Bloomberg's 'bombshell' on Lufthansa: what its Boeing 787 Allegris risk

The month that has just begun promises to be crucial for the short- to medium-term fates of the long-range fleet of Lufthansa: during February, Bloomberg writes, is in fact Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) new inspection expected on German carrier's Boeing 787-9 'Allegris' business class cabin.

If the inspection is successful, Lufthansa will be able to open reservations for the entire cabin starting in April. But if something goes wrong again, the airline will find itself unable to sell 24 of the 28 business class seats on its new Dreamliners until at least June, Bloomberg also writes. Thus, by the time the Dummer 2026 peak season has already begun.

The matter of FAA certification of the 'Allegris' cabin on German 787s has been dragging on for more than a year now. The point is that, as TFC readers well know, the cabin has several different types of seats inside with very different characteristics and personal spaces, which would have prompted the FAA to step on the green light brake, except for the first row of seats, which is then where the four suites with doors stand.

Fed up with waiting for the green light from the Americans, as of last September Lufthansa nevertheless decided to include the new 787s in its schedule, while only being able to sell 4 of the 28 seats in the Business cabin (but instead being able to sell the entire 28-seat Premium Economy and the entire 231-seat Economy). The point is that, especially on long-haul, it is the seats in the top cabins (First and Business) that give companies the biggest profit margins, something that has not happened on the 787 'Allegris' so far. Lufthansa already has 8 of these in its fleet, with 16 more awaiting delivery.

Dreamliners are not the only aircraft that are creating headaches for the Frankfurt-based company: the 'Allegris' will soon begin to be installed on Boeing 747-8s as well, but most likely only on the main deck, because on the upper one the spaces of the new seats would not fit the small size of the cabin, which would result in the existence of Two different types of business class on the same plane (The 'Barbone' Matteo Rainisio called it a 'Frankenstein configuration').

Lufthansa also announced a Business upgrade of its Airbus A380s, which will have 1-2-1 configuration instead of the current 2-2-2 and new seats, But both First and Premium Economy and Economy will remain the old ones (another 'Frankenstein').

That's not enough, there is the case of the Boeing 777-9s, which the carrier should have received at least a couple of years ago and instead have not yet been certified by the FAA. Lufthansa is expected to receive the first specimen out of Everett, but even on that plane looms the unknown of Allegris, for the certification of which the FAA may require additional inspections and checks, thus further delaying the plane's actual entry into service.

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