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Don’t let the modest nature of the A321XLR’s debut between Madrid and Paris fool you: this plane can fly very far with incredible efficiency. Get ready for it to shake up road networks around the world.

Gordon Smith

A seemingly ordinary flight between Madrid and Paris made aviation history on Wednesday morning. Shortly after 8:15 a.m. local time, Iberia became the first airline in the world to fly Airbus’ newest jetliner.

The A321XLR (i.e. Xtra-Long Range) is the company’s flagship single-aisle jet. It builds on the hugely successful A320 programme, which is already a cornerstone of the fleets of carriers 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 10 a.m. The aircraft will shuttle between the two cities in the coming days for a series of short-haul familiarization flights. These are quickly strengthening the pool of pilots and cabin crew who have worked on the new plane and helping to identify any final snags.

Where will the XLR fly next?

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

Its impressive range isn’t the only big selling point attracting airlines to the new plane. The XLR has a similar unit cost to traditional two-aisle long-haul jets. This allows for more cost-effective network expansion on routes that cannot accommodate larger aircraft.

Some future operators, such as United Airlines and Icelandic airlineare turning to XLR to replace aging Boeing 757s, which are more expensive to operate and have poorer environmental performance.

How does the XLR like to fly?

Each airline will tailor the aircraft to its individual specifications, with many low-cost airlines opting for a dense, entirely economical layout. For its part, Iberia remains faithful to its traditional economic model and has configured the XLR with two separate cabins.

There are a total of 182 seats on board, including 14 business class “mini-suites” with lie-flat beds. These are no different from 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 more spacious.

The XLR can serve 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 jets and feature a four-inch recline and leather headrests. Each seat has built-in connectivity, with the ability 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 guests, consistent with Iberia’s existing long-haul fleet.

A seat map of the Iberia A321XLR is available for viewing here.

Who else gets the XLR?

Wednesday’s discreet launch was carried out by the first of eight XLRs bound for the Iberian Peninsula. The carrier confirmed to Skift that it plans to increase frequencies to existing destinations, as well as expand its network to new locations using the aircraft. North American destinations will be the center of aircraft attention.

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

The latest sales data from Airbus shows more than 500 confirmed orders for the XLR. Big names involved in the project include American airlines, Qantasand JetBlue. Earlier this year, Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo Airlines, told Skift about his big plans to connect India and Europe with the new plane.

Boeing abandoned plans to build a direct competitor to the A321XLR in 2020, leaving the company almost entirely dependent on its 737 Max program in difficulty.

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