The first two Lufthansa A380s to be fitted with the airline's new fully-flat business class seating are ready for service.
So, you're in for a treat if you find your superjumbo flight is being operated by either D-AIMB "Munchen" or D-AIMK.
A380 registration D-AIMB has been retrofitted by Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, while D-AIMK has just arrived factory fresh with the new seating from Airbus and has yet to be named.
The remaining A380s will be retrofitted over the coming months, with D-AIMA following next, according to website abendblatt.de and along with the new seating there will be broadband internet connectivity.
Critics say Lufthansa should have installed the latest business class seating on its A380s from day one. That is because airlines will normally offer their best seating on their newest planes.
But Lufthansa never thought the market for fully-flat bed seating would take off so quickly. By the time it had decided to offer these seats, it was too late for them to be fitted on the A380 production line. So its first ten superjumbos were delivered with angled lie-flat seating.
As before, the new seating sees Lufthansa business class passengers accommodated on the A380's upper deck in a 2-2-2 layout. But to make way for the fully-flat product the seat count is reduced from 98 to 92.
If you are booked on an A380 in the very near future, it is easy to ascertain which business seating will be installed. Seating plans for both aircraft are posted on Lufthansa's website and the layouts are visible at the seat selection stage.
Click here to read Seatplan's description of the differenec between angled lie-flat and fully-flat.
As we reported last month (see news, March 5), Lufthansa's superior economy seating will appear on its B747-8 from November. The A380s will be retrofitted with premium economy by summer 2015.
Alex McWhirter
