Over the last year, German flagship airline Lufthansa (DLAKF) has been promoting its new Allegris cabins and seats to much fanfare.
The redesigned seats are available across all four fare classes from first to economy but make the greatest difference in the first-class suites on Airbus A350 (EADSF) aircraft, where adjacent cabins make greater use of sliding doors or can convert into a double bed in a private cabin for couples traveling together.
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The different types of seating concepts are part of Lufthansa’s wider effort to modernize its fleet and match some of the ultra-luxury offerings that had long been available on a number of Middle Eastern and Asian carriers.
The first flights with Allegris cabins debuted in May 2025 in an A350 plane used to run flights between between Munich and Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, and Shanghai.
“This will massively reduce the time spent with guests”: Lufthansa flight attendants
But even amid an extensive marketing campaign around the new Allegris product, a group of flight attendants has criticized the new cabins as a “clear decline in service quality.” This is because the new suites concept will have one flight attendant for four seats, rather than two flight attendants for eight passengers like previously.
While this appears to be the same number of flight attendants per passenger, the new concept requires the one flight attendant to both work the galley (airplane kitchen) and move between the aisles serving passengers and so be spread between tasks — the primary criticism expressed in the letter.
The total number of flight attendants serving each A350 plane would also decline from 12 to 11 crew members.
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“The removal of the flight attendant not only represents a clear decline in service quality, but also once again reveals significant weaknesses in strategic planning and product design,” the letter sent by a representative of Lufthansa cabin crew workers and first reported by German aviation outlet aeroTelegraph reads in translation.
“This will massively reduce the time spent with guests – especially in first class. And this is happening at a time when Allegris, a new seating product requiring explanation, is being introduced.”
Image source: Lufthansa
It’s “about the future of a product that aspires to be among the world’s best”
Lufthansa has not made a formal comment on the criticism expressed by its staff and is still in the process of working out the staffing model for the new Allegris cabins. It tested two flight attendants on the first flights as part of the early rollout training, but the current goal has been to reduce that number to one.
Air France (AFRAF) , which similarly staffs four first-class seats with one flight attendant, has previously tested a model in which a flight attendant working the business section comes up to help in first class if the flight is not as full and needs within the plane allow for it.
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“It’s not just about jobs, but about the future of a product that aspires to be among the world’s best,” the flight attendant letter continues. “This is precisely why the removal of a flight attendant is not only a quantitative problem, but above all a qualitative one.”
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