Lufthansa has reversed course on its most controversial cabin product, dropping the up-to-$3,000 advance seat selection surcharge for the Allegris First Class Suite Plus and unveiling a 50 percent companion discount that will let couples claim the double bed for far less than before. The German flag carrier confirmed on May 9 that the new pricing model will apply to bookings made now and that the changes will take effect for travel on or after July 1, 2026.
The Allegris First Class cabin sits in the nose of Lufthansa's new Airbus A350-900 fleet, which entered service in 2024 and currently flies from Munich to Vancouver, San Francisco, Tokyo Haneda, Bangalore and other long-haul destinations. The Suite Plus is the headline product: two side-by-side enclosed first class suites whose central wall folds away to create one private double room, complete with a queen-sized bed, a 43-inch 4K monitor and a dedicated wardrobe.
Until this week, solo travellers who wanted guaranteed access to the double-suite layout had to pay an advance seat-selection fee that industry trackers pegged at between $2,500 and $3,000 on top of an already six-figure round-trip first class fare. Many passengers ended up being assigned the Suite Plus at check-in for free if the configuration was unsold, which made the surcharge feel arbitrary and triggered a wave of social-media criticism from frequent flyers.
Under the revised structure, the fee disappears entirely. Suite Plus seats can now be selected at the point of booking on a first-come, first-served basis with no extra charge. Lufthansa is sweetening the deal further for couples: when two passengers book the same Suite Plus pair, the second first class ticket will be sold at a 50 percent discount, materially lowering the cost of one of the most exclusive cabins flying today.
The repositioning comes as Lufthansa accelerates its long-haul Allegris rollout. A350-900s with the new cabin are scheduled to expand from Munich onto more US, Asian and Indian routes through 2026, and the airline has confirmed Allegris-equipped Boeing 787-9s will follow. By replacing a polarising surcharge with a couple-friendly discount, Lufthansa is betting the Suite Plus becomes a destination product rather than a punchline β and a marketing weapon against Emirates' Game Changer first class, Singapore Airlines' Suites and Etihad's The Residence.
Compiled from publicly available aviation news sources. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. This article is original editorial content; facts have been verified across multiple public sources.
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