Lufthansa Unveils Vancouver As First Destination For New Allegris Business Class

Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class cabin is finally set to debut this summer, with Vancouver as the first destination to offer the much-awaited product. New cabins will be found initially on newly delivered Airbus A350 aircraft starting in May, before a summer rollout on new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Allegris business class coming in May

Starting in May, passengers will get their first taste of the Allegris business cabin on new A350 aircraft operating the airline’s Munich-Vancouver route. Seven years in the making, travelers will still have to wait a while for the Allegris first class product, with supplier issues preventing Lufthansa from installing the cabins sooner.

Photo: Lufthansa Group

At this stage, the carrier has not given a concrete date in May for the debut, and it also hasn’t revealed how many monthly flights the cabin will be found on. It also hasn’t officially rolled out the new seat map on its booking platforms yet, advising passengers that they won’t know if they’re on an Allegris-equipped plane until shortly before departure.

Photo: Lufthansa

During this initial rollout, business passengers can try any of the cabin’s seat types at no additional charge. As reported by Travel-Dealz, Lufthansa said,

“During the introductory phase, Business Class passengers can choose their preferred seat for free – whether it’s the Business Class Suite, Extra Space Seat, Extra Long Bed, Privacy Seat, or Classic Seat (if available).”

After debuting its exciting Allegris concept in 2017 with an initial 2020 entry-to-service date on its upcoming Boeing 777X fleet, the airline was most recently forced to push back its late-2023 date to Q2 2024.

According to Cirium data, Lufthansa will operate a daily roundtrip between Munich Airport (MUC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in May with its A350-900 fleet, offering 18,000 monthly seats on this route.

Toronto and Frankfurt next

Following the launch of A350 Allegris flights, Lufthansa will fly its first 787-9 flights with the new cabin between Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Vancouver, starting in July.

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock

After its Vancouver service, the carrier plans to make Munich – Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) its second A350 Allegris route, but has not given a concrete date for when this will happen.

Delivery delays

Deliveries of several of the airline’s new widebodies, from both Airbus and Boeing, have either been deferred, or newly-delivered aircraft have been sent straight to storage, as occurred with two of its brand-new A350s in the last few months. This is due to difficulties with interior suppliers not delivering seats in time, forcing Lufthansa to store planes that would otherwise be earning valuable revenue.

Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

However, the airline is now happy to fly the new A350s without their promised first class cabins for the time being – in fact, rather than leaving the front cabin completely empty, it has installed unused economy seats for certification purposes. While it hasn’t given a firm date on when the first class cabin will be debuting, Lufthansa advised customers to “stay tuned for more exciting announcements.” The German flag carrier is expected to invest upwards of $2.5 billion on its new cabins by 2025 – this will include newly delivered widebodies, such as the A350, 777X and 787-9, and a retrofit of its A380 and 747-8 fleet. While its A380s won’t be getting the Allegris business product, its 747-8s will be fitted with the cabin on the lower deck and may also receive a brand-new first class cabin currently in the works.

Are you excited about Lufthansa’s Allegris product? Will you be booking a trip to experience it for yourself? Let us know in the comments.