Lufthansa Faces FAA Certification Delay on Boeing 787-9 Business Class Seats

Lufthansa is encountering further setbacks with its Boeing 787-9 fleet, adding to the existing delays in the delivery of the aircraft. The latest issue involves a delay in the certification of the new Allegris business class seats on the aircraft, which have been produced by Collins Aerospace. This delay, reported by German media, is due to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) not yet certifying the seats.

According to Der Spiegel, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr revealed during an internal event that Boeing is nearing the completion of 15 of the 787s on order, with six of these aircraft already equipped with the new Allegris business class seats. However, the FAA has yet to approve the seats, which has delayed their full deployment across the airline’s fleet of Dreamliners.

While Lufthansa already features Allegris seats on its A350-900s, those seats were supplied by Thompson Aero rather than Collins Aerospace, the manufacturer of the seats in question for the B787. Lufthansa had previously announced that its business-class seats would be produced by a consortium of manufacturers, including Stelia Aerospace, Collins Aerospace, and Thompson Aero, to offer a premium experience to its passengers.

As of now, Lufthansa has five Boeing 787-9s in its fleet, none of which are equipped with the Allegris business class seats, as they were selected as whitetail aircraft and thus bypassed the certification issue. In total, Lufthansa has 34 Boeing 787-9s on order, with five of these already assigned German registrations.

This certification delay adds to the challenges Lufthansa faces with the delivery of its new 787-9 fleet, which has already been impacted by previous delays. The airline’s efforts to roll out its new premium seating options may be further hampered as it awaits FAA approval. Meanwhile, Lufthansa continues to adjust its fleet and operations to meet the needs of its customers while navigating these ongoing challenges.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com