In April 2024, Greece’s Aegean Airlines announced plans to acquire four A321LRs, which will usher in a new era for the airline. There’s now an update, as the airline has additionally announced plans to acquire two A321XLRs, and deliveries are imminent!
In this post:
Aegean will add six long range A321neos to fleet
Star Alliance member Aegean exclusively flies Airbus A320-family aircraft, and the airline is currently modernizing its fleet with new A320neos and A321neos, all of which are in a regional configuration.
That will be changing, but only for a subfleet of aircraft:
- Aegean will acquire two Airbus A321XLRs, which will be delivered in December 2025 and January 2026
- Aegean will acquire four Airbus A321LRs, which will be delivered in 2027 and 2028
What’s the significance of this? For one, the jets will offer significant additional range, as these are the long range versions of the popular A321 aircraft. The A321LR is capable of operating a flight of up to around 8.5 hours, while the A321XLR is capable of operating a flight of up to around 10.5 hours (it’s the longest range narrow body jet).
It won’t just be the range of these planes that’s special, but also the configuration. While Aegean’s standard A321neos are configured with 220 seats, all six of these planes will feature fewer than 180 seats. We’re being told to expect fully flat seats in business class with direct aisle access, and seat back entertainment and Wi-Fi throughout the aircraft.
The two upcoming A321XLRs will feature just 138 seats. That’s a very low number, and the short notice for the delivery of these jets sure has me wondering. How is Aegean acquiring these? Well, I have a guess…
Keep in mind that JetBlue was supposed to acquire A321XLRs, but ended up deferring delivery of the planes. JetBlue’s A321XLRs, much like the carrier’s existing A321LRs, were supposed to feature exactly 138 seats, with 24 of those being business class seats. So I think it’s safe to say that Aegean will be flying A321XLRs that were intended for JetBlue — very nice!
Hey, the colors even largely match, since both airlines use a lot of blue!
Where will Aegean fly these special aircraft?
Aegean states that these new aircraft will primarily be used to operate flights outside of the European Union, with a flight time of over four hours. That includes operating these planes in some existing markets, to provide an “upgraded level of comfort and a differentiated travel experience.”
Aegean has already revealed its initial plans for these A321XLRs. The airline plans the following flights:
- As of March 2026, Aegean plans 5x weekly flights from Athens (ATH) to New Delhi (DEL)
- As of May 2026, Aegean plans 3x weekly flights between Athens (ATH) and Mumbai (BOM)
The exact flight schedule will be announced at the end of September 2025, when flight tickets go on sale. Ironically, at 3,100-3,200 miles, these routes would be well within range for the A321LR, and don’t require the incremental range of the A321XLR. But I suspect this just comes down to aircraft availability.
When A321LRs are delivered in 2027 and 2028, additional new routes will be considered, to destinations like Almaty (ALA), Bangalore (BLR), Lagos (LOS), Mahe (SEZ), Male (MLE), and Nairobi (NBO).
Aegean provides the below map of potential destinations that can be served by these planes.
What a cool development for Aegean!
I’m a huge fan of Aegean Airlines. While there’s not much to get excited about with short haul configured aircraft within Europe, the airline has a phenomenal soft product. The airline still serves free food and drinks in economy, and the business class service is way better than what you’ll find on most European airlines.
The airline is also run in a very disciplined manner. Selfishly, I’ve long said that I wish Aegean would start long haul service, including to the United States, as I’d love to fly with the airline more. The thing is, that can’t be done in a consistently profitable basis year-round. So the airline is smart for avoiding those kinds of flights, even if there would be prestige to it.
Unfortunately Greece is so far from the United States that even the A321XLR couldn’t make that journey, so Aegean would need wide body aircraft. I figure what Aegean is doing here is the next best thing — the airline is able to maintain fleet consistency in terms of using the Airbus A320-family of aircraft, while enhancing the experiencing on some routes, and launching new markets. Very cool!
Bottom line
Aegean has made an exciting announcement, as the airline will take delivery of six long range aircraft. This includes two A321XLRs (coming in late 2025 and early 2026) and four A321LRs (coming in 2027 and 2028).
This will allow Aegean to add service in markets that previously weren’t possible. Even beyond that, it’s exciting to think that such an upgraded passenger experience will be offered, which passengers will no doubt appreciate. I suspect the two upcoming A321XLRs will be planes that were initially intended to JetBlue, given the layout with just 138 seats. I can’t wait to learn more, and to take one of these flights!
