Airbus A380 Comeback Continues With New Lufthansa Business Class, Routes

The Airbus A380 is continuing its improbable comeback with the world’s leading airlines. Last month we got a look at Emirates popular new A380 Premium Economy cabin selected by more than 160,000 flyers. This month, Lufthansa announced that not only would its formerly parked A380 aircraft fly into the 2030s, but that it would upgrade them with a brand-new Business Class cabin.

As Germany is a founding country and key center for Airbus, it’s no surprise Lufthansa was a flagship customer for the A380, purchasing and operating 14 of the enormous aircraft.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic devastated travel and the airline world, it appeared that Lufthansa was trashing its A380s. In fact, on September 21, 2020, the company announced that all its A380s would be transferred to a long-term storage mode and taken out of planning.

What a difference three years and the abatement of the COVID pandemic means. In June, Lufthansa announced it would reactivate its A380 fleet. At the time, Lufthansa’s Airbus A380s were parked in Spain and France for long-term “deep storage.” While the six older planes have apparently been sold (or returned to Airbus, perhaps for parts cannibalization) eight A380s will return to service.

Lufthansa terminology went from “remain part of the Lufthansa fleet for the time being” to ‘upgrading and potentially flying through the early 2030s.’

As it turns out, Lufthansa showed foresight in not scrapping its A380 fleet. The turnabout came about due to the return of international demand, coupled with delayed delivery of more efficient twin engine widebodies like Boeing B777-9 and Airbus A350 variants.

"It depends on demand and when Airbus and Boeing are able to deliver other airplanes," Lufthansa Group Chief Executive Carsten Spohr told an aviation website. The big Boeing, for example, is said to be delayed by up to five years.

As for now, Spohr noted that “the eight we own will all be back - including with a new business product.”

The A380 has returned to service out of Munich, flying routes that will maximize the chances of filling as many of its 509 seats as possible. The planes started flying this summer to plug capacity gaps in Lufthansa’s schedule.

Through the end of October, Lufthansa is operating the Airbus A380 daily from Munich (MUC) to Boston (BOS) and from Munich (MUC) to New York (JFK).

Between October 26, 2023, and March 29, 2024,Lufthansa will have dailyA380 service from Munich (MUC) to Los Angeles (LAX)—my home airport. Hmmmh. And between October 28, 2023, and March 29, 2024, Lufthansa’s A380 will fly daily from frigid Munich (MUC) to sizzling Bangkok (BKK).

For spring and summer 2024, Lufthansa’s plan is to deploy six A380’s. There will be daily service from Munich (MUC) to Boston (BOS), Delhi (DEL), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), and Washington, DC (IAD).

Currently Lufthansa is flying three A380s, with its full complement of eight flying by 2025. By then some may be outfitted with Lufthansa’s new business class cabin.

Allegris Business Class seats will offer all business class passengers direct aisle access. The so-called ‘throne seats’ will be in a staggered, alternating 1-2-1 or 1-1-1 layout that will no longer necessitate waking up your seatmate to go to the lavatory.

But there won’t just be one Allegris Business Class seat. In fact, they’ll come in a dizzying variety. Images of the seat plan are labeled Single Business Suite, Classic Seat, Double Business Suite, Extra Space Seat, and for tall folk, Extra Long Bed. There’s even a Private Seat with Baby Bassinet.

Allegris Business Class seating will first arrive at Lufthansa with a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in 2024. Next up for the new business class will be a new Airbus A350 variant. At that point the Allegris Business Class cabin will be retrofitted to the Airbus A380s and its aging jumbo jet cohort, the airline’s Boeing 747-8s.

Still, Lufthansa’s aging A380 aircraft already boast a feature unavailable else. Bizarrely, according to One Mile At A Time, Lufthansa’s A380 First Class lavatories include a rather male-oriented piece of plumbing, a urinal. These have the distinction of being the only urinals on commercial aircraft.

So far pricing for the new Business Class cabin on the upper deck of the A380 hasn’t been disclosed, other than it’s in the “multi millions” of dollars. As Spohr said, “This costs money, but is important in order to remain sustainably profitable.”

Just bringing the A380 back to life was a significant investment for Lufthansa. Dirk Janzen, Lufthansa Vice President of Sales in the Americas, told Airways magazine, “It was definitely a big decision to retire the A380 and to return them as well, especially because we had to train our pilots and crew in Spain and keep all aircraft up to date in terms of maintenance."

For the legions of Airbus A380 fans, investing in upgrades to keep the popular plane flying is money well spent.