Lufthansa suspend first class on selected routes

The German carrier, Lufthansa, is to suspend first class seating on five of their routes out of Frankfurt. This does not mean they are not there anymore instead business class users will receive a free upgrade to first class as the tickets will not be on sale. Although the airline has not confirmed the rumour officially they have confirmed that they will only be offering only two classes on long-haul flights to Guangzhou, Osaka, Kolkata, Nanjing and Accra. The new class system will run from 15th December until 27th March next year and the airline has said it is because the drop in demand for first class seats on these routes.

The planes will not be refitted for this short period of time, but some lucky passengers will receive upgrades to first class seating and passengers that have already booked first class on the affected flight will be given a refund and charged at business class rates. They will also be given first option on the seats that are available followed by members of Lufthansa loyalty schemes. All services will be as normal business class seating, but with the added luxury of better seating.

Lufthansa are not the first airline to do this type of cutback, Qantas announced plans earlier this year to shelve first class seating on some of their routes so they can make more seats available for other passenger classes. The airline said they will continue to offer only the best first class service on other flights and lounges at airports have not been affected by this temporary move.