Review of Lufthansa’s New Allegris Business Class from Munich to Toronto

For years, Lufthansa kept the suspense high: First introduced in 2017, the debut of the new Lufthansa business class was planned for 2020. This was later pushed to 2022, then sometime in 2023, and finally 2024.

Now, after much mockery, the big surprise: Lufthansa has actually managed to get an aircraft with the new Allegris cabin. Well, sort of. On board, there are new seats in economy, premium economy, and business class, but the new first class won’t arrive until the end of the year.

For us at the Travel-Dealz team, it was clear: the earlier we could test the product, the better. There were no availabilities for the inaugural flight to Vancouver on May 1, so the next best alternative was chosen: the “second inaugural flight,” namely Munich → Toronto on May 2.

Was the in-house development worth waiting for 7 years? Or would it have been better to opt for an off-the-shelf seat? And how much comfort do those who don’t pay for one of the better seats get? We aim to answer these questions and more with this review. So, buckle up – but please, with a shoulder harness.

Flight Details

Here are the obligatory flight details:

• Flight: LH494 Munich MUC – Toronto YYZ
• Seat: Many, but the focus lies on 10G
  (seat with extra-long bed – will be subject to additional charges later)
• Plane: D-AIXT (delivered April 2024)
• Scheduled departure: 15:50
• Scheduled arrival: 18:35
• Flight time: 8h 45min
• Date of travel: May 2, 2024

Booking

Those who want to fly business class cheaply with Miles&More miles usually wait for a suitable mileage bargain. In this case, however, the Allegris inaugural flight was only announced two weeks before.

So, only a regular award ticket remained as an option. I booked it as a Flex Plus Award to pay for the high fuel surcharges with additional miles. In the end, I paid 78,000 miles + €108 for the following one-way ticket:

• Berlin – Munich in Lufthansa’s business class (Airbus A320)
• Munich – Toronto in Lufthansa’s Allegris business class (Airbus A350)

Johannes booked the same from Cologne/Bonn instead of Berlin and also added the corresponding return flight. It could have been slightly cheaper to book through Asiana Club (with high surcharges), Avianca LifeMiles, or Air Canada Aeroplan, but I didn’t have enough miles at those programs. So, I was glad to finally get rid of all those Miles&More miles.

The Matter of (Paid) Seat Reservation

Seat selection in the Allegris business class is a double-edged sword. Depending on which Lufthansa webpage you’re on, there are 5 or 6 different seat categories. Currently, all seats can be reserved for free. Only the suites in rows 1 and 8 cost extra. After the introductory phase, when you’ll have more than the current two weeks before departure to know which aircraft will be deployed, all seat reservations will likely be subject to charges, except for the Classic Seats.

The assignment of individual seats to the categories is not entirely clear. Some blogs circulate incorrect information, especially regarding the seats with extra-long beds. Below is a look at our current definition of the seat plan, showing only the front cabin of the Airbus A350. There is another, smaller cabin with a similar layout behind it.

So, out of the 20 seats in the front half of the cabin, only 6 seats will be available without an additional fee. What happens then if all seats are booked and only paid ones are left? That is still open, as is the question of how expensive the individual seat reservations will be. The suites in the front row will certainly be (significantly) more expensive than the other seats.

But let’s return briefly to the seat selection during the introductory phase. For some reason, the seats with extra-long beds are not marked on the seat map. After a closer look at the seat map, I was sure that it must be 4G, 6D, 10G, and 12D, so I chose one of them. Meanwhile, Johannes chose a privacy window seat further forward. The suites were already blocked for Miles&More Senators.

Online Check-in & Pre-ordering Meals

Online check-in is officially available at Lufthansa 30 hours before departure. Gone are the days when we could sell this as a secret tip to access the best seats first.

We had actually expected that the suites in the front row would be opened for all passengers at the latest during check-in. But that was not the case: they remained blocked. So, we settled for a window and an aisle seat (with a long bed). Surprisingly, the business class was still quite empty, despite it being the first publicly bookable Allegris flight.

Around the same time, I remembered that Lufthansa has been letting you pre-order meals in business class for several months. The link was also included in an email titled Your personal travel information, sent 3 days before departure. Among all the irrelevant information there, it’s easy to miss.

