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Lufthansa has long been known for a quality business class product, but as the years have gone on without an update, their decades-only business class has looked increasingly outdated. They’re in the process of rolling out their new Allegris cabins, which include a massive overhaul to all four classes of service, but the rollout has been delayed and largely bungled, leaving a confusing mix of seats between aircraft types and even in some cases on the same aircraft type.
That said, a business class seat on Lufthansa still comes with premiums in space, service, and amenities, so read on to learn more about what that looks like.
What to know about flying Lufthansa business class
Lufthansa is in the midst of updating its intercontinental business class cabins. What this means for travelers is that at press time, Lufthansa’s long haul business class seats vary significantly by aircraft type, so it makes sense to pay close attention to which aircraft is scheduled for the flights you’re planning.
Even Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class comes with its own special quirks. These cabins have six different types of seating options, and only one of them is available to assign in advance free of charge. You can also wait and try your luck at check-in, when some of the seat types are available free of charge, but on full flights you could be stuck.
Lufthansa’s catering and onboard amenities in business class are solid and dependable, if not slightly boring, aside from a few pleasant surprises (like orange-mango juice).
The best routes to fly in business class on Lufthansa
Lufthansa operates long-haul services from its hubs at Frankfurt and Munich. All North American gateways have nonstop service to Frankfurt, while a smaller number of cities have nonstops to Munich (and those nonstops may often operate seasonally). Lufthansa offers connecting flights from both cities, but there are far more options available from Frankfurt, which is a much bigger connecting hub.
If you’re keen on flying on Lufthansa’s new Allegris interiors, they’re doing their best to consistently offer these on certain routes from Germany, and you can check which cities are planned to have Allegris-equipped aircraft during upcoming schedule periods.
What to expect when flying Lufthansa business class
Lufthansa offers industry-standard amenities to business class passengers, including priority check-in and baggage handling. Their lounges, however, are a bit different, often with one lounge for business class passengers without elite frequent flier status, and one lounge for passengers with it. However, the differences between the lounges are small. The biggest differences in experience will be between the original business class seats and the new Allegris seats, but they come with their own set of drawbacks.
Check-in and security clearance
Lufthansa offers dedicated check-in lanes to all business class passengers and expedited security lanes at most airports. Lufthansa also somewhat confusingly offers first class check-in counters at airports served by flights that do not offer first class. These are for passengers making connections to Lufthansa first class flights, or for the top-tier HON Circle members in Lufthansa’s Miles & More program.
Luggage allowance
On long haul flights, business class passengers can check 2 bags each, up to 70 pounds each. This is double the number of bags permitted on unrestricted economy class fares (the lowest fares in economy do not include free checked bags) and also an increase in weight per piece (in economy the limit is 50 pounds). Business class bags get priority tags that will be recognized for priority handling by Star Alliance partners in addition to Lufthansa.
Lounge access
Lufthansa operates a two-tiered lounge system for business class passengers. Passengers with a business class ticket entering a Lufthansa-operated lounge are entitled to the Lufthansa Business Lounge. Business class passengers with Star Alliance Gold status with Miles & More or a Star Alliance partner program like United Mileage Plus, are eligible to enter the Lufthansa Senator Lounge. At most locations, the Business and Senator lounges have the same entry point, and the lounges are on separate sides of the welcome desk or on separate floors. Lounge staff verify which lounge to refer passengers to upon scanning their boarding pass.
In our experience, there’s not a huge amount of difference between Lufthansa’s Business and Senator lounges. Senator lounges are meant to be more exclusive and thus quieter and more spacious, but Star Alliance gold members who aren’t flying business class also have access to these lounges, and they can often be just as crowded as the business lounges. There’s also a few more food and drink options available (we haven’t noticed any standard inclusion or exclusion), but the experiences are largely the same.
In the US, Lufthansa has Business lounges in Detroit, Boston, and Newark. There are Business lounges and Senator Lounges at Washington Dulles, and New York JFK. Lufthansa business class passengers can use United Clubs at any city on their itinerary if they’re connecting to their Lufthansa flight on United or another Star Alliance carrier. In cities with United Polaris lounges, they can use them if their flight from that airport is in Lufthansa’s business class. For example, a passenger flying United from San Francisco to Dulles on United, then on to Frankfurt on Lufthansa would have access to the United Club in San Francisco and the United Polaris Lounge at Dulles. If they were flying Lufthansa nonstop to Frankfurt from San Francisco, they would have access to the United Polaris Lounge in San Francisco.
