Airbus, goodbye to A320s within ten years. Countdown to the takeoff of the A321XLR.
The sunset boulevard is approaching for Airbus' A320 family, arguably the most successful in the history [...]
The sunset boulevard is approaching for the family of the Airbus A320, probably the most successful in the history of commercial aircraft in the past 30 years.
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This was confirmed by the CEO of the manufacturer himself, Guillame Faury, who at a press conference to comment on the 2023 budget announced the study for a new family of aircraft to replace the A320.
A320 in the attic by 2035
However, all this will not happen for a decade or so, and Airbus' intention is Getting to 2035 with a new hybrid aircraft model (electric and/or hydrogen) that can provide travel range, comfort, performance and safety.
A daunting challenge, especially given the success of the A320 family, which in recent years has beaten out competition from Boeing's 737s (including for demerits of the U.S. rival) and which continues to rack up orders by preparing to officially fly the new A321XLR as well. On the latter model, however, Airbus has announced yet another postponement of first deliveries to late 2024.
Family Airbus A320 is consisting of the basic A320 variant, the longer A321 variant, and the shorter A319 and A318 variants, and has been produced since 1987. After the first generation of the family - named ceo (current engine option), since 2010, production of the second generation neo (new engine option) has started only for A319, A320 and A321 models.
Subsequently, production of the A321LR (long range) and A321XLR began. To date, the following have been delivered more than 9,500 models in the various variants, and the manufacturer has at least 6,500 deliveries in the next few years in the pipeline.
The economy cabin of an A321lr TAP
The hydrogen project and the NGSA
The production stop will therefore occur by 2035, when Airbus plans to launch a new aircraft. CEO Guillaume Faury, told that the company is working on two projects simultaneously: a smaller plane capable of covering about 1,600 km and hydrogen-powered (ZEROe program); and a model similar to the A320 powered exclusively by Saf (sustainable aviation fuel).
"To date we are testing wings with greater longitude and new propulsion systems. The hydrogen plane will have a maximum capacity of 100 people, and we need to see if it works in an economy of scale, working on two models: Burning liquid hydrogen directly or converting hydrogen to electricity by producing fuel for electric propulsion " said the ceo.
The new model that will replace the A320, which is part of the program's Next Generation Single Aisle (NGSA), will instead be designed and conceived from the ground up and will feature different configurations and "sizes" for a seating capacity ranging from 140 to 240 seats.
When will the A321XLR fly.
In contrast, the entry into service of the A321XLR-where XLR stands for Extra Long Range-was planned as early as the end of 2023; but complicit with various factors (pandemic, supply chain crisis, delayed certifications, etc...) the first deliveries of the new model had slipped to mid-2024. Now, however, the time frame is getting longer still.
The aircraft is part of the Airbus A320 family and is unique because it combines a range of about 8,400 km , or 4,700 nautical miles (thanks to an additional fuel tank located in the center-rear part of the aircraft) with a single-aisle short- to medium-range aircraft size.
In addition to Lower the fuel consumption of the 30% per single seat, the aircraft will allow airlines to alternate between medium haul and long haul routes even on the same operating day.
The A321Xlr allows you to fly, for example, Rome to New York, London to Miami, Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo to Sydney or Buenos Aires to Miami with a capacity ranging from 180 to 220 seats using the two classes of service.
The debut with Aer Lingus
Also during the recent press conference, therefore, Airbus announced that entry into service has been postponed in Q3 of 2024 (i.e., between September and December). According to Guillaume Faury, "The A321XLR is in the final stages of certification completion. The aircraft Will fully meet the expectations of the airlines. We are preparing the planes for delivery, and the first example entered the FAL (final assembly line) at the end of last year."
To date, Airbus has collected 511 orders for the A321XLR from 27 different low-cost and legacy airlines (the main ones are Aer Lingus, Air Canada American Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, United Airlines, Air Arabia, AirAsia, Indigo, and JetBlue).
And the launch airline for the revolutionary A321XLR will be the Irish Aer Lingus which will use the aircraft specifically on transatlantic routes to North America.
American Airlines, on the other hand, plans to install 20 mini-suites of Business on this model. The US carrier plans a configuration with 20 mini-suites, 12 seats in premium economy and 123 seats in economy class and will be among the first airlines to receive the new XLR.
