The Airbus A321XLR is an extra-long range aircraft capable of flying up to 4,700 nautical miles. The aircraft is a derivative of the A321LR but has a higher maximum take-off weight and a new permanent rear centre tank that enables it to carry more fuel.
Iberia is the launch customer for the aircraft and is expected to accept the first commercial delivery of the A321XLR later in October. Iberia’s XLR is configured with 182 seats arranged in a business and economy cabin configuration. The aircraft is expected to enter into commercial service on October 26 with flights from Madrid to London and Madrid to Paris. Iberia plans to debut transatlantic services with the aircraft from November 14 between Madrid and Boston, and then Madrid to Washington DC in January next year, with more routes scheduled for many destinations in the US
including Baltimore.
“This aircraft will strengthen Iberia’s long-haul fleet and will do so in a more sustainable and innovative way by offering the possibility of operating the airline’s transoceanic routes with a narrow-body aircraft,” Iberia said in a statement.
Iberia will receive seven additional A321XLR in the following months after it receives the first aircraft.
The original launch customer was parent company International Airlines Group’s (IAG) other flag carrier, Aer Lingus. The aircraft had been due to be delivered in September 2024 before it was unassigned from the airline.
“Aer Lingus has not been able to give IAG the assurances needed on cost structure to ensure the returns required to invest in its fleet,” IAG said in a statement. “We will only make fleet investments where it makes commercial sense to do so and where we can generate a return from doing so.”
IAG’s order for 14 XLRs was placed in 2019 – six of which were designated to Aer Lingus with the remaining eight for Iberia. IAG said: “No decision has been made yet on future XLR deliveries.”
The aircraft was launched at the 2019 Paris airshow with Middle East Airlines being the first to order with four XLRs.
The A321XLR was officially certified to fly on July 19, 2024, after the CFM LEAP-1A engine version was given type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The Pratt & Whitney GTF version of the aircraft is slated for certification sometime in 2024. A person familiar with the matter said that the current GTF engine issues have no impact on the certification process with the maturity of engines being a separate issue entirely.
The first A321XLR completed its maiden flight in June 2022. The three prototype A321XLR aircraft have completed a total of more than 510 flights and logged around 1,450 flight test hours. So far, more than 500 of the aircraft have been ordered.
Airbus had launched a new structure assembly line in hangar 246 at the Airbus site in Hamburg on July 16, 2024, as it moves towards serial production of the A321XLR. Hangar 246 will assemble the rear structure of the aircraft’s fuselage where its RCT is located.
The aircraft is also awaiting US approval, which the European OEM said it is “approaching the finish-line” for certification. “We see no roadblocks at all on the way to certification before our first US customers,” Airbus CEO of commercial aircraft Christian Scherer said a briefing ahead of the Farnborough airshow.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are still reviewing technical aspects of the RCT, with particular examination of its fire suppression capabilities.
Airbus CTO and EVP engineering commercial aircraft Sabine Klauke speaking at the pre-Farnborough airshow event, said that the company had been in contact with the FAA throughout the certification process. She added that with the EASA certification, the FAA approval would soon follow.
The next European carrier to operate the aircraft will be Wizz Air, which will begin its first A321XLR route on March 31, 2025, CEO Jozsef Varadi confirmed at a press conference on September 10, 2024. Not to be confused with its previously announced XLR-operated Milan to Abu Dhabi route from June 2, 2025, the route will be a daily service between Gatwick Airport and Jeddah.
The first route will be an overnight flight at just over seven hours, which will compete with British Airways non-stop route to the Saudi Arabian city it launched earlier this year.
Wizz Air had previously expressed interest in launching routes to India with the XLR, an emerging market for aviation. Varadi clarified to press at the event that they were still looking into establishing routes. “We are working on it,” said Varadi, speaking to press. “We think there will be results coming out, with India being India, I cannot predict the time when this is going to happen. But we are on it.”
The European carrier is anticipating the delivery of around eight A321XLR aircraft in 2025, with 47 total on order.
