Originally Posted by
francophile
As mentioned here:
"Lufthansa found that passengers put a lower value on having direct access to the aisle than on having a longer, flat bed. The suggestion was surprising. Many airlines like Singapore and Etihad Airways have made aisle access a big selling point — meaning passengers sitting by a window would not have to climb over someone else to get out. But for Lufthansa, bucking this industry trend meant it could fit more seats in a row — six as opposed to just four."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/bu...pagewanted=all
Call me cynical, but just because a press release says their surveys indicated that, doesn't mean it was actually so. I suspect that universally applicable increased capacity was the ultimate driver of any C seat decision and marketing was advised to adjust accordingly. LH goal was to fill cabins with more seats.
IMO the reverse herringbone configuration is vastly superior to anything else available, but it comes at a cost I suspect.