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Long-awaited seats: Lufthansa introduces new business class to the Boeing 747-8

Long-awaited seats: Lufthansa introduces new business class to the Boeing 747-8

The German airline will introduce the new business class for the first time in 2023 in Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s. Lufthansa is now also attached to retrofitting older aircraft.

Lufthansa has always planned to introduce the new Boeing 777X Business Class. But then it became clear that the new long-range aircraft would come too late and the German airline would first install the new business class in the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. The group announced this Only for 2022 at, Then for 2023.

Lufthansa President Carsten Spohr confirmed at the annual press conference on March 3 that the first planes with new business class “are coming in 2023, in fact Boeing 787 and Airbus A350”. 777X, scheduled for first delivery in late 2023, will follow.

The Boeing 747-8 and A350 . are being upgraded

It remains unclear exactly when this will happen in 2023. Pointing to production problems at Boeing and the seat manufacturers, Spohr said, “It changes almost weekly.” to me Lufthansa first announced the product in 2017.

For the first time, the CEO also commented specifically on the modification of the existing fleet. Spohr said the new business class will “definitely be a Boeing 747-8”. “We’ve already decided that.” Next, Airbus A350s, which still own the old product, will follow. “For other aircraft, we’re looking at the time remaining in the fleet to decide if the conversion is still worth it,” Spohr said.

Four A350s and five Boeing 787s with special features

However, all this does not mean that all passengers of Lufthansa Business Class 2022 will have to make do with the old product. for one reason The airline leases four A350s, which retains the cabin of the former operator of Philippine Airlines. “Fantastic Business Class”, Spor said last fall. “It’s not as good as ours, which will come in 2023, but it’s better than our current one.” There is direct access to the aisle from every seat.

On the other hand, the first of the first five Boeing 787s that Lufthansa intends for its fleet from the second quarter of 2022 will receive some kind of transitional product. Because these aircraft are called whitetails, that is, ready-made aircraft for which the manufacturer has lost original customers. Spohr now said the 787s don’t yet have the new business class, but it’s a product that “is still an improvement.”

Business class can shrink

Lufthansa is considering making the new business class even smaller. Remco Steenbergen CFO said in March 2021: “The number of business class seats on an Airbus A350, for example, could be reduced from 48 to 36.” In turn, there will be more seats in premium economy or economy class. However, this is only one option.

So, is Lufthansa really shrinking business class? “No decision has been taken in this regard,” a spokesperson told Aerotelegraph on Friday (March 4). On the other hand, this is clear This Swiss branch will not take such a step.