At Lufthansa’s other US gateways, including Seattle/Tacoma, San Diego, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Lufthansa has lounges contracted near their gates, as those cities either lack a United or Star Alliance lounge, or those lounges are far away. In other cities like Los Angeles, Miami, and Denver, there are United or Star Alliance lounges nearby.
Seats
Lufthansa had been considered long overdue for a refresh of its business class seats when it introduced the new Allegris seats in May 2024. While those new seats are being introduced on most aircraft across the fleet, many of them continue to fly with outdated-but-comfortable lie-flat seats. Lufthansa will have differing business class seats by aircraft type for the foreseeable future; older aircraft, such as the Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 are not currently planned for a retrofit, while teething issues have led to a motley collection of differences.
For example, the Boeing 747-400 has the old seats and won’t be getting the new ones (the aircraft is in the process of being retired). The Boeing 747-8i has a mix: some aircraft have the old seats, and some have the new seats, but the ones that do have the new seats only have them on the main deck, because the new seats don’t fit on the upper deck.
The standard business class seat
This seat is available on most Lufthansa long haul flights operated by two-aisle aircraft. On most aircraft, the configuration is 2-2-2, so there’s always a seat between window seats and the aisle. On the Boeing 747-400, the configuration on the main deck is 2-3-2, so there are still middle seats in business class. On the Boeing 747-400 upper deck (which is narrower than the main deck), the configuration is 2-2. These are well-padded cloth seats which do lie-flat, but there’s not a great deal of privacy if you’re traveling alone. The entertainment screen is a touch screen display, but it’s mounted on the seat in front, so it’s often not reachable and you’ll have to use the remote control in the arm rest. Otherwise, the seats are reliable, the controls are easy to use, and the head rest is easily adjustable into a number of positions.
The interim business class seats
Before introducing Allegris, Lufthansa had the Boeing 787 aircraft delivered with an updated business class seat in a 1-2-1 configuration, giving aisle access to each seat. These seats are also comfortable and similar to many other airlines’ business class seats, but they’ll be short-lived, and on a small number of aircraft, as Lufthansa is switching to the Allegris seat on new Boeing 787 deliveries.
Lufthansa also has four Airbus A350 aircraft it acquired from another airline which have yet another style of seat in a 1-2-1 configuration. These aircraft, which have largely been flying only from Munich to Canada, are expected to be transferred to Lufthansa’s Discover subsidiary sometime soon.
The Allegris seats
Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class seats are available on some Airbus A350, Boeing 787, and Boeing 747-8i aircraft. The big advantage with Allegris (aside from the fact that the design is more modern) is that there are actually five different types of seat to choose from, giving travelers more choice. The drawback with Allegris is that only one of those seats (Classic) can be pre-selected in advance for no charge (the charge may be waived for Lufthansa’s top-tier frequent fliers) The other four seats cost extra to pre-assign, and their pricing is dynamic, meaning the cost to pre-select each seat type varies by flight, it also varies by seat type (some are more expensive than others), so there’s not much way of knowing in advance how much extra Lufthansa will be charging for seat assignments.
We’ve seen reports that most of the business class seats can be assigned without a charge upon arriving at the departure airport and checking available seats at a kiosk or with an agent, but if the flight is full, you’d be stuck without any options for changing seats.
The seat types are:
Classic - These seats are the only seats that can be pre-booked without an additional charge. These are technically window seats, but the seat is closer to the aisle instead of being immediately next to the window, so the view to the window is through a narrow space between partitions. For some of the seats, that space is not actually a window–it’s between windows, so it can help to check a seating site like AeroLOPA before selecting.
Suite - These are the most expensive seats to pre-assign, and they’re also an exception to the fee waiver for Lufthansa frequent fliers–even they have to pay to book this seat in advance. It comes with a higher partition than the regular business class seats, more stowage (including a personal garment closet), and a privacy door. The center section Suite seats, if booked together, have a partition that can be lowered to create a double suite. This seat type is not available on the Boeing 747-8i.
