Lufthansa Unveils Premium-Economy Seats on Boeing 747-8 Aircraft

A Lufthansa 747 in San Francisco

Lufthansa announced details about its new premium-economy cabin and seats on Monday.

The new seats, developed in-house by Lufthansa, have as much as 50% more space than seats in coach.  Each has its own armrest, fold-out table, adjustable backrest and headrest, and height-adjustable footrest, and seats in the first row of the cabin have leg supports with an integrated footrest.  Seats are never more than one seat away from the aisle and there is a center console between each seat.

Premium-economy seats have a seat pitch of 38” and, depending on the aircraft, can be up to 1.2” wider than those in economy.  With the individual armrest and the console, each passenger has almost 4” of additional side room.  Each passenger has a bottle holder, an electrical outlet, and greater storage space.

Depending on the aircraft, premium-economy seats will either be in a 2-3-2 or 2-4-2 layout, comparing favorably with the tighter 3-4-3 arrangement in coach.

Passengers flying in the new cabin get a baggage allowance of 50 pounds, twice that of coach passengers.  They also receive a welcome drink and an amenity kit.  Lufthansa has developed new menus for the cabin and serves them on porcelain tablewear.

Starting December 10, flights operated by the German flag carrier’s Boeing 747-8 jumbo jets will all have the new seats.  This includes routes linking Frankfurt with Beijing, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Hong Kong, Mexico City, São Paulo, Seoul, and Washington, D.C.   In January 2015, Lufthansa will fly retrofitted Airbus A340-600s with premium economy from Munich to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo, and in April next year, the carrier’s largest aircraft, the Airbus A380-800, will have these seats on flights connecting Frankfurt to Johannesburg, New York, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Singapore.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)