Review: Lufthansa Allegris SUITE Business Class

For many years, Lufthansa has flown millions of passengers around the world with a solid and consistent business seat. They stuck with it for a long time, even as other airlines opted for much more privacy through either seating arrangements or by installing suites. When Lufthansa first introduced the new Allegris cabin concept, we were amazed at how many different types of seats one could fit into an aircraft. While passengers no longer need to climb over each other’s feet, the difference between the seats could not be more extreme. There are suites that offer a lot of privacy with a door and raised side walls, and completely open seats directly by the aisle without any additional privacy.

We were able to get a first glimpse into the Allegris cabin during a roadshow across Germany in July 2023, and finally, 7 years (which must be mentioned in every Allegris article) after the initial renderings, it was finally time. The first official Allegris long-haul flight departed on May 1 towards Vancouver. Unfortunately, Lufthansa had completely removed the business class from sale on the inaugural flight, but we were surprised to find good award availability for the second inaugural flight to Toronto just a day later. So, the decision to book the inaugural flight with the new cabin to Toronto on May 2, 2024, was made relatively quickly for 78,000 miles + €108 taxes & fees.

We were most excited about experiencing the new suite, but unfortunately, these were blocked for HON Circle members and Senators during the introductory phase. They were not released even during check-in. However, since we had announced that we would be on the inaugural flight to Toronto and have a loyal newsletter subscriber at Lufthansa in Munich, we received an “upgrade” to the double suite at the gate. However, our goal was to gather as many impressions of the different seats as possible. Therefore, we declined at least one of the two upgrades so that Peer could test the seat offering particularly ample legroom.

In the end, however, we were able to test both the single and double suites in the middle as they were unoccupied, which is good because there are also significant differences between them.

Ultimately, we decided to write two reviews of the same flight directly. To avoid repetition, we will only extensively cover service and everything around the flight in the review of the “standard seats”:

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

This review focuses on the benefits of the suite, the differences from the other seats, and even among themselves. Let’s get started!

Flight Details

Here are the obligatory flight details:

• Flight: LH494 Munich MUC – Toronto YYZ
• Seat: Mainly single suite 2K by the window, but also double suite 2D/G in the middle
• Aircraft: D-AIXT (delivered April 2024)
• Scheduled Departure: 3:50 PM
• Scheduled Arrival: 6:35 PM
• Block Time: 8 hours 45 minutes
• Travel Date: May 2, 2024

Suite Features

The number one feature of the suites is a significant increase in privacy. The noticeably higher walls and the almost equally high door shield passengers from the views of other guests. Number two is significantly more space. Since there is no seat in front of you, you have the entire space to yourself. However, Lufthansa also attempts to differentiate the suite from other business class seats through additional points.

One such point is an additional mattress topper for sleeping, already rolled up and waiting at the seat, along with a pyjama. Currently, the pyjama still bears a First Class label. According to the crew, at least a sleep shirt will also be distributed to other business class passengers on longer red-eye flights.

Since there are no further seats in front of the suites, the legroom when sleeping is significantly larger than with the other seats.

To prevent suite guests from dehydrating, a “mini-bar” is available as an extra. However, it only contains two bottles of water, and it is all unchilled and thus quite useless. On the return flight from Toronto, there was only one water bottle on the seat, just like on the other business seats, and it wasn’t even in the minibar. Hopefully, this will improve soon.

In addition to the regular menu for business class, suite guests also receive a welcome brochure during boarding, highlighting additional drinks and snacks exclusive to suite guests, which can be ordered after the first meal.

On our flight, this included, among others, alcohol-free fruit secco, Bionade, Mionetto il Spriz, Crew Republic India Pale Ale, and Hendrick’s and Elephant London Dry Gin. It’s definitely an enhancement, but a more exclusive option would certainly be a selection of freshly prepared cocktails.

Among the exclusive snacks were roasted almonds and olives from Mr. Filbert’s, and potato chips from Keogh’s. At least on our inaugural flight, the suite snacks and drinks were freely available to all business passengers in the galley. The drinks are stored in a separate refrigerator, which currently does not have any indication for other passengers. This will likely change, at the latest, after the introductory phase. Presumably, the snacks will then only be served to suite guests at regular intervals or upon request.

Entertainment is provided by a 27-inch 4K monitor. Normally, the display diagonal is only 18 inches in the rest of the cabin (except for the throne seats, where it is also 27 inches). Thus, Lufthansa currently offers the largest screen in a business class worldwide. It would certainly be advantageous if the content and exterior cameras were also provided in 4K resolution. Unfortunately, this is currently lacking.

However, the size of the suite also poses a problem in that you can no longer operate the large screen by touch while strapped in. If you have flight information or cameras on the large screen, the tablet remains black and no longer serves for seat adjustments.

