Lufthansa is one of the few European airlines to still offer a proper First Class cabin on certain long-haul routes but it is a product that becoming ever more exclusive. The problem is that most airlines that offer international First Class cabins rarely make much if any money on these luxe seats.
While the lead fare can be many thousands of Euros, the majority of First Class seats are occupied by passengers who have claimed cheap upgrade vouchers on their frequent flyer programmes. Other’s have been upgraded by the airline for marketing purposes while in many cases First Class cabins depart half-empty – that’s a whole lot of plane real estate not making any money.
So, Lufthansa has been slowly reducing the number of planes in its fleet with a First Class cabin. It’s flagship aircraft, the Airbus A350-900 doesn’t have a First Class cabin at all, while the massive Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-800 only has eight First Class seats apiece.
And when the German flag-carrier takes delivery of Boeing’s next-generation 777X (originally slated for this year but likely to be pushed into early 2021), it again won’t have any First Class cabin.
Instead, Lufthansa will debut a brand new Business Class product which was first revealed in late 2017. The new seats will mark a huge improvement on Lufthansa’s current outdated offering, giving passengers direct aisle access from every seat for the first time, as well as wireless device charging and larger high definition TV screens.
But what caught the attention of many observers when the seat was first unveiled was a centre ‘throne’ style seat that gives a small number of passengers a lot of extra privacy, space and storage.
It got Lufthansa thinking – could the airline market these seats at a markup and as sources have claimed, sell them as a “Premium Business Class”?
The idea, first reported by Aerotelegraph (German language) through sources who have first-hand knowledge of the plan, has apparently been confirmed by Lufthansa although a spokesperson for the airline said that “no final decisions have yet been made.”
The sources, however, claim Lufthansa could bundle an upgraded offering for these seats including better dining options, premium bedding, speciality coffee and preferential service.
In addition, Lufthansa is likely to add an extra fare class to its Economy cabin which sits between Premium Economy and main cabin by giving a small number of rows a few extra inches of leg space – a feature that has been a popular addition on many carriers including the likes of Delta, KLM and Etihad Airways.
On certain aircraft, Aerotelegraph reports that there will be as many as six cabin products: First Class, Premium Business, Business Class, Premium Economy, Economy Plus and Classic Economy. The new products would be rolled out across the entire Lufthansa Group including at Austrian Airlines and SWISS.
