Icelandair Orders 13 Airbus A321XLRs (2029 Delivery)

Yeah, those could have been 757MAX jets but Boeing was too busy counting beans, ignoring engineers and kissing Wall $treet butts. Now they are falling farther and farther behind Airbus.

Still, kudos to Icelandair for their continued committment to improvement.

A return to SFO! (in 6+ years)

A 757 MAX wouldn't have made sense with the 737MAX too, they should've done a 767MAX, but now it's too late. It would require a new engine but Rolls, GE or P&W would've would've have done it if they had a exclusive contract. With the 767 production line still working it would've been easy and they could've produced it for a solid 15 years. Now, it's too late as Boeing next aircraft will be larger than the 737 and with its anticipated huge jump in efficiency it would make a 767MAX obsolete. Argyebly if they Satrted in 2017/18 with a EIS of 2021-23 they would've had a winner on their hands.

A lot can happen in 6-7 years.

Icelandair's 767s have less than a decade of life left in them - maybe less. The advantage of keeping the 767 for them is that they operate several as freighters.
The 757 and 767 have enough commonality that a small operator will lose benefits of having both and costs will go up.
The A321XLR will have the range to cover much of what the passenger 767s do for them but without having the excess capacity in the off-peak periods.

Also keep in mind that their configuration of the A321XLRs will not yield near the range of other carriers that will use them with far fewer seats including a business class cabin.

IF Icelandair installs lie flat on their new 321's they have one new customer. Jetblue has made it happen, why not Icelandair.

Would Airbus please make the A321 L2 boarding door accessible please. It’s annoying and difficult boarding from Door 1 with an elite cabin. One thing I will
Miss from the 757.

Not to pick nits, but didn't La Compagnie put lie-flat seats on A321s before JetBlue? Agreed with your general point in any case.

Another airline that only shows loyalty to American products when it suits. These European airlines make me very angry. I would never use them when they ignore American designed and engineered products in favor of expensive with huge waiting list Europeans.

"those could have been 757MAX jets but Boeing was too busy counting beans,"

This again?

How many times must it be stated, that Boeing spent THREE YEARS after 9/11 trying to find a (mix or even a single) airline to get a grand total of only thirty 757s, produced at twice a month, to stretch out its development to a time frame where an "NG" 757 could be produced. And yet, they got a grand total of SEVEN.

If airlines had wanted there to be a 757NG, MAX, or whatever, there would've been one. Boeing offered it. They said no. Why do so many people refuse to acknowledge that fact, and just let it go?

I think that Boeing was right to cease production of the 757 in 2004 due to a lack of demand, but nowadays there’s no excuse for them not to build a 757-style mid-market plane. The A321neo’s popularity clearly shows that there’s demand for this market, and from my armchair perspective, I think that Boeing should get their act together and design a proper competitor.

I agree that Boeing was right to cease production of the 757 in 2004 due to a lack of demand, but nowadays there’s no excuse for them not to build a 757-style mid-market plane. The A321neo’s popularity clearly shows that there’s demand for this market, and from my armchair perspective, I think that Boeing should get their act together and design a proper competitor.

Icelandair ordering the A321XLR is proof, if ever it was needed, that Boeing desperately needs to start designing a New Midsize Aircraft. The A321neo is dominating this increasingly popular market and Boeing isn’t even trying to compete and instead is focusing on short-term profits, which is sad to see.
Nothing against the A321neo/LR/XLR-it’s a good plane from what I can tell, and as an Avgeek I find the routes it’s opening up interesting. It’s just unfortunate to see Boeing giving up on making good planes and practically giving Airbus a monopoly.

Are you like 12-yrs-old or something?

Corporations aren't teenage girls in a clique, they're businesses who serve the interests of their shareholders. They have no reason to be "loyal" to a manufacturer who doesn't produce a product capable of doing what their business model needs.

Um, you do realize that A321s have been capable of L2 boarding at gate or remote, since the day they were certified, do you not?

Lufthansa even L1+L2 boards at its gates, and I've seen plenty of other airlines do it for remote-parked A321s.

A lot of you are confusing your fantasies with market requirements.

What airline is demanding that from Boeing? Name them.

Because the reality is that the ones who needed a 10hr narrowbody, went to Airbus. The ones who didn't, are just as content to buy a MAX or plain -NEO.

There's no airline/airlines holding out for some mythical 757 evolution, sufficient to cover the multi-billion cost of developing one--- no matter how many amateurs wish that to be so.

While I'd love to see them have a lay flat seat in business, I can see it not making sense considering their network. Their flights from NA to KEF are overnight but the rest of their network, served by the same planes, are day flights and many much shorter. For most flights, a domestic first-class seat probably works just fine for the amount of premium traffic they can command. Maybe a sub-fleet of aircraft would make sense, but some of the more premium markets (I assume) are also some of the shorter routes.

Do you ever comment on anything else? We get it; airlines should be punished if they don’t exclusively buy from Boeing regardless of their needs.

If they have 190 seats it's gonna be hard to have lie flat, unless they do something like EI or TP and only have 4 rows of business

It would have made more business and economic sense to have an all Airbus A320' series fleet. I have no idea why they bothered ordering those Boeing 737 Max's, especially as it is an inferior and less safe short-haul plane. From a passenger perspective it would also provided a more consistent passenger environment.

Consider the average flight time of their flights and the pricing about not having flat beds. It can sometimes be an economical way to get to Europe and reasonable place to transfer.