Lufthansa is in the process of rolling out its new Allegris business class. The first jet with these interiors started flying as of several weeks ago, and it’s certainly an exciting development for the airline.
Lufthansa has heavily marketed how its new Allegris business class product is all about choice, and that the airline offers at least five different business class seating options. The catch is that a majority of these seats are actually buy-up options, so they’ll cost you extra if you just book a standard business class ticket.
We now have official details about which seats can be assigned for free, and which will come at an extra cost.
How Lufthansa will charge for business class seats
I had the chance to take one of the first Lufthansa Airbus A350 Allegris business class flights. As I wrote about, the product generally exceeded my expectations, though I couldn’t help but notice the massive difference in quality between the various seats in the configuration.
We know that Lufthansa’s strategy with the new Allegris business class is to charge extra for assigning many types of seats. So far, the airline hasn’t yet started charging for assigning specific seats, simply because the Allegris equipped planes haven’t reliably been flying any route. That’s expected to change in the coming weeks.
Even ahead of beginning to charge for seats, Lufthansa has revealed which seats will cost extra, and which passengers can assign each type of seat for free (as flagged by oliver2002). I’ll provide the breakdown of how many of the 38 seats are included in each category, based on the A350-900 cabin.
Here’s what we can expect, going from the least premium seats to the most premium seats:
- The classic seats (12 of 38 seats), which are the standard seats closest to the aisle, can be assigned in advance by all passengers
- The privacy seats (10 of 38 seats), which are the “true” window seats that offer extra privacy, are free for Miles & More HON Circle and Senator members and their companions, as well as passengers booked on “Business Flex” fares
- The extra space seats (four of 38 seats), which are the middle “throne” seats that offer a lot of space, are free for Miles & More HON Circle and Senator members and their companions
- The extra long bed seats (four of 38 seats), which are select middle seats with extra long beds behind the extra space seats, are free for Miles & More HON Circle members and their companions
- The first row suites (eight of 38 seats), which are the super spacious seats with doors in the first row of each cabin, are available at an extra cost for all passengers
In the immediate future, there will be no opportunities to redeem miles or upgrade vouchers to secure any premium seats. However, that could change in the future.
Now, what remains to be seen is how much extra the above seats will cost, when assigning in advance. The cost is expected to be based on the length of the flight and exact seat, so we should start to learn more details in the coming weeks. As of now we simply know which seats will cost extra, and the rough hierarchy, but not the actual numbers.
Lufthansa will open seats 30 hours in advance
What happens if passengers don’t pay to assign seats in advance? Lufthansa’s webpage about Allegris business class suggests that passengers will be able to assign any open seats once online check-in opens, generally 30 hours before departure:
Whether it’s a window or aisle seat, a seat with more legroom or the Business Class Suite, Lufthansa is offering your customers the option of selecting their desired seat in advance.With Lufthansa Allegris, the usual booking and handling process for advanced seat reservation (ASR) remains unchanged.As soon as check-in for the flight begins (generally 30 hours before departure), passengers in all travel classes can of course still select one of the remaining seats.
If that’s in fact true, and all seats (including the first row suites) can be assigned 30 hours out, that should make for a great experience for some passengers, and also creates a very strong incentive to check-in the extra second that you can.
My take on Lufthansa’s Allegris pricing approach
As you can see above, the average business class passenger can assign fewer than one-third of Lufthansa’s Allegris business class seats at no extra cost. Miles & More elite members can assign more seats at no extra cost, but the front row business class suites are only available for purchase, and aren’t given to anyone for free.
With that in mind, a few thoughts:
- It’s disappointing to think that even having the privilege of looking out the window comes at an extra cost in Allegris business class
- Those who don’t want to pay extra for assigning seats in Allegris business class are going to find themselves typically not being able to assign a seat in advance, and/or may also have issues assigning seats next to a travel companion
- I guess we can’t be too judgmental of the concept of charging for business class seat assignments, given that this is something that British Airways has done for years, and which Air France-KLM have adapted as well
- Lufthansa’s first row suites in Allegris business class are truly phenomenal, and I’m curious to see what pricing is like, because it might just be the best business class hard product across the Atlantic (and certainly competes favorably with many of the “business class plus” products)
Bottom line
While Lufthansa hasn’t yet started charging for assigning specific Allegris business class seats, the airline has revealed which seats will cost extra, and which seats elite members will be able to assign at no extra cost.
Interestingly, even Lufthansa’s top tier HON Circle members won’t be able to assign the front row suites on a complimentary basis. Now the big question is just what pricing will be like…
What do you make of Lufthansa’s approach to Allegris business class pricing?
