Air Canada has announced orders for a total of 26 Airbus A321XLR, the extra-long-range version of the A321neo.
The Canadian airline will receive 15 leased aircraft from Air Lease Corporation, five from lessor AerCap, while six are orders directly placed with manufacturer Airbus. Deliveries of the 26 airplanes are set to start in the first quarter of 2024 and will last until early 2027, the carrier says. Its order with Airbus also includes purchase options for 14 more A321XLR aircraft between 2027 and 2030.
Air Canada will configure the new type for a total of 182 passengers, consisting of 14 lie-flat business class seats and 168 regular economy seats. The type will feature both inflight entertainment screens and wifi. The Airbus A321XLR is capable of flying up to eleven hours, potentially enabling new long-haul routes that were previously not efficient to operate with larger widebody aircraft types.
The fleet of Air Canada currently consists of Airbus A220 and A320 family aircraft on short-haul, with the latter type family currently in the process of being gradually replaced by the Boeing 737 Max 8. On long-haul, Air Canada operates A330-300, 787 and 777 jets.
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
