Lufthansa Finally Upgrading Business Class on Its A380s — But Not With Allegris Seats

Updated: January 30, 2026, 9:16am CST

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Lufthansa’s New Airbus A380 Business Class
Final Thoughts

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Details have emerged of Lufthansa’s plans to overhaul its Airbus A380 fleet.

The superjumbo will be retrofitted with a completely new business class product, though not Allegris — a hot topic of recent years.

“The retrofit underscores our commitment to providing a top-flight experience on the long-haul aircraft that is so popular with our customers,” said Heiko Reitz, hub manager at Munich Airport for Lufthansa.

Here’s what we can expect from Lufthansa’s new business class.

Lufthansa’s New Airbus A380 Business Class

Starting next week, Lufthansa‘s Airbus A380s will fly to Dresden so work can start on significantly improving their business class cabins. Lufthansa expects the first retrofitted plane, registered D-AIMC, will return to service in April of this year. That’s fast!

For frequent Lufthansa flyers, the news can’t come soon enough, as this will mean 1 less aircraft type will still have the outdated 2-2-2 configuration.

Lufthansa Business Class 747 8 Lower Deck Main Section — Lufthansa’s 2-2-2 business class will still fly on some aircraft. Image Credit: Alberto Riva

Replacing this dated product is a spacious seat that will provide more comfort and privacy than is offered in the current A380 cabins.

Lufthansa Airbus A380 new business class — Finally, Lufthansa’s Airbus A380s will have a 1-2-1 configuration in business class. Image Credit: Lufthansa

The seats, manufactured by Thompson, will each feature direct aisle access, a width of 23 inches (58 centimeters), a lie-flat seat extending “at least” 6.5 feet (2 meters), and Bluetooth connectivity.

Lufthansa A380 new business class seat — Seats are staggered, meaning some window seats will be closer to the aisle than others. Image Credit: Lufthansa

Rather than fully closing privacy doors, flexible partitions have been installed to improve privacy for passengers in middle seats.

Lufthansa bypassed the delays associated with its game-changing Allegris product by opting for a more standard business-class product. The priority here was clearly to modernize this aircraft and keep it competitive as quickly as possible. The ongoing delays with Allegris have led to Lufthansa flying planes with empty or nearly empty premium cabins; that was likely a factor here.

The more generous configuration means Lufthansa has had to reduce the number of seats in the cabin from 78 to 68. No changes will be made to the number of seats in other cabins.

The retrofit program for the fleet of 8 Airbus A380s is scheduled to be completed by mid-2027. The race to modernize these behemoth aircraft is on, with British Airways also expected to unveil its refreshed jet — with an impressive new first class — in the coming months.

Until early January, Lufthansa flew its A380s to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) but has switched them out for its fleet of Boeing 747s to facilitate the retrofit.

Hot Tip:

Lufthansa offers a generally solid business-class experience. Thanks to points and miles, you can book Lufthansa business class without breaking the bank.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to see Lufthansa investing in its premium product, even on its older fleet of Airbus A380s. While the new seat doesn’t quite turn heads in the same way as its Allegris product, it’s a vast improvement to the current 2-2-2 layout.