I joined the inaugural flight of Lufthansa featuring new Allegris products from Munich to Vancouver. The newly delivered Airbus A350 has a completely new cabin makeover.
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Munich - 01 May 2024
The inaugural flight was LH476 from Munich to Vancouver on 1 May.
There was a welcome reception at the gate before boarding. A short speech was made by Lufthansa Airlines Chief Commercial Officer, Heiko Reitz.
Baskerball legend Dirk Nowitzki (7 Foot tall) was the guest of honour to try out the 2.2m long bed in Business Class.
Lufthansa Allegris Business Class
There are a total of 38 Business Class seats, all of them offer individual aisle access and can go fully flat. Here's the seat map:
There are 5 different seat configurations in Business Class including
- Suite (row 2 and row 8, total 8 suite)
- Extra Long Bed (4G, 6D, 10G and 12D)
- Extra Space seat, aka Throne seat (3E, 5F, 9E, 11F)
- Double seat (4DG, 6DG, 10DG, 12DG)
- Standard seat
Premium Economy and Economy Class
After Business Class, there are 24 Premium Economy and 201 Economy seats.
Premium Economy seat is in 2-3-2 configuration, this is better than most airlines offer 2-4-2 configuration, making it one seat less per row. However, the seat does not recline backward, it slides forward rather.
In Economy Class, there are 3 types of seats:
- Legroom Seat
- Classic Seat
- Free Neighbor Seat
First Class
The new floor-to-ceiling First Class suite is still waiting to be certified and therefore not installed onboard currently. Some economy class seats are temporarily holding the floor.
The Flight to Vancouver
Given there is just 1 aircraft fitted with the new Allegris cabin, the airplane is flying from Munich to Vancouver or Toronto on alternate days. Lufthansa said 1 new aircraft per month is joining the fleet with the new Allegris product until year-end.
Our flight time to Vancouver was about 9 hour 30 minutes with a Northerly circle route over Greenland and Northern Canada. Speed was Mach .85 on the A350 with an initial cruise level of 38,000 ft and a final cruise level at 43,000 ft.
Enjoy the takeoff from the cockpit in my video.
The suite is huge with high wall divider. There are plenty of storage spaces, a wireless charging station, a closet and a shoe cabinet.
An interesting feature is the in-seat heating/cooling function. I tried out the heating and it took just 2 minutes to warm up my sore back.
This function was built by Swiss company Caynova AG and first debuted at the Aircraft Interior Expo last year.
All Business Class seat comes with a mattress and comforter. Pyjamas were handed out by the crew. I was able to sleep for 3.5 hours after the meal.
The bed was long enough for me (6 foot 1/185cm) and the seat arm could be pushed down to create more space.
Food & Beverage
Food and Beverage offering are identical to the current Lufthansa Business Class. A new cocktail called Avionic was offered at boarding, along with mixed nuts in paper bag.
One exception is for Business Class Suite, there is an extra drink and snack menu to choose from:
After lunch, I toured around both Economy and Premium Economy. I tried out the Premium Economy seat but found it short of legroom due to sliding forward instead of reclining backward.
The entire flight was a day flight. We flew over Greenland and the Arctic region of Canada.
There is no free Wi-Fi onboard unfortunately. No free messaging service.
Second meal was served 1.5 hours before landing. There was a choice of duck breast (cold plate) or tortellini pasta (warm). I found the meal to be very simple.
The approach to Vancouver was spectacular. See more of that on my video. We're lucky enough to arrive in sunny weather.
Conclusion
I must say the Lufthansa Allegris Business Class Suite feels like a mini First Class seat but with mostly standard Business Class meals and features. Given there are up to 5 types of seat in Business Class, the experience will be very much different depends on where you sit!
Currently, all seat selection is free until late summer. Then the Suite will cost more than the standard Business Class seat.
More Allegris Route
Lufthansa Allegris will be available on flights from Munich to Chicago and Montreal in the summer. From late summer, it will become available from Munich to Shanghai and San Francisco.
2 new Allegris aircraft are expected to join each month next year. Existing B787, A350 and B747-8 will be retrofitted. A380 will be fitted with another product. A330, A340 and B747-400 cabins will not be upgraded.