Lufthansa’s First Airbus A380 with New Business Class Takes Off

Premium XXL: Lufthansa is retrofitting its 8 Airbus A380s and installing a completely new Business Class in its largest aircraft. In the future, Business Class on the A380 will offer even more comfort and privacy at a new premium level.

The new Thompson seats feature a seat width of 58 cm, a bed length of at least two meters, and flexible partitions—making this the most comfortable Business Class in the A380 ever. Each of the 68 seats is directly accessible from the aisle.

In addition, the in-flight entertainment system has been upgraded. In Business Class, guests can now enjoy feature films, TV series, music, digital newspapers and magazines on an 18-inch Panasonic screen and can also use, for example, their own headphones via Bluetooth. Also new are an interactive 3D moving map, cinema-quality sound, flight cameras, and a new intuitive user interface in all cabin classes.

Following the successful retrofit and the ferry flight to Munich two days prior, the first flight for D-AIMC departed for Los Angeles on Thursday, April 23. The aircraft took off from Munich as flight LH452 at 12:15 p.m. local time and landed in Los Angeles around 3:15 p.m. local time.

After just under twelve weeks, the retrofit of the first A380 was completed. Work on modernizing the next aircraft, D-AIMH “Mike-Hotel” in its blue anniversary livery featuring the XXL crane, began on the very same day, meaning that two Lufthansa A380s were in Dresden on Tuesday.

The retrofit program began in early February at the Elbe Flugzeugwerke in Dresden. In addition to the modernization of the Business Class, routine maintenance work is also being performed on the aircraft. All eight A380s are scheduled to be retrofitted by mid-2027.