With first A321XLR scheduled for April 2025, Qantas begins crew training

Qantas expects its first Airbus A321XLR in April 2025 and has already begun training crew members who will fly the ultra-long-range narrow-body aircraft.

In 2021, the Australian carrier ordered 28 aircraft of the variant, which is capable of flying 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km) non-stop.

According to Qantas, the first classes of pilots are undergoing training on the new CAE 7000XR Series A320 flight simulator, installed in Sydney.

The airline expects more than 240 pilots to be trained to fly the A321XLR over the next three years, in addition to around 2,000 cabin crew.

Qantas A321XLR Economy class render (Qantas)

Cabin for 197 passengers

Qantas also revealed the first details of the main cabin of the Airbus aircraft, which will have 197 seats in two classes. There will be 20 seats in Business in a 2+2 configuration and 177 in Economy (3+3).

“Qantas will be one of the first airlines in the world to operate the A321XLR and ahead of the arrival of our first aircraft next year, we’ve started pilot training and finalised the details of the customer experience,” said Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson.

Qantas A321XLR Business class render (Qantas)

In fact, the A321XLR will debut later this year with Iberia, which will fly from Madrid to Washington and Boston in the US.

The Spanish airline will have eight jets in its fleet, equipped with CFM Leap-1A engines, which received type certification in July. Qantas, in turn, opted for the PW1100G-JM turbofan, which is only expected to be approved for commercial flights in early 2025.