Modern long-haul aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350, and Boeing 777, are engineered to facilitate extremely lengthy voyages, with a maximum range of over 15000 kilometers (9,300 miles).
Some of the world’s longest commercial flights surpass 17 hours as of 2024. For instance, Singapore Airlines provides a flight from Singapore to New York (JFK) that lasts approximately 18-19 hours. The flight from Perth to London is approximately 17 hours long and is operated by Qantas.
But, these are widebody aircraft. Boeing 757-200 narrow body long haul but can manage just half the range of these long-range wide bodies. A321XLR is Airbus’s attempt to create a narrowbody long-range plane.
To increase its range to 8,700 km, the A321XLR is equipped with a heavily modified fuel system. The aircraft features new fuel tanks, which will extend its range by about 15% compared to the A321LR—XLR stands for “extra-long range.” This is a 30% improvement over the standard A321neo, which is typically used for shorter flights.
Due to its unique ability to fly long-haul routes up to 11 hours with 220 passengers onboard, the A321XLR has been purchased by several airlines, including American Airlines, Air Canada, Qantas, and United Airlines.
More fuel-efficient and cheaper to operate than traditional wide-body jets that usually fly long-distance routes, the A321XLR is expected to become particularly popular with low-cost airlines. However, Airbus will need to convince passengers that a narrow-body plane can offer the same comfort as wide-body giants.
Airlines plan to install fully reclining lie-flat seats in business class with direct aisle access, while in economy class, the aircraft promises “true comfort on long-haul flights” with 46 cm-wide seats as standard and modern in-flight entertainment features.
Before the A321XLR could begin commercial operations, Airbus had to complete its certification flight test campaign, which started around the middle of 2022. The main goal is to prove that the long-range A321XLR can reliably fly extended distances.
In December 2022, Airbus did just that by flying one of the test A321XLRs in a giant loop over Europe, even taking the time to “draw” XLR symbols in the sky off the coast of France over the Bay of Biscay.
During this test flight, the aircraft exceeded the required certification time by two hours. The new fuel system performed exactly as the engineers intended.
The A321XLR is now certified and is expected to enter service in 2024, assuming there are no supply chain issues or production delays. It remains to be seen whether Airbus’s ambitious claims of comfort on long-haul flights will hold true once the aircraft is operational.
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