Qantas has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR, registration VH-OGA,
The Australian airline is set to become the Asia-Pacific launch operator of the A321XLR.
The trip from the Airbus assembly line in Hamburg to Sydney took about 21 hours with one stop in Bangkok.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, Qantas will initially operate the A321XLR on domestic services across Australia. Because of the A321XLR’s exceptional range, it can open new services on secondary routes to Asia.
The Qantas Group has ordered 40 A321XLRs, with 28 aircraft allocated to Qantas and 12 to low-cost subsidiary Jetstar. These are part of the airline’s outstanding orders with Airbus for 128 single aisle aircraft and 24 A350-1000 widebodies.
Cabin
The Qantas A321XLR features 197 seats in a two-class layout:
- 20 Business Class seats in a 2-2 layout
- 177 Economy seats in 3-3 layout
Fuel efficient
In typical airline service, the A321XLR offers the longest range of any single-aisle aircraft – up to 4,700 nautical miles. It achieves a 30% reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions compared with previous-generation competitor aircraft.
As with all Airbus aircraft, the A321XLR aircraft is able to operate with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus is targeting to have its aircraft capable of flying with up to 100% SAF by 2030.
The new aircraft type also marks another step toward more sustainable air travel, incorporating advanced lightweight materials and design technologies that can enable reduced fuel burn and lower emissions per seat on like-for-like sectors, when compared to previous generation aircraft.
To date, Airbus has secured more than 500 orders for the type.
