Business class passengers are set to gain aisle access for all, with Lufthansa beginning to modernize its cabin interior on the Airbus A380. The iconic double-decker is set to get a retrofit that will see new Business class seats manufactured by Thompson, providing all passengers with direct aisle access. Currently, the class is configured in a 2-2-2 layout, but this will switch to a 1-2-1 layout, with its passenger debut slated for April.

Alongside these upgrades, the airline will also glow up the Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A350-900 with new seats installed across all cabin classes. This is part of the most extensive fleet renewal in the Star Alliance carrier’s history and will see the airline simultaneously modernize cabin interiors on some of its flagship and largest aircraft.

Direct Aisle Access

For the Airbus A380, the new business class Thomson seats will be installed in a 1-2-1 configuration, seeing the airline reduce capacity in the business cabin from 78 seats to 68, reaffirming the airline’s investment in continuing operation of the double-decker, of which it plans to continue flying until the end of the decade at least.

Those traveling in business class with Lufthansa will enjoy the newly designed seats that include a width of 22 inches (58 cm) and a bed length that exceeds 6.5 feet (two meters). Heiko Reitz, Hub Manager Munich, Lufthansa Airlines, commented on the airline’s latest news for the A380 retrofit, as shared in the airline’s media statement:

« Lufthansa operates the only strong A380 fleet in the EU, stationed at our 5-star airport. The retrofit underscores our commitment to providing a top-flight experience on the long-haul aircraft that is so popular with our customers. The new premium seats offer more privacy and significantly more comfort than before. We look forward to offering our passengers this enhanced travel experience in Business Class starting in April. »

First Retrofit To Begin In Just A Few Weeks

The first of the Lufthansa Airbus A380s to undergo the retrofit will be D-AIMC, also known as ‘Mike Charlie’. The near 16 year old Airbus A380-841 was also the first aircraft to undergo a first 12-year check by Lufthansa Technik Philippines in 2024. This specific aircraft first took flight on February 15, 2010, under French Airbus registration F-WWAJ, before being delivered to Lufthansa on August 25, 2010.

With 16 years of service for Lufthansa (albeit being stored from February 2020 to February 2024), the aircraft was configured to carry a total of 509 passengers across four classes (F8 / C78 / W52 / Y371). The new configuration will see the capacity drop to just 68 Business class seats for a total capacity of 499. Further characteristics for this aircraft are below, as per data from ch-aviation:

At the time of writing, the last recorded flight by Flightradar24 showed the plane arrive at Munich Airport (MUC), on Wednesday, January 28, from Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (LH763). The plane will be ferried to Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH at Dresden Airport (DRS) for its retrofit programme.

Only EU Operator Of The Airbus A380

Lufthansa is the only operator in the European Unionof the Airbus A380 (while British Airways does operate the aircraft, the UK withdrew from the European Union in 2020). LH has a total of eight A380s, versus BA with its 12. French carrier Air France once flew ten of these iconic airplanes; it retired them from its fleet during the COVID-19 Pandemic, with the exit year of the aircraft being 2020.

The shortest operator globally of the A380 was also a European airline, Hi Fly Malta, which operated just one of these aircraft between 2018 and 2020. Hi Fly Malta is a charter airline based out of Malta International Airport, and acquired the secondhand A380 from Singapore Airlines.

During the LH retrofit for the A380, the aircraft will also undergo routine maintenance work during its time at Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH. Once all the upgrades and maintenance are complete, the plane is expected to return to Munich by April.