In March 2022, Air Canada placed an order for Airbus’ new long range narrow body jet. A little over four years later, there’s now an exciting update, as the airline has just taken delivery of its first of these aircraft. Let’s go over all the details, and what this plane means for the Star Alliance carrier.
Air Canada has 30 Airbus A321XLRs on order
Air Canada is acquiring 30 Airbus A321XLR aircraft — 15 of these planes are being purchased, while 15 are being leased. The first of these aircraft has just been delivered, and fittingly, it has the registration code C-GXLR.
For those not familiar with the A321XLR, this is the latest generation A321 aircraft. The aircraft was announced in 2019, and entered service in late 2024, with Iberia and Aer Lingus being the two launch customers. The long range aircraft has the ability to operate all kinds of long and thin routes where the economics might not make sense with larger aircraft.
For passengers, the plane is a mixed bag — narrow body planes just don’t have the same level of comfort as wide body planes, though it’s always nice to be able to fly nonstop, rather than connecting. Air Canada intends to use these planes both for flights within North America, as well as for transatlantic flights (I suspect the latter will be the biggest focus).
The A321XLR seems like an obvious fit for Air Canada. Previously the carrier’s smallest long haul aircraft was the Airbus A330, and that’s a pretty big aircraft, so there was a need for something smaller. Given Canada’s geography and Air Canada’s hubs, this plane will be useful for routes from eastern Canada to destinations across the Atlantic.
Here’s how Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer Mark Galardo describes this milestone:
“Air Canada is building one of the most modern and capable fleets in the industry. The Airbus A321XLR introduces a dynamic new component to Air Canada’s growth strategy, greatly expanding our flexibility to launch new international routes and improve our offering on existing markets. Equipped with a quieter, more comfortable cabin when compared to previous generation aircraft, this game-changing aircraft will shortly be deployed across the Atlantic from Montréal and Toronto, while also becoming a staple on key North American transcontinental markets. Supporting our fleet modernization, continued network growth, and an elevated onboard experience, the arrival of the Airbus A321XLR marks a transformative moment for Air Canada.”
Air Canada Airbus A321XLRs have 182 seats
All of Air Canada’s Airbus A321XLRs will feature a total of 182 seats, including 14 business class seats and 168 economy class seats. Air Canada recently revealed what passengers can expect onboard these aircraft. As you’d expect, the planes feature seat back entertainment, inflight Wi-Fi, and the signature Airbus interiors.
When it comes to the hard product, business class is based on the Collins Aerospace Aurora platform. That means seats are in a herringbone layout, facing the aisle. Business class has greatly updated tech, including 19″ 4K OLED monitors and bluetooth audio, along with AC, USB-C, and AC power outlets.
It’s quite interesting how Air Canada isn’t going for a particularly premium layout here. There are only 14 business class seats, and there’s not even a premium economy cabin, which is otherwise a standard on long haul planes nowadays.
I understand real estate is more limited on these small planes, though you’d think that in order to make the economics work, you’d need to focus on premium revenue. Or who knows, I guess airlines think they can get people to pay a premium to fly in economy, for the convenience of traveling nonstop.
As a point of comparison, the A321XLRs of American and United each feature 20 business class seats and 12 premium economy seats, so that’s quite a different approach.
Air Canada’s initial Airbus A321XLR routes
In recent months, Air Canada has revealed a variety of routes that will be operated by the Airbus A321XLR in both the summer and winter season.
Out of Montreal (YUL), the airline has revealed plans to fly the A321XLR to Berlin (BER), Calgary (YYC), Los Angeles (LAX), Lyon (LYS), Nantes (NTE), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Porto (OPO), Toulouse (TLS), and Vancouver (YVR). Meanwhile out of Toronto (YYZ), the first long haul route will be to London (LHR).
I’d expect this to change over time, but it’s impressive to see just how many routes the airline plans to fly with the jet in a fairly short period. As time goes on, we can also expect Air Canada to add A321XLR routes from Ottawa (YOW) and Halifax (YHZ) as well.
Bottom line
In early 2022, Air Canada placed an order for Airbus A321XLR aircraft. This is a natural fit for Air Canada’s fleet, given that this plane will allow the airline to operate all kinds of long and thin transatlantic routes from its hubs in the east.
The first of 30 of these planes has just been delivered, and should enter service soon. All A321XLRs will be configured with 182 seats, including 14 fully flat business class seats and 168 economy class seats. Perhaps the only surprise here is just how dense the cabin will be, including fairly few business class seats and no premium economy seats.
What do you make of Air Canada’s A321XLR plans?