In March 2022, Air Canada placed an order for Airbus’ new long range narrow body jet. A little over four years later, there’s now an exciting update, as the airline has just taken delivery of its first of these aircraft. Let’s go over all the details, and what this plane means for the Star Alliance carrier.
In this post:
Air Canada has 30 Airbus A321XLRs on order
Air Canada is acquiring 30 Airbus A321XLR aircraft — 15 of these planes are being purchased, while 15 are being leased. The first of these aircraft has just been delivered, and fittingly, it has the registration code C-GXLR.
For those not familiar with the A321XLR, this is the latest generation A321 aircraft. The aircraft was announced in 2019, and entered service in late 2024, with Iberia and Aer Lingus being the two launch customers. The long range aircraft has the ability to operate all kinds of long and thin routes where the economics might not make sense with larger aircraft.
For passengers, the plane is a mixed bag — narrow body planes just don’t have the same level of comfort as wide body planes, though it’s always nice to be able to fly nonstop, rather than connecting. Air Canada intends to use these planes both for flights within North America, as well as for transatlantic flights (I suspect the latter will be the biggest focus).
The A321XLR seems like an obvious fit for Air Canada. Previously the carrier’s smallest long haul aircraft was the Airbus A330, and that’s a pretty big aircraft, so there was a need for something smaller. Given Canada’s geography and Air Canada’s hubs, this plane will be useful for routes from eastern Canada to destinations across the Atlantic.
Here’s how Air Canada Chief Commercial Officer Mark Galardo describes this milestone:
“Air Canada is building one of the most modern and capable fleets in the industry. The Airbus A321XLR introduces a dynamic new component to Air Canada’s growth strategy, greatly expanding our flexibility to launch new international routes and improve our offering on existing markets. Equipped with a quieter, more comfortable cabin when compared to previous generation aircraft, this game-changing aircraft will shortly be deployed across the Atlantic from Montréal and Toronto, while also becoming a staple on key North American transcontinental markets. Supporting our fleet modernization, continued network growth, and an elevated onboard experience, the arrival of the Airbus A321XLR marks a transformative moment for Air Canada.”
Air Canada Airbus A321XLRs have 182 seats
All of Air Canada’s Airbus A321XLRs will feature a total of 182 seats, including 14 business class seats and 168 economy class seats. Air Canada recently revealed what passengers can expect onboard these aircraft. As you’d expect, the planes feature seat back entertainment, inflight Wi-Fi, and the signature Airbus interiors.
When it comes to the hard product, business class is based on the Collins Aerospace Aurora platform. That means seats are in a herringbone layout, facing the aisle. Business class has greatly updated tech, including 19″ 4K OLED monitors and bluetooth audio, along with AC, USB-C, and AC power outlets.
It’s quite interesting how Air Canada isn’t going for a particularly premium layout here. There are only 14 business class seats, and there’s not even a premium economy cabin, which is otherwise a standard on long haul planes nowadays.
I understand real estate is more limited on these small planes, though you’d think that in order to make the economics work, you’d need to focus on premium revenue. Or who knows, I guess airlines think they can get people to pay a premium to fly in economy, for the convenience of traveling nonstop.
As a point of comparison, the A321XLRs of American and United each feature 20 business class seats and 12 premium economy seats, so that’s quite a different approach.
Air Canada’s initial Airbus A321XLR routes
In recent months, Air Canada has revealed a variety of routes that will be operated by the Airbus A321XLR in both the summer and winter season.
Out of Montreal (YUL), the airline has revealed plans to fly the A321XLR to Berlin (BER), Calgary (YYC), Los Angeles (LAX), Lyon (LYS), Nantes (NTE), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Porto (OPO), Toulouse (TLS), and Vancouver (YVR). Meanwhile out of Toronto (YYZ), the first long haul route will be to London (LHR).
I’d expect this to change over time, but it’s impressive to see just how many routes the airline plans to fly with the jet in a fairly short period. As time goes on, we can also expect Air Canada to add A321XLR routes from Ottawa (YOW) and Halifax (YHZ) as well.
Bottom line
In early 2022, Air Canada placed an order for Airbus A321XLR aircraft. This is a natural fit for Air Canada’s fleet, given that this plane will allow the airline to operate all kinds of long and thin transatlantic routes from its hubs in the east.
