Iberia Takes Delivery Of The First Airbus A321XLR

Airbus has delivered the first A321XLR to Iberia, the launch operator of the new long-range, single-aisle aircraft powered by CFM Leap 1A engines.

The Spanish flag carrier plans to operate the new aircraft on regional flights across Europe in the coming weeks. The first, a Madrid-Paris route, will take off on Nov. 6 before the aircraft is put into transatlantic service on a Madrid-Boston route from Nov. 14.

“We are very proud to be the launch airline for this new Airbus aircraft,” Iberia CEO Marco Sansavini said Oct. 30. “The A321XLR will allow us to reach new destinations, operating transoceanic routes and doing so in a more efficient way.”

International Airline Group’s (IAG) first A321XLRs had been allocated to Iberia's sister airline, Aer Lingus, but IAG confirmed in May that Iberia would instead receive the first of the group's 14 A321XLRs, ordered at the Paris Air Show in 2019, after an Aer Lingus pilot pay dispute was not resolved in time.

Earlier in October, Iberia’s Celia Munoz Espin, director of commercial strategy and distribution, told Aviation Week that the arrival of the A321XLR would bring additional flexibility to the airline, and that it was exploring the possibility of adding more secondary cities on the U.S. East Coast to its network with the type.

“This aircraft is the perfect size that allows to go to places that we know we have demand but maybe not for a bigger aircraft,” she said. The aircraft will also allow the airline to offer more flexibility in terms of more frequencies, an advantage for business passengers, she added. “What the XLR brings to us is definitely much more options, in terms of destinations and flexibility.”

Iberia is set to receive eight A321XLRs in total. The second is due to arrive before the end of the year, followed by six more in 2025.

Aer Lingus, meanwhile, will take IAG's other six A321XLRs. The Irish carrier will get its first two before the end of the year and plans to serve Nashville, Tennessee, and Indianapolis from Dublin with the new long-range narrowbody from next year.

IAG's XLRs are configured in a 182-seat layout with two cabins. Business class includes lie-flat seats with direct aisle access.

Airbus says the new type delivers a range of up to 4,700 nm (5,408 mi.), which is 15% farther than Airbus' next-best narrowbody, the A321LR, can fly. More than 500 A321XLRs have been ordered so far.

Another Airbus A321XLR customer, Wizz Air, said in September that it planned to base its first A321XLR in Milan and launch a new Abu Dhabi service. Wizz Air will operate the Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered version of the A321XLR, which is due to be certified by the end of the year.