For the first time in over a decade, a plane took off with a product that was competitive.
In late 2021, we learned that Lufthansa would be buying four former Philippine Airlines A350s. The Philippine flag carrier was in the process of downsizing and had to sell some A350s.
The opportunity was there, and the airlines decided to acquire these planes. The aircraft orders that were placed for A350-900s and 787-9s were in March and May of 2019.
The interiors of the former Philippine Airlines A350s will not be changed, and that means the airline is introducing its best business class product yet. The first picture of the business class product will be on four of the A350-900s. There are just 30 business class seats on these planes.
The standard business class at Lufthansa is in a 2-2-2 configuration with 48 seats, but this new configuration represents a significant reduction in premium seats.
The plan is for the A350-900s to be flown by Lufthansa to destinations in Canada.
The first plane with the new cabins has a registration code and is flying from Munich to Toronto. It will be rotating between those destinations in the coming weeks until the other planes enter service.
The new business class product was supposed to be unveiled by the carrier. Not a single plane has those seats. Why? The plan was for the new seats to debut on the Boeing 777-9, which was supposed to be the new flagship aircraft. Delivery of that plane is being delayed, and is now planned for the year 2025.
The new cabins on some of the A350s and 787s will be delivered in 2023. The general plan is what we don't have exact details for.
Only the A350s acquired from Philippine Airlines will feature these staggered seats. There are no plans to change the planes.
The cabins of the four former Philippine Airlines A350s will not be changed. The good news is that business class passengers will finally get seats with direct aisle access, which is a huge improvement.
The first of these planes entered service today, and we can expect to see these planes on all flights from Montreal to Toronto, as well as all flights from Munich to Canada.
What do you think about the A350 business class?
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