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Don’t be fooled by the modest nature of the A321XLR’s debut between Madrid and Paris: this aircraft can fly very far with incredible efficiency. Get ready for it to revolutionize route networks around the world.

Gordon Smith

A seemingly routine flight between Madrid and Paris went down in aviation history on Wednesday morning. Shortly after 8:15 local time, Iberia became the first airline in the world to fly the new Airbus passenger plane.

The A321XLR (which is Xtra-Long Range) is the company’s flagship single-aisle aircraft. It is based on the successful A320 programme, which is already the cornerstone of the fleets of airlines such as JetBlue, AirAsia and easyJet.

The first XLR was in the air for just over 90 minutes on Wednesday, landing in the French capital shortly before 10am. The aircraft will transfer between the two cities in the coming days for a series of short-haul familiarization flights. These quickly increase the pool of pilots and cabin crew who have worked on the new aircraft and help identify any eventual drawbacks.

Where will the XLR fly next?

With an improved range of 4,700 nautical miles, the XLR is seriously overqualified for a 574nm hop between Madrid and Paris. Once its European shuttle period has ended, Iberia will take the transatlantic jet to the United States. Boston will be the first long-haul route at the end of November, followed by Washington DC as more XLRs join the Iberia fleet.

Its impressive range isn’t the only big draw drawing airlines to the new plane. The XLR has a unit cost similar to traditional long-haul twin-aisle aircraft. This allows for more cost-effective network expansion on routes that cannot support larger aircraft.

Some future operators, such as United Airlines and IcelandairThey hope the XLR will replace aging Boeing 757s, which are more expensive to operate and have worse environmental credentials.

How is the XLR to fly?

Each airline will tailor the aircraft to its individual specifications, and many low-cost airlines will opt for a completely economical dense design. For its part, Iberia remains faithful to its inherited business model and has configured the XLR with two different cabins.

There are a total of 182 seats on board, including 14 business class “mini-suites” with reclining beds. These are no different to those found on more conventional long-haul widebody aircraft and offer direct aisle access and 18-inch 4K entertainment screens. The aircraft has new generation lighting installed to make the cabin appear more spacious.

The XLR can cover routes of up to nine hours, so improvements have also been made to the economy cabin.

Its economy seats are an evolution of those found on much larger planes and feature four-inch reclining leather headrests. Each seat has in-seat connectivity, with the option for customers to connect headphones and other devices via Bluetooth. USB A and C charging is provided and free Wi-Fi messaging is available to all customers, in line with Iberia’s existing long-haul fleet.

The Iberia A321XLR seat map is available to consult here.

Who else will receive the XLR?

Wednesday’s low-key launch was operated by the first of eight XLRs heading to Iberia. The airline confirmed to Skift that it intends to increase frequencies to existing destinations, as well as expand its network to new locations using the aircraft. North American destinations will be the focus of the planes.

Iberia is the first, but certainly not the last, to welcome the XLR. Aer Lingus, which is part of the same parent company as Iberia, will also take delivery of the aircraft soon. The Irish flag carrier was to be the aircraft’s launch customer. However, a high-risk labor dispute with the drivers resulted in a late change.

The latest Airbus sales data shows more than 500 confirmed orders for the XLR. Among the big names committed to the project are american airlines, Qantasand JetBlue. Earlier this year, IndiGo Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers he told Skift about his big plans to link India and Europe with the new plane.

Boeing scrapped its plans to build a direct competitor to the A321XLR in 2020, leaving the company almost completely dependent on its 737 Max program with problems.

Watch JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty talk about the A321XLR at the Skift Global Forum 2024: