A half 'flop' the first year of the A321-XLR: the 'game changer' effect so far has not been seen. Here's (perhaps) why

Nearly a year into service with Iberia now, there is no trace of the'Game changer' effect expected from the Airbus A321XLR, the single-aisle aircraft with the longest flight range ever built: 4,700 miles or 7,600km, which when translated into hours gives the XLR the ability to fly nonstop for over ten hours.

Now, it is too early to speak of a 'flop'. Both because the plane has been in service, precisely, for less than a year (and certainly needs, a break-in period from an operational point of view), and because the specimens so far delivered to the companies are supposedly about ten.

However, one cannot help but say that the routes to which the XLR has been destined so far by the companies that have it in their fleets have been half a disappointment. And the plans that the carriers about to receive it do not seem particularly 'bold' either.

In short, the routes on which the XLR is flying and those on which it is currently scheduled to fly in the near future are anything but 'Extra' and could well be operated by the -LR version of the A321, which has been in service for some years now.

In detail, the largest operator of the aircraft to date is Iberia, Which has four XLRs in the fleet (although one is parked for repairs in Madrid after a bird strike on takeoff last August 3) with three more expected to arrive soon.

The destinations served are Boston and Washington, with Fortaleza and Recife in Brazil to be added in the coming weeks as well as San Juan in Puerto Rico, where the Iberian XLR will flank the A330-200 flying the route at the moment. None of the present and planned routes exceed 8 to 8 hours and 30 minutes of flight time.

The other company in the International Airlines Group (IAG), Aer Lingus, has three operational with three more expected in the coming months: fly to Washington, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Nashville, with the latter being the longest route according to Flightradar24, with flight times ranging from 8 hours to 8 hours and 40 minutes.

Australia's Qantas has taken delivery of two aircraft (of the 48 ordered), which intends to use on the Sydney-Melbourne and the Sydney-Perth and in the future, as announced by the kangaroo company, also on medium-haul international routes.

Low-cost Wizz Air has an XLR in its substantial fleet. The plane was intended for operations from Abu Dhabi, which, however, were discontinued (but even then, routes between the Gulf and Europe would not have exceeded 8 hours of flight time).

Two other operators have hinted at how they will use the plane: they are Air Canada and American Airlines. The former Will most likely use the XLR between Montreal and West Africa (Dakar and Casablanca), As well as on 'thin' European routes (Edinburgh, Malaga, Nantes were mentioned).

The second (American) is apparently intent on opening an XLR base at New York's JFK airport to operate transatlantic flights to Europe, basically making the XLR do what it made its Boeing 757-200s do.

In all cases, we are talking about routes at most between 8 and 9 hours of flight time. That is, performance that is within the reach of even the A321-LR (and even the Boeing 737 MAX 8).

There are at least two factors that, so far, have 'held back' companies from deploying the aircraft on longer routes, pushing it to the limits of its operational capacity.

This is the capacity of the galley (galley) that is located at the back of the plane and 'serves' Economy Class and the absence of adequate space for so-called 'crew rest', the rest of cabin crews.

Both Iberia and Aer Lingus operate their XLRs in two classes: the first with 14 lie-flat seats (1-1) in Business Class and 168 seats in Economy; the second with 16 lie-flat seats (with rows alternating between a 2-2 arrangement and others with a single 'throne') in Business and 168 in Economy. In Economy, flying long haul means serving at least one meal and snack to the 168 passengers, but if the flight is extra-long the second service will have to be more than just a sandwich.

E both Iberia and Aer Lingus have opted for a de facto halved back galley, to make more room for seats and an additional toilet. Crews have already complained about the inconvenience of having a workspace not separated from the passenger area, but doubts are also legitimate about the actual capacity of those galleys.

The second factor is, perhaps, even more relevant. Wide-body (wide-body) aircraft have special 'crew bunks,' which are provided with bunks where both pilots and flight attendants can rest for a few hours especially during longer flights, rotating their presence in the passenger cabin outside the times when service is being performed.

The XLR (as well as the -LR) those spaces for adequate crew rest do not have them. At present, a half row of Economy seats is being used for the purpose, providing inadequate comfort for crew rest (and reducing the seats available for sale to passengers), especially if the airlines decide to operate the plane for its true mission, i.e., flights of 10-plus hours duration.

Diehl Aviation, a German company specializing in design and engineering solutions for passenger aircraft cabins, recently unveiled what it called the 'Crew Rest Module,' or a 'retractable crew bunk' which can be made in the existing space between the wall in front of the first row of seats and the wall of the bathroom located between the left entry door of the aircraft and the cockpit.

A space less than a couple of meters wide by as many meters long where a module containing some sort of sofa bed can be mounted (even as a retrofit). On departure and arrival, the module is enclosed, allowing passengers to board, disembark, and possibly evacuate the aircraft in an emergency.

During the flight, when trolley service is not in progress, the module is opened 'freeing' two parallel bunks. A sliding curtain also allows maximum privacy for pilots and flight attendants during their break time in flight. In the event of an in-flight emergency, the module can be closed within seconds, thus not constituting a hazard at any stage of the flight.

We shall see Whether and who will adopt this undoubtedly ingenious system. E whether (and when) the XLR, from being the 'duplicate' of the -LR that it is behaving today, will really turn into the 'game changer' that everyone in the commercial aviation world has been talking about for years.