Overview
- Since July 1, passengers on long‑haul flights operated by Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and Discover now often must pay to change an automatically assigned seat during check‑in.
- The change mainly affects Economy and Premium Economy fare categories while previously the charge applied largely to Economy‑Light only.
- Passengers who pre‑paid for seats, HON‑Circle members and Senators, certain Flex fares, and families or jointly booked groups are exempt or will be accommodated.
- Reports cite industry outlet aeroTELEGRAPH and Der Standard and note that Lufthansa has not published a single fixed price for the surcharge so the fee appears during online check‑in and may vary by route and booking factors.
- The update follows other 2026 tariff moves by the group toward unbundling services and could raise surprise costs for travelers who wait to pick seats at check‑in so passengers are advised to read fare rules before booking.