Lufthansa’s First Allegris-Equipped Boeing 787-9 Arrives More Than A Year After Its First Flight

On August 30, 2025, Lufthansa announced that it has taken delivery of its first-ever Allegris-equipped Boeing 787-9, registered as D-ABPF, following a prolonged delay due to challenges related to the certification of the business class seats on the aircraft.

In a statement announcing the delivery, the German airline detailed that this was the first 787-9 with the new cabins at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), with the aircraft entering service sometime in mid-October flying from the German airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Lufthansa should welcome another nine 787-9s at FRA before the end of 2025.

Jens Ritter, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lufthansa, the airline, said that the carrier would now be able to offer “the premium Allegris experience” at FRA. However, there is one caveat, namely the fact that, while the business class suites are already bookable, the other business class seats are still uncertified, meaning that passengers are unable to book and fly these seats until the regulators, namely the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), greenlight the usage of these seats on commercial flights.

According to Lufthansa’s seat maps, the Allegris-equipped 787-9s come with 28 business, 28 premium economy, and 231 economy class seats. In comparison, the airline’s five older 787-9s can seat up to 26 business, 21 premium economy, and 247 economy class passengers. Planespotters.net indicated that the five, namely the airframes registered as D-ABPA, D-ABPB, D-ABPC, D-ABPD, and D-ABPE, will be handed over to Austrian Airlines, another Lufthansa Group subsidiary, in due time, presumably once Boeing delivers the Allegris-equipped 787-9s.

In addition to the different number of seats, the key difference between Lufthansa’s Allegris and non-Allegris 787-9s is that the former have four business class suites situated at the front of the aircraft. Ritter, in a post on his LinkedIn, clarified that while the business class seats will be blocked off until they are certified, the suites will be available for booking.

“Instead of further delaying the introduction of Allegris in Frankfurt, we [will] use the time to facilitate cockpit training during the ramp-up phase,” Ritter said, adding that the full certification of the premium cabin – not to be confused with premium economy – should come before the end of the year.

According to Aviation Flights Group, which tracks aircraft and their flights during their production stages, the Allegris-equipped 787-9 first flew on June 25, 2024, conducting its second flight on July 2, 2024, when it flew from Charleston International Airport (CHS), where Boeing has consolidated the 787’s production, to Kelly Field (SKF), in San Antonio, Texas, the US. D-ABPF’s third flight came on March 4, 2025, several months after its second departure, followed by the fourth and fifth journeys on March 6, 2025, and March 8, 2025, respectively.

On June 13, 2025, the aircraft was once again airborne, flying from SKF to Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE), where it was based for its seventh, eighth, and ninth flights. On August 29, 2025, it left PAE for FRA, arriving at the German airport at 9:15 local time (UTC +2) on August 30, 2025, according to Flightradar24.

Planespotters.net showed that at least 10 other Lufthansa 787-9s have operated their first flights between January 10, 2020 (D-ABQA), and August 8, 2025. Three of them, namely D-ABPG, D-ABPL, and D-ABPM, reached the clouds for the first time in the second half of 2024.

Lufthansa’s Airbus A350-900s, equipped with Allegris seats, have been flying since 2024. However, the first aircraft, registered as D-AIXW, that had the airline’s new first class cabin entered service only on November 9, 2024, flying from Munich Airport (MUC) to Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR). The first Allegris-equipped A350-900 was D-AIXT, which Lufthansa welcomed at MUC on April 13, 2024, with the widebody entering service on May 1, 2024, per planespotters.net records.

The 10 Allegris-equipped A350-900s have been based at MUC, flying to seven destinations during the current summer season, according to Lufthansa. These are displayed below.