Greek airline AEGEAN Airways is preparing to go to India, with the announcement that they are to take delivery of two Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
The intention by the airline is to operate flights to New Delhi and Mumbai in India from March 2026. The new additions will increase AEGEAN’s Airbus A320/A321 neo order to 60 aircraft, of which 36 have already been delivered to date.
The two A321XLR aircraft, expected to be delivered in December 2025 and January 2026.
These will be used to increase AEGEAN’s “special purpose” sub-fleet, which was originally