Lufthansa has welcomed its first Airbus A350-900
, which has the Allegris first class cabin, with previous aircraft that are equipped with the latest widebody cabins having entered service without any first class suites.
Arriving in Munich
In a post on LinkedIn, Jens Ritter, the chief executive officer (CEO) of 
Lufthansa
, the airline, said that the carrier has just welcomed its very first Allegris first class-equipped A350-900, registered as D-AIXW.
The aircraft, nicknamed ‘Leverkusen,’ which is a city in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region in Germany, arrived at Munich Airport (MUC) on October 16, Flightradar24 data showed.
“For Lufthansa Airlines, the arrival of our [Allegris first class cabin] is a major step in restrengthening our position as a premium carrier. While I enjoyed presenting the mock-up for the first time a while back, I can’t wait to see the First Class fly for real.”
Photo: Lufthansa
However, Ritter cautioned that while the aircraft had arrived at one of the two airline’s major hubs, there would be final touches, including crew familiarization processes, and the Allegris first class-equipped A350-900 would be taking off “soon.”
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High expectations
Nevertheless, Ritter detailed that passengers can expect three luxurious suites onboard the A350-900: two single suites and one double suite. The suites will enable passengers to feel like they are at home in their own living rooms.
“You will certainly enjoy the privacy: To change your clothes, you don’t have to leave your suite. There is so much space and a generous wardrobe within your suite.”
The CEO added that passengers can sit back, heat or cool down their seats, put their feet up on the ottoman, and watch a movie on the huge in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen.
The suites also have their own minibars, with a large wooden table being the perfect place to enjoy a fine dining meal served by Lufthansa’s flight attendants.
Lufthansa’s Allegris cabin included a comprehensive upgrade for all classes, including first, business, premium economy, and economy.
The German airline said that 80 new aircraft, including the A350-900, Boeing 777-9
, which has been delayed by Boeing to at least 2026, and 787-9s, will be equipped with the cabins.
Furthermore, Lufthansa will retrofit its current A350-900, 747-8
, and 787-9 aircraft to have its flagship cabins, with the airline continuing to emphasize a premium passenger experience.
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Multiple delays
However, while Lufthansa has had high hopes for Allegris, the airline’s rollout of the cabin has been affected by external factors, including supply chain problems. Lufthansa already had to delay the cabin from 2023 to 2024 due to aircraft delivery delays.
Even then, when the first Allegris-equipped A350-900 arrived in Germany in April, the aircraft, registered as D-AIXT, had no first class cabin. While it entered commercial service shortly after, it did so with empty cabin space where the premier product was supposed to be.
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying
Instead, the wall at the front of the aircraft welcomed passengers with a ‘Lufthansa Allegris First Class; Loading…’ sign, with economy class seats occupying the space having tags that said, “Soon I’ll have to make way for the new Lufthansa Allegris First Class.”
Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that Lufthansa has scheduled 28 weekly flights with the Allegris-equipped A350-900 aircraft in October.
Photo: Great Circle Mapper
While the cabin configuration would typically carry 267 passengers, four in first, 38 in business, 24 in premium economy, and 201 in economy class, the airline had to schedule flights without the four first class seats.
So far, Lufthansa’s November schedules showed that its 263-seat A350-900s that lack the four first class seats are scheduled to fly 21 weekly itineraries from Munich Airport
(MUC) to Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), and San Francisco International Airport
(SFO), with daily flights to each airport.
The German airline has not scheduled any flights beyond November so far. As of August 28, Lufthansa had also indicated that Allegris-equipped A350-900s would be flying from Munich to Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR).
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