Lufthansa promises 6 meal options online, offering 3 additional options compared to the onboard menu. The options were:

However, Lufthansa does not have the 5-star IT they would like. Therefore, there are already a few small but less significant bugs here. For instance, the online menu included German asparagus with veal fillet, but it couldn’t be selected online. Additionally, while only one meal per person can be ordered, the quantity can be increased arbitrarily:

Just to be safe, I ordered the salmon twice and was curious to see what would happen.

Check-in at the Counter

Check-in was done in Berlin in my case. There is no separate first check-in like in Munich (or previously in Tegel), just three queues: Economy, Business Class, and First Class including Star Alliance Gold.

There were some discussions with the woman in front of me at the first counter, so both the business and economy lines would have been faster. Unfortunately, the idea of waving a passenger from the first class line over did not occur to them. But I ultimately only waited for about 5 minutes and then proceeded directly to the adjacent fast track at security.

Business Class Feeder Flight

After a sandwich from the Mövenpick Café (thanks to Amex) and a visit to the Berlin Lufthansa Lounge, I first boarded an Airbus A321 bound for Munich.

So, after a while, I once again experienced the “pleasure” of the Tasting Heimat. Personally, I couldn’t make much of the three different vegetable mousses. Johannes, on the flight from Cologne/Bonn, had the same selection and found it quite good. Alongside, there was a coffee cake (dry) with raspberry and vanilla cream (delicious).

The seat pitch is unacceptable for a business class, and the camping chairs without headrests also earn some negative points. However, none of this should surprise anyone. The only silver lining was the (promised) unoccupied middle seat. In my case, the entire row remained empty.

A small bonus from Lufthansa’s IT: 30 minutes after takeoff from BER, I received an email saying that the gate in Berlin had changed.

Lounge in Munich

In Munich, I had about four hours of layover time. So, I first went to the Senator Café (Review), which still holds up quite well. However, a business class ticket alone is not sufficient for access; you also need Star Alliance Gold status.

From there, I headed to the Senator lounge in the Satellite (L-Gates). Conveniently, the aircraft was parked right next to it. The decor feels somewhat outdated. The food selection was okay and included two favourites: potato salad and Bavarian Leberkäse.

The lounge also has a manned bar, showers, and some workspaces for laptops. As a rule, the further away from the buffet you go, the quieter it gets. The differences compared to the adjacent business lounge (intended for business passengers) are minimal.

Boarding

At the airport, we met a colleague from Reisetopia and strolled to the gate 20 minutes before departure. Since we had already been exposed as bloggers, we asked if we could board a bit earlier to take some photos of the empty cabin.

For this flight, it paid off that some Lufthansa addresses were also in our newsletter distribution list. There were some senior Lufthansa staff at the gate to celebrate the second flight and ensure everything was in order. One of them revealed himself as a longtime reader of Travel-Dealz. He had already arranged to put us in the suite, which is usually reserved for Senators. So, a big thank you for that.

I (Peer) declined the generous offer after some consideration and “sacrificed” myself to test the regular seat (in this case, with an extended bed). Johannes remained in the suite to report on the best seat in the aircraft, at least until the first seats are installed.

In the first few weeks, all Allegris passengers receive a small travel guide for Toronto or Vancouver. The guide is more of a Lufthansa advertisement than a travel guide, but it does contain some interesting facts about the Allegris cabin.

Next to us, two vloggers also identified themselves at the gate. However, we were very relieved that the celebrities (SamChui, two German YouTubers, Dirk Nowitzki and Co) had already flown to Vancouver the day before. So our flight should be more or less a normal scheduled flight.

With a delay of almost half an hour, boarding finally began. They granted the request to let us board first. However, just 10 seconds after us, the first other passengers arrived, and the calm photos were over. However, we couldn’t expect them to further delay the already late boarding for us. Therefore, the cabin looks a bit more chaotic in some photos.

Cabin

At some point, the cabin of some Airbus A350s will consist of four classes. There will be 3 1⁄2 seats in first class, 38 seats in business class, 24 seats in premium economy, and 201 seats in economy class.

However, Lufthansa still has certification issues with the first seats. In order to finally get the Allegris product off the ground, a few economy seats were installed instead. This area may not be entered during the flight, nor may the toilet there be used. We took a brief look inside on the ground:

Unfortunately, there was no time for a visit to the economy class. But at least I managed to take a quick photo of the premium economy with new shell seats. I am still not convinced by the concept of pushing the seat forward instead of tilting the backrest. But we’ll have to look at that in practice later.