What do you make of Aegean’s evolution?
Mid-haul to destinations east and south makes a lot more sense than TATL for A3.
A new J config with lie-flat seats is a big win.
Good for them to capture traffic that is served by TK and the ME3. It's not a lot of capacity they are adding so they should be able to skim the juicy top of the market. Also the local carriers on the Origin are not giving great service, so they would offer the best direct flights.
Servin the US would be uncompetitive vs LH/LX connecting pax due to backtracking and for passengers with destination...
Good for them to capture traffic that is served by TK and the ME3. It's not a lot of capacity they are adding so they should be able to skim the juicy top of the market. Also the local carriers on the Origin are not giving great service, so they would offer the best direct flights.
Servin the US would be uncompetitive vs LH/LX connecting pax due to backtracking and for passengers with destination Greece, UA has a better catchment area filling up planes from their network.
They should not have any trouble filling up the planes from BOM and DEL with 138 daily pax that want to fly direct to ATH and connect domestically with a european style service.
The pairing of Greece and India is a (pleasant) surprise. But I'm confused. Can someone please provide the reasoning for the Athens - Dehli, Athens - Mumbai routes? I get that Greece is a leisure destination overall, while India is a mix of business and leisure for airlines. Is the airline trying to grow the market between the two countries? Or is it looking to funnel traffic from it's further European destinations like the U.K....
The pairing of Greece and India is a (pleasant) surprise. But I'm confused. Can someone please provide the reasoning for the Athens - Dehli, Athens - Mumbai routes? I get that Greece is a leisure destination overall, while India is a mix of business and leisure for airlines. Is the airline trying to grow the market between the two countries? Or is it looking to funnel traffic from it's further European destinations like the U.K. (with its large subcontinent diaspora) down to India, and vice versa?
India is literally the most populous country on the planet. Are you seriously wondering whether it can support 10 narrowbody flights per week to a major European capital?
I'm not the sort of person that gets triggered by that sort of thing, but would you have found it that unusual if they had introduced routes to e.g. Canada?
LOL....but you DID get triggered, my darling.
Are you SERIOUSLY conflating population with purchasing power? I think you are. Because India lags in that economic metric. Population means nothing without an economically hefty middle class, which is not yet developed to its full potential in India. And you don't need to be a travel analyst to know they are price-sensitive and leans towards lower priced carriers for domestic and international travel needs. You do realize...
LOL....but you DID get triggered, my darling.
Are you SERIOUSLY conflating population with purchasing power? I think you are. Because India lags in that economic metric. Population means nothing without an economically hefty middle class, which is not yet developed to its full potential in India. And you don't need to be a travel analyst to know they are price-sensitive and leans towards lower priced carriers for domestic and international travel needs. You do realize the biggest carriers in India are all LCC, don't you? Of course you didn't know. Aegean is not a LCC, as evidenced by their investment in the premium cabin space. As for Canada, well like the U.K.it has a very big Indian diaspora. But that fact was unknown to you, I suppose. So calm down, because your weak 'riposte' - containing just ONE fact pertaining to population - is laughably shallow. You might as well have stated that night follows day..(Oh, Lord give me patience with such children...)
Mumbai is full of rich people, with real estate dollar prices getting close to those in Europe. Delhi does not lack of wealthy either. Yes average wealth in India is low. But there's a concentration in majors cities. It's smart on Aegean's behalf as those markets are not served direct but vacationing in Greece is a great display of wealth and they don't need to rely on connections within India to fill up those flights....
Mumbai is full of rich people, with real estate dollar prices getting close to those in Europe. Delhi does not lack of wealthy either. Yes average wealth in India is low. But there's a concentration in majors cities. It's smart on Aegean's behalf as those markets are not served direct but vacationing in Greece is a great display of wealth and they don't need to rely on connections within India to fill up those flights.
Connecting in IST, DXB, DOH etc. to Greece is not particularly attractive as it adds 3+ hours to a relatively short journey. Flexibility to reach the smaller islands is limited.
I'm sure they will find a lot of people that would be happy to pay to fly direct from DEL or BOM to ATH and have an efficient onward connection to Greek islands. And with good service on top of that (not sure AI could compete if they wanted to). The value proposition is good and I'm sure there's enough market.
Aegean is designed to serve the Greek market and the numerous islands they have. Star Alliance already has connecting hubs with IST, FRA, ZRH, VIE. They don't need to add 150 pax per day via ATH. This service will serve Greece as a tourism destination.
