What happened
Lufthansa is running a trial from March 16 to March 29, 2026, on approximately 20 short-haul routes from various European outstations to test the commercial and operational potential of reduced cabin cleaning in economy class. Under this 'light cleaning' concept, economy cabins will be cleaned 'as needed' rather than thoroughly between every flight. Specifically, lavatories and seat back pockets will only be emptied upon request by the crew, and cleaning will consist of spot checks rather than a full clean. This trial applies only to outstations, excluding flights departing from Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC), and does not apply to aircraft that have overnight stays. The airline is also evaluating whether it can reduce cleaning staff at outstations from four to two people. The trial is specific to economy class; business class (which uses economy seats with blocked middles on these flights) continues to receive standard cleaning. Initial changes included not crossing seat belts between flights, but negative feedback from crews led to a backtrack on that specific change. The goal is to determine if time and costs can be saved without negatively impacting passenger satisfaction