Privacy Seat - These are the window version of the Classic seat. These seats are closer to the aircraft wall and have numerous windows right next to the seat (between two and three depending on where in the cabin they are). They’re called Privacy Seats because they feel secluded from the aisle by the console.
Extra Space - These center section seats are also known as “throne” seats for their position in the center of the cabin with space on both sides for stowing luggage or tabletop spaces for working on a laptop. This seat type is not available on the Boeing 747-8i.
Extra Long Bed - In the center section, these seats are similar to Classic seats, but they have an extra long 7 feet 2 inch long bed (the standard Allegris business class bed is 6 feet 6 inches)
All the Allegris seats have USB-A and USB-C charging ports, plus cordless charging ports, a small stowage compartment for noise-cancelling wired headphones, an amenity kit, and bottle of water. There’s also a tablet for seat and entertainment controls. Perhaps the best amenity? A very large tray table that can be pushed out of the way without fully stowing it, allowing the occupant to get up from the seat without having to clear the table.
Food and drink
Lufthansa serves a pretty standard business class meal onboard, and allows pre-order for business class passengers (there are exceptions from some cities). Lufthansa also publishes the menus for each flight in advance, so passengers can check what will be served on their flight even if they do not wish to preorder.
Lufthansa does their best to offer regional cuisine on flights departing from the US (think barbecue-style entrees on flights from Texas, or seafood from the West Coast). There are typically three appetizers and three mains, each with a meat, seafood, or vegetarian option, each served with salad. The style of the cuisine is international, but there are nods to German cooking - particularly with the bread basket, where the pretzel rolls are a favorite among some frequent Lufthansa fliers.
Desserts include pastry, fruit, or cheese selection. On overnight flights, there’s a choice between a hot (usually eggs) or cold (usually muësli) breakfast.
Lufthansa rotates their wine lists frequently with a mix of German, European, and global wines. On the spirits list, standouts include Grey Goose vodka, Patron tequila, and of course a selection of German liqueurs like Jägermeister. A distinctive juice selection is their mango-passionfruit blend.
On longer flights, there’s a snack buffet set up in the galley, and we’ve noticed on Allegris flights there seems to be a wider selection of snacks and more substantial small meals, many of which are served warm (think grilled cheese sandwiches or other small hot dishes).
Service, amenities, and in-flight entertainment
Lufthansa’s service is generally pleasant if not overly friendly, beverages are served from carts but meal trays are often hand delivered, and fast eaters will be pleased to find that trays are usually quickly removed once finished.
Amenity kits include hand and face cream from L’Occitane, a dental kit, eye mask, socks, headphone covers, and a mint. Passengers will find extra amenities stocked in the lavatories.
Lufthansa’s entertainment content is the same across all classes, offering a selection of US, German, and international films, TV series, and music. There are also digital magazines which can be downloaded to your device up to five days before the flight. Lufthansa’s FlyNet internet service is available for a fee in business class.
How much it costs to fly Lufthansa business class
Lufthansa’s business class isn’t usually considered a relative bargain, especially if you’re flying to major German cities. Fare sales aren’t the most frequent, but Lufthansa makes up for it with reasonable cash pricing for upgrades if you book your flight in economy or premium economy. United MileagePlus members also have a number of ways to upgrade with miles or PlusPoints.
When paying in cash
From the US to Europe, roundtrip fares in business class typically run between $3,000 and $5,000. Sometimes lower fares are available on fare sales, but not often on flights to or from Lufthansa’s hubs (it’s more typical to find fare sales in markets requiring a connection via those hubs, like Chicago to Athens via Frankfurt rather than Chicago to Frankfurt).
When paying via points in a credit card portal
Several flexible reward currencies offer the ability to book flights directly with their own points instead of transferring them to an airline mileage program. These include American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Bilt Rewards.
These portals generally offer a value of roughly 1-1.5 cents per point. They’re generally not the greatest value redemption compared to transferring points to loyalty programs for redemption, but they have some advantages. They often have their best value when you have a lot of available points to spend and want to book specific flights that don’t have award space from the airline’s program, or if you want to book with an airline that doesn’t have a rewarding point redemption value for flights. There’s also value in redeeming points through a portal if you need to travel immediately and can’t depend on the points to transfer in time (though many programs are now making transfers more quickly).
