Hello from Germany, as I flew Lufthansa’s Airbus A350-900 Allegris first class on the 7hr15min flight from Newark (EWR) to Munich (MUC), as part of my quick review trip. To say that I was excited about this flight would be a severe understatement.
As I’ve already covered, the whole experience was quite eventful, as one of the seats in the cabin was broken, leading to a downgrade. I’ve also dedicated a post to explaining Lufthansa’s confusing three(ish) seat Allegris first class cabin.
With all of that out of the way, let me share my thoughts on the experience. I have to give Lufthansa credit, because the new Allegris first class is mostly very impressive. I think the finishes are super elegant, and the cabin has a beautiful appearance. The standard window suites are excellent, while the double suite in the center might just be the best first class hard product in the world.
However, there’s definitely room for improvement when it comes to attention to detail. So, let me share my initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full trip report. Note that I’m focusing almost entirely on the hard product in this post, since Lufthansa hasn’t yet updated its first class soft product (though a project for that is underway).
Lufthansa’s Allegris first class suites are elegant & comfortable
Allegris first class offers two kinds of experiences — there are the standard window suites, and the double suite in the center section. Let’s start by talking about the window suites (note that I didn’t fly in one of these, as the seat I was initially assigned, 1A, was inoperable).
It’s rare that “Lufthansa” and “aesthetics” are used in the same sentence, but I think Lufthansa did a great job here. The cabin feels much less sterile than anything Lufthansa has offered up until this point. Heck, I’d say it’s much nicer looking than the new Allegris business class, for example.
There’s nothing revolutionary about these seats, but instead, they’re just very comfortable all-around. The seats are super wide, have a large ottoman, and have a respectable 32″ 4K UHD display.
The ottoman can be raised to expose the area for carry-on bags (more on that a bit later, because… ugh).
There’s a large tablet next to the seat, which can control all the seat functions, ranging from lighting, to the seat heating and cooling, to the entertainment selection.
The seat has a large tray table, and storage includes a small compartment to the side of the seat, plus a wardrobe, where you can hang clothes. Other than that, the seat lacks storage.
The seat also has all the charging options you’d expect — USB-A, USB-C, AC, and wireless charging are available. Each suite has what I’d consider to be somewhere between a curtain and a door. It’s basically just a very flimsy shield that slides, though it provides a good amount of privacy.
I wouldn’t consider this to be the world’s best first class seat, but it’s very competitive, and it’s revolutionary compared to Lufthansa’s old first class (which isn’t saying a whole lot, admittedly).
Lufthansa’s Allegris double first class suite is incredible
Now let’s take a look at the Allegris first class double suite, which is what I flew in. As I explained in a separate post, this can be reserved in one of three ways:
- If two people book first class, you can call in and request to be seated here and share the seat
- A solo travel can pay a huge upcharge to reserve this seat in advance; on this flight, that would have cost $2,760
- In reality, the trick to getting this at no extra cost is to simply not assign a first class seat; if check-in opens and the two window suites are occupied, then you automatically get assigned this seat at no extra cost (this is how I got the seat)
So if we judge this as a first class seat for a solo traveler, this is absolutely incredible. What a spacious and elegant product. In terms of hard product, I think this compares most closely to Japan Airlines’ A350 first class, though this might even be better.
When reclined, the suite turns into a massive bed, probably the biggest of any airline in first class. What a comfortable sleeping space. There’s also not really a gap between the two “seats,” so unlike Singapore A380 Suites, you can comfortably sleep in the middle as a solo traveler.
I’ve gotta say, when I had the turndown service completed and climbed into bed, I couldn’t help but pinch myself. How incredible that this is on airplane! The suite also has a massive 43″ 4K UHD display, matching the biggest you’ll find on any airline.
Now, what do I make of this first class product as a double suite concept? It’s certainly a cozy space, and if the price were right, I could see myself booking this. However, I think it borders on absurd that Lufthansa expects people to pay two first class fares, and then settle for this suite. Let’s be clear — this seat is not quite twice as wide as two individual seats.
Sure, this works if the two people traveling together just want to cuddle together the entire flight, or whatever. But if people have even slightly different preferences, there are huge tradeoffs here.
The tray table in this suite is the same size as in the other suites, so you can dine face-to-face in the same way you can at other seats. There’s no option to dine next to one another, should you both want to watch a movie while eating.
The aisle seat has a small tray big enough for a drink, but that’s it. There’s one entertainment monitor, so both people have to watch the same thing.
Let me use Ford and me as an example. While I very much enjoy sleeping next to him, otherwise our flight patterns are totally different. He’s often asleep before takeoff on flights, while I struggle to sleep, typically have the meal services, etc.
This concept simply doesn’t work if one person wants to sleep and the other wants to be awake. And if the seat is in bed mode and the person further from the aisle needs to use the lavatory, good luck with that.
