Lufthansa’s Boeing 787 Allegris Business Class Disaster: What’s The Latest?

The introduction of Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabin concept hasn’t been without drama, to put it mildly. As I covered in late 2024, Lufthansa has a bunch of Boeing 787s that are ready to be delivered, with only one small problem — the airline is struggling to actually get the seats certified. I want to take an updated look at this situation, to reflect the current reality.

Lufthansa’s 787 business class certification issues

In 2024, we saw Lufthansa introduce its new Allegris concept, with the most exciting development being the introduction of the new Allegris business class, finally offering direct aisle access from all seats.

This product debuted on the Airbus A350-900, but that wasn’t without its challenges. First there were supply chain issues with getting the new seats. But even when the new business class, premium economy, and economy, were ready to go, the new first class wasn’t. So Lufthansa started flying these planes with the space of the first class cabin empty. Fortunately that has since been resolved, and the new first class has been in service for some time.

However, for several months, Lufthansa has been facing a much bigger issue with its Boeing 787s, which are also supposed to feature the new Allegris cabins (though without first class). Lufthansa currently has 15 Dreamliners that are in storage in the United States, and many of them already have the full cabins installed.

What’s the issue? The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hasn’t certified these new seats. You might be thinking “wait, aren’t these the same seats as on the A350?” Sort of. The A350 seats are produced by Thompson Aero, while the 787 seats are produced by Collins Aerospace (yeah… don’t ask). On top of that, individual certification is required for seats on every aircraft type.

So, what’s the latest on this? Runway Girl Network quotes a Lufthansa executive as stating that these seat tests have now concluded. That being said, the results are being analyzed, and it’s not yet clear if Lufthansa has passed the tests or not.

At an event in December 2024, a Lufthansa executive acknowledged that a “scenario in which the seats are not approved at all is not out of the question.” Yowzers. It’s not clear if there’s more confidence now in terms of passing the test, or not.

Lufthansa hopes for 787 deliveries in coming months

Lufthansa is already dealing with a major aircraft shortage. The airline was relying on the Boeing 777X for its fleet renewal, but that plane has been delayed by at least six years. Then Lufthansa had delays with its new Airbus A350s due to the Allegris cabins. Now Lufthansa is dealing with issues on the new Boeing 787s — the general Boeing delivery delays aren’t even an issue, but just the seat certification.

So, what’s the latest on these 787 deliveries? Lufthansa executives reportedly now hope that they can start to take delivery of these 787s this summer, with plans to have the planes flying before the end of the year. Again, there’s no guarantee that the new seats will actually be certified, or that this timeline will stick, but that seems to be the goal.

In the past, Lufthansa considered putting stored 787s into service, but just not seating anyone in business class, so instead just using the planes for economy and premium economy. Honestly, whether you fly these planes or park them, the economics just can’t be great.

Bottom line

Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787s are delayed. Roughly 15 of these jets have been ready to go for quite some time, but the issue is that Lufthansa can’t get the new Dreamliner business class seats certified. That’s because the seats are from a different manufacturer than on the Airbus A350.

These seat tests have now been concluded, but Lufthansa doesn’t yet have the results. The hope is that the planes can be delivered as of the summer of 2025, and then enter service as of later this year.

This Allegris rollout really hasn’t been very smooth, to put it mildly. First the airline had to fly A350s with the space of the first class cabin empty. Now Lufthansa has parked brand new 787s for many months due to not getting the seats certified. Never mind that SWISS is introducing the same product, and will have to install a 1.5 ton weight in the back of A330s, because first class is too heavy.

What do you make of Lufthansa’s Dreamliner drama?