The introduction of Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabin concept hasn’t been without drama, to put it mildly. Lufthansa has a bunch of Boeing 787 Dreamliners that are ready to fly, with one small problem — the airline is struggling to actually get the seats certified. Lufthansa’s management has just provided an update on this situation, and it sounds like these planes could be flying soon, though with an unfortunate reality.
Lufthansa’s 787 business class certification issues
In 2024, we saw Lufthansa introduce its new Allegris concept, with the most exciting development being the introduction of the new Allegris business class, finally offering direct aisle access from all seats.
This product debuted on the Airbus A350-900, but that wasn’t without its challenges. First there were supply chain issues with getting the new seats. But even when the new business class, premium economy, and economy, were ready to go, the new first class wasn’t. So Lufthansa started flying these planes with the space of the first class cabin empty. Fortunately that has since been resolved, and the new first class has been in service for some time.
However, for several months, Lufthansa has been facing a much bigger issue with its Boeing 787s, which are also supposed to feature the new Allegris cabins (though without first class). Lufthansa currently has 15 Dreamliners that are in storage in the United States, and many of them already have the full cabins installed.
What’s the issue? The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hasn’t certified these new seats. You might be thinking “wait, aren’t these the same seats as on the A350?” Sort of. The A350 seats are produced by Thompson Aero, while the 787 seats are produced by Collins Aerospace (yeah… don’t ask). On top of that, individual certification is required for seats on every aircraft type.
To give a sense of just how bad things became, at an event in December 2024, a Lufthansa executive acknowledged that a “scenario in which the seats are not approved at all is not out of the question.” Yowzers. Fortunately Lufthansa management has a more positive outlook now, but the situation still isn’t great.
Lufthansa’s plan to fly 787s with Allegris cabins
Lufthansa has been dealing with a major aircraft shortage. The airline was relying on the Boeing 777X for its fleet renewal, but that plane has been delayed by at least six years. Then Lufthansa had delays with its new Airbus A350s due to the Allegris cabins. Now Lufthansa is dealing with issues on the new Boeing 787s — the general Boeing delivery delays aren’t even an issue, but just the seat certification.
What’s the latest on these 787 deliveries? Lufthansa has just shared an updated plan, which will see the Star Alliance carrier flying the Dreamliners that are in storage in the coming weeks. The first plane should arrive in Germany in September 2025, and 10 jets should arrive by the end of the year. The first route to get these planes will reportedly be between Frankfurt (FRA) and Montreal (YUL).
Here’s the kicker, though — for now, the business class seats will need to be blocked. Or at least most business class seats will need to be blocked. Since Lufthansa Allegris business class has so many seat types, maybe some types of seats don’t have those certification issues.
At this point, the goal is for the business class seats to be certified by the end of 2025. Now, whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
Obviously storing brand new planes for months on end is less than ideal. Then again, flying planes with the business class cabin blocked isn’t exactly a great option either.
Another interesting detail here is that if the new Dreamliner interiors are actually certified by the end of the year, as planned, then Lufthansa is likely to just retire its last six remaining Airbus A340-600s. That’s logical enough, though not ideal in terms of first class capacity, since those planes do have first class.
Bottom line
Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787s are delayed. Roughly 15 of these jets have been ready to go for quite some time, but the issue is that Lufthansa can’t get the new Dreamliner business class seats certified. That’s because the seats are from a different manufacturer than on the Airbus A350.
Currently, Lufthansa management expects the seats will be certified by the end of 2025. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen.
In the meantime, Lufthansa is reportedly preparing to start putting these planes into service, without being able to use the business class seats (or at least most of them). I’m fascinated to learn the details of that plan, since obviously that’s less than ideal. Then again, both options — grounding or flying the planes — kind of suck.
This Allegris rollout really hasn’t been very smooth, to put it mildly. First the airline had to fly A350s with the space of the first class cabin empty. Now Lufthansa has parked brand new 787s for many months due to not getting the seats certified. Never mind that SWISS is introducing the same product, and will have to install a 1.5 ton weight in the back of A330s, because first class is too heavy.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s Dreamliner drama?
