Lufthansa buys new seats to make long-haul flights more comfortable

Lufthansa's long-haul passengers are soon to enjoy more comfortable flights, with the airline planning to install 27,000 new seats in its aircraft, reported dpa.

Lufthansa Airlines chief executive Jens Ritter said in Munich on Wednesday evening that the group would make a €2.5 billion investment to improve products and services by 2025.

Around 80% of this will go to Lufthansa itself. The group also includes the airlines Austrian, Swiss, Eurowings and Brussels.

Lufthansa's management has its sights set particularly on attracting affluent customers, offering business class passengers a choice of seven different seat types.

Ritter said that 24 new long-haul aircraft will be put into service over the course of this year and the next. "Lufthansa has the ambition to continue to be a premium airline," he said.

Lufthansa suffered heavy losses in the first two pandemic years, 2020 and 2021, and last year a series of flight cancellations and delays damaged the airline's reputation.

To avoid a repeat of this, Lufthansa has reduced its flight schedule. During the recent Easter holidays, 66% of the planes in Frankfurt were on time, according to Ritter, and 78% were on time at its second hub in Munich. "We have left no stone unturned," he said.

Ritter lamented the high costs of this year's wave of strikes in Germany, the consequences of which hit the company even when its own staff are not directly involved.

"Except for the first 14 days this year, there has not been a week when strikes were not carried out by third parties," Ritter said. "For a full day of strikes, we have to rebook 200,000 passengers."