Airbus A321XLR, the world's most in-demand aircraft: here are the European companies that already own it

Some have called it the plane of the future, others the last frontier of civil aviation, still others-such as CNN-the plane that can change the "map of the world's skies".

L'Airbus A321XLR o Extra Long Range, a single-aisle plane capable of flying for more than ten hours nonstop, is the plane of the moment. It has already been talked about a lot, so it is not new. But we write about it again because the 2025 will be his year of glory.

The Airbus A321XLR is emerging as a real trend, growing rapidly. Companies all over the world-from the United States to Europe and beyond-want it, and orders are increasing by the day.

Airbus - the sompany aircraft manufacturer based in Blagnac, France - has already received over 500 orders of XLR this year.

This aircraft model has been on everyone's lips for several years, and even more so in recent months since Iberia officially added it to its fleet as the world's first airline, Scheduling flights in mid-November 2024.

The aircraft departed from Madrid and landed in Boston, in the United States, after a 7-hour flight, accomplishing a transoceanic journey which ushered in, in a sense, a new season in the aviation world.

Iberia stated that by this year, 2025, a second A321XLR will be activated on the Madrid-Washington DC route, which to date has been operational only during the summer season with the Airbus A330. With the introduction of XLR, the company will now be able to guarantee the service on this route all year round.

Air Canada, American Airlines, Qantas Airways and United Airlines are among the major airlines in the world that are waiting for their first XLR. At the European level, on the other hand, there are some airlines that already have this medium, starting with Aer Lingus e Iberia, both owned by International Airlines Group (IAG). Then there is the Icelandic Icelandair, a specialist in intercontinental flights with single-aisle aircraft, which took 13. And again: also counting the Hungarian Wizz Air, English British Airways, the Spanish Vueling and the Portuguese TAP.

As already explained by TFC, In an article last summer, the 'secret' of the XLR is a ventral reservoir placed immediately behind the main bogie airplane allowing it to take on enough fuel to fly nonstop for 4,700 nautical miles (8,700km), which is 1,300km more than the A321LR. To get an idea of its performance, the aircraft will be able to connect non-stop pairs of cities such as New York and Rome, London and Vancouver, London and Delhi, or Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.