Tag Archives for airbus a321xlr.
American Airlines Senior Vice President of Network Planning Brian Znotins says he’s rubbing “rubs hands together in anticipation” for the carrier’s first Airbus A321XLR – the ‘extended long range’ version of the largest Airbus narrowbody aircraft. Here’s why.
The new long range Airbus A321XLR received its Type Certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. It’s been certified with CFM LEAP-1A, and a Pratt & Whitney version is expected to be certified later this year. The first plane is expected to enter service later this summer, and over 500 XLRs have been ordered to date.
It’s unclear whether the FAA’s latest fuel tank concerns will merely delay the introduction of the A321XLR, at least for U.S. airlines and transatlantic service, or whether it will mean less fuel capacity and range for the aircraft – meaning that it winds up less useful for the airlines that have ordered it.
After a recent employee meeting following the third quarter earnings call, American Airlines revealed delays in the delivery of their ordered Airbus A321XLRs, now expecting the first in December 2024. Senior Vice President Brian Znotins outlined plans to deploy these planes for premium cross-country flights, new transatlantic markets, and potentially year-round routes, while hinting at future ultra-long haul flights using other aircraft.
American Airlines expects to begin taking delivery of new extended range narrowbody planes – the Airbus A321XLR – starting in the first quarter of 2024.
At an internal meeting, a recording of which was reviewed by View From The Wing, executives at the airline discussed how they plan to deploy the plane.
American Airlines announced this morning that they’ll be moving to new business class suites with doors, putting more premium seats into planes, and eliminating their Flagship First Class product starting in 2024.
They’re considering putting doors on their narrowbody lie flat business class seats. And this seat would balance their desire for a top shelf product without taking up a lot of real estate on the plane – they could literally manage to offer less than 35 inches of pitch (distance from the same point on two seats) because of the angling of the seats even as they do just one seat on each side of the aisle since each seat turns into a bed facing outward at an angle from window to the aisle.
The seat would basically back up against the window. That means passengers would all ‘have’ windows but it wouldn’t be easy to look out the window. Instead their back would largely face the window with their feet facing the aisle. Seats would be positioned at an angle in a herringbone pattern. The Collins Aurora seat resembles the Thompson VantageSolo seat which JetBlue uses for their new Mint product.
American Airlines is the only airline offering first class in addition to business class on some cross country flights. They do this with a dedicated fleet of Airbus A321T aircraft. However this special fleet, and special product, seem unlikely to last.
At a recent internal question and answer session with pilots, Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning Brian Znotins shared how American is thinking about using the Airbus A321XLR in Charlotte and how it will trade off with existing widebody service.
New aircraft are always exciting, even when they’re domestic planes with Oasis interiors. But we’re expecting new premium seats, more business class seats, and aircraft that allow flying to more non-stop destinations and more destinations to be served year-round.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
