Lufthansa Allegris Business Class on the 787: Better, But Not Memorable

Lufthansa’s Allegris product has been in development long enough that expectations were high by the time it reached the 787. The new business class cabin on the Dreamliner earns four stars — a real improvement over the old product — but with enough caveats that anyone evaluating a Lufthansa redemption should read the fine print before booking.

What the Review Found

The Allegris cabin on the 787 features five different seat types, which is itself the core problem. Passengers in the same business class cabin have “a vastly different experience depending on the seat they end up in.” The privacy seats — window-positioned with genuine seclusion — are excellent. Other seat configurations are more constrained. Row 2 is blocked by Lufthansa due to certification issues.

The seat at its best: An 18-inch 4K entertainment screen, spacious footwell, and a configuration that converts to a flat bed without the restrictive geometry of inferior rows. Genuine privacy. For a transatlantic overnight, the best Allegris seats compete with the field.

The food: The review is direct — the seafood stew was “just bad,” with rubbery seafood and minimal broth. Breakfast proved similarly disappointing. Wine selections ran out mid-service on a 9-hour transatlantic flight. Service was glacially slow — nearly three hours from initial drinks to meal completion. This is a significant operational failure that premium cabin pricing doesn’t excuse.

Additional friction: No individual air nozzles throughout the cabin. WiFi pricing involved what the reviewer characterizes as “bait and switch” — €29 charged instead of the €25 advertised. These aren’t safety issues, but they’re part of the experience calculation.

The competitive context: “Air France still offers a better experience.” For routes where both carriers operate, this is the most actionable line in the review. Lufthansa’s Allegris investment was substantial; the execution on service and food on this particular flight suggests the hardware improvement outpaced the soft product.

The Redemption Math

The reviewer booked via Aeroplan at 75,000 points plus $58 on the Austin-Frankfurt route. Aeroplan is a non-Oneworld program (Air Canada is Star Alliance), but it prices Lufthansa business class competitively. For Oneworld and Alaska Atmos members, Lufthansa isn’t a primary target — but it’s accessible as a Star Alliance partner through programs that transfer.

British Airways Avios, AA AAdvantage, and Iberia Plus all allow Star Alliance bookings in specific markets. The question for redemption planners is whether the 75,000-point Aeroplan rate or equivalent pricing justifies the product, given that the same point buckets could access Air France La Premiere or Qatar Qsuites on competing routes.

Source: One Mile at a Time

Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.