It’s an exciting time for Etihad Airways, as the airline has just taken delivery of its first Airbus A321LR aircraft, which offers an all-new passenger experience for the company. This plane will be a game changer for Etihad in terms of the routes that it opens up. The interior of the plane looks awesome, with some quirks.
Let’s start with some background on the aircraft, where it will fly, and then talk about the passenger experience.
In this post:
Etihad has 30 Airbus A321LRs on order
Etihad Airways has 30 Airbus A321LRs on order (the order was recently increased from 20), and the first of these aircraft has just been delivered. The plane with the registration code A6-LRA will be flying from Hamburg (XFW) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) shortly.
Etihad is also taking delivery of these planes pretty quickly, as the airline plans to have 10 of these planes in its fleet by the end of 2025, another 10 by the end of 2026, another five by the end of 2027, and another five by the end of 2028.
These are the only factory fresh narrow body aircraft that the Abu Dhabi-based carrier has on order. For those not familiar, the A321 is the largest variant of the A320-family of aircraft. And the “LR” version offers extra range. There’s the standard A321ceo, then there’s the A321neo (with more range), then there’s the A321LR (with even more range), and then there’s the A321XLR (with the most range). As you can tell, Etihad chose the second longest range version of the jet, so we’ll talk more about why in a bit.
For some background, Etihad’s fleet strategy has completely changed over time. A decade ago, Etihad wanted to become the size of Emirates, and ordered basically every type of plane on planet earth. After losing many billions of dollars, the airline changed course, and tried to shrink into profitability. Now that this has been accomplished, the airline is once again trying to grow, but in a more sustainable way.
My point is simply to say that it can be hard to keep track of Etihad’s fleet plans. For example, according to Boeing, Etihad still has 25 Boeing 777Xs on order, while according to Etihad’s CEO, these contracts have been restructured, and that’s no longer the case.
Similarly, in 2013, Etihad placed an order for 26 Airbus A321neos, but the airline didn’t end up taking delivery of any of those jets, at least not new. Instead, Etihad recently acquired six used A321neos, which briefly flew for Bamboo Airways. So it would appear that the A321neo order was ultimately restructured to instead be for A321LRs.
Where Etihad will fly its Airbus A321LRs
As mentioned above, it’s interesting how Etihad chose the Airbus A321LR over the longer range A321XLR variant. This decision was ultimately for good reason. The A321LR has roughly 4,000 nautical miles of range, and that’s more than sufficient for the destinations that Etihad wants to serve with this aircraft, given the Middle East’s central location for such large population centers.
For example, below is the 4,000 nautical mile range from Abu Dhabi. This covers virtually all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, which is where the airline intends to fly these aircraft. Admittedly the range is a bit less than shown below, since you need to factor in headwinds, fuel reserves, etc.
Etihad’s strategy with the Airbus A321LR seems to be as follows:
- For one, Etihad wants to fly the A321LR in “thinner” markets, where the demand might not be there for a wide body aircraft to offer daily service, but where a narrow body aircraft could make sense
- Second, the airline plans to use this to add second or third daily flights to some destinations, in order to beef up its schedule, and offer more connectivity
The Airbus A321LR will enter service as of August 2025, with the first route being from Abu Dhabi to Phuket (HKT). Beyond that, Etihad plans to open up new routes with the aircraft, adding service to places like Algiers (ALG), Chiang Mai (CNX), Copenhagen (CPH), Hanoi (HAN), Krabi (KBV), Phnom Penh (PNH), Tunis (TUN), and more. On top of that, the airline plans to increase frequencies to destinations like Athens (ATH), Bangkok (BKK), Milan (MXP), Paris (CDG), and Zurich (ZRH).
What to expect onboard Etihad’s Airbus A321LRs
What should passengers expect onboard Etihad’s factory fresh Airbus A321LRs? For the first time ever, Etihad is installing a long haul-style product onboard its narrow body aircraft. Etihad’s A321LRs are configured with a total of 160 seats, comprised of:
- Two fully flat first class seats, in a 1-1 configuration
- 14 fully flat business class seats, in a 1-1 configuration
- 144 economy class seats, in a 3-3 configuration
First and business class consists of reverse herringbone seats, which is a nice contrast to the herringbone seats that you’ll find on many other narrow body operators, like in JetBlue Mint. These seats are based on the STELIA Aerospace OPERA seating platform, the same you’ll find on ITA Airways’ A321neos.
First class looks a whole lot like “business class plus” on other airlines. It’s not a separate cabin, and doesn’t have a dedicated lavatory (though it does have a dedicated flight attendant), but instead just consists of the two seats at the bulkhead. The first class suites have doors, 20″ 4K screens for entertainment, bluetooth audio pairing, wireless charging, and a space for a companion to sit.
