Lufthansa Deploys A350 Featuring Improved Business Class

DALLAS - Lufthansa (LH) christened and deployed its newest Airbus A350-900, featuring an updated business class product.

D-AIVC, named Munich, first landed in Frankfurt (FRA) on March 10 and completed its first commercial flight, LH494, to Toronto, yesterday. After taking off at 3:45 PM from Munich (MUC), the aircraft landed in Toronto at 6:16 PM with a flight time of eight hours.

The new A350-900 is the 20th of the aircraft types for the airline, which are deployed on long-haul international routes from MUC.

Executive’s Comments

Commenting on the new aircraft, Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG said, "With a significantly improved Business Class on board, this aircraft also represents the beginning of one of the largest product modernizations in Lufthansa's history.” 

He continued, “This aircraft is sustainable and offers customers a premium flight experience. The "Munich” is a worthy ambassador of the Bavarian capital to the world."

Lufthansa’s? Improved Business Class

D-AIVC is one of four Airbus A350-900s that had been intended to be delivered to Philippine Airlines (PR) but were not taken up due to the airline’s financial difficulties.

Due to the transfer, the interior of the aircraft is still set with business class seats used by PR and was not changed by LH. Therefore, the four aircraft that will be transferred to LH will most likely be the only aircraft fitted with this business class cabin.

The new seats offer passengers industry-standard direct aisle access and can be quickly converted into a two-meter-long bed. The seat also features ample storage space and additional shoulder space. Unlike its current 2-2-2 configuration, the new business class will be in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Lufthansa had originally planned to debut its own revamped business class product on the highly anticipated Boeing 777-9, but the aircraft’s delivery delays have hampered the airline’s ability to introduce the new product.

However, the airline plans on introducing an overhauled hard product across all classes on its aircraft starting in 2023.

Featured Image: Lufthansa