The Airbus A321XLR is currently flown by Aer Lingus, American, Iberia, Qanot Sharq, Qantas, and Wizz Air UK. The Uzbek carrier Qanot Sharq welcomed its first frame on December 20. It has already been flown to London twice, replacing the bog-standard A321neo.
Meanwhile, Air Canada, Aegean, IndiGo, and Saudia have all announced routes on the equipment. Air Canada’s current plans see the variant enter service in May. Nine routes are planned. Seven are to Europe, including to Palma de Mallorca, while two are newly added domestic links.
The XLR’s Ten Longest Flights: First Half Of 2026
They’re summarized below. They’re based on the latest information as of December 30, and certainly may change. The information is from analyzing each current and future operator’s schedule submissions to OAG. It is for the first half of 2026 only (January-June), and may be different beyond then.
The entries include three routes that have not yet started: 
Air Canada from Montreal to Palma de Mallorca (initially on the XLR, then the 787-8), and 
Iberia from Madrid to Newark and Toronto. Spain’s flag carrier will return to Canada after a 30-year absence.
|
Max. Block Time: January-June 2026* |
Direction Of Route With That Time |
XLR Airline & Operations |
|---|---|---|
|
9h 40m |
Madrid to Washington Dulles |
Iberia (three weekly during the winter, then daily) |
|
9h 35m |
Madrid to Santo Domingo |
Iberia (two to three weekly during the winter, then daily) |
|
9h 20m |
Dublin to Nashville |
Aer Lingus (three to four weekly in the winter, then five weekly) |
|
9h 15m |
Madrid to New York JFK |
Iberia (daily to ten weekly; winter only) |
|
9h 10m |
Madrid to San Juan |
Iberia (daily to 11 weekly during the winter, then daily) |
|
9h 00m |
Palma de Mallorca back to Toronto |
Air Canada (four weekly; begins June 17); becomes three weekly when the 787-8 takes over |
|
9h 00m |
Madrid to Toronto |
Iberia (daily; begins June 13) |
|
8h 55m |
Madrid to Recife |
Iberia (three to four weekly); the route resumed on December 13, using a narrowbody for the first time |
|
8h 50m |
Dublin to Indianapolis |
Aer Lingus (four weekly in the winter, then five weekly) |
|
8h 50m |
Madrid to Newark |
Iberia (daily; begins March 29) |
|
* At any point in the first half of the year |
Multiple Other Routes Were Very Close To Inclusion
As usual with such analysis, various other routes were just shy of being included. Readers often wonder why a particular airport pair is not mentioned in a list or table. In this case, it’s simply because the maximum block time (between January and June) is below 8h 50m.
They include Iberia from Madrid to Fortaleza (8h 45m) and Boston (8h 45m), IndiGo from Delhi to Athens (8h 45m), and Aer Lingus from Dublin to Minneapolis (8h 35m) and Raleigh/Durham (8h 30m). Iberia will take off to Fortaleza on January 19, with a three-weekly XLR service. It last flew there, tagged with Recife, in 2011; the A340-300 was used. Both Brazilian cities are now served nonstop on the XLR.
Dublin to Raleigh/Durham is a brand-new market. Aer Lingus will take off for North Carolina on April 13, ahead of the peak summer. A five-weekly service will exist throughout the season. It’ll have a higher frequency than another new route, Dublin to Pittsburgh (four weekly). Timed at up to 8h 00m, Pittsburgh flights will presumably also use the XLR.
American Airlines Reveals These New Nonstop Routes On The Airbus A321XLR
The variant will debut in Boston in July.
This Is American’s Longest XLR Route (For Now)
The oneworld member currently has two XLRs, each with 155 seats, and four routes have been confirmed. While more long-haul links will obviously be coming, only one is currently bookable: New York JFK to Edinburgh. It will be the carrier’s sole narrowbody operation to Europe, but that won’t be the case for long.
The seasonal link will leave the Big Apple on March 8, with a daily service. American last served this route in 2019, when the 757-200 was deployed. When it is operational again, it will have two routes to the Scottish capital, although the other—Philadelphia—will use the 787-8.
