The plane that revolutionizes intercontinental travel: Iberia debuts on Madrid-Boston with the A321XLR
After months and months of waiting, and after initially being deployed on medium-haul routes to Paris and [...]
Iberia
Oneworld
MAD
After months and months of waiting, and after initially being deployed on medium-haul routes to Paris and Stockholm, the all-new Airbus A321XLR by Iberia made its debut on the route Madrid-Boston.
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About thirty minutes behind schedule, at 1:03 p.m. this afternoon the first XLR (EC-OIL brands) to have been delivered by the Toulouse-based company took off from Madrid-Barajas airport on its way to the Massachusetts capital; arrival at BOS is scheduled for 2:09 p.m. (8:09 p.m. in Italy). Then, next January 15, 2025, the Spanish carrier's new gem will begin flying between Madrid to Washington (IAD).
The XLR is definitive by many as "The plane that will forever change the future of long-haul flying", or "the plane of records," thanks to its respectable performance in terms of range. In fact, as we have written over and over again, if the A321LR stops at a range of 'only' 7400km, the XLR, on the other hand, can boast a maximum range of as much as 8700km: all this is made possible by the presence of a large tank located in the lower part of the fuselage, exactly behind the landing gears located at wing level.
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Iberia has configured its first XLR with two classes, business and economy. They are 14 the business class seats, with a 1-1 layout: the chair, the Thompson Aero Vantage Solo, is fully reclining and becomes a bed. Each of the 14 seats, then, has one 18-inch 4K screen equipped with Bluetooth connectivity; also present are a power outlet and two USB ports (both -A and -C types). Finally, wi-fi will be available in both classrooms and free for messaging.
168, however, seats in tourist class (with a 3-3 configuration), each of which has a high-definition screen, with attached USB ports: the chair chosen by Iberia, in this case, is the Recaro CL3810.
Since 2019-the year Airbus unveiled the XLR project-to date, roughly 20 airlines have ordered the twin-engine narrow-body aircraft capable of flying farther and longer than anyone else (nonstop, ça va sans dire). The IAG group (of which the Spanish company is a member) has ordered 14 examples: 8 will have the livery of Iberia, the other 6, however, will join the Aer Lingus fleet.
