I recall being in a press conference at the 2019 Paris Air Show when Guillaume Faury and Christian Scherer triumphantly announced that Australia's flag carrier, Qantas, was among the first to place orders for the Airbus A321XLR. The A321XLR was unveiled at the show and immediately aroused much interest and excitement, with a flood of orders announced during the week. The countdown is on for Qantas On Thursday, Qantas announced its pilots had started simulator training as the airline prepares for the first A321XLR to arrive in April next year.
Qantas has 28 A321XLRs on order that will progressively replace the existing Boeing 737 fleet over the next decade, allowing the full-service airline to open new nonstop routes that are not viable with the current narrowbodies. Nearly half of all Qantas passengers travel on the Boeing 737 fleet, which indicates how important the Airbus A321XLR is to the future of the airline and its people. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the arrival of the A321XLR represented significant opportunities for employees and customers, and the new aircraft means more jobs, training and promotion opportunities for Qantas employees.
"The A321XLR is a fantastic aircraft to be part of our next generation fleet, and its range and versatility will give us the opportunity to explore more nonstop routes and operate them cost effectively. The QantasLink A220s and the Jetstar A320neo Family already received as part of our Group renewal program are providing major .