With just two days to go before German flag carrier Lufthansa launches the biggest onboard service shakeup in its 100 year history, the airline has now revealed more details of what passengers should expect with the rollout of its highly-anticipated Project FOX.
Lufthansa has been working on Project FOX for the past two years, with FOX standing for ‘Future Onboard eXperience.’ The project came about because Lufthansa noticed that its Net Promoter Score had reached an all-time low and was refusing to budge.
An NPS score is a measure of how likely passengers will recommend an airline to their friends or family. It not only shows whether customers are satisfied with an airline, but it’s also an important metric for investors to determine whether an airline is doing a good job at attracting and retaining customers.
With Lufthansa unable to shift its NPS score upwards without additional investment, the airline has found €70 million to spend this year alone in completely overhauling the service in every cabin on long-haul flights.
While Project FOX has already rolled out in First Class, Lufthansa is making the massive transition to rolling out improvements in Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy on May 6.
Here’s what changing…
Business Class
In Business Class, Lufthansa has primarily focused on improving the food and beverage experience:
- New menus have been designed by Johann Lafer.
- The breakfast menu has been revamped with smoothies, French toast, and omelets.
- Lufthansa is adding a Signature Moment cake service whereby flight attendants will wheel a cart down the aisle and slice cake in front of passengers, served alongside a hot beverage of choice.
- Lufthansa isn’t adding a full dine-on-demand service. The primary meal service will still commence for everyone shortly after takeoff, but passengers will be able to choose when they eat their second meal.
- The second service meal will be known as Sky Selection and will include options like tapas bowls, traditional favorites like currywurst, and sweet treats such as macarons.
Premium Economy
Along with the addition of slippers and an amenity kit, Project FOX also mainly focuses on improved food and drink in Premium Economy:
- A Business Class appetizer is being included alongside redesigned tableware.
- There will be three hot meal options on all long-haul flights.
- The beverage selection has been expanded, which includes a post-lunch digestif service.
Economy Class
For the first time, Lufthansa will offer Economy Class passengers an amenity kit, with a sleep mask and earplugs, along with a printed menu and three hot entree choices on long-haul flights of 10 hours or more.
Lufthansa says that it used 500 pieces of cabin crew feedback into consideration when it was developing its Project FOX overhaul, which, to be honest, doesn’t actually sound like much feedback given the massive scale of the changes being introduced.
This is especially apparent when you consider that Lufthansa received 9,000 pieces of feedback from passengers who were asked to help on the project.
One of the reasons for this glaring disparity is that the UFO flight attendant union has refused to take part in Lufthansa’s Project FOX trial flights and workshops over concerns about crewing levels on some long-haul aircraft.
The dispute arose because Lufthansa has decided to reduce crewing levels on its Airbus A350 widebody aircraft featuring its new Allegris First Class cabin. The airline has also reduced crewing levels on its flagship Airbus A380 superjumbo with the introduction of a new Business Class seat that slightly reduced the cabin capacity.
The UFO union is furious that Lufthansa is removing cabin crew from long-haul aircraft while also planning what it views as a massive increase in the flight attendant workload with the introduction of Project FOX.
It will, no doubt, be interesting to see just how much training flight attendants have received in the Project FOX service concepts and whether crew members find ways to cut corners in order to manage what they consider an unacceptable workload.
Project FOX and crewing levels aren’t, however, the only heated disputes between the UFO union and Lufthansa. The two sides are also at loggerheads over Lufthansa’s plans to rewrite a collective bargaining agreement that governs working practices.
Flight attendants have already staged two strike actions, costing Lufthansa hundreds of millions of Euros, although a truce is currently in effect, as independent mediation behind the scenes attempts to unlock a compromise agreement.
The strikes couldn’t come at a worse time for Lufthansa. Not only is the airline still reeling from the shock of surging jet fuel prices, but 2026 is meant to be a year of celebration for Lufthansa, as it is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Along with a brand new Hugo Boss-designed uniform, Project FOX was meant to be the culmination of those celebrations… whether it has buy-in from the people who will deliver it, remains to be seen.
