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German MPs Restore Business Class For Flights Over Two Hours After Economy Rule Reversed

06:50 PM, 12/04/2025
German MPs Restore Business Class For Flights Over Two Hours After Economy Rule Reversed

Germany's Bundestag has relaxed 2024 travel rules, allowing MPs to claim business-class tickets on flights lasting longer than two hours after the Council of Elders amended the policy in September. The change, prompted by complaints that economy seats were uncomfortable for older MPs, still bars business claims for domestic flights but opens the door to pricier international fares. A Bundestag spokesman defended the move on privacy and productivity grounds, while critics note it is more generous than UK rules.

Parliament Reinstates Short-Haul Business-Class Allowance

Life as a German MP often involves long days of debates, constituency events and formal dinners — and now some lawmakers have successfully lobbied to restore a workplace comfort: business-class air travel for shorter international trips.

Germany's Bundestag quietly reversed part of its 2024 travel reforms in September when the so-called Council of Elders — a body made up of the parliament's longest-serving and most senior members — amended the rules to allow business-class tickets on flights lasting more than two hours.

Under the 2024 reforms MPs had been required to fly economy on journeys under four hours, a change intended to reduce costs. Less than two years later, that restriction has been relaxed after complaints from older MPs who argued economy seats were uncomfortable for working travel.

Bild reported: "Just a year and a half later, the people's representatives have found economy class on aeroplanes to be too uncomfortable."

In practice the updated rules still prohibit claiming business fares for domestic flights (major German cities are generally within about an hour's flight). But trips to places such as Rome, Athens or Tel Aviv — all over the two‑hour threshold from Berlin — could now be booked in business at the taxpayers' expense.

For example, a Lufthansa economy ticket from Berlin to Rome currently costs about €177, while a business-class fare is roughly €495 — a sizable difference if multiplied across many parliamentary trips.

A Bundestag spokesman told reporters that business-class seats are sometimes necessary because MPs may need to work on sensitive documents in transit and should not have colleagues or strangers in economy reading over their shoulders. Critics argue the change will add to public spending and is more generous than comparable rules elsewhere.

By contrast, Westminster maintains tighter limits: in the UK, MPs serving on select committees may only book business fares for daytime flights longer than five hours.

What This Means

The amendment reflects a push-and-pull between cost-saving reforms and practical demands from representatives who travel frequently. It is likely to increase travel expenses for the Bundestag, particularly on medium-range international routes, and has provoked debate about public spending and parliamentary perks.

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