For us, the new business class was primarily interesting on this flight. It consists of a total of 38 seats, divided into two cabins. Each cabin has 4 suites with doors, and behind them are the other seat types. In the front cabin, Lufthansa does not have overhead bins in the middle of the cabin. The rear, smaller cabin, on the other hand, does have overhead bins in the middle. This makes a significant difference in the sense of space.

Here’s the seat plan from AeroLopa, as it’s a bit clearer than Lufthansa’s:

I chose seat 10G, Johannes had a boarding pass for 2G. However, we later also tested all the other seat types. I have flown numerous business products around the world, but Allegris seems a bit… peculiar at first glance. Normally, there’s a clear seating scheme that runs through the entire cabin. With Allegris, there are almost no straight lines, but mostly curved elements. This is not necessarily a negative point, but it is certainly very unusual.

Here are a few photos of the individual seats from different categories or (later) price levels:

For couples travelling together, the middle seats, i.e., D and G in rows 2 (Suite), 6 (Duo Seat), 8 (Suite), or 12 (Duo Seat), should be chosen. Rows 4 and 10 are also suitable, in which case only the storage compartment blocks the view of the other person.

I quite like the colour scheme. There are some grey elements, but the dark blue seat cushions and the correspondingly coloured back wall (with logo) break it up nicely. Overall, I liked the Allegris cabin in this regard better than the old business class.

I was surprised at how low the walls between the individual seats are (Lufthansa mentions at least 114cm). Only the four or eight suites at the front are isolated from the rest of the cabin by shoulder-high walls. This means that everyone passing through the aisles can see the faces of the other passengers.

The seat numbers are displayed on the side walls and initially illuminated. Later in the flight, this lighting was turned off and was practically no longer visible. If you forget where exactly you are sitting, you have a problem and may need to ask the crew for help. Dimming the number lighting is certainly useful, but completely turning it off is counterproductive in my opinion.

The Seat – with extended bed

Let’s move on to the eagerly awaited point: the new seat in the business class. To avoid constantly switching between individual seats, the focus here is on the originally booked seat: 10G, meaning an aisle seat with an extra-long bed. That’s where I spent most of the flight and managed to get some sleep, at least for a short while.

The Classic Seats (which are later freely selectable) and the seats with the extra-long bed are almost identical in almost every aspect. The only differences are (surprise, surprise) the length of the bed and the width of the legroom. This is because these seats are directly behind the throne. The space used for a small passageway on one side is used to extend the legroom on the other side. You have to look at the seat plan a bit more closely to recognize this (it’s reversed in the row behind):

But let’s move away from the rendered images. This is what seat 10G looks like in reality:

Seat Features

At my seat, there were five buttons on the left armrest for seat control. One lowers the seat towards a lying position, another raises it back up. Additionally, the firmness of the seat cushion can be adjusted there. Finally, there’s a button to control the ambient lighting.

Taking a tour around the seat, you can’t miss the large screen in the sidewall. It not only controls (partially) the entertainment system but also the seat itself. At some point, anyway… Until at least half an hour after takeoff, the functions for adjusting the seat position and firmness were greyed out. And this, even though adjusting via the physical hardware buttons was already possible. During announcements, the touch panel is then locked again.

The functions on the screen go far beyond what the buttons next to it offer. The footrest, seat cushion, and backrest can all be adjusted independently here. But it’s not just a screen; it’s a 10″ tablet: You can also pick it up and use it more comfortably.

Furthermore, the lights can be controlled, of which there are a total of three: a reading light that folds out, a lamp with pleasant yellow light, and the typical lighting from the cabin ceiling. Plus, there’s the dimmable ambient lighting.

Individual temperature control is an innovation. This works not via air vents but like seat heating and cooling in a car. When it’s too cold, wires in the backrest heat up the surface. For cooling, several small fans are built in to provide better ventilation of the backrest.

I don’t find the sensation on my back particularly pleasant, but it’s certainly better than not being able to sleep in a hot cabin. Johannes was much more impressed by the cooling function. So, each passenger can create their own microclimate. If it’s too warm before takeoff, you can quickly achieve a comfortable temperature within seconds through seat cooling. A timer function would be desirable, e.g., if you want to sleep but it’s too warm. Running the seat cooling continuously is certainly not a good idea.