Business class seats are pretty standard reverse herringbone seats, but don’t have doors. Seats convert into 78″ fully flat beds, and have 17.3″ 4K screens, bluetooth audio pairing, and wireless charging. The decision not to install doors was deliberate, to keep down the weight of the aircraft, and maximize range. That’s an interesting decision, given the competitive landscape.
Economy class offers personal entertainment at each seat, in the form of 13.3″ 4K screens, and USB charging.
Throughout the aircraft, Etihad offers Viasat Wi-Fi for connectivity, which offers good speeds (though isn’t complimentary, except in first class).
All-in-all, this looks like a nice jet that will serve an important purpose for Etihad. I find some of the decisions a bit puzzling, like calling the front row seats first class (especially since most Etihad wide body aircraft don’t have first class), and not having doors in business class, but those are minor in the scheme of things.
Etihad getting narrow body jets with flat beds is a fantastic development, if you ask me. Up until now, Etihad’s narrow body aircraft have operated almost exclusively on shorter flights, and really have quite an uncompetitive product in both cabins. On some routes, Etihad operates both narrow body and wide body aircraft, and the difference is night and day. So I’m happy to see the airline is offering more of a long haul experience on these jets.
Bottom line
Etihad is nicely elevating its narrow body passenger experience, as Airbus A321LRs start to join the fleet. Etihad is installing 160 seats on these planes, including two first class seats, 14 business class seats, and 144 economy seats.
The airplane has reverse herringbone seats in first and business class, with first class seats having doors. The plane offers improved tech, from Viasat Wi-Fi throughout the jet, to bluetooth audio and wireless charging in premium cabins. I look forward to giving this jet a try in the near future!
What do you make of Etihad’s Airbus A321LRs?
They forgot to offer Premium Economy.
Fake First Class. the most stupid move fropm EY management .
Coach Class mentality managers should never be in charge of premium products
I think they chose to market the first row as First Class because EY had extra space at the front, and they decided that they might as well market it as First Class. I'm sure they will be monitoring if this works or not, and are keeping their options open with potentially rebranding it as a Business Class Plus product. They already have First Class in their fleet, so the soft product investment is minimal....
I think they chose to market the first row as First Class because EY had extra space at the front, and they decided that they might as well market it as First Class. I'm sure they will be monitoring if this works or not, and are keeping their options open with potentially rebranding it as a Business Class Plus product. They already have First Class in their fleet, so the soft product investment is minimal. I assume their line of thinking was that they can earn more revenue by calling it First Class rather than a J+ product, and in turn offer a better soft product. Whether it works well enough for EY remains to be seen. I wouldn't be surprised to see J passengers being seated in those seats when the J cabin is full (and maybe they will still recieve the standard J soft product as well). Or maybe EY will market the cabin differently based on the route being flown (CDG is different than Phnom Penh). It does give them flexibility, which I personally think is somewhat smart of EY management.
I think the decision to market row 1 as First Class is a stupid one which will likely be realised in years to come.
Firstly, as many others have commented it’s the exact same seat as Business Class with just a bit more space. ITA that has exact same seat markets the front row as it should be - row 1 of business class.
Secondly (and more importantly IMHO) it will dilute the...
I think the decision to market row 1 as First Class is a stupid one which will likely be realised in years to come.
Firstly, as many others have commented it’s the exact same seat as Business Class with just a bit more space. ITA that has exact same seat markets the front row as it should be - row 1 of business class.
Secondly (and more importantly IMHO) it will dilute the First class product on the rest of the EY fleet. People commenting on here are likel6 to be aviation enthusiasts and so when considering airlines will look at aspects like variations between aircraft etc. The average Joe Public, not so much. Crucially, Ben has stated that these aircraft’s will fly the same routes as other aircraft. Can you imagine say, booking a First Class ticket Abu Dhabi - London outbound and Paris to Abu Dhabi on the return and have the A380 one sector and the A321 the return?
I mean we aren’t talking about trivial variations in the First Class product here we are talking about a gulf - the A321 doesn’t even have an ‘exclusive cabin’ and looking at the images not even a fixed divider.
Likewise, imagine the first time EY First Class flyer, long time EK First Class flyer. Decides to give EY a try Abu Dhabi to SIN and ends up on the A321. Never to return to EY again.
It’s a big risk and personally I don’t think it will be worth it for EY.
