Originally Posted by
readywhenyouare
The XLR does not have sufficient range for much of Europe from ATL. Even the 757 struggles with some routes from JFK/EWR. This has been discussed at length. The routes will be dropped and you'll have to connect in AMS/CDG once the 767 is gone.
Are you sure you aren't confusing the LR and the XLR? I'd like to see a link to those discussions, when you get a chance, because that doesn't match with Airbus's published specifications. The XLR is advertised at 4700 nautical miles of range, which
covers almost all of continental Europe from ATL. We all know manufacturer estimates are a little overoptimistic, but Airbus specifically calls out
Miami to Buenos Aires as a commercially viable route, and that distance (4400 mi) puts at a minimum Spain, Portugal, Ireland, the UK and France in play.
Of course, it's much more likely that smaller A330s would be redeployed to ATL and the A321XLRs would primarily serve JFK - the extra time from ATL means a widebody is more comfortable, and the hub and spoke model at ATL can probably fill a larger plane more easily. I also agree that the role of AF/KL/VS will grow post pandemic. But the flexibility is there if Delta needs it.