Iberia is the first airline to fly the Airbus A321XLR.
Iberia’s first flight with the A321XLR was on 14 November from Madrid to Boston, a flight of over 8 hours.
The A321XLR is a single-aisle extra-long-range aircraft flying up to 8,700km, a 15% increase in range compared to the A321LR.
It can fly up to 11 hours nonstop and has a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles. It can connect distant destinations, such as: New York to Rome, London to Vancouver, Delhi to London, and Sydney to Kuala Lumpur.
That’s a long way on a single-aisle aircraft.
Iberia plans to use the aircraft mainly to the United States. The first destinations are Boston and Washington DC (United States).
The airline will add seven additional aircraft of this model in the coming months, which will make it possible to add new long-haul destinations to its network and will allow it to increase capacity in cities it currently serves.
Cabin layout
Iberia’s A321XLR has 182 seats over two cabins: Business and Economy.
- Business has 14 seats in a 1-1 layout
- Economy has 168 seats in a 3-3 layout
Business
The Business cabin features 14 individual seats, each next to a window and with direct access to the aisle.
The full-flat seats can be turned into beds and feature a wide leather headrest, compartments for personal items and a structure designed to provide comfort and privacy.
Each seat has its own lighting system, which can be independently regulated to set the light to the desired ambiance. Each seat also has its own backlit number during night mode to make it easier to find.
Economy
The Economy cabin features 168 seats with a pitch of a mere 30-31″.
The seats can recline up to four inches and are equipped with six-way adjustable headrests and two additional pockets to store personal items.
An individual 12-inch screen with 4K resolution is integrated into each seatback and in-seat connectivity is available for all passengers.
Prices for using the internet inflight are:
- €13.49 for 4 hours
- up to €24.99 for the whole flight
The XL overhead compartments are spacious, with more capacity for hand baggage than previous models.
The cabin also features six different cabin lighting modes and a new welcome panel at the entrance to the aircraft.
Bathrooms
The aircraft has four bathrooms, three at the back of Economy and one for Business.
Obvious problems are passengers at the back will have a line of passengers in the aisle beside them for a lot of the flight.
It will be difficult for passengers at the front of the cabin to time it so that they get to use one without a very long wait.
And what happens when the flight attendants are moving up and down the aisle with or without their trolleys?
There is a fair chance some passengers will get “pissed off”?
The Airbus A321XLR
Airbus says the A321XLR will deliver a range of up to 4,700nm, some 15% more range than the A321LR and 30% lower fuel burn per seat compared with previous generation competitor aircraft, as well as reduced NOx emissions and noise.
This aircraft introduces structural, aerodynamic and software improvements, and features an integrated central fuel tank, allowing for extended range. State-of-the-art CFM LEAP-1A engines power the aircraft.
As with all Airbus aircraft, the A321XLR is already able to operate with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus aims for all its aircraft to be capable of operating with 100% SAF by 2030.
So far, Airbus has secured more than 500 orders for the type.
Suppliers
Airbus delivered the A321XLR from its Hamburg facility.
Business class seats are Thompson VantageSOLO.
Economy seats are Recaro R3.
IFE is from Panasonic Avionics.
