Lufthansa Leasing 4 A350 Planes With New 1-2-1 Business Class

If you’ve flown Lufthansa with any regularity over the past few years, you’ll know that its business class product has something to be desired. With a 2-2-2 configuration, it’s a tight squeeze and uncomfortable. Now, Lufthansa will be leasing 4 A350 aircraft from carrier Philippine Airlines, introducing a new business class product to its fleet.

What’s Changing?

While the majority of Lufthansa aircraft feature a 2-2-2 configuration, the aircraft that Lufthansa is leasing from Philippine Airlines have a 1-2-1 configuration, creating a much more roomy environment for business class passengers. The important distinction between the older product and the new product on the leased aircraft is that every seat will have direct aisle access, a standard in premium cabin configurations today.

Lufthansa currently operates 17 A350 planes, but adding in the new leases, it’ll operate 21 of these aircraft worldwide. This is in addition to its other aircraft in its long-haul fleet, but as most airlines worldwide retire the 747, the A350 is becoming one of the aircraft of choice for long-haul flying.

Because Lufthansa has ordered an entirely new business class experience to debut in 2023, the leased aircraft will not be updated with the new configuration since the configuration is better than the 10-year old model currently flying.

Where Can You Fly These Planes?

Unfortunately, Lufthansa has not published a route map of where these more premium A350 planes will fly, though you’ll certainly see them transit either of its primary hubs at Munich (MUC) and Frankfurt (FRA). While Lufthansa hasn’t made an official announcement, carriers tend to put their better aircraft on more premium heavy routes where they can expect people to pay more for a better product.

Final Thoughts

Lufthansa’s current business class product is definitely dated and old, and without direct aisle access for every seat, it should frankly be avoided in favor of competitors who offer that ability. With the addition of these new A350s, Lufthansa will offer a better premium product, though unfortunately, it will only operate on a limited number of routes that are unknown.