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Lufthansa Airlines CCO Heiko Reitz (center, left) and Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter (center, right) unveil the Allegris business class product at Munich Airport.
MUNICH—Lufthansa revealed its new long-haul Allegris cabins on board an Airbus A350-900 in Munich on April 25.
The first aircraft with the refitted interior carries reg. D-AIXT and will begin scheduled services on the Munich-Vancouver route from May 1.
This year Lufthansa Group is investing €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) in new aircraft, seats, products and lounges, Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter said at the unveiling.
The A350 shown to media in Munich featured the Allegris business, premium economy and economy class products.
However, the new first class is not ready yet. Economy seats that will be left empty currently occupy the first class cabin. Lufthansa is awaiting certification of new seats from Collins Aerospace for the Allegris first class product. Lufthansa hopes to have the first class available by autumn.
Speaking to Aviation Daily on the sidelines of the event, Ritter said Lufthansa will refit the Airbus A380 fleet with the Allegris product. “It is not clear in which classes we do that—we will decide that in the coming weeks and months,” he said.
“The target is by the end of 2027 that all existing aircraft [for the long-haul fleet] have a top product on board. Either the Allegris product or a standard business class seat which we evaluate for the A380 business class.”
Lufthansa’s current A350-900 and Boeing 747-8 fleets will be reconfigured as well.
Ritter confirmed that Lufthansa’s future fleet of Boeing 777X will have the new Allegris product installed from delivery. “We hope very much that we can welcome the product on board our 777s in 2026,” he added.
Ritter highlighted the sustainability benefit of Allegris, noting that the weight of the new cabin product is lighter than the seats of prior generations, meaning less fuel is required. “The technology has improved,” Ritter said. “Lighter and more simple materials ... and engineering is making such progress that less material is needed.”
Toronto will follow Vancouver as the next Allegris destination. Chicago, Montreal, San Francisco and Shanghai are set to follow.
When asked how Lufthansa decides which route gets an Allegris product first, Ritter said the carrier looks at where the demand is for first and business class. “If there is the demand, which is the case on many routes, then we have to see how it fits in an aircraft rotation,” Ritter said.
Talking about further aircraft with the new interiors onboard, Ritter said that every month for the rest of the year a new aircraft with the Allegris product will be delivered.
“Looking forward, we expect two Allegris aircraft per month in our fleet—this will be either a new aircraft from Boeing or Airbus or an existing one in our fleet [that has been refitted],” Ritter said.
“Our fleets of Airbus A340-300s, A340-600s, A330s and 747-400s will get no Allegris product in the future. They should be phased out by the end of 2026 to mid-2027,” he confirmed.
The premium product segment remains important for Lufthansa, he said. “We still see a very high demand in the high-price segment in first and business class,” Ritter continued. “This trend continues also two years after the pandemic.” The corporate segment is also improving, but at a slower pace.
Lufthansa Airlines’ long-haul fleet comprises 103 aircraft. “We will grow to 120 aircraft in the upcoming years at our Frankfurt and Munich hubs,” Ritter added. “We are expecting 33 new long-haul ... aircraft delivered to Lufthansa Airlines by December 2025. And in 2026 we expect the A350-1000 to add to our fleet.”
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