Airbus has made a double delivery of the first A321XLRs to Aer Lingus, the second airline to receive of the ultra-long-range narrow-body aircraft.
The EI-XLR and EI-XLT jets left the Hamburg facility in Germany in the early afternoon and evening on Wednesday, landing in Dublin, where the carrier is based.
Aer Lingus was supposed to be the launch carrier for the variant that can fly up to 4,700 nm (8,700 km), but salary disputes with its crew led IAG Group to hand over the privilege to Iberia.
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Like the Spanish carrier, Aer Lingus has also chosen the CFM Leap-1A-powered variant (A321-253NY) for the six A321XLRs it will soon receive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXZHnESFmrA
The version was certified by EASA in July and by the FAA in October. The GTF-powered model is expected to be approved in the first quarter of 2025.
With its fleet, the Irish carrier will fly non-stop from Dublin to US destinations such as Minneapolis, Nashville and Indianapolis from April 5, 2025.
The seating configuration of Aer Lingus’ A321XLR is not yet known, but it could be similar to that used by Iberia, which seats 14 passengers in business class and 168 in economy.
The airline’s A321LRs have 184 seats thanks to the slightly larger business class (16 seats). The ultra-long-range variant, however, needs extra space for galleys and other equipment.