Regardless, the classic air vents work independently. They’re not (as usual) installed in the cabin ceiling but on the side. They can be controlled either via a small touch panel or by turning the nozzle. Using the buttons, you can turn the airflow on and off or choose between three different levels. More and more airlines are foregoing these vents, which earns them negative points from me. However, Lufthansa’s solution is quite pleasing.

There’s also an inconspicuous plastic ring on the wall. This is a convenient place to store your glasses. Other glasses wearers can surely relate to the problem: Either you put them on the side table (and risk them sliding into the seat) or in the storage compartment (and smudge them). The glasses holder is a small but very welcome addition.

Charging options are also available, of course. Specifically, there’s a USB-A charging port, a USB-C port, and a 110V universal socket. In my case, they were located on the centre console. But the position varies, you guessed it, depending on which seat is selected. Additionally, there’s the option to wirelessly charge smartphones, smartwatches, mice, etc., via Qi.

Storage & Tray Tables

Depending on which of the 38 seats is being evaluated, this section can be between 2 and 8 paragraphs long. In the case of my Classic Seat with a long bed, there’s not much to report. Because the storage space is extremely limited, and so are the tray tables.

There’s only one compartment for personal items, which is almost full with the amenity kit, water bottle, and headphones. If you add a smartphone and wallet, it’s almost overflowing. Additionally, there’s only the literature pocket for the safety card, etc. A laptop can’t be accommodated anywhere and must be placed in the overhead bin during takeoff and landing.

Regarding the platform, it’s no better. There’s only a small side platform available. With some contortion, a laptop can fit there, but then there’s no room for anything else. The only alternative is to place it on top of the entertainment screen. However, this is only a temporary solution and is not recommended. It’s likely to fall to the floor, especially during turbulence.

Let’s briefly talk about the tray table. It’s wide enough to accommodate a laptop with a mouse on it, but it’s not particularly deep. One positive aspect is that it can be adjusted forward and backwards. If you’re currently eating, you can slide the table and tray all the way forward and still reach the aisle. I can’t say if this applies to all seats because Lufthansa installs three completely different tables, depending on the seat type.

Privacy

If privacy is desired, one should reserve one of the suites or privacy seats. There’s not much privacy at the other seats. This is partly because the partitions between most seats are only 114 cm high, which isn’t much.

But for that to be relevant, there would have to be a wall in the first place. The Classic Seats are almost completely open to the aisle. This can’t be changed even with a small plastic wing-shaped privacy screen. Even when lying in bed, you can be seen by all other guests. Here’s a view into the aisle from the lying position:

It’s not like other passengers were constantly walking by. But privacy is definitely not a strong point of the “regular” seats. Maybe some people prefer such an open design to avoid feeling cramped. I’m not a fan of sliding doors, but I would prefer a bit more privacy. The only positive thing to note is that privacy is at least slightly better than in the old Lufthansa business class.

If you’re sitting in the middle, you can extend a partition to the seat neighbour. This works well.

Seat Comfort

During takeoff and landing, a shoulder harness must be worn. Unlike Finnair‘s, this one doesn’t scratch the neck and isn’t particularly bothersome. It can be removed shortly after takeoff.

Initially, the seat felt a bit too firm to me. However, this was easily remedied by releasing some air from the lumbar support. After that, I sat really comfortably and didn’t feel any pressure even after several hours. The seat is comfortable both in the upright position and when sitting relaxed in lounge mode. I also had no issue with the width, although there are surely more spacious seats available.

By the way, the armrest can be lowered. It doesn’t make a big difference, but at least it allows for better access to the aisle.

Sleep Comfort

When it comes to sleep comfort, I am very demanding. Unfortunately, airlines don’t always consider nearly 2-meter-tall side sleepers. And so, this issue often makes me feel less comfortable even in hyped seats, like the Polaris business class.

However, Lufthansa has specifically hired Dirk Nowitzki to test the seats with the long bed. If he feels comfortable, then I should as well, right?

That’s true, but with a big but. For comparison, I sat in one of the Classic Seats and was disappointed by how short and narrow the legroom was. I found myself simultaneously hitting my head, feet, and knees against the plastic casing there. I had already experienced this in the LATAM business class, where I could hardly get any sleep.

