Lufthansa was somewhat secretive about the origin of these five Dreamliner aircraft.
When the first B787 arrived in Frankfurt there was little if any celebration which one would expect for the arrival of a new aircraft type.
Our report was correct. Lufthansa has decided to retain the Hainan Airlines business class configuration of four across 1-2-1.
Photos of the business class zone, along with the new Lufthansa-branded seat covers, were published today by Germany’s aerotelegraph.com.
The report states that these first five B787s will have 26 business class seats, with 21 seats in premium economy (configured 2-3-2) and 247 in economy (3-3-3).
In 2023 Lufthansa will unveil new onboard products and its new business class is expected to differ from that provided on these five B787s.
Given the high price of business class seating one would expect Lufthansa to retain the current product on these particular B787s.
It had been thought this B787 would start long-haul service on the Frankfurt-Toronto route in November.
But Aerotelegraph reports it’s now been decided that its first route will be Frankfurt-New York (Newark) in December (more details to follow).
Currently this B787 is undergoing training flights.
Its first commercial flight will be Frankfurt-Munich on October 19.
Note that another long-haul aircraft in the Lufthansa fleet also operates with 1-2-1 business class seating.
As we reported last April Lufthansa also operates an A350 which it acquired from PAL (Philippine Airlines) and this aircraft is based at the carrier’s Munich hub.
