Luftansa Business class

Same problem in Steerage. I tell them they should have considered it before the got a window seat on a night flight, i just say, from my comfortsble asike seat, "you aren't going no place, sit back down and hold it, we'll be there in 6 hours!"

Mr. E, you expect that in the cheap seats but for what you pay to sit in Business Class, the airline should do better.

I neither hsve expectations nor wallet for anything other than the cheap seats. But, i do tell them to sit back down.

Okay, I am being funny ...... maybe. Sit next to me and find out

LH is never a great airline for business travel.

In the future, fly Swiss, Air France, KLM, or SAS. Check the aircraft type and seat arrangements in advance. BA offers new business seats on some routes, but swaps aircrafts often without notice.

When I last flew KLM in business class, the window seat passengers had no direct access to the aisle, plus there was absolutely no privacy between aisle and window. Wish I could remember what equipment we flew. This was in 2022.

There are still a lot of older planes with business class seats with that set up. I had that set up on an old KLM 747 several years ago. It's always good to check seat maps for the planes on your itinerary before buying the ticket -- especially business class.

Lufthansa is in the process of rolling out their new Allegris business class seats, which apper to offer direct aisle access from window seats. May be initially on the A350.

I was in BC on their A380 from LAX to Munich back in December [was able to upgrade] - in the center section - it was an older configuration and a bit funky in lie-flat mode. I actually had a better experience in Premium Economy on the return flight, again on the A380.

I was in BC on Lufthansa last September.
It was an A350 where each seat had aisle access, but it was not Allegris Class.
The ones down the sides were alternating in position so each seat had window and aisle access.
Everything was great, service, food, friendly staff…..except the actual seats.
No mattress pad so you felt every single joint in the not well padded seat.
It was like an articulated coffin as the foot well when the seat was flat was so narrow you couldn’t cross your ankles or turn over.
Very uncomfortable .
First world problems I know, but, if you’re paying that much ………
I had saved up for ages for the flight and was disappointed.
However, coming home, my flight was delayed three times and the communication about it was instant and timely.
In the end Lufthansa sent me a message telling how to claim for delays….before the plane even took off.
I did, and received a very nice chunk of money from them a couple of weeks after getting home.
So….very efficient airline, but uncomfortable seats in BC.

It was like an articulated coffin as the foot well when the seat was flat was so narrow you couldn’t cross your ankles or turn over.

That was my experience on the A380.

Last May I flew ORD-FRA on my outbound trip on a LH A340-600 in business class. These are the same seats as on the A380. I did know about the aisle access issue for the window seats and booked an aisle seat in the center section (3D). Inbound I was on a United 787-10 FRA-ORD in Polaris, window seat (9A). This was my first time in either airline's business class.

Frankly, I preferred the LH seat to the much-touted United Polaris seat. I was much more cramped in the Polaris seat, and had to use the smaller pillow to pad the window-side armrest, that otherwise was cutting into my arm. Unlike the LH seat, I could barely lay on my side.

I think you have to recognize that there is an economic cycle to cabin improvement,
just like lots of other products in our world. LH may be a bit behind now, but the
Allegris product is their way of catching up (finally).

While it's dated (and someone else may remember more), when it came out, it was
standard practice to have a configuration where not every seat had aisle access.
Remember United's 2x4x2 business class?

Also, LH is one of the few carriers that still have a first class cabin on some of their
aircraft, and that has probably played a role in their decision making.

I am not justifying their position or situation, but "gulag dormitories" is a bit harsh.
It has little to do with their engineers (who are not the cabin designers, by the way),
but more with product managers and financial planning. LH seems to have devoted
more of their resources in past years grabbing up failed/semi-failed carriers around
Europe (Swiss, Austrian, ITA, Brussels).

Regarding the Lufthansa A380 fleet: they were brought back into service after being mothballed, so the Business Class cabin you experience on that aircraft is their older model.

The Allegris seats are mostly being rolled out on airframes that the airline plans to keep deeper into the future - so the A350, A330neo, and possibly the B747-8i. The A340 and A380 are both temporary fixes to cover slower deliveries of A350 and A330neo aircraft. Once the new planes arrive this "problem" will go away.

I actually didn't mind the A380 business class configuration when I flew it in 2024. Yes, it was slightly awkward to leave your seat (I was in a window seat) but not "embarrassing" - just awkward. My seatmate (who was not related to me) and I simply coordinated our loo trips during the flight.

FWIW: there are a lot of KLM aircraft (mostly A330-200 and A330-300) that have a similar setup for now.

Also regarding the Allegris seats: Lufthansa has about a dozen brand new 787-9s sitting in storage at various Boeing sites waiting to be delivered. The Allegris seats for these aircraft have not yet been approved by the regulatory agencies, at least the FAA in the US. Word is that approval is coming RSN (Real Soon Now).