Summary American Airlines' first Airbus A321XLR was spotted at Hamburg airport. Visual differences between the A321neo and the A321XLR are subtle, but the XLR has a rear-center cargo fuel tank for long-range. The A321XLR will replace American's A321T subfleet on premium routes.
American Airlines ’ first Airbus A321XLR was spotted at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) on Friday. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is expected to become the second carrier to receive the highly anticipated aircraft later this year after launch customer Iberia. With its first sighting, American’s route planning executive expressed excitement for the new jet.
The carrier has high hopes in the plane as it looks to fill a gap left behind after the retirement of its Boeing 757-200 and 767-300ERs four years ago. As seen on the tail The new A321XLR was seen being towed at XFW. It is expected to be registered as N470AN, but it is far from complete.
Its fuselage is only in primer, and the engines have yet to be mounted. The only striking identifier that it belongs to American is its tail, which is already painted in the carrier’s abstract US flag design . Brian Znotins is American’s Senior Vice president of Network Planning.
The executive reposted a picture of the airframe on Friday with a fitting caption. The visual difference between the NEO & XLR Since American already operates several examples of the A321neo , and has more on order, some might assume that the spotted airframe is not the A321XLR. However, the difference between the two variants is subtle.
To allow for extra-long-range performance, the A321XLR has a permanent rear-center cargo fuel tank, which is estimated to carry about 3,400 gallons (12,900 liters) of fuel. With close attention, the tank is specifically noticeable near the doors directly behind the wings. It extends beneath the door on the A321XLR, unlike the tank on the A321neo.
The aircraft is also expected to have reinforced landing gear to accommodate the extra weight of the fuel. Filling the gap Despite Znotins’ own anticipation, it is clear that American is eager for the A321XLR. The airline was a longtime operator of the 757-200, which allowed it more versatility throughout its network.
It also had the 767-300ER, which mainly supported the airline’s international and long-haul flight network. During the COVID-19 pandemic, American hastily retired the aircraft and favored acquiring newer 787-8 and -9 Dreamliners as their replacement. The carrier also prematurely retired its fleet of A330 aircraft, which had been inherited from US Airways.
While the airline was hopeful that it would receive new 787 examples on time, delivery delays have occurred, and the lack of widebody aircraft have specifically limited the airline's capacity on transatlantic routes. The A321XLR has the ability to reinstate the capacity, albeit, it is unclear which exact international routes American will deploy the aircraft type on. Plus, the A321XLR will likely be the closest replacement for the 757 aircraft series.
American has confirmed that the A321XLR will replace its current A321T (Transcon) subfleet on premium transcontinental routes . The aircraft operate exclusively on cross-country flights to Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, and San Francisco. The airline will also introduce a new cabin on the A321XLR.
The luxurious interior will feature 20 lie-flat seats in Flagship Business, 12 premium economy seats, and 123 seats in the main cabin. The seats will be in service on the airline’s long-haul fleet from 2024. According to ch-aviation , American has 50 A321XLRs on order.
The aircraft’s delivery timeline is unknown, but reports from last year indicated that deliveries would begin at the end of this year. Aviation watchdog JonNYC said they “could easily see this plane getting delivered before” February of next year, but also hinted that the aircraft would not be operational because “the seats won’t be available.”.
