The latest update from Lufthansa now indicates that 33 out of 100 aircraft have the new Business Class seat. Specifically, 7 A340, 10 A330 and all 14 747-8i have it installed. Additionally the first A380 with the new seats enters service tomorrow (April 1) followed by a brand new A380 a few days later which also has the new seat. Specifically by aircraft registration:
A380: D-AIMB, D-AIMK.
A340-600: D-AIHN, D-AIHR, D-AIHQ
A340-300: D-AIGM, D-AIGS, D-AIGO, D-AIGT
A330-300: D-AIKP, D-AIKQ, D-AIKR, D-AIKN, D-AIKE, D-AIKM, D-AIKD, D-AIKG, D-AIKH, D-AIKI
Boeing 747-8i: All Aircraft.
35 more aircraft are scheduled to go through the conversion between now and year’s end which will bring the total up to 68 aircraft, or two-thirds of the long haul fleet. Included in this plan is the 747-400 which will begin to see the new Business Class in the 4th quarter this year. 100% of the fleet should have the new seats in place by July 2015. To see if your upcoming LH flight will have the new Business Class cabin, please visit this handy site .
What happens to the old seats? Are they sold to another airline or are they recycled and sold as parts? And, what about new plane deliveries to LH? Will the manufacturer include the new seat scheme or is it up LH Technik to retrofit the new seats?
Just curious.
the old seats are typical recycled or used for parts while the rest of the fleet still has them. New planes are rolling out with the new seats already installed by Airbus or Boeing. Technik tweaks each new plane to meet LH standards, but the seat hardware is already there.
Anyway to tell if my flight has the new seats?
Yes, use this link
When will the first B744s be phased out and the rest converted to two class?
The first of the 744s have already begun to be retired. All the 744 conversions will take place between Q4 2014 and Q3 2015 (July is last scheduled one).