United Airlines is scheduled to receive its first A321-200NY(XLR) in December 2025, which will replace its aging Boeing B757 fleet.
Airbus is set to deliver the first XLR to Iberia later this year, with the third destined for Aer Lingus, and Iberia will introduce it to commercial service from Madrid Barajas to Boston in November.
United’s senior vice president for global network planning and alliances highlighted that the A321neo(XLR) offers improved fuel burn and maintenance costs compared to the B757, making it more economical for serving cities and smaller markets like Tenerife and Reykjavik.
United has an order for fifty A321neo(XLR)s, mainly for international destinations, with plans to use them on new routes previously unreachable with narrowbody aircraft, including destinations in France, Italy, Scandinavia, and parts of Africa.
Aer Lingus was the XLR’s original launch operator. However, due to the pilot pay dispute, IAG dropped Aer Lingus and instead opted for Iberia to receive the first A321neo(XLR). The XLR is set to be introduced into commercial service in mid-November when the Spanish airline deploys it from Madrid to Boston.
Recently, A321neo(XLR) msn 11348 was seen in Aer Lingus’s livery (although its engines still bear the Iberia logo). Meanwhile, EC-OIL (msn 11504) is already fully painted in the Spanish airline’s livery.
In 2019, IAG ordered fourteen A321neo(XLR)s, six destined for Aer Lingus and eight for Iberia.
Adrian Dunne, Aer Lingus chief operations officer, said. “We now have the cost certainty to welcome the A321neo(XLR) into Aer Lingus, with the first two aircraft arriving in Q4 2024.”