But let’s return to the seat with the long bed. The conditions there are significantly better. A glance at the legroom confirms this. Not only is it long, but also wide. According to Lufthansa, the bed is supposed to be 2.20 meters long. This seems about right because even with a pillow, I didn’t bump into anything.

Lufthansa also advertises a Shoulder Sink-in, which is supposed to provide high comfort for side sleepers. This also works well in practice. However, since I only slept for an hour on the short flight, I cannot provide a long-term assessment.

Lufthansa provides a pillow and a blanket. Neither of them matches the bedding of United, but the large pillow is commendable, and the blanket is quite comfortable. There are no slippers in the business class, but they are available in premium economy. Odd decision.

What’s also missing is a mattress pad. Apparently, this is only provided on night flights lasting over 10 hours. This excludes many transatlantic flights to the east. The same goes for pyjamas. Usually, there is nothing, but on night flights over 10 hours, at least a sleeping shirt is provided. If you want matching pants, you have to book the Business Class Suite (or later the first class).

A side note: The seat adjustment sometimes inexplicably gets stuck. I sometimes needed several attempts to get the seat into the recline position or vice versa. It’s best to adjust the seat without sitting on it yourself.

Food & Drink

The service started on the ground with the welcome drink. Since the beginning of May, there have been two small changes to the service: in addition to the welcome drink, a small bag of almonds is now served, and there is also the new Avionic cocktail. This is a pre-mixed aperitif with peach and citrus notes. As additional options, there are champagne, orange juice (with pulp), or still water.

Lunch

Due to some turbulence after takeoff, service started comparatively late, almost an hour after departure, with the first major drinks round. Right with that, a small appetizer was served. Such an amuse-bouche is an innovation for Lufthansa and was not previously served. However, the appetizer consisted only of a few olives with pieces of Parmesan.

Here’s the menu for lunch. It seems to be identical for all MUC-YYZ flights in May:

For the appetizer, I chose the beef slices and a roll. I was told that the brioche-like seed roll was new. Elsewhere, I had read that this would apply to the mini loaf of bread. In any case, the roll tasted good, and it was warm. It was served with Belgian butter and olive oil.

I was still curious about my two pre-ordered salmon dishes. Not because I necessarily wanted to eat two main courses, but rather because I was interested in how the crew would handle it. The disappointment: initially, they didn’t even realize that I had pre-ordered anything, but eventually, they served me one (yes, just one!) salmon dish. Perhaps I could have gotten a second one upon request, but it wasn’t that important to me.

The salmon looked quite dry in the online image. And even on the table in front of me, it didn’t look appealing at all. However, the salmon tasted good and was super juicy. Nevertheless, the potatoes were overcooked, and the spinach was rather bland.

Johannes had ordered the asparagus with veal steak in his suite. The steak was quite dry, but the asparagus was well done for plane standards.

For dessert, I chose the caramel tart and a cheese plate. Both were good to very good. Later, there was also a Magnum ice cream. However, it could well be that it was only intended for suite passengers, and they made an exception because of the inaugural flight.

Snacks

Shortly after lunch was served, the lights in the cabin were turned off. At the same time, the flight attendants began to prepare various snacks in the galley.

Here it will be necessary to distinguish again in the future. Some “premium snacks” are reserved only for the passengers of the 8 suites, including chocolate-covered nuts, chocolate discs, and snack olives. Normally, these will not be found in the galley but will be regularly delivered to the suite.

For everyone (in business class), there are Cantuccini, crackers, and chocolate pieces. Additionally, there is now a fruit selection with strawberries, grapes, and apples, which was provided directly in the galley:

Drinks

Regarding beverages, the usual soft drinks, juices, and so on are available. As for alcoholic beverages:

For many, a look at the wine list is certainly interesting. In May, Duval-Leroy Brut Réserve was served as champagne, with bottle prices around €50. There are also three white and three red wines:

As a welcome drink, there was freshly squeezed orange juice with pulp, later only Albi juice from the Tetra Pak. Unfortunately, even the “fresh” orange juice was not as good as I was used to. It now tastes like the €2 juice from Lidl, whereas before there was really good juice from a Dutch manufacturer. Whether this has been permanently or temporarily replaced, I do not know.

