to have good, nice flight attendants.
Not robotically polite, not trying to forcibly entertain us (yes, this also happens), not to rush to finish the service as soon as possible, so they can then play with their mobile phones for the rest of...
Although it is good to hear all this about soft product (my last short- and long-haul experience in J with LH were considerably below basic expectations), I would first and foremost like to have good, nice flight attendants.
Not robotically polite, not trying to forcibly entertain us (yes, this also happens), not to rush to finish the service as soon as possible, so they can then play with their mobile phones for the rest of the flight...
Just some normal, reasonably pleasant service. Many have described on this pages what this is supposed to be so I do not have to go into detail.
Some won't care how bad an airline is because it's the most convenient route. Others won't care because it's the best deal. Still others won't care because they have a shot at an F upgrade. They endure . . . they compromise. No thanks. For reasons you state and more, I haven't flown the LH Group in years. And, items in the news over the past couple years suggests to me that nothing has changed.
It's literally the only route, or at least the only daily route, for many European city pairs. The alternatives often boil down to either driving for hours to/from a bigger airport or taking a LCC which operates twice a week.
LH problems has nothing to do with the Soft or Hard products, its rather the attitude, the arrogance, and the atrocious customer service, and this can’t be fixed.
100%! Nevermind hard or soft product enhancements, just stop treating your passengers like s##t. I have some horrific tales of transiting at FRA - largely short transfers caused by LH late inbound arrivals - and the way I was treated by LH agents was an absolute disgrace.