Jun 19, 2019, 9:33 am
Last edit by: Prospero
AA Airbus A321XLR
merican ordered 50 Airbus A321XLR at the June Paris Airshow held at Paris - Le Bourget airport. 30 of these replace previously ordered A321neo, 20 are new orders. These will largely fulfill the roles of the departing Boeing 757-200. Airbus announced first deliveries of the XLR to start in 2023.
The Airbus A321XLR will reportedly have over 90% compatibility with, and will use the same basic engines as, the A321neo. With a range at ~101 metric tons of up to 4,700 nm, @5% more than the A321LR, the longest range of any narrowbody commercial aircraft. The aircraft will offer a 30% fuel savings compared to current comparable aircraft.
The aircraft can accommodate 180-220 passengers in two class configuration. AA is reported by several sources as seeking to fly these with all aisle access lie flat bed seats in Business, Premium Economy. Routing is expected to include East Coast - Europe lower demand routes, and likely South America.
“American will take delivery of their A321XLRs over the following timeframe...: 8 in 2023, 22 in 2024, 20 in 2025” - OMAT
Launch customers for the A321XLR were Steven F. Udvar-Házy‘s Air Lease Corporation (27) and Middle East Airlines of Lebanon, (4). Other airlines ordering A321XLR directly or through lessors include, additionally to AA, Aer Lingus, Frontier, Iberia, JetSMART (Chile), Jetstar, Qantas, Wizz Air.
OMAT
published range maps from GC
Maps:
Links to sources
Link to Is The Airbus A321XLR Vaporware Or The New Long-Range Leader?, Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 19 Jun 2018 (early speculation)
JonNYC original “hearing from multiple angles that an AA order for the A321LR is imminent, potentially at the Paris air show” was 31 May 2019, quoted in this thread on airliners.net.
Link to Airbus launches longest range single-aisle airliner: the A321XLR, Airbus, 17 Jun 2019
Link to Airbus Launches The A321XLR, The Longest Range Narrow Body Plane Ever, by Ben (Lucky), OMAT, 17 Jun 2019
Link to American Airlines agrees to order 50 Airbus A321XLRs,Airbus, 19 Jun 2019
Link to American Airlines Orders 50 Airbus A321XLRs, Ben (Lucky, 19 Jun 2019 OMAT
Link to American Airlines to become the first US airline to order new Airbus plane Phil LeBeau, CNBC, 19 Jun 2019 (It was actually Frontier who ordered first)
merican ordered 50 Airbus A321XLR at the June Paris Airshow held at Paris - Le Bourget airport. 30 of these replace previously ordered A321neo, 20 are new orders. These will largely fulfill the roles of the departing Boeing 757-200. Airbus announced first deliveries of the XLR to start in 2023.
The Airbus A321XLR will reportedly have over 90% compatibility with, and will use the same basic engines as, the A321neo. With a range at ~101 metric tons of up to 4,700 nm, @5% more than the A321LR, the longest range of any narrowbody commercial aircraft. The aircraft will offer a 30% fuel savings compared to current comparable aircraft.
The aircraft can accommodate 180-220 passengers in two class configuration. AA is reported by several sources as seeking to fly these with all aisle access lie flat bed seats in Business, Premium Economy. Routing is expected to include East Coast - Europe lower demand routes, and likely South America.
“American will take delivery of their A321XLRs over the following timeframe...: 8 in 2023, 22 in 2024, 20 in 2025” - OMAT
Launch customers for the A321XLR were Steven F. Udvar-Házy‘s Air Lease Corporation (27) and Middle East Airlines of Lebanon, (4). Other airlines ordering A321XLR directly or through lessors include, additionally to AA, Aer Lingus, Frontier, Iberia, JetSMART (Chile), Jetstar, Qantas, Wizz Air.
OMAT
published range maps from GC
Maps:
Links to sources
Link to Is The Airbus A321XLR Vaporware Or The New Long-Range Leader?, Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 19 Jun 2018 (early speculation)
JonNYC original “hearing from multiple angles that an AA order for the A321LR is imminent, potentially at the Paris air show” was 31 May 2019, quoted in this thread on airliners.net.
