By Edward Russell, CNN

(CNN) — Long-haul first class with a glass of Champagne in hand is the slowly dying dream of many travelers, with carriers like American Airlines, Qatar Airways and United Airlines sounding the death knell for international top-tier experiences on their planes.

Always looking to maximize profits, such airlines have come to believe that improved business class seats are the way forward, rendering the posh, private echelons at the pointy end of the plane redundant.

International “first class will not exist … at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it,” American’s former Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja told CNN in 2022.

Not everyone agrees. Some airlines, including Air France, Emirates and Lufthansa, are now doubling down on first class and upgrading their offerings for those travelers willing to splash out for a truly luxury, bespoke experience.

First class “remains hugely important to us,” Emirates President Tim Clark told travel industry website Skift in 2023.

In March, Air France and Lufthansa both unveiled the latest iterations of their top offerings. The former is leaning into an all-inclusive luxury experience that Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith described as “as close to a private-jet experience as possible.” The new La Première includes an exclusive experience on the ground at the airline’s main Paris hub, and what it described as an elegant and personalized product aloft.

The new La Première suite debuts on Air France’s flights to New York JFK this spring. Eventually, 19 of its Boeing 777-300ERs will be fitted with the luxurious product.

Lufthansa’s new Allegris First Class leans heavily on privacy and, as the airline’s Chief Customer Officer Heiko Reitz put it, “individuality.” Everything about the new suites from seat position to temperature and airflow are at the passenger’s finger tips.

“We wanted to create a retreat above the clouds,” Reitz said at a recent preview of the product. “This setting is not a seat, this setting here is a living room — an area where you feel comfortable, where you feel cozy.”

Premium travel boom

Airlines invest heavily in premium offerings for good reason. Business and first class cabins generate around 15% of total revenue despite making up just 3% of passengers, according to trade group the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Premium travel has soared in recent years. IATA data shows the number of global premium travelers grew almost twice as fast as economy fliers from January 2023 through May 2024.

That growth is driving a surge of new investment. Allegris represents a 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) investment over multiple years for Lufthansa. And its sister carrier, Swiss, will receive its own version of Allegris later this year.

Emirates is similarly investing billions of dollars in its onboard offerings, including an upgraded first class. And others, like Air France and American, are putting undisclosed millions towards their own premium upgrades.

“People are eager to fly, and they are willing to spend money to fly premium,” said Jens Ritter, chief executive of Lufthansa Airlines, at the Allegris preview event.

First class, however, is the rarefied domain of primarily wealthy leisure travelers and people splashing out with points for a luxury trip. Corporate travel policies by and large restrict their fliers to at best business class on long flights.

And while their numbers may be small, first-class fliers’ willingness to pay top dollar has airlines splashing out for them.

“The first-class cabin remains a more flexible palette on which airlines can experiment and create a unique travel experience,” said Seth Miller, editor of the inflight experience publication Paxex.Aero.

Allegris, he said, succeeds at differentiating itself from its competitors with unique features like the extra-wide two-person Suite Plus offered in the center section of the cabin.

First-class pampering

Board one of the few Lufthansa Airbus A350s with Allegris First Class and you are greeted by a nearly private cabin at the front of the plane. Four seats arranged in three suites — the middle section is the two-person Suite Plus — stretch across the plane. The nearly ceiling-high walls with a faux-wood aesthetic block most views of the seats until you are practically standing beside them.

Inside the suites are shades of navy and tan. A vase with a red flower softens the otherwise dark finishings.

Privacy, or exclusivity, “on a whole new level” is the point, said Heiko. For extra privacy, travelers can draw a set of navy curtains to close off their suite.

Each suite has an up-to-43-inch entertainment screen, dining room-like table, a wardrobe and a foot locker big enough for a rollaboard suitcase. An iPad controls the entertainment system and climate controls. Noise-canceling headphones connect via Bluetooth. Amenity kits are by Porsche Design, Rimowa and Sinn. And pajamas on longer flights are by van Laack.

Dining options range from a sushi appetizer to braised veal or a pike-perch filet. And, yes, there is Champagne.

Lufthansa’s Allegris soft product, by and large, is the same as on flights today. That’s because the airline is in the midst of a complete service revamp as part of its upcoming centenary in 2026.

“We are rethinking the entire service to our customers from economy to premium economy to business class and to first class,” said Heiko. “We are looking at plates, glasses, cutlery, individual food components, napkins, pillows, blankets, amenity kits, inflight entertainment — everything.”

Asked why wait on the service upgrades, Heiko said it was in part to mark the airline’s anniversary next year and partially to hold off until Allegris is available on a critical mass of planes.

Lufthansa estimates that 30% of its long-haul fleet will have Allegris by the time of its centenary. That includes new A350s, Boeing 787s and, maybe, delayed Boeing 777Xs. Many of its 19 Boeing 747-8s will begin receiving upgrades on the main deck this summer; the upper deck will retain the older business class for the time being. And some of Lufthansa’s eight Airbus A380s will start retrofits next year.

Older planes, including Airbus A340s and 747-400s, are scheduled for retirement and will not receive Allegris.

For now, Allegris is only available on eight A350s — 10 by summer — on flights from Munich to five cities: Bengaluru, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco and Shanghai. They will also be available to Charlotte, N.C. and Newark later in the summer.

Delayed planes, delayed seats

The supply chain challenges that have dogged the industry since it emerged from the coronavirus pandemic are holding up many of the planned upgrades to airlines’ premium offerings.

“Seats continue to be a problem,” Kelly Ortberg, the chief executive of Boeing, said in February. “It’s not actually the production of the seats, it’s getting the seats certified. And it’s not actually the butt part of the seat. It’s the cabinet and the doors for first class and business class, these are pretty complex systems.”

American and Lufthansa are just two airlines continuing to fly their older premium products as they await new seats. And Saudi startup Riyadh Air has pushed back its launch as it awaits its first planes.

For Lufthansa, it has around 15 Boeing 787s parked at the US aerospace company’s plant in North Charleston, S.C., awaiting certification, Ritter said. Once those planes start arriving — something he hoped will begin this summer — the airline can expand the number of flights and destinations with Allegris.

Those are just the latest delays the German airline faces. Allegris was supposed to debut on new 777X airliners in 2020 but those plans went awry when the Boeing wide-bodies were delayed, and delayed again, to maybe arrive in 2026.

Some of the delays, however, are of Lufthansa’s own making. Allegris, with all its floor-to-ceiling walls and individualized features, requires special installation procedures on each type of plane. Regulators must also sign off on the designs to ensure they meet safety standards.

Still, experts say, when it comes to competing for high-end travelers the wait is worth it for Lufthansa and other airlines.

“If Lufthansa didn’t invest in long-haul first class, at some point it would see some portion of its most valuable customers defect to other carriers,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research.

Without a new product, Lufthansa and others could be forced to discount first-class seats to “buy the business” that, he added, was less than desirable.

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