Instead, you can pair your smartphone with the entertainment system and control it by swipe. However, it would be much more intuitive to use the tablet as a “remote control” for the large screen. Unfortunately, this is currently not planned. However, you can still cast movies and series to the large screen and continue using the tablet normally, e.g. for seat adjustments.

In the Airbus A350-900, the row with four suites is located at the beginning of both business cabin sections. Only the first class is in front of the first row of business class (2A/D/G/K), separated by a curtain. The situation is different in the second section of the business class cabin in row 8A/D/G/K. There, the galley and toilets for the entire business class are located in front of the row with the suites. So, you can expect significantly more foot traffic and noise. At least on my return flight, I had switched to 8K at the last minute and was surprised at how little I noticed the galley and also the toilets. This is certainly also due to the fact that an additional wall with storage space is installed for the single seats.

There are significant differences not only between the standard seats but also between the double and single suites:

Special Features of the Double Suite

The double suite in the middle is clearly intended for couples who want to travel together while still enjoying a lot of (but not too much) privacy. However, a privacy screen can also be raised in the middle, allowing solo travellers to use the suite as well. To be more precise, there are two privacy screens: one vertically adjustable electric wall, and from this wall, an additional manually operated side privacy screen can be extended. The operation of the electrically adjustable wall is the responsibility of the crew, while passengers can extend the side privacy screen themselves as needed.

Even when the privacy screen is completely lowered, there is still no double bed in the suite. This is unlike e.g. Qatar Airways’ QSuite Double Suite or the future Lufthansa Allegris First Class Suite Plus. There is still a fairly wide and tall separation between the two seats.

However, since the privacy screen is not as high as the walls around the suite, the window suite is still the better choice for solo travellers. Partly because of the storage space:

The storage space in the double suite is limited. There is a closed compartment at the feet where you can store your laptop and tablet, and an open compartment for safety cards, onboard magazines, etc. The minibar and headphones are hidden in the armrest. Unfortunately, there is no additional storage space. Additionally, Lufthansa has also omitted overhead bins in the middle, so passengers must use the overhead bins above the single suite. However, this naturally provides significantly more headroom.

Due to the high walls and the single suite opposite, you are indeed very shielded, but even during a daytime flight, significantly less daylight enters the double suite than the rest of the cabin. Although Lufthansa has attempted to counteract this in the design by using frosted glass for the upper rear part of the walls, I still spent most of my time in the single suite simply because it was much more pleasant during a daytime flight (and I also appreciate the view).

By chance, we also discovered that the screens in the double suite can be flipped up, allowing you to hang a baby bassinet underneath. So far, Lufthansa only promotes this for the special Privacy Seat in the last row of a cabin section.

Special Features of the Single Suite

The single suite by the window offers by far the most space, storage, and shelf space in the cabin. In contrast to the double suite, Lufthansa has provided an additional ceiling-height wall for the foot space in the single suite, as well as more storage space. Additionally, the table completely disappears under the screen when folded in the single suite.

The major advantage of the single suite is definitely the storage space. In the additional wall towards the future first class or the galley, there are two compartments. The upper one serves as a wardrobe with sufficient width for a jacket and coat, as well as a mirror. The lower one is a second compartment with more depth than width for a larger bag.

There is also a large compartment in the sideboard by the window where you can stow a small bag. At the feet, there is another closed compartment where a laptop and tablet fit wonderfully, and an open compartment for safety cards, onboard magazines, etc.

As if that weren’t enough, there is also a compartment with a rolling door next to the seat, where there is space for both headphones and the amenity kit. There is so much storage space that you could unpack your entire suitcase here. However, you have to be careful to pack everything back up.

Conclusion

Overall, one could speak of a First Light, even though service likely makes up a large part of the first-class experience, which is only at the level of business class in this case. Although Lufthansa has tried to elevate the culinary level with the minibar, additional drinks, and distinguished snacks, these are certainly not a decisive factor for booking the business suite in its current form. However, the suite definitely scores a lot of points for the added privacy, significantly more storage space, and even greater sleeping comfort due to the mattress topper.

For our final evaluation, we have adopted the points (Check-in & Boarding, Lounge, Food & Beverage, Service, In-Flight Entertainment, Extras & Wi-Fi) from our review of the Allegris Business Class and adjusted the points concerning the suite:

Outlook for Regular Operations

Currently (May 2024), there is only one aircraft (D-AIXT) in service in regular operations. Currently, the destinations Vancouver and Toronto are flown to alternately. However, a second A350 is expected to be added soon, and in the long term, a large part of the fleet will be retrofitted.

The question we cannot answer is, how much the suite will cost as an additional charge, and if it will be worth it. We hope to receive more information on this in the second quarter of 2024 and are also curious about how well the business suite will be accepted by regular passengers at the price premium. Our estimate is at least €300 and up to €600 per flight.

Translated by Ditmar