The XLR builds upon the A321neo model. It incorporates major modifications to the aircraft design, allowing for 30% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft.
The most significant modification comes in its new fuselage section design, featuring a new fuel system, the rear central tank (RCT). The design enables the narrowbody ‘xtra long range’ aircraft to fly up to 4,700 nautical miles non-stop and can carry up to 220 passengers.
The aircraft stands unchallenged as a narrowbody aircraft with its extended range. Boeing had said in July 2022 that it would not pursue its middle of the market (MMA) or new midsize aircraft (NMA) until new engines and development tools are a mature option.
“With its long range, the A321XLR enables a host of new direct routes, offering natural growth opportunities to our customers and the travelling public,” said Airbus commercial aircraft business CEO Christian Scherer.
Wizz Air will be taking a more strategic approach to launching routes on the XLR, taking its time to launch them. Varadi said the airline will not be launching any transatlantic flights on the XLR. The aircraft adds approximately two hours to its flight time – averaging around eight hours.
US low cost airline Frontier Airlines recently cancelled its XLR order, expressing some disappointment around the aircraft not quite meeting the range they expected. Varadi said the company had spoken with Frontier about the issue. “We consider them as a kind of sister airline,” he commented.
He further added: “I don’t think range maximisation was ever our objective. Our objective was the extension of our footprint… we were drawing a lot of maps to understand what we can reach with the XLR. Actually, we feel quite comfortable with the range extension.”
He said that Frontier has “different issues” with the XLR, having looked at the aircraft to service routes over the Atlantic to Europe.
“There is another issue related to the range matter,” said Varadi. “Should you be flying the XLR beyond eight hours, basically you would be losing rotation of the aircraft… That is diminishing revenue opportunities, diminishing engagement with the consumer.”
The XLR servicing the route is expected to be delivered sometime in February and will be the first of the aircraft type to be delivered to the UK. Varadi did not disclose the value of the aircraft, but said “there is a slight premium over the A321neo”.
“We got the moment right and we got the pricing right,” said Varadi. “As a result, Airbus can price this airplane in the way they want because of scarcity of supply and availability.”
In addition to Frontier, JetBlue also deferred 44 of its A321neo deliveries into 2030 and beyond, which included the XLR. The company had been impacted by the GTF engine issues, grounding around 11 aircraft on average this year. The number is expected to grow to mid- to high-teen next year, JetBlue said in an earnings call.
The A321neo aircraft were deferred as a result of being the “most impacted” by the GTF engine issues, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said. The company said it will reduce its capex by around $3bn with it pushing back the deliveries.
The company had converted 13 existing Airbus aircraft in its orderbook to the XLR in 2019. At the time, the company said the aircraft would support its European expansion.
Geraghty added: “Obviously, the deferrals for the XLR will have an impact on growth in that market, but it’s by no means a retreat; it’s further learning how to best ensure that those routes are profitable and driving earnings for the business.”
Wizz Air, though, has remained confident in the XLR, while also contending with the GTF engine issue.
Currently, around 20% of Wizz Air’s fleet are grounded as a result of the ongoing GTF engine impact. Varadi estimated that in about 18 to 24 months from now, the airline will be “out of this”. He added: “We have been protecting capacity through different actions, by extending existing aircraft operations or taking short term wet leases to make sure we are not giving up the markets.”
When asked by Airline Economics on expected deliveries for the remainder of the year, Varadi said: “We are shooting at moving targets here. We are at the mercy of Airbus and what they can deliver. That number keeps changing all the time.
“Maybe the best way to put this is that we are expecting for summer 2025 to be operating roughly 15% larger fleet than what we have today. Some of it will be new deliveries, some of it will be old aircraft return, and some of it is potential engine regains and reintroductions.”
The airline is targeting 500 aircraft in its fleet by 2030. However, at the event, he said this could slip back a year or two as a result of delays from Airbus.
“If you look at the fleet on face value, the fleet continues to grow around 30 to 35 aircraft in the next year, but there is a lot of internal dynamics going on.”
It expects capacity to grow 15-20% in the new financial year in 2025, compared to the year prior.