Iberia’s first A321XLR completed its maiden flight on October 1, a feat celebrated by the Spanish airline, which released images of the Airbus aircraft taking off from Hamburg, Germany.
Still bearing the provisional registration D-AVYR (it will be EC-OIL), the ultra-long-range aircraft remained in flight for 4 hours, reaching an altitude of 31,000 feet.
“A321XLR Airbus ready for takeoff! More efficient, 30% less consumption and a range of 8,700 km. Iberia will also be the first airline in the world to incorporate it into its fleet,” the airline said in a post on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
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Iberia has scheduled the first flights of the A321XLR for October 26, with destinations London and Paris. These will be provisional routes, used for crew and ground staff to gain experience with the new aircraft.
The debut on long-haul routes is scheduled for November 14, on the Madrid-Boston flight in the United States.
However, the schedule may be revised since the carrier recently reported that it expects to receive the A321XLR EC-OIL only in the second half of October.
Taking as a basis the interval between the first flight and the delivery of the first A321neo to KLM in August, exactly 25 days have passed.
If the schedule is repeated with the A321XLR, Iberia should only have the 182-seat jet in the last week of October.
Replacement for widebodies
The A321XLR is eagerly awaited by airlines. The narrow-body jet will be capable of flying up to 4,700 nm (8,700 km), a distance that is sufficient to replace wide-bodies.
With a capacity of up to 240 passengers, the aircraft will be much more economical on transatlantic routes, for example.
Iberia is expected to receive eight A321XLRs, part of an order for 14 jets placed by the IAG Group. The remaining planes will be delivered to Aer Lingus.