Link to Airbus launches longest range single-aisle airliner: the A321XLR, Airbus, 17 Jun 2019
Link to Airbus Launches The A321XLR, The Longest Range Narrow Body Plane Ever, by Ben (Lucky), OMAT, 17 Jun 2019
Link to American Airlines agrees to order 50 Airbus A321XLRs,Airbus, 19 Jun 2019
Link to American Airlines Orders 50 Airbus A321XLRs, Ben (Lucky, 19 Jun 2019 OMAT
Link to American Airlines to become the first US airline to order new Airbus plane Phil LeBeau, CNBC, 19 Jun 2019 (It was actually Frontier who ordered first)
AA Orders 50 Airbus A321XLR at 2019 Paris Airshow
May 5, 2022, 8:38 pm
#76
Join Date: Aug 2016
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Slightly off-topic, but interesting it made more financial sense for AY to wet-lease A350’s to LH for leisure routes than to find a way to operate them within the existing OW TATL partnership. Have to wonder if that’s an option AA looks at more closely for next summer.
I suspect AY preferred to take the guaranteed wet lease payments over assuming the risk of operating their own transatlantic flights. In hindsight, with the current capacity crunch, that was probably the incorrect decision.
May 6, 2022, 7:07 am
#77
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I still don't understand their decision here. The aircraft are new, there are 15 of them (so it's a subfleet of medium size), they share lots of commonality with the a320 series, they have pilots who are type rated and they are still paying for them.
May 6, 2022, 8:05 am
#79
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Lets also remember that a lot of airlines shed their "mini" fleets. AA parked their A330 fleet; DL parked their 777 fleet.
May 6, 2022, 8:26 am
#80
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Lets also remember that a lot of airlines shed their "mini" fleets. AA parked their A330 fleet; DL parked their 777 fleet.
Also, I believe DLs 777s were already paid off. Unlike AA that's still paying for something that they need but are gathering dust in the desert.
Jul 31, 2023, 4:26 am
#81
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, DL UA
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I was hoping AA would fly CLT to AMS with the new A321-XLR; however, with the reduction of maximum miles flown, will that be possible? I just read an article on “One Mile At A Time” that mentions that the new maximum nautical miles will be approximately 3,800, or 4,373 miles. The miles from CLT to AMS is 4,170. How much of a cushion do they need as 4,170 is ver close to 4,373 miles?
Jul 31, 2023, 5:32 am
#82
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I was hoping AA would fly CLT to AMS with the new A321-XLR; however, with the reduction of maximum miles flown, will that be possible? I just read an article on “One Mile At A Time” that mentions that the new maximum nautical miles will be approximately 3,800, or 4,373 miles. The miles from CLT to AMS is 4,170. How much of a cushion do they need as 4,170 is ver close to 4,373 miles?
Jul 31, 2023, 7:18 am
#83
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Some/Most/All
Posts: 240
I was hoping AA would fly CLT to AMS with the new A321-XLR; however, with the reduction of maximum miles flown, will that be possible? I just read an article on “One Mile At A Time” that mentions that the new maximum nautical miles will be approximately 3,800, or 4,373 miles. The miles from CLT to AMS is 4,170. How much of a cushion do they need as 4,170 is ver close to 4,373 miles?
Jul 31, 2023, 11:06 am
#84
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: CLT
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Good point! I would think that the advertised range would be with the maximum amount of an all economy class aircraft.
Jul 31, 2023, 9:11 pm
#85
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Exactly, particularly PHL. I don’t see them using them on JFK TATL routes unless they have extra slots and think they can make money chipping away at DL / UA (from EWR). I’d love to see a few new TATL routes launch from Boston, perhaps even feeding some connecting traffic, but not keeping my hopes up. Flip side is that if these planes become semi range-limited, BOS may be a suitable location.
Aug 1, 2023, 4:34 am
#86
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Another good fit will be from MIA to northern South America where the A321-neo’s and Max-8’s are currently flying, along with some A319. None of the current aircraft flying these routes have a premium economy or seat-back screens. To be competitive with DL and Latam, they need a better product for these routes. If I were to purchase a ticket now to Lima, Bogota, etc., I would purchase DL before AA due to the current product, or lack there of, on these routes.
Aug 1, 2023, 7:06 am
#87
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The shortage of wide body aircraft and an airline CEO stepping down at the age of 61 makes me wonder what direction American is going in.
Aug 2, 2023, 11:40 pm
#88
Join Date: Jan 2015
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Exactly, particularly PHL. I don’t see them using them on JFK TATL routes unless they have extra slots and think they can make money chipping away at DL / UA (from EWR). I’d love to see a few new TATL routes launch from Boston, perhaps even feeding some connecting traffic, but not keeping my hopes up. Flip side is that if these planes become semi range-limited, BOS may be a suitable location.
Aug 3, 2023, 9:49 am
#89
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With the new labor contracts, coupled with the limited amount of cargo that these planes can carry and the low number of seats available for passengers, is it possible for flights to be profitable when using this aircraft? Just curious.