Lufthansa has just presented Allegris, the new cabin that will equip its long-haul aircraft. A very beautiful product but considering the past of the German airline in the matter we will wait to see it really installed to see.
Allegris in a nutshell
Allegris is the name of the new generation of Lufthansa’s hard product and will be rolled-out from summer 2023.
This includes a new First Class with a closed cabin, a business class finally up to market standards, an unchanged premium economy and some innovations in economy.
A very nice first class at Lufthansa.
Let’s start with the front of the cabin and the First Class. The Lufthansa product will offer closed suites with high walls. It should be remembered that on this type of product, the walls generally stop at mid-height with, depending on the case, an impression of privacy that is sometimes disappointing, with the exception of La Première Air France, which has chosen semi-rigid curtains that go all the way to the ceiling.
And indeed, according to the pictures, the walls are much higher than the rest of the market. This computer rendering (there is no full-size model of the product yet) would even suggest that the walls go up to the ceiling, but if that were the case the airline would certainly have communicated on it.
The one meter wide seat turns into a bed for the night and each suite will have an independent wardrobe. The size of the suite would even allow passengers to change inside to get ready for the night.
It will be possible, as on Air France, to dine face to face if two people are traveling together.
We appreciate very much the very successful design of this sequel even if we wait to see it and touch it for real to give a definitive opinion.
In our opinion, this is a real progress for the German airline compared to its current product which, although it was very airy (if we look at the positive side of things) and offered an excellent soft product, was not at all up to market standards on the hard product side.
New business class: finally a nice product…and some questions
If I like to travel with Lufthansa I have to admit that their current business class is a deterrent that has always made me avoid it. And the product replacement is a joke that has been going on for so long that we were desperate to see it end.
No privacy, a 2-2-2 configuration in 2022? A joke.
Presented in 2017 and supposed to equip the future Boeings 777-9 of the airline it had earned Lufthansa to become the only European airline to obtain 5 Skytraxet stars, this, based solely on a product promise. At that time nobody understood why. But the 777-9s fell behind schedule and the airline never considered starting to retrofit the rest of the fleet, offering on its brand new A350s the desolate experience illustrated by the photo above.
In the meantime, the shortest jokes being the best, Lufthansa ended up losing its 5th star.
In the meantime, due to COVID, it has managed to get its hands on a few 787-9s that were not initially intended for it, but whose orders have been cancelled, notably by Philippine Airlines, now bankrupt. These aircraft are configured for their original owners and offer a product that is more in tune with the times but totally out of harmony with the rest of the fleet.
But since everything happens eventually, Lufthansa has finally confirmed that the long-awaited seat will be installed in its future aircraft.
The cab offers something unique on the market: it is a staggered configuration, offering alternating 1-2-1 and 1-1-1 rows with, in a unique way, a seat in the middle row.
Another specificity: it will offer suites with high walls in the first row. They will be equipped with an individual wardrobe and a 27″ screen.
The classic business class seats will have a 114 cm high wall, a 2 m bed and a 17″ screen.
Now we have the right to ask ourselves a question: what do the suites of the first row look like? No visual exists today. Maybe because it was a last minute request from Lufthansa to its supplier? Or maybe, since their description is extremely close to the First Class, it is exactly the same thing, that the First Class suites will be in the first row of the business and that the German airline would have us believe in a perilous communication exercise that these are two different products even if it means disappointing in their final presentation?
Wait and see.
Unchanged premium economy
No visible change on the premium economy which is understandable since it is a recently launched product that we presented here.
Innovations in economy class
If the product is not very different from the competition and has already been introduced on Swiss this summer, we note a notable innovation.
Following the success of “Sleeper’s Row,” which has offered economy class passengers greater relaxation on long-haul flights since August 2021, Lufthansa now plans to introduce “Sleeper’s Row 2.0” on all new long-haul aircraft as part of “Allegris.” In “Sleeper’s Row 2.0”, simply lift up a leg rest and use the extra mattress provided to rest and relax on a reclining surface that is 40% larger than in the original “Sleeper’s Row”.
In the future, economy class passengers will also be able to reserve an adjacent vacant seat. This will give travelers more choices, even in the most economical class of travel.
An alternative to other approaches like Air New Zealand’s Skycouch.
On which devices will Allegris be rolled out?
The new cabin will be deployed on all future B787-9s, A350s and B777-9s aircraft starting in summer 2023. The B747-8i will be retrofitted at an undetermined date.
The A340s and A380s, which will be retired from the fleet, are not affected.
Bottom line
Lufthansa offers a tempting new cabin and nice products in the front classes. Now, given the past experience of the airline on the installation of its new business class and the doubts that cannot be removed from our heads on the difference between the first and the first rank of business, we will wait to judge on the spot.
On the other hand, if the promise was kept, the airline would offer no less than 4 distinct products in the front class (first suites, business suites, business throne and classic business) which could attract a large clientele and be innovative in terms of pricing.
In any case, this is a real challenge for the airline, which will have to replace 30,000 seats in record time if it does not want to be left behind again.
Wait and see.
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