Here is Lufthansa's new Airbus A320neo business class seat (seriously)
By David Flynn, April 12 2018
Lufthansa has revealed its new 2019 business class seat for the German airline's Airbus A320neo and A321neo jets, so without further ado, here it is...
If you think it looks less like business class and more like economy, there's a good reason: it is an economy class seat. Lufthansa's new A320neo and A321neo business class seat is essentially the same slimline economy seat as fitted to the rest of the aircraft.
It's also the same 'business class' seat as you'll find on the A320neo and A321neo jets to be flown by Lufthansa's sibling Swiss, albeit with different trim, colour and branding...
... and also Austrian, for that matter.
Welcome to the latest entrant in the Euro-business class arena, intended for short- to medium-range flights – which makes domestic Australian business class seats flying the same distance look luxurious by comparison.
There's only one difference between the business and economy versions of the new Lufthansa (and Swiss, and Austrian) Euro-business class seat.
A subtle difference
The standard seat comes with the back fixed at a 20 degree recline: something which seat manufacturer Geven describes as a 'precline', because it's preset and can't be adjusted by the passenger, but serves to make travel "more comfortable not only during the flight, but also while the aircraft is taxiing, during take-off and landing."
However, the business class seat allows travellers to hit a recline button for a little extra tilt.
"In addition to the already-integrated precline Relax position of 20°, the (business class) seat backrest can be adjusted, resulting in a 'double recline' of 26°," a spokesman for Lufthansa told Australian Business Traveller.
Geven says the seats have an “arm-to-arm width larger than 18 inches", but Lufthansa hasn't revealed the seat pitch – although the airline says the new 'horizontally designed' literature pocket at the rear of the seat will leave a little extra room at the knees.
And that's about it, apart from the Euro-business convention of having the middle seat of three remain empty.
The good news? Lufthansa will follow the same group-wide approach for its new long-range business class seat (shown below), which the German airline will debut on its Boeing 777-8 fleet.
Also read: Lufthansa's new Boeing 777X business class seats revealed
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 88
What a pathetic joke. It's amazing the UK and European carriers continue to ply this absolute gee up.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Apr 2017
Total posts 131
I’ve paid a couple of times on European airline, but definitely because I needed lounge access, not because I needed the super awesome seats that they have.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Mar 2018
Total posts 11
If you are living for example in Portugal (very small country), and willing to go to HKG in Business class, Lufthansa offers the service from Porto until the end (via Frankfort)..and YES this is the seat you get on the short leg! (You are mostly seated in the front and if plane is empty, middle seat is down and become an armrest...)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Jul 2013
Total posts 207
I think most pax "paying" for Euro business class are probably using these short-haul flights to connect to/from a minor city on the carriers' network and the carriers' major hub to then connect to/from a long-haul flight in Business or First. So there's probably very little incremental extra cost for the short-haul sector being added on to the overall ticket price. I find this happens all the time when I travel into Europe with BA, LH or AF in Business or First, my onward travel in Euro Business Class from LHR, FRA or CDG to a secondary city in Europe barely changes the total price of my ticket. Also, the airlines have the flexibility to move the divider between Economy and Business to suit the demand on the particular sector. I was on one BA flight from LHR to HAM that had about eight rows of Club Europe because of a large delegation of conference attendees inbound on Club World and First services connecting with that particular flight. On the HAM-LHR return flight two days later the Club Europe "cabin" was back down to just four rows.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 208
And people complain about 1st class in the US.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2011
Total posts 361
See, you do run stories on Economy innovation...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Dec 2017
Total posts 52
I happily pay for BA Club Euro.... for the stat creds!
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 600
Certainly better than CW between Sydney and London relatively speaking.
11 Dec 2015
Total posts 85
I understand the practice of blocking the middle seat to create "business class" on an already all-economy configured plane, but if you're going to the trouble of a new fit-out with a new seat, surely it would make more sense to just have 2 x wider seats and much more comfort rather than this half-arsed attempt.
23 May 2014
Total posts 123
It's more about the flexibility this gives the airline - the cabin divider slides forward and backward as needed, so they can do a business cabin of 2 rows on one flight and 35 minutes later it's 10 rows on the next flight. Why anyone pays extra for this - even on the company dime - is totally beyond me and I can only image it's just for the FF points and credits. Or maybe a little bit of feeling special and important.
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
@Zac, have you ever experienced and paid for a business class ticket in Europe?!
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
They re-use the plane for charter at high summer pick seasons. And because the distance is always less than 90 min it’s doesn’t matter what the actual plane configuration is.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 600
Whilst most of your points are spot on, main line carriers don’t charter aircraft out out that regularly. The reason they put this kind of seat in is the demand for business varies so much that they do it for load flexibility.
28 Dec 2016
Total posts 70
Well you get what you pay for... i recently paid $2000+ return syd-akl in J which is a 3hr flight
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2014
Total posts 206
agreed, the difference in Europe between Y and J can be as little as 50 euro / pounds for an upgrade.
18 Aug 2015
Total posts 55
Sad, EK used to be $1100 return
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1252
I paid only AUD617 for J return on LATAM’s B789.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Sep 2017
Total posts 159
It looks like something from a gatelounge waiting area!
