American Airlines becomes first U.S. airline to launch long-range Airbus A321XLR

Six and a half years ago, American became the first U.S. airline to order Airbus’s new “ultra-long-range” A321XLR jet, a single-aisle aircraft capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, promising to revolutionize international travel.

The aircraft is smaller and cheaper to operate than the larger Boeing 777 or 787 Dreamliners, and the airline sees the aircraft as a way to launch service to unique new overseas destinations and provide a truly premium experience on a domestic-sized aircraft.

Customers then had to wait out the pandemic and months of production delays.

But American Airlines’ luxurious new planes — lie-flat suites and all — are finally here.

American Airlines debuts Airbus A321XLR

A week later, the Fort Worth-based airline will deploy the XLR on its most premium domestic route between New York and Los Angeles, becoming the first U.S. airline to fly the long-range Airbus aircraft.

However, ahead of the aircraft’s maiden flight, American Airlines showcased the aircraft at an exclusive preview event at its Terminal 8 hub at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

There’s good reason for this pomp and circumstance.

The aircraft offers American’s latest generation in-flight experience: most notably, the aircraft offers a truly global business class cabin complete with new flagship suites.

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There is also a real premium economy section. And the plane features a new cabin look and color scheme that American plans to eventually make standard on its planes — a design that involves more prominent American branding, brown leather headrests and brighter blue accents on many seats.

Sean Cudahy/Scoring Expert

Airbus A321XLR layout

American’s new XLR seats only 155 passengers, down from the 190 on its standard-configuration A321 jets.

The lower number of passengers reflects the high-end configuration of the aircraft – with a focus on high-end seats rather than cramming the plane with tons of flyers.

flagship suite

Ahead of the business class cabin, you’ll find 20 of the airline’s new enclosed flagship suites, complete with sliding privacy doors (passengers should be able to close the doors soon once the airline is certified for the feature).

If the concept sounds familiar, it’s the same beautiful flagship that American Airlines debuted six months ago on its latest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, a suite that instantly ranked among the best in American aviation.

There is a booth on each side of the aisle, each equipped with a Bluetooth-enabled entertainment screen, a detachable touchscreen remote and a marble-colored cocktail tray.

premium economy class

Behind the business class is the premium economy class, where passengers can find 12 recliners with wing-shaped headrests, the country’s first cocktail tray and wireless charging bags.

Thanks to the foot and calf rest, these seats should provide a fairly comfortable ride for travelers looking to take a nap.

Premium economy seats are arranged in a 2-2 arrangement.

main cabin

In the main cabin, light blue seat covers are undoubtedly the biggest shift from traditional color patterns that American passengers have seen in years.

You’ll also notice some changes to the headrests: brown for the airline’s extra legroom main cabin extras, and navy blue for standard economy class seats.

Sean CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY On departures on American Airlines’ domestic fleet, every seat has a seatback touch screen, and every seat allows passengers to connect Bluetooth headsets.

Where will American Airlines’ new A321XLR fly?

American Airlines has two big plans for the new plane.

Replace Airbus A321T

First up: premium transcontinental flying.

The airline plans to use the XLR to replace its older heavy-duty transcontinental A321T aircraft, which are being phased out.

This means you’ll see the XLR on some of the top east-west coast routes in the United States.

Routes from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be launched on December 18th.

But XLR is expected to appear on some other routes currently served by the “T”, including:

• JFK International Airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California
• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to LAX

Worth noting: Unlike American’s popular (but aging) A321T, the new XLR jets don’t feature Flagship First, which is being phased out from all American aircraft.

But with the new plane, the airline gets premium economy on its top transcontinental routes, something the A321T doesn’t have.

New international flights

Even more exciting, however, are the airline’s plans to use the new jet for international flights, with an impressive range of up to 4,700 nautical miles.

That range, combined with fewer passengers than the largest long-haul planes in the U.S., should prompt the airline to bet on less touristy destinations in Europe and beyond.

“Deployment 321 The really sexy part[XLR] “That’s really what we’re buying this aircraft for,” senior network planner Brian Znotins said Thursday.

American Airlines has announced it will deploy the aircraft on a new route from JFK to Edinburgh.

The company has ordered a total of 50 such aircraft and plans to set its sights on more cities on other continents in the coming years.

“By having an aircraft that is sized to suit the needs of smaller markets, you will see us add destinations to secondary destinations such as France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom,” Znotins said. “In addition, as we acquire additional aircraft, we will deploy them to secondary markets in hubs such as Miami, Brazil, [Dallas Fort Worth]”.

translate? Stay tuned for exciting new routes in the future.

More aircraft and flights offer flagship suites

For those paying attention, this is the second aircraft in the American Airlines fleet to feature the new flagship suite of products.

You can also find it on its Dreamliner “787-9P” configuration, which American Airlines is deploying on a growing number of international routes from Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas, and soon to New York.

Meanwhile, the airline is embarking on a revamp of its largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER, with suites and a new cabin look.

Side note

An important note about the flagship product on this new aircraft: The XLR does not come with the ultra-spacious front-row flagship suite option found on the larger 787-9P Dreamliner introduced last summer.

To experience this, you must fly on one of the European or South Pacific routes flown by the airline’s newest Dreamliner.

bottom line

The long-awaited arrival of American Airlines’ new XLR is great news for customers and the airline.

Loyalists of the airline’s AAdvantage program will get new opportunities to redeem premium business class, not to mention the airline’s expansion of premium economy service on routes between the east and west coasts.

Also tantalizing: American may consider operating the plane in Europe and South America at a time when its two biggest rivals, notably United Airlines, have instead bet on more remote destinations.

Speaking of competitors, XLR should also prove to be a boost for American as it looks to close the financial gap with United and Delta — both of which have grown significantly in recent years with the help of a raft of premium products.

For now, however, American Airlines will focus on launching the new aircraft as planned. Time will tell whether this is the game-changer Americans hope for.

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