Iberia completed the first revenue flight of the A321XLR, a narrow-body aircraft with the longest range for a twin-engine aircraft, on Wednesday.
The jet, registered EC-OIL, which was delivered by Airbus last week, took over flight IB1499 between Madrid (Barajas) and Paris (Charles de Gaulle), which was completed in 1 hour and 37 minutes.
The A321XLR will also complete three more legs between the two cities and is expected to be used on the route until November 13, so that crew and ground staff can get used to operating it.
Follow Air Data News: WhatsApp | Google News | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
The first long-haul flight is scheduled for November 14, between Madrid and Boston, in the United States.
Iberia currently flies widebodies such as the A330 and A350 on the route, which are less efficient. The A321XLR has a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) of less than 100 tons, compared to 251 tons for the A330-200.
Fuel consumption per seat is around 30% lower than that of these large aircraft, and at Iberia the A321XLR is configured with 182 seats (14 in business class and 168 in economy) compared to 288 for the A330-200.
Iberia will have a total of eight A321XLRs in its fleet, out of the 14 ordered by the IAG Group. The remaining aircraft will be delivered to Aer Lingus.
