Qantas takes delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR

Qantas became the latest operator of Airbus A321XLR, with the airline taking delivery of its first aircraft.

In doing so, Qantas becomes the Asia-Pacific launch operator of the latest generation single aisle A321XLR, with the first one known as  VH-OGA Great Ocean Road

And it seems Qantas are eager to try the range out, with Qantas flying their A321XLR from the Airbus facility in Hamburg Finkenwerder to Sydney with just one crew rest stop in Bangkok. Flight QF6041 is what to look out for, with it due to arrive in Sydney on the morning of Wednesday, 2 July. 

The route will cover Hamburg to Bangkok, making history as the longest A321XLR flight operated by a commercial airline at more than 9,600 kilometres. The aircraft will then continue on from Bangkok to Sydney, a journey of over 7,600 kilometres

The Qantas A321XLR features a two-class layout with 20 seats in Business Class and 177 in the main cabin.

Qantas A321XLR Business Class

Qantas Airbus A321XLR Economy Class 

Qantas will initially operate the A321XLR on domestic services across Australia, with the potential to open future new services on secondary routes to Asia. The airline selected the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines for its new aircraft.

The Qantas Group has ordered 40 A321XLRs under its fleet modernisation programme, with 28 aircraft allocated to Qantas and 12 to its subsidiary Jetstar. These are part of the airline’s outstanding orders with Airbus for 128 single aisle aircraft and 24 A350-1000 widebodies.

In Quotes

Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said: 

“It has been incredibly exciting to be in Hamburg with our team to officially take delivery of our first Airbus A321XLR.

“We are proud to be the first A321XLR operator in Asia Pacific and its arrival will mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Qantas and a significant step forward in enhancing the experience we offer our customers.”

The next step forward

With Qantas looking to deploy these within Australia and on secondary international routes, they’ve chosen to go with recliner-type seating in both of the cabins, rather than pod-type seats at the front.

These should be simpler to maintain, whilst providing density – and thus helping in the replacement of some of the Qantas Boeing 737-800 fleet.

It is interesting, however, that the airline has chosen to stretch the aircraft legs for its first delivery run, flying all the way to Bangkok, then onto Sydney, to demonstrate how far it can fly (admittedly, with an empty aircraft).

For the A321XLR programme, it’s a big step forward, as they now crack the Asia-Pacific Market, where a mid-sized aircraft like this could open up new routes economically.

We’ll have to see what Qantas and other airlines do with the A321XLR.