04 Dec 2013
Total posts 151
They've been like that in J for years. For short hops around Europe it really doesn't matter too much - the food and service are usually very good and the perks on the ground help to make up for it.
13 Sep 2016
Total posts 56
As the article says the seat is already "pre-reclined" at a 20 degree angle, this is actually what Air New Zealand did with its Boeing 787 economy seats. Instead of being upright and then the passenger reclining them the seats are already set at a recline. I was on one of these last year and found it was very comfortable for a short trip 'across the ditch' so the same arrangement should be fine for the short EU flights.
18 Jan 2017
Total posts 53
But when it comes to short hops in Australia (IE Syd - Melb) there is always much higher expectations for J.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Sep 2017
Total posts 159
All it would take would be one carrier in UK/Europe to break ranks and provide a real J-class seat + and it would be a real game changer. It’s just cattle class with better catering plus ground perks.
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
What you are referring to is not at all do-able in the European “open sky” market
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Dec 2014
Total posts 51
Just goes to show how spoiled we are here in Australia.
02 Dec 2016
Total posts 90
Yet... there is a lot of criticism of QF and VA.....
11 Jul 2016
Total posts 8
BA have some 767s they use for European flights, J is in 2-2-2 configuration and if you make the mistake of booking a seat in the left or right column you don't even get a gap between you and your neighbour.
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
You cannot compare the European market with ours! We are paying way too much foroe business and we only have a hamdfull if that of airline to choose from!
07 Oct 2012
Total posts 1249
@chrissol - sorry champ, I'm sure we've all experienced an economy seat before :-p
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
Is that what I referred to?! 🤷♀🤦♂
19 Jun 2014
Total posts 32
Surely Lufthansa can provide more padded seats and space for a nearly 900 dollar flight between Frankfurt and Berlin! If it is for lounge access, you can just buy a economy seat and a nice bottle of champagne to go on the plane!
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
@dommey, not sure where you got $900 AUd from?
19 Jun 2014
Total posts 32
I checked the price on Lufthansa web site. It was 900 AUD return in June.
19 Jun 2014
Total posts 32
900 AUD return for business
12 Apr 2018
Total posts 10
@ dommey
04 Dec 2013
Total posts 151
Also, you will quite often find business class tickets in Europe cost only marginally more than a fully flex Y. That's not to say flex Y isn't absurd it times - I've seen short-haul intra-Europe for more than discount economy return to Australia.
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1435
I remember many many years back in Europe before deregulation I had an 'economy ticket' (linked to an international ticket) on Lufthansa and it was the last three rows. Everybody else was paying a higher cost 'business class' ticket. This is not a new practice it is just with deregulation there are more cheap tickets.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 208
chrissol - it’s a cyclical thing. Here in the US they’ve been through regulation, deregulation, and consolidation. Small operators can only last so long before they get swept up by the big players. I know it’s not exactly the same but I suspect give any market time and you’ll end up with the same outcome.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 600
Think you hit the nail on the head it is what the market demands and what they consider normal. In Europe this is considered normal and is what the market demands.
18 Mar 2016
Total posts 29
I have just flown 2 European sectors of Lufthansa in Business Class. It was sub-standard. Terrible seats, poor food, limited wine, BUT worst of all, off duty pilots in the BEST seats and talking above the rest of the passengers, while the crew fell all over them.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
16 Mar 2016
Total posts 55
I have done a number of short haul business class flights in Europe on European carriers in this type of business class an on most of the flights it appeared to me that most passengers were transferring to or from a long haul flight. The service is a bit better and it is nice to have the empty seat but doubt it is worth the price if it were just a single flight from say London to Amsterdam or Paris. Qantas and Virgin to a much better job with their domestic narrow body business class.
Velocity Platinum
08 Jul 2011
Total posts 16
Sad. Thank goodness Australia is still a civilized nation. Qantas and Virgin are luxury in comparison!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2013
Total posts 43
I remember flying on an internal flight in Spain some years ago in Business on an Iberia A320. There were two of us in Biz. From what I could see the seats were exactly the same in Economy. The difference? We received a tiny brioche filled with a slice of jamon and a coffee. We could hear the sniggers of the Economy passengers just behind us. Business class in Europe has everything to do with class structure and elitism, separating those with aspiration from the great unwashed. It has nothing to do with enhanced comfort and service.
03 Nov 2013
Total posts 6
I think the article downplayed the middle seat being empty. I have flown European Business numerous times (usually because of an international connect). I have never had the middle seat occupied even on full flights. I assumed it was policy for the middle seat to be free as per Air NZ short haul etc. Is this not the case?
29 Jan 2012
Total posts 156
Simply, the European, US and Australian markets are very different. What works in one respective region will not work in another. Airlines spend time and money fine tuning their products to suit customer demands, balancing competition while providing a return on investment.
LH may have a simple J seat configuration compared to the AU product, but it works very well for them at a fraction of the operating cost to that of QF as an example, thus why QF's domestic J class is at a higher price to that of the EU or US markets. Supply vs demand vs profits - simply economics folks.
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