Flight attendants at the German flag carrier Lufthansa are not holding their punches when it comes to a damning assessment of the airline’s new flagship First Class suites that are a cornerstone of Lufthansa’s push to reinvigorate its status as a premium international carrier.
In a letter obtained by the German-language aviation publication AeroTelegraph, the union that represents Lufthansa crew members has made it very clear they are unhappy with the finished product.
The new First Class suites, which form part of Lufthansa’s so-called ‘Allegris’ cabin, are currently installed on just 10 of the airline’s long-haul aircraft, although the airline intends to roll out this design across its premium fleet.
The Allegris First Class cabin features just three seats with floor-to-ceiling walls, sliding privacy doors, massive in-flight entertainment screens, and a host of other tech upgrades like heated seats, Bluetooth connectivity, and wireless device charging.
But while there are just three seats, the cabin actually has capacity for four passengers – that’s because Lufthansa decided to install a double suite in the middle of the cabin that’s primarily designed for loved-up couples.
There’s an extra-wide seat with two seatbelts that transforms into a double bed, but there’s only one entertainment screen and one tray table for both passengers to share.
The immediate design flaw with this idea was clearly lost on Lufthansa, but the flight attendant union is more than willing to point out its shortcomings in the leaked letter.
“Couples rarely have the same sleep rhythms or movie preferences,” the letter explains. “Instead of an exclusive feel-good atmosphere, there is more of a feeling of tightness and compulsion.”
The union concludes that the much-hyped Suite Plus leaves passengers with “no trace of premium experience.”
Perhaps the biggest annoyance amongst flight attendants, however, is Lufthansa’s decision to slash cabin crew staffing in the new First Class suite. Rather than having two crew members, Allegris First Class cabins will only have one flight attendant.
In the past, one flight attendant would be dedicated to working in the galley, prepping meals, and taking care of the needs of the pilots, while the second crew member would work the aisle. ‘
This is how Lufthansa introduced Allegris as crew members got used to the new cabin, but now one flight attendant will have to balance their time, managing the galley and pilot requests, as well as serving passengers.
The union fears this will have a detrimental effect on the passenger experience, and it couldn’t come at a worse time, as passengers get their heads around the new in-flight product.
It seems that Lufthansa plans to keep two First Class-trained flight attendants on its Airbus A350s, but one of those crew members would be primarily working in Business Class but would be able to dive into First Class if things get too hectic.
Clearly, the union is angling for Lufthansa to reverse course on the staffing cuts, although any change to the hard product is unlikely to materialize. After all, this is a seat that has been in development for years, and Lufthansa is committed to rolling out the design, not only on its own aircraft but also that of sister airline SWISS.
The Allegris Project Has Been Beset By Delays And Other Difficulties
Allegris has proven to be an ill-fated, costly, and long-delayed project for Lufthansa, with a slew of major embarrassing issues:
- The Allegris First Class seat faced certification woes, and when Lufthansa started flying its first Allegris-equipped Airbus A350, there was an empty space at the very front of the plane where the First Class cabin was meant to be installed.
- Some Allegris Economy Class seats on the Airbus A350 also had to be blocked out from passenger use due to certification issues with seatbelt airbags installed on seven seats immediately behind Premium Economy.
- Lufthansa plans to install Allegris seats on its Boeing 747 jumbo jets, but the upper deck won’t be immediately refitted with the new Business Class cabin because the Allegris seats don’t fit in the tighter floor space.
- The airline also intends to refit its fleet of Airbus A380 superjumbos in the coming years, but an off-the-shelf Business Class seat will be installed on these planes.
- Lufthansa is starting to take delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliners with the Allegris Business Class cabin, but these seats will go unoccupied until the airline secures certification from the Federal Aviation Administration – this isn’t expected until the end of 2025 at the earliest.
It’s a gobsmacking fact that the way Lufthansa has deployed – or more accurately, has failed to deploy – Allegris, makes US carriers seem competent by comparison . . . and they all but destroyed Swiss’s once great product in the process.