Airbus is confident that the slip in the A321XLR entry-into-service date will not have a substantial effect on delivery plans.
Chief executive Guillaume Faury, speaking during a February 15 briefing, said the finalisation of certification was taking “a bit more time” than expected.
The airframer has, for several months, maintained that the long-range aircraft would enter service in the second quarter of this year. But it admitted in its full-year financial statement that this would slip to the third quarter.
Faury says the manufacturer is in “close contact” with customers over the delivery situation.
“We’re in the final phase of completing certification and industrialisation (for the XLR),” he says, pointing out that certification requires closing documents “in their thousands”.
The initial customer XLR airframe is already in final assembly, and Faury says the shift in delivery amounts to a “slight delay”.
“For most aircraft it doesn’t change delivery dates,” he says, and stresses that he is “satisfied with the progress of the programme”.
Faury adds that the range of the aircraft – which has been pitched at up to 4,700nm – is “what it’s supposed to be” and says the “general performance overall is very strong”.
Around 550 A321XLRs are included in the broader A321neo backlog, a figure which Faury describes as “strong” given that the XLR is a “high-end product” for the single-aisle family.
He says a “handful” of XLRs will be delivered this year and, while production will accelerate, the initial rate will “not be too fast”, because the airframer wants to ensure it can address any issues in manufacturing early.
Airbus originally unveiled the A321XLR at the Paris air show in 2019, prior to the pandemic crisis, at which point it expected deliveries to begin in 2023.
The "Extra Long Range” A321XLR will boast an unprecedented extra-long range of up to 4,700nm, 15% more than the A321LR while maintaining the same fuel efficiency.
With this added range, airlines will be able to operate a lower-cost single-aisle aircraft on longer and less heavily travelled routes – many of which can now only be served by larger and less efficient wide-body aircraft. This will enable operators to open new world-wide routes such as India to Europe or China to Australia, as well as further extending the Airbus single-aisle jets portfolio non-stop reach on direct transatlantic flights between continental Europe and the Americas.
For airlines, commonality is key. The A321XLR has been designed to maximise overall commonality with the A321LR and the rest of the A320neo Family — meaning flight crew can be certified to fly the aircraft without significant ‘conversation’ training. There are some changes, however, including a new permanent Rear Centre Tank for more fuel volume; a modified landing gear for an increased maximum take-off weight of 101 metric tonnes; and an optimised wing trailing-edge flap configuration to preserve the same take-off performance and engine thrust requirements as today’s A321neo. The new optimised Rear Centre Tank holds more fuel than several optional Additional Centre Tanks did previously, while taking up less space in the cargo hold – thus freeing-up underfloor volume for additional cargo and baggage on long range routes.
Once the A321XLR is certified, Airbus’ entire single-aisle, long-range portfolio will include multiple variants. The A321neo (new engine option aka "NEO”) — which first flew in February 2016 — has a range of approximately 3,700 nautical miles. It’s also capable of flying transatlantic between Paris and New York in an all-Business Class configuration — but most airlines are using the jet for mid-haul routes.
The A321LR (long-range) — which first flew in January 2018, has a range of approximately 4,000 nautical miles, and can fly from London to New Delhi non-stop. It’s in service with multiple airlines, including TAP Air Portugal, Aer Lingus, Kazakhstan’s flag carrier, Air Astana, and Scandinavian Airlines.
Qatar Airways will take delivery of 40 Airbus A321neo jets, and 10 Airbus A321LR jets, with deliveries set to commence in 2026, later than originally scheduled (owing to the lengthy Airbus-Qatar dispute over accelerated surface degradation on Qatar’s A350jets, which has now been resolved in a mutual agreement between the airliner and the manufacturer).
And soon, the A321XLR (extra long-range) — American Airlines, United, Qantas and Air Arabia are set to take the jet once it enters commercial service.
Australia’s Qantas Airways, which is backing Airbus’ new extended range A321XLR with an agreement covering 36 aircraft, plans to deploy the aircraft on key long-haul routes with a thinner demand.
Europe’s International Airlines Group (IAG) has selected the A321XLR to expand its fleet of highly efficient single aisles with a firm order for 14 aircraft. Of these, eight are destined for Iberia and six for Aer Lingus.
Qatar-backed IAG, the parent company of major airlines also including British Airways and Iberia, is one of Airbus’s largest customers and this agreement will take the overall order from the group to over 530 aircraft. Describing the jet, Willie Walsh, former IAG chief executive (now IATA CEO) said: “The A321XLR has the same unit cost as a widebody long-haul aircraft which will enable profitable network expansion. This will strengthen both Dublin and Madrid hubs providing new transatlantic routes and additional flexibility for connecting passengers. These aircraft will also bring further cost efficiencies and environmental benefits.”
The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
Alex Macheras
