Lufthansa is to adopt a 92-seat mixed-class configuration, including an economy cabin, on the PrivatAir business aircraft which operate on particular routes for the German flag-carrier.

PrivatAir operates three jets - Airbus A319LR and Boeing BBJ aircraft - on behalf of Lufthansa, normally fitted with an all-business layout of about 48 seats.

But Lufthansa says that two of them are to be reconfigured with 60 economy-class seats, while the business cabin will be reduced to 32 seats.

Lufthansa is planning to use these aircraft on Middle Eastern connections, deploying them on routes from Frankfurt to Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian city of Dammam.

In-flight entertainment will be available in both classes on board the aircraft.

"The new equipment will enable us to be far more flexible in the arrangement of the flight schedules," says Lufthansa's marketing chief for the passenger division, Thierry Antinori.

"We will be able to present our customers with a better and more comfortable offer on routes that don't justify the deployment of two widebody aircraft."

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news