Lufthansa will bring (sooner or later) the new Business Class on A380s
The A380's revenge continues: the "giant of the skies" as much abused in the pandemic as it is reevaluated nowadays. After bringing back [...]
Lufthansa
Star Alliance
MUC
Continue the revenge of the A380: the "giant of the skies" as much abused in the pandemic as it is reevaluated nowadays. Having brought the entire fleet of double deckers back into service, now Lufthansa even announced the retrofitting of some of its models that will be equipped with the new Business Class "Allegris".
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Also because, after all, between the very high demand for travel recorded in the post Covid and the difficulty of Boeing and Airbus in meet the deliveries of new aircraft; the glorious A380 has carved out a prominent place for itself in airline plans.
The grand return of the A380
Just a few days ago, in fact, Lufthansa announced that its entire fleet of double deckers will return to the skies by 2025. Only last June 1, the German giant resumed its regular A380 flight operations -- to Boston and New York -- after a three-year hiatus.
Before the pandemic, there were 14 Lufthansa A380s; 6 were sold, to date there are 3 who have started again To fly from this summer, a fourth will arrive by the end of the year, and the last 4 will be reactivated gradually.
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But the shortage of aircraft is leading the German giant to decide to extend the operational life of the double-decker aircraft, which Lufthansa configures with 4 cabins: First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy for a total of 509 places.
Thus the ceo of Lufthansa, Carsten Sphor, announced that the new Business cabin, part of the renovation project called Allegris, will also be able to board some A380s.
"If it were for our passengers, we would have additional A380s in service. The plane will be operational for a longer period of time than we anticipated when we reinstated the first one. This is caused by both demand and delivery delays from Airbus and Boeing. The eight planes we own will all return to flight and will also be equipped with a new Business Class."
Allegris on board, but when?
At this point, however, it is likely that it will be a long time before we see the new cabins aboard the double deckers. Spohr has hinted that A380s could continue to fly beyond 2030.
But Lufthansa is also gripped by delays that have forced the German giant to postpone the debut of the new Allegris cabins to 2024.
The first aircraft that will have the new configuration Allegris will, in fact, be B787-9s and A350s, and the entire refurbishment operation is expected to take at least 4-5 years. As a result, Allegris-sized A380s will not be available before the end of the decade. Unless LH finds a way to speed up operations considering also that it will come Switzerland's version of Allegris on Swiss's fleet.
Currently, the superjumbo are equipped with a business class dated with a 2-2-2 configuration, which does not provide direct aisle access for all passengers. Instead, the new Business Classes will be outfitted with an alternating 1-2-1, 1-1-1, 1-2-1 configuration.
Where A380s fly and where they will fly next summer
Lufthansa's A380s fly (and will fly) on routes from Munich to North America and Asia. In the winter period, that is, from October 28, the current A380s in operation will fly daily from Munich to Los Angeles LH452/453 and from Munich to Bangkok LH772/773.
The nusica changes next summer, which in aviation will fall on March 30, the routes always from Moncao of Bavaria will be
- Daily to Boston LH424/425
- Daily to Delhi LH762/763
- Daily toLos Angeles LH452/453, flights that will also be operated during winter 2024
- Daily to New York LH410/411
- Starting June 1, 2024, daily to Washington LH414/415
Two A380s in hangar in Manila
The operations for Bringing one of these giants back into the air after a 4-year hibernation costs a lot of money and above all they require a lot of work, so after the indispensable operations to restart the engines in the Spanish desert where they were parked.
Lufthansa's A380s have been transferred to Manila where there are hangars and specialized technicians for work on A380s. Here Emirates, the airline with the most A380s in the world, also has a hangar for maintenance of its giants. Singular that Manila was chosen since no airline flies A380 routes over the Philippines' capital airport.