Agree with all of this and posted similarly previously. The question is if there are enough wealthy Emiratis on the Asia routes willing to pay a premium to be able to fly direct from AUH that they might actually sell one or two seats per flight this way. This aircraft should absolutely not be deployed to CDG or ZRH, though, if Etihad have any sense at all.
That dedicated first-class cabin crew position will surely be the most coveted crew position at the airline.
Only (a maximum of) 2 passengers to serve and spend the rest of the time reading a book in the jump seat, getting paid for it.
This is what all the crew did on my Apartments flight to London a few months ago anyway. You don’t need to be staffed on the A321LR to ignore the passengers in Etihad First.
Exciting product but I can't see the fist class concept working in the long run, a dedicated flight attendant working in the same kitchen preparing different meals? Iberia's A321XLR crew are already complaining about the tight kitchen space so can't imagine this being any better.
Also, does that mean if travelling with a baby that needs a bassinet , you're forced to pay up for first class? (or do economy).
You've hit the nail on the head. The perennial issue will always be the cramped conditions on single-aisle aircraft. That will never change. But on the subject of Iberia, their notoriously surly cabin crew would still complain even if the kitchen had all the size of a grand ballroom. They only become happy and animated when the flight ends, similar to TAP Portugal.
These planes will also be flown to KRK (Krakow). You seemed to like Warsaw - you'll love Krakow.
Airlines can keep upgrading premium seats on narrow-bodies, but the overall pax experience in economy will always be limited by the single-aisle layout. Space is tight, and with the galley and lavs usually at the back, it gets crowded fast.
Even up front, it’s not perfect—first and biz pax often have to share a single lav, which means queues form right next to seats. Not ideal, especially with galley noise and smells creeping in. There’s...
Airlines can keep upgrading premium seats on narrow-bodies, but the overall pax experience in economy will always be limited by the single-aisle layout. Space is tight, and with the galley and lavs usually at the back, it gets crowded fast.
Even up front, it’s not perfect—first and biz pax often have to share a single lav, which means queues form right next to seats. Not ideal, especially with galley noise and smells creeping in. There’s only so much you can do with that kind of layout.
If the F and J seats are the same as on ITA (as mentioned here) then the row 1 seats are a BusinessClass plus at best. I recently flew on an ITA 321 seated 1A and at least on ITA I didn’t find this to be something special or worth the extra €€€. Certainly not a First Class product.
Etihad really wasted a chance to innovate with first class on a narrow body plane.
Not really. An experienced traveller would know the markets to be served by this aircraft aren't exactly 'hot spots' brimming with first class travellers (Phnom Penh is not in the same league as say...London or New York, in case you didn't know?) These seats are the right products for the markets they serve. No more, no less.
This plane will bizarrely be flying to CDG and ZRH, amongst others. It’s like Etihad have tried to create an aircraft that can fly to CDG and so has F but also Phnom Penh and so has a quite basic business class - it’s an odd concept. Connecting passengers largely aren’t going to touch this - if I have the choice of Qsuites or this to Phnom Penh or Phuket, I’m taking Qsuites. The market...
This plane will bizarrely be flying to CDG and ZRH, amongst others. It’s like Etihad have tried to create an aircraft that can fly to CDG and so has F but also Phnom Penh and so has a quite basic business class - it’s an odd concept. Connecting passengers largely aren’t going to touch this - if I have the choice of Qsuites or this to Phnom Penh or Phuket, I’m taking Qsuites. The market for this aircraft to me basically seems to be people who live in the UAE but can’t quite afford Emirates or don’t want to travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai to take a direct flight. Let’s hope Etihad has sized that market correctly.
"These seats are the right products for the markets they serve. No more, no less."
Wrong. Assuming you weren't born yesterday, you'd be better able to think "big picture" and remove your head from your hole.
How much more innovation can you do on a narrowbody plane?
I think they can "get away" with not having doors for the business class seats.
These are long thin routes, where there is less competition and those destinations are probably even lucky to be served in the first place. Makes sense to optimize for performance.
This "first class" concept is silly, particularly when you could have fourteen biz pax schlepping up to the forward lav and back for the whole flight. It's not particularly first class.
While not necessary for O/D flights on these routes, I think marketing the first row first class is great for connecting pax. When I fly Etihad first JFK-AUH-most destinations the last leg is ‘business’ whereas if they offered an elevated soft and ground experience it would be a stronger product, even if it is only a slightly improved seat.
@ JustinB -- Agreed, I think there could be merit to Etihad expanding its first class footprint. I think what's surprising is that the airline has elected not to install first class on most of its wide body jets, so this seems like an unusual place to start. But I also get the efficiency of doing this in the front row.
Yeah hopefully their new wide bodies have first - even if it is simpler like on their 789s.