@Barbarella, I agree with the thrust of your comment but whoever is flying in Y is likely to have a much more humane experience by breaking up the trip between Europe and the UAE/Oman/India/Sri Lanka etc with a connection at ATH/IST/AMM/CAI than doing 8-9+ hours from Northern or Western Europe. If they have to connect anyway (e.g. DUB-LHR-DEL or OPO-CDG-DEL versus OPO-ATH-DEL) there really is no contest!
I didn't get triggered, I just find it extremely odd!
It doesn't take advanced algebra to work out that India's population is about 3,500% higher than that of Canada. In other words, even if 96% of Indians are unable to afford flights to Europe, the remaining 4% is more than the entire population of Canada.
But it gets better - it looks like you somehow thought that I was talking about flights between...
I didn't get triggered, I just find it extremely odd!
It doesn't take advanced algebra to work out that India's population is about 3,500% higher than that of Canada. In other words, even if 96% of Indians are unable to afford flights to Europe, the remaining 4% is more than the entire population of Canada.
But it gets better - it looks like you somehow thought that I was talking about flights between India and Canada while I was obviously thinking of Aegean's perspective in adding new destinations from ATH (I'm going to assume that SKG and LCA won't be seeing intercontinental service anytime soon).
No reason to go into an in-depth argument about all this - I just think you're very confused!
Speaking of cool, the way that Aegean shows the range of the A321 series tickles my brain
Maybe they will launch one-stop service to Melbourne via Singapore to service the VFR market? ;-)
Via Bangkok please! Great airline. Been AEGEAN Gold since 2013 - great service, crew and reward tickets on Star Alliance - lits of space on SQ to Australia from Asia.
I remember when Olympic flew to Chicago and New York
They had been losing money hand over fist.
Having recently flown Etihad A321 fr9m Athens to Abu Dhabi…4.5 hr sector no meal service just a chicken sandwich…..and big queues down back whole flight for toilets…..no seat back IFE….not a major problem…..but there onboard wifi entertainment was very minimal.
Next day flew Emirates 777 to Bangkok…..way better experience!
So for me I will be avoiding long 321 flights…..whilst I’m sure it will be nice in biz on Aegean……economy will not be pleasant.
So you got a meal during the non-existent meal service?
I mean, stop booking economy if you don't want economy.
Last year I flew QR WAW-DOH and the equipment was A320 :(
If an airline could make the range work I’m sure a summer Mykonos - NYC route would do great and they could charge quite a pretty penny
Would it though? 10 hours on a narrow body + limited rebooking options if things go wrong + more than likely non daily service doesn't sound very appealing to me
I'm not sure if Mykonos can handle wide body aircraft but I could definitely see United trying EWR to Mykonos or Santorini with a 767 next summer.
Not that they should since it's hard to imagine they'd ever make money on it, but in theory could an XLR make it from Athens to New York City without any weight restrictions?
Maybe an Iceland flight would be nice too. I can't remember if they currently fly there, since I haven't flown them in ages.
Looking at the places that are flown over in your map, I suspect they will not be taking the most direct routing on these services, so the extra range will probably still come in handy.
Why on earth would they fly to the USA when they have so many underserved destinations with huge potential within 4-5-6 hours from their hubs? Long may they stay well away from transatlantic service, the overcapacity in that market, and the risks involved in competing with the cartel there. I look forward to flying Aegean to sub-saharan Africa by the end of the decade.
I flew Aegean first/business from ATH to TLV and it was a fantastic flight.
It looks like the XLR on the map is at 5000 mi, which would put EWR/JFK (and BOS) in range at 4,956 (for EWR, less for the others) from ATH.
With passengers and baggage though??
The range is not too short for a US flight to Athens with a refueling stop in Dublin or Shannon.
Kind of pointless and inconvenient to feature a stopover, when everyone else in the market can and does fly nonstop. SNN would be more efficient for pre-clearance but I doubt we'll see Aegean fly to the US like this.
If A3 flies to EWR or other coast city, I'd fly them immediately.... until the bloggers ruined it.
UK would be well served, heck B6 could code share and have mint service to ATH via EDI or LGW!
Not the worst idea. LON to ATH is a fairly long flight by inter-European standards - and given how large the point-to-point market is, I would imagine there would be some decent premium demand for a single premium frequency in the market that also allowed for US connections on B6 or others.