Lufthansa says premium cabins now sell out first on long-haul

Lufthansa says the order in which its cabins fill up has flipped. Where economy class once sold out first while first and business seats remained open days before departure, the premium cabins now go first, group chief executive Carsten Spohr said at an event for journalists in Frankfurt on Monday.

"The first, the business, premium economy sell first," Spohr said, according to his remarks at the event. Economy class, by contrast, is currently showing weakness in some cases. Seats have been left empty on certain routes from Germany toward the United States, he said.

Spohr described what he called a still unbroken premium boom. On long-haul flights the group now generates more than half of its revenue from the premium classes, he said, adding that a large US competitor has reached a similar share while Lufthansa has not yet done so on short-haul routes.

The shift suits the group's position, Spohr said, because Lufthansa has many of its offerings at comparatively expensive locations such as Germany and Switzerland. Ten years ago the industry was dominated by the low-cost theme, he said, whereas the market is now developing in a direction that fits the group's positioning better.

Lufthansa is putting substantial money into that customer segment. Half of the classic Lufthansa fleet is to have new cabins fitted by the end of the year, with work continuing at other group carriers.