Originally Posted by
Adam Smith
As [MENTION=787888]vancouver25k[/MENTION] said, it comes down to demand. AC has often touted its ability to shift capacity between Europe in the summer and Sun destinations in the winter in order to keep utilisation and loads (and therefore profits) high.
The XLR could enable some of the thinner TATL routes to continue year-round, but the things that are seasonal and less than daily probably don't have the demand to sustain even an XLR in the winter.
I see XLRs replacing widebodies on trunk routes in North America, sustaining multiple flights per day into large transatlantic markets, making winters over the pond bigger, and allowing AC to fly transatlantic from non- hubs like YOW without eating a widebody. Whether XLRs free up 777s/787s/333s for longer hauls or are deployed on longer hauls themselves, I can't imagine they’re not being long-haul capacity growth year round. Otherwise, wouldn't ordering LRs or NEOs with pods have made more sense?