The first of 30 of these planes has just been delivered, and should enter service soon. All A321XLRs will be configured with 182 seats, including 14 fully flat business class seats and 168 economy class seats. Perhaps the only surprise here is just how dense the cabin will be, including fairly few business class seats and no premium economy seats.
What do you make of Air Canada’s A321XLR plans?
AC has 8 B788 that are smaller capacity than their 20 A333. 255 vs 297 seats.
Such a beautiful aircraft. We need more narrow-bodies with lie-flat. Well done, AC!
For those of us doomed to travel behind the magic curtain, what pitch or pitches will be in Y?
Which manufacturer? And….. are they going to as hard as thunder-and-darnation pews, with a luxurious recline measured in millimeters?
The majority of future customers hope to know!
As bad as 29". Brutal for longhaul.
Some preferred seats will have 34"
Without PY this plane ia just awful.
YYZ-LHR... huh?
I was thinking the same thing. How does that make sense?
So not many premium seats. I guess AC doesn't see the premium demand growth their US counterparts do. So if in the US at least upper middle class is getting better off, in Canada - nobody is.... Sad.
The upper middle class is doing very well in Canada thanks.
We just won't fly junk AC or US airlines longahaul.
Air Canada " missed the plot" this is what a budget airline would have put in for seats.
Can someone point me to a blog that mentions how many lavs these planes have, and where they are located?
do you need to take a sh*t?
3 in economy at the back of the plane and one business class lav in the front.
I hope the added some bathrooms mid cabin otherwise it’s a long way back. Also “crappy” for people at the back of the jets who have to endure the congestion in the aisles. Post breakfast bathroom break should be fun.
While it's nice to have a bed on a narrow body...if the plane is going to operate a long-haul route, it's still a downgrade compared to a full-size plane.
The little screen to check the flight progress while lying down is a nice detail (if that's what it really is).
"it's still a downgrade compared to a full-size plane."
Says who?
If you're in a Business, you get a similar seat, similar lav ratio, and less others to contend with upon exit.
If you're in Coach, you get the same seat, and better headroom than A330/A340/767 plus the upper decks of both the A380 and 747; the latter of which I don't hear any of you whining about.
That's not a 'similar' seat in business class. That's a coffin. I would and will absolutely book away from the herringbone 321XLR
'..so that’s quite a different approach.'
Ben, you stopped saying 'quite the' instead of 'quite a'. I am glad you have switched back. My personal feeling is 'quite the' should only be used sparingly to be quirky.
Oops, didn't mean to reply. Meant to post as it's own thing.
Not having PE is a miss. Very much so targeted to the leisure traveler. Looks unappealing both in Y and J, would rather take a 777 or 787.
I read also that they are going to use it from Toronto to CPH like SAS that uses their A321 LR in that route.
Except SAS is good and AC is junk
SAS has PY too
Worth including relevant details like some of the routes being for extremely limited periods - i.e. YYX-LHR for 1 week.
This route wouldn't make sense otherwise - and checking on ACA website, although it shows XLR operating, still selling PE with a 777 layout.....
Ben, could you please be a blog owner and remove the racist comment left by (who else but) "Dave Stafford?" We all thought you were moderating this kind of crap, so please take a look at that one.
I agree with you, Willy, but it’s as much on you as it is on Ben. I don’t read any post by that guy you mention, nor do I read any post by at least four other OMAAT followers. If the blogger won’t moderate inappropriate/stupid content, you have to do it yourself.
Ben - you can do better. When people complain about these bad posts, you rarely if ever comment back. At a minimum, you owe your readers a realistic point of view.
Surely Toronto to London needs a wide body? And can support more premium seats?
Is it just me, or are those Business Class seats unappealing? To get that privacy, it looks like a big sacrifice in comfort and space, compared to other narrowbody Business Class seats. People who've flown AA's offering seem to back me up on this. Not going out of my way to get his over a big recliner.
No, it’s not just you. The business class seat looks miserable. And I thought the coffin seats were limited to DL. Now it’s AA, AC, and God only knows who else will install this piece of crap. I’ll fly someone else even if I have to connect. Besides, I usually get more miles by connecting somewhere.
Palma (PMI) will no longer see the type. It’s moved to all 787 due to the heat affecting performance.