Let me of course acknowledge that this is still comfortable or an airplane, and of course this isn’t exactly “roughing it.” But if you’re expecting two people to pay the standard first class fare and book this, you need to wow them. Offering less space per person while expecting the full fare just borders on delusional. Honestly, I’d be fascinated to know what percent of the time that double suite is actually booked by two fare paying passengers.
Personally, I think Lufthansa should lean into just marketing this as a “first class plus” product, intended primarily for one person, but with the flexibility to add a second passenger. Have this be Lufthansa’s version of Air France La Premiere, and differentiate the soft product, add a better ground experience, etc. I think that’s then the best strategy the airline could pursue.
But for a single traveler, I’d argue that this is one of the best first class seats in the world. What an amazing suite.
Is there no quality control at Lufthansa?!?
Let me acknowledge that when it comes to airlines and hotels, I have an obsessive attention to detail. That’s not to say I’m offended if everything isn’t perfect, but instead, I notice everything, because I’m genuinely passionate about this, and I also have a lot of experience.
There are a lot of airlines competing in a very high league, and it’s the little details that set airlines apart from one another. It’s one of the reasons that I appreciate detail oriented airlines, because I recognize how much effort goes into paying attention to every little detail of the experience. Say what you will about former Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker (and I have a lot of opinions!), but his obsessive attention detail is an aspect of his leadership that I respected.
With that in mind, while Lufthansa Allegris first class is impressive big picture, I couldn’t believe how many little things just weren’t thought through, both in terms of things that can easily be fixed, and things that can’t. None of these are individually a deal breaker, but the way I’d describe it, collectively they added friction to the experience.
Let me give an example. The seats don’t have much storage, other than the wardrobes, plus the storage underneath the ottoman. The catch is, the ottoman underneath the center suite wasn’t big enough to fit my standard US-sized carry-on.
The crew encouraged me to use the bin in the broken window seat, and that one (snuggly) fit it. Meanwhile I noticed that the passenger in the other window seat had to store his bag in business class, since it didn’t fit. That kind of seems like a major oversight, in a cabin with no overhead bins.
For that matter, there’s no practical way to access these bins when your bed is reclined, so with the lack of storage, good luck getting any of your belongings without putting your seat upright.
I also find it a little weird how the doors have several huge holes in them. It’s not a huge issue, and it’s not privacy I’m concerned about, but it potentially lets in a huge amount of natural light. It’s quite a contrast to Air France La Premiere, where you have full control over light pollution.
For that matter, I don’t understand why they didn’t just extend the privacy shields to the very top of the cabin. For example, on my overnight flight, below was my view while in bed mode looking up, with the doors closed, with all cabin lights off.
The crew closed the doors to the window suite, my window suite door was closed, yet the window blinds remained open, so it was super bright. It was almost distractingly bright, given that I otherwise had my suite dark.
Next, the suite just feels really stuffy, given the lack of air nozzles. For example, in theory the seat has a seat cooling feature. Look, I’m not expecting it to feel like sitting on an ice pack, but I’m convinced it was broken. I heard a noise coming from the seat when I turned on the seat cooling, but I didn’t feel it get any cooler.
It seems maintenance with the cabin is proving problematic, between one of the three seats being inoperable, and little issues like the lavatory drawer being inoperable. It just doesn’t create a very good impression, for what’s still quite a new product.
Similarly, the entertainment system just had some interface issues that made no sense to me:
- Even when selecting English as the language, the map feature would still cycle through various languages, so it would display everything from Arabic to Japanese
- The plane has a tail camera, but somehow, it can’t actually be played on the main screen, and instead, can only be played on the tablet; at least that was the case on my flight, and both the first class flight attendant and purser tried to troubleshoot it, but were unsuccessful
Bottom line
Big picture, Lufthansa’s Allegris A350 first class is very good. It’s a massive improvement over the old first class, and the product is elegant, spacious, and comfortable. I’d also argue that the double suite is possibly one of the world’s best first class hard products, if you can snag it without paying a ton extra.
Looking at European aviation, Lufthansa first class is now way ahead of British Airways, definitely ahead of SWISS (until the airline soon introduces the same product), but still behind Air France (which is simply in a different league than other European airlines, both in terms of quality and pricing).
While probably not a huge deal for most people, I do think the lack of attention to detail with some aspects of the design, plus the cabin maintenance, are a bit problematic. It seems that Lufthansa over engineered this product, to the point that it struggles to deliver a frictionless experience.
So overall, yay, well done Lufthansa. But also, ugh, why couldn’t the airline have just put a bit more thought into some of the minor details? The airline certainly had the time to do so… 😉
What’s your take on Lufthansa’s A350 Allegris first class?
