It seems that Airbus is busy assembling Qantas’s first Airbus A321XLR is coming together as the new aircraft has entered the Final Assembly Line in Hamburg, Germany.
As you can see, the aircraft’s major airframe components are coming together including the forward and rear fuselage, wings and Flying Kangaroo tail.
The aircraft, which is scheduled to be delivered in April 2025, will be the first of 28 A321XLR aircraft on firm order (with purchase right options for more) as part of the progressive replacement of the Group’s fleet of Boeing 737s over the next decade.
QantasLink is already operating the new A220 aircraft, with the fifth scheduled to enter into service by the end of the year.
Iberia recently launched the type into commercial service, with its first transoceanic service between Madrid and Washington DC. Qantas will be the first operator to fly the A321XLR in the Asia Pacific region.
Deployment
In terms of its initial deployment, the new aircraft type will initially operate on domestic flights currently operated by 737 aircraft.
The new aircraft will offer a more comfortable flying experience for customers, with wider seats, larger windows, fast, free Wi-Fi, and overhead bins that allow for around 60 percent more bags than the 737.
In readiness for the arrival of the first A321XLR, Qantas Engineering has received almost 800 pieces of new tooling and pilot training is underway with pilots spending up to 60 hours in the new simulator before stepping into the flight deck.
Seating
Qantas will operate their A321XLRs in a 197-seat configuration. Business Cass will feature a 2-2 layout, with recliner seating (with 20 seats) featuring a 37” seat pitch, 5” seat recline, six-way adjustable headrest, calf and footrest, USB-A and USB power output, with a wireless charging pad. Meanwhile, there will be an in-arm tray table with a built-in tablet holder an extendable cocktail table
Seating down the back will be in the 3-3 formation with 177 seats, with a 30″ seat pitch, but with a wider 17.6″ seatwidth, with a six-way headrest, Dual USB A & C charging ports, a drop-down tablet holder for personal devices accessing fast, free Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment and an adjustable meal table.
The cabins will all feature the Airspace XL overhead bins for more hand luggage to be stored.
The first aircraft to arrive, registration VH-OGA, will be called Great Ocean Road. with a 3,000km range greater than the 737 fleet, the type opens up a wider range of direct domestic and short-haul international routes (e.g. South East Asia, Pacific islands).
In Quotes
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said
“These new aircraft are part of the biggest domestic fleet renewal program in Qantas’ history, which is bringing significant improvements for customers and career opportunities for our people”
“The A321XLR is a fantastic aircraft, which provides a more comfortable flight for customers and the longer range will in time give us the opportunity to explore more non-stop routes and operate them more efficiently.
“New aircraft mean more jobs, training and promotion opportunities for our people and we’ll be training more than 240 pilots on the new aircraft over the next three years.”
An interesting configuration
It seems that Qantas has chosen a little more comfort for the passenger – with it choosing to have a medium-haul business cabin, rather than go down the line of pods and suites.
Whilst retaining the Boeing 737-800 seat count, passengers should win thanks to the wider cabin the A320 family has, increasing seat width down the back of the aircraft.
Certainly, whilst it won’t be flying some of the extra-long ranges that Iberia might fly, it will offer the chance for Qantas to fly new routes, compared with the range its current 737-800 fleet can fly.
With “thin and long” routes being the name of the A321XLR family, there could some interesting routes being operated with the type in the long term.
Images,, Qantas.
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