In the galley, there is also a refrigerator with a glass window. This is intended as a kind of self-service bar where every business class passenger can help themselves. You just need to find a good place for the glasses.

The contents, however, were convincing. I immediately spotted my beloved fruit secco from the Van Nahmen brand. It’s a good alcohol-free alternative to wine and the like. The only downside: there were only two bottles loaded, which will probably have to last for the return flight. In addition to that, there was apple-strawberry juice, Bionade, Limoncello, and other drinks from Italy. At least the alcoholic options are supposed to rotate regularly and always follow a higher-level theme.

Dinner

About 2 hours before landing in Toronto – and thus only 3 hours after the dessert of lunch – it was time to eat again. Due to the short flight time, the portions are rather small, but at least they are served again with a dessert. For the main course, there was a choice of two options:

I was surprised that the duck breast was served cold. However, it still tasted good, as did the side dishes. The real highlight, though, was the flavorful chocolate mousse.

Service

After the warm service on the ground, the positive atmosphere continued in the air. Most flight attendants were visibly pleased to finally be able to present the Allegris product. Accordingly, the mood on board was good.

All passengers were addressed by their last names, and that (at least later on) was done from memory. This adds a personal touch that some airlines lack.

There were still some uncertainties in the service here and there, e.g. regarding the self-service bar in the galley. However, this is likely to settle down in the next few weeks once all procedures are clear.

Towards the end of the flight, one or two employees seemed a little annoyed that we kept changing seats and walking through the galley. I can’t blame them for that because it was a very special situation for both us and the crew. On the other hand, other crew members were enthusiastic and we had pleasant conversations until the end.

Ultimately, the service depends on the selection and the crew’s mood on the day. Regarding this issue, my experiences with Lufthansa are quite mixed. Everything from grumpy to cheerful and joking can happen. A prediction is almost impossible. I can only evaluate the experience on this one flight, which is certainly influenced by the maiden flight and possibly also by our recognizable position as travel bloggers.

In-Flight Entertainment

In-flight entertainment is another aspect that varies depending on the seat. Although the operating system is the same, the hardware differs significantly: in the suites and throne seats, there are televisions with generous 27″ (68 cm) diagonals. As far as I know, this is the largest screen currently installed in a business class.

The other seats, however, have to make do with rather average 18″ (45 cm) screens. They all share the 4K resolution, which, incidentally, is becoming a new standard even in the economy class.

If you’ve already seen all the movies (rather unlikely) or can’t find anything interesting, you can switch to one of the external cameras. Airbus installed 5 cameras for different perspectives: forward, vertically downward, from the tail fin forward, left, and right. I particularly liked the side view. This way, even in the middle seat, you feel a bit like by the window.

At least, if you’re not wearing glasses at the moment, as I was surprised at how poor the resolution of all 5 video cameras was. Moreover, the stream from the cameras was quite jerky and occasionally stuttered. The idea deserves 5 stars, but the implementation gets a maximum of 3.

Unfortunately, it’s also not possible to open both the camera and the flight map simultaneously. The conditions should be ideal for this: you could display the map on the tablet and at the same time the cameras on the screen. However, this option is not provided. Air France manages this better with just one screen than Lufthansa with two.

At least you could also view the cameras on the tablet. But then there are huge black bars on both sides. Because the 10″ tablet is designed only for portrait mode, not to be held horizontally. The form factor of the whole thing is also somewhat surprising: the tablet is at least twice as thick and heavy as a modern tablet. And that’s even though it should be lighter, as it doesn’t even need a battery – it’s wired.

In general, it’s not always possible to simply transfer content from the tablet to the big screen. An alternative can be controlling the touchscreen with a smartphone. You call up a website via the onboard Wi-Fi and authenticate with a code. Then you can directly control the large screen with a swipe. Primarily practical in the suite, where reaching the large screen while strapped in is otherwise difficult. Unfortunately, when switching between the tablet and the screen, you always have to re-pair.

The flight map is provided by the FlightPath3D program. This is currently the best software I know for this purpose. When zooming in very close to a city, the map switches to an OpenStreetMap mode, where you can even find your own house. Whether that’s useful is another question. In any case, there are numerous control options.

As for the selection of movies and series, Lufthansa also doesn’t need to hide from the competition. I counted more than 300 movies, and there are also several whole seasons of various TV series. The selection of games, on the other hand, is rather meagre, but nowadays almost everyone should have their own device anyway. If you like, you can check the current entertainment program online before departure.

The headphones provided by AEG for borrowing are not particularly convincing in terms of noise cancellation or sound quality. But if you already have your own headphones with you, you can be happy – because they can simply be paired with the entertainment system via Bluetooth.

The eJournals (eBooks of magazines) can be displayed directly on the tablet. So it becomes a kind of eBook reader. In principle, it also works on the touchscreen, but the contents are neither easy to read nor easy to operate.

The entertainment system is still somewhat buggy. For instance, the flight map suddenly switched to Indian, although German was selected as the system language. On the other hand, half an hour before landing, my large IFE screen suddenly got stuck. It could only be controlled via the tablet, but not via the touchscreen anymore. A reset wouldn’t have been worthwhile at that point.

WiFi

A wireless internet connection is available in the form of Lufthansa FlyNet. The price is €25 to surf for the entire flight. At least, that’s the theory. In practice, the internet was painfully slow, with speeds around 1 Mbit/s instead of the promised 4. Moreover, it was occasionally unavailable altogether. So, uploading images is out of the question; only loading emails, WordPress, and the like works with a corresponding wait time.

Extras

Lufthansa provides two toilets for the business class with 38 seats. This is a worse ratio than in many other Lufthansa planes. It’s also not allowed to use the forward first-class toilet, even currently when the corresponding seats are still missing.

There were never long lines in front of the toilet on the flight to Toronto. However, I suspect that this issue could cause problems on the return flight to Europe. Because just before landing, everyone wants to freshen up quickly, change clothes, and possibly brush their teeth.

Speaking of toilets… there are amenities such as mouthwash, eye masks, earplugs, and combs that you can use:

Additionally, there’s, of course, an amenity kit. For the introduction of the Allegris business class, there’s a special limited edition in a hard case. It’s surprisingly well-built and the best amenity kit I’ve received in business class so far. However, it will probably only be distributed in the first few weeks or months. Later on, you’ll only get the regular amenity kit in the form of a reusable shopping bag.

The Amenity Kit from the Life Collection can also be purchased for a staggering €49 in the Lufthansa Worldshop. But that seems very expensive to me for a piece of (hard) plastic.

Conclusion

The product is overwhelming, but not only in a positive sense. I found it very difficult to give the Allegris business class a star rating at all. Five out of ten sub-ratings are strongly influenced by the choice of seats. Thus, e.g. privacy ranges from “almost non-existent” to “own suite above the clouds.” Accordingly, the conclusion is disappointing to excellent.

What’s clear to me is that the Classic Seat is nothing special. There are a few nice features that other airlines don’t offer, such as seat cooling and heating. However, in terms of privacy and sleeping comfort, the seat is not much better than the current product. People taller than about 1.85m may have problems with the Classic Seat. To avoid this, they will have to be a Senator, pay a surcharge, or play the seat lottery and wait until check-in. Then the question arises: Why should I do that when I can fly with a consistent product like the British Airways Club Suite for the same price and avoid such gimmicks?

In one cabin, Lufthansa combines probably the world’s best business-class seat (the suite) with a maximally average product. Ultimately, the entire Allegris concept from the passenger’s point of view depends on how expensive the surcharge for the good seats is.

Here’s a brief list of pros and cons, but it doesn’t take into account all the quirks.

• High seat comfort
• Many different seat types that cover (almost) all needs
• Individually adjustable seat heating and cooling
• Good sleeping comfort in Suite, Privacy Seat, Throne, and seat with long bed
• Enormous space in the (probably expensive) Business Class Suite
• Good selection of (also non-alcoholic) drinks

• Confusing seating concept
• Seat reservation becomes chargeable in practice for many customers
• Short, narrow bed at the Classic Seat
• Very little storage space and shelving at the Classic Seat
• Little privacy (with many seats)
• Only a few two-seater seats for travelling together
• Entertainment system is not yet fully developed

The following star rating refers exclusively to the Classic Seat with an extra-long bed

Thank you!

At this point, I would like to thank all Lufthansa employees in Munich and on board who ensured that the Allegris premiere to Toronto became a special experience.

Translated by Ditmar