Lufthansa Allegris Business Class Seat Fees Explained: A Complicated System

Lufthansa is in the process of rolling out its much anticipated new Allegris business class cabins, and so far, they’re installed on select Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9s, consistently available on some long haul routes.Lufthansa has heavily marketed how its new Allegris business class product is all about choice, and that the airline offers at least five different business class seating options. The catch is that a majority of these seats are actually buy-up options, so they’ll cost you extra if you just book a standard business class ticket.In this post, I’d like to take a look at how Lufthansa Allegris business class seating actually works in terms of the fees. How much will you pay to assign the various types of Allegris business class seats, and what happens if you don’t pay for a seat in advance? Is waiting until check-in to get a seat assignment going to get you the worst seat, or is that the hack to get the best seat?Let’s start with covering the basics of Lufthansa’s different kinds of Allegris seats, and then we’ll talk about how much assigning them will cost you. Types of Lufthansa Allegris business class seatsHow much Lufthansa charges for Allegris seat assignmentsWhat happens if you don’t assign a seat in advance?My take on Lufthansa’s Allegris pricing approachBottom line Types of Lufthansa Allegris business class seatsI’ve now had the chance to fly Lufthansa’s Allegris business class on both the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. It’s a massive improvement over the old product, and there’s also a huge difference in terms of the quality between the various seats in this configuration. Lufthansa Allegris business class cabinLufthansa publishes the below maps of the two plane types that have Allegris, which shows you the different kinds of seating options.Lufthansa Allegris seat map Airbus A350-900Lufthansa Allegris seat map Boeing 787-9Let me use the Airbus A350-900 as an example, which has 38 business class seats. Here are the five types of seats, including which cost extra, who can assign them for free, etc.:The classic seats (12 of 38 seats), which are the standard seats closest to the aisle, can be assigned in advance by all passengers at no extra costThe privacy seats (10 of 38 seats), which are the “true” window seats that offer extra privacy, are free for Miles & More HON Circle and Senator members and their companions, and can be booked at an extra cost by othersThe extra space seats (four of 38 seats), which are the middle “throne” seats that offer a lot of space, are free for Miles & More HON Circle and Senator members and their companions, and can be booked at an extra cost by othersThe extra long bed seats (four of 38 seats), which are select middle seats with extra long beds behind the extra space seats, are free for Miles & More HON Circle members and their companions, and can be booked at an extra cost by othersThe business suites (eight of 38 seats), which are the super spacious seats with doors in the first row of each cabin, are available at an extra cost for all passengersLufthansa Allegris business class privacy seatHow much Lufthansa charges for Allegris seat assignmentsHow much does Lufthansa charge to assign seats in Allegris business class? It depends on the length of the flight and the exact seats. Lufthansa actually no longer publishes the amounts (best I can tell), so I guess the pricing is technically dynamic. That being said, at launch the airline did publish these prices, and I think the pricing is largely still similar, so let me share those numbers (while noting that they may be a little different now). The prices shown are in three different currencies.For shorter long haul flights, including to and from Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, you can find the seat fee chart below.Lufthansa Allegris business class seat feesFor medium long haul flights, including to and from Angola, Eastern Canada, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, and the Eastern United States, you can find the seat fee chart below.Lufthansa Allegris business class seat feesFor longer long haul flights, including to and from Argentina, Brazil, Western Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, and the Western United States, you can find the seat fee chart below.Lufthansa Allegris business class seat feesTo summarize:The extra space seats range in cost from €130 to €230The extra long bed seats range in cost from €100 to €170The privacy seats seats range in cost from €100 to €170The business suites range in cost from €400 to €600Lufthansa Allegris business class classic seatWhat happens if you don’t assign a seat in advance?What happens if you are flying in Lufthansa Allegris business class, and don’t assign a seat in advance? That could either be because there are no classic seats left to assign, or simply because you want to gamble, and see what you end up with.For example, I recently played around with this a bit on a flight from Austin (AUS) to Frankfurt (FRA). Before online check-in, below is what the seat map looked like (I assume the pricing was showing in CAD since I had redeemed Air Canada Aeroplan points). Lufthansa Allegris business class seat feesAs you can see, there was a classic seat left to assign, but it was a center seat in the last row. Meanwhile there were were a few business suites, a couple of privacy seats, and an extra long bed seat, so I figured there was no downside in waiting. Worst case scenario, I’d end up in the only seat I could assign at no cost anyway.Once online check-in opened, I noticed that the privacy seats were available to select at no additional cost. Meanwhile the business suites and extra long bed seats continued to show the same pricing.Lufthansa Allegris business class seat mapLufthansa Allegris business class seat feesSo the system seems to be that privacy seats become assignable at no cost when online check-in opens. I understand the concept of wanting to still charge for business suites, but for extra long bed seats? I find that to be weird, as it’s a really niche product.Now, who ended up getting the business suites? I know in theory Lufthansa tries to upgrade its top elite members to those seats, but more often than not, things don’t seem to play out that way. I was monitoring the seat map, and those seats seemed to go to the last people who checked in, when there were no remaining seats. I of course can’t say with certainty, but the people didn’t strike me as Lufthansa frequent flyers.So of course it depends on the situation on a particular flight, but it seems that the best way to get a business suite at no cost is to be among the last to check-in. Of course that could also mean you get the worst seats in the cabin, so it goes both ways. Lufthansa Allegris business class extra space seatMy take on Lufthansa’s Allegris pricing approachAs you can see above, the average business class passenger can assign fewer than one-third of Lufthansa’s Allegris business class seats at no extra cost. Miles & More elite members can assign more seats at no extra cost, but the front row business class suites are only available for purchase, and aren’t given to anyone for free, unless it’s for operational reasons.With that in mind, a few thoughts:It’s disappointing to think that even having the privilege of looking out the window comes at an extra cost in Allegris business classThose who don’t want to pay extra for assigning seats in Allegris business class are going to often find themselves not being able to assign a seat in advance, and/or may also have issues assigning seats next to a travel companion (which is a problem in Allegris business class in general, given that the only seats together are the center business suites)I guess we can’t be too judgmental of the concept of charging for business class seat assignments, given that this is something that British Airways has done for years, and which Air France-KLM have adapted as wellLufthansa’s first row suites in Allegris business class are excellent, among the better “business class plus” products out there; however, I think the pricing is just too steep, because just about every flight I look at, these seats remain unassigned until check-inLufthansa Allegris business class front row suiteBottom lineLufthansa is rolling out its Allegris business class, and there are five different seating types. Only one of those seat types can be assigned at no extra cost, while the other four seat types come at an extra cost, typically ranging from €100 to €600. Elite members are able to select some additional seats, but even HON Circle members can’t choose the business suites for free.If you choose not to assign a seat in advance, you’ll have access to more seats at online check-in at no additional cost, including the privacy seats. However, the business suites can only be assigned at no cost for operational reasons, and will often go to the last people who check-in, given how often they’re unassigned.What do you make of Lufthansa’s approach to Allegris business class pricing?