Miles & More doesn’t have any transfer partners, so booking via these portals is the only way to book Lufthansa business class using these types of points.
When booking using Miles & More miles
Miles & More uses dynamic pricing when redeeming miles for Lufthansa group (Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian) flights, meaning there’s no set award chart and members will need to search flight availability to find out the cost in miles.
When booking via partner airlines
Lufthansa business class can be booked via most Star Alliance airline programs; many US members book through United MileagePlus, which offers decent award availability on Lufthansa flights, although they tend to prioritize their own flights before showing options on Lufthansa, particularly for the long-haul flights across the Atlantic. Other good redemption options from a value perspective include Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, and ANA Mileage Club.
How much it costs to upgrade to business class on Lufthansa
Upgrades are generally a good value on Lufthansa, and of all carriers they most consistently offer cash upgrades for passengers not already booked in business class. You can also use miles to upgrade from Lufthansa’s Miles & More program or from United MileagePlus.
When paying in cash after booking
One of the major benefits of booking a Lufthansa flight is the ease of upgrading with cash after booking. Lufthansa frequently offers this option on virtually all flights with business class seats still available, and the fees are sometimes quite economical (we’ve seen it for as low as $550 for a transatlantic flight). It’s worth noting that if you’re on a connecting flight, each flight has its own price to upgrade - an upgrade fee doesn’t upgrade the entire itinerary from start to finish. And check the seat map first, keeping in mind that if you’re upgrading to Allegris, you’ll have to pay an additional fee for some of the better seats.
That said, Lufthansa’s paid upgrades after booking can often be a great deal. They also offer bid upgrades on some flights, but paying outright to confirm an upgrade can often be a better value than waiting until right before the flight for Lufthansa to evaluate upgrade bids.
It’s also worth noting that Lufthansa faithfully offers cash upgrades after booking even if your reservation is weird, like it was ticketed by someone other than Lufthansa, or the itinerary includes flights on other airlines–all things that would prevent upgrades from being offered on some other airlines.
When upgrading using Miles & More miles
Members can also redeem Miles & More miles to upgrade to business class after booking. This option is typically shown in the “Manage Reservation” tab. Once logged into your reservation you can see the price to upgrade in both cash and miles.
When upgrading using MileagePlus miles
United Mileage Plus members can also redeem miles for upgrades on Lufthansa flights. Once a Lufthansa booking is complete, members can visit this page to find out if their fare class is upgradeable. If it is, you can fill out a form to request the upgrade using Mileage Plus miles. If the seat is not immediately available, you’ll be waitlisted, and e-mailed once the upgrade clears off the waitlist. Upgrades can be requested up to 24 hours prior to departure.
Certain Lufthansa-operated codeshare flights with United flight numbers can also be upgraded, but it’s necessary to call reservations for assistance.
When upgrading using MileagePlus Plus Points
United Mileage Plus Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members receive Plus Points upon attaining or requalifying for those status levels. Those Plus Points can be redeemed for upgrades on United, and also on Lufthansa. Once a Lufthansa booking is complete, members can visit this page to see which fare classes qualify (many more fare classes are eligible compared to MileagePlus miles upgrades), and to request an upgrade using PlusPoints. If it is, you can fill out a form to request the upgrade using Plus Points. If the seat is not immediately available, you’ll be waitlisted, and e-mailed once the upgrade clears off the waitlist. Upgrades can be requested up to 10 hours prior to departure.
How to save on Lufthansa business class tickets
The easiest way to save on business class is by booking economy and upgrading, for their cash upgrade price is generally reasonable. It’s per-segment, and can often be confirmed as soon as the flight itself is confirmed. You can also bid on an upgrade but this option can be less attractive if a good value segment upgrade is already on offer for a reasonable cash price.
Using miles, either from Miles & More, or United MileagePlus is also a good way to save money on the the cost of an upgrade, as are PlusPoints upgrades from United.
How to book Lufthansa business class with points
Lufthansa business class can be booked with points from the Miles & More program, or more commonly with miles from United Mileage Plus for many US members. Air Canada Aeroplan can also be a good redemption option, but points can be redeemed from any Star Alliance member airline’s program for a business class flight.
How to book Lufthansa business class using your credit card portal
With most credit card portal sites, you can select the destination you’re looking for on the first page and get multiple fare options on the next page. From there, it’s typically possible to filter the results by airline and class of service, so if there are options for “Lufthansa” and “business class,” simply select those.
For class of service, many of the point portals will also ask for your preferences on the first screen instead of filtering search results.
When comparing redemption options, keep in mind that most portals offer point redemptions at a value of between 1 and 1.5 cents per point, so it’s often worthwhile to check the cash price of the fare on the airline’s site for comparative value. Also keep in mind that Lufthansa doesn’t offer transfers into Miles & More from other point currencies, so this can be the only way to book.
Which credit card points transfer to Miles & More?
Credit card transfers are a weak spot for US-based Miles & More members - there are no US-based credit card or other loyalty points that transfer into Miles & More.
How to book Lufthansa business class using Miles & More points
You must login to your Miles & More account to shop and book flights.
Once you’re logged in, you can shop for both cash and miles bookings the same way you would otherwise. This is slightly different from some other airline sites that have a “Book With Miles” option right in their regular booking process.
What other loyalty programs can you use to book Lufthansa business class?
Lufthansa’s Star Alliance partners all allow booking for Lufthansa flights. Several Star Alliance airlines use Miles & More as their own program, including Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines, LOT, SWISS, and Croatia Airlines.
Aegean Miles+Bonus
Air China Phoenix Miles
Air India Maharaja Club
Air New Zealand Airpoints
Asiana Club Miles
Austrian Miles & More
Brussels Airlines Miles & More
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
Croatia Airlines Miles & More
Egyptair Plus
Ethiopian ShebaMiles
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
LOT Polish Airlines Miles & More
Shenzhen Airlines PhoenixMiles
South African Airways Voyager Loyalty
Swiss International Air Lines Miles & More
TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
United Mileage Plus
How to book Lufthansa business class using points from a partner airline
Air Canada tends to come up as a good value option for points redemption in business class, because they use a set award chart based on fare class availability and distance. This means Lufthansa business class is more often available when booking using Air Canada miles than say, United Mileage Plus miles, which tends to favor United’s own flights across the Atlantic for business class redemptions.
Tips for finding business class award availability on Lufthansa
Award seats on Lufthansa are dynamically priced, meaning Lufthansa opaquely controls the pricing and inventory allocated for each flight based on demand. There are still a few ways to determine when a flight might be available for fewer miles.
Set a Fare Alert: It may not be a direct-line indicator, but oftentimes when the cash price of a seat falls, the miles price can also fall. It’s not always true, but it’s worth double checking the price for mileage redemption whenever you get a notification the flight you want is being sold at a cheaper fare. Redemptions on Air Canada Aeroplan also still use a set award chart based on distance and fare class availability, so setting an alert for for the fare classes Air Canada uses for Lufthansa Business awards on a site like ExpertFlyer can also be helpful.
Lufthansa business class vs first class
Lufthansa first class isn’t available on every flight, but on flights where it is available, the cabin sits just forward of the business class cabin. First class seats on Lufthansa are much more spacious and also lie-flat, and the cabins are much smaller (eight seats or fewer). On Allegris-outfitted aircraft, first class suites have floor-to-ceiling divider walls with closing doors which offer the most privacy, exclusive first class lounges (and an entire first class terminal in Frankfurt) and sumptuous onboard meals from Michelin-starred chefs, which include caviar service.
Should you book Lufthansa business class?
Lufthansa business class has its fair share of drawbacks. The older seats are pretty outdated, and the newer ones are on only a handful of aircraft and the majority of seats in the cabin have an additional fee associated with them if you want to choose them in advance. This is offset by the generally reasonable cash price to upgrade after booking, and the wide range of ways to upgrade using miles or upgrade certificates from Lufthansa Miles & More or United Mileage Plus.
In any case, business class on Lufthansa, even with its frustrations, still offers more space and premium service than the airline’s economy and premium economy cabins.
