When Lufthansa introduced its new Allegris business class, the airline also started charging for seat assignments in business class. The logic was that Allegris offers customers a choice of seating options, and that comes at a cost.
Well, Lufthansa has now expanded the concept of charging for seat assignments in business class on long haul flights beyond Allegris, as you’ll now find seat fees on the carrier’s reconfigured (but not with Allegris) Airbus A380s, as flagged by Travel-Dealz.
In this post:
So this is objectively a negative change, though in fairness, at this point seat fees are becoming the norm on long haul flights operated by major European airlines. British Airways has charged for all business class seats for eons. Air France and KLM have both recently expanded business class seat fees globally, even though most business class seats are virtually identical (as they’re typically reverse herringbone).
At least in the case of Lufthansa, there is a material difference in popularity and comfort between these seats, with the “true” window seats being by far the most popular. So in that sense, I at least prefer only charging for the better seats, rather than simply charging for all seats.
Obviously Lufthansa realizes it would just be unconscionable to charge for business class seats in its old layout, given the 2-2-2 configuration, or else I’m sure it would do that as well.
Bottom line
Lufthansa has now expanded seat assignment fees to its reconfigured Airbus A380s, which feature a staggered (non-Allegris) product. Specifically, the airline is charging up to €170 to assign either the “true” window seats (“Privacy Seats”) or the bulkhead window seats (“Extra Long Bed Seats”).
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
Your source for the travel news. This is crafted specifically to exhibit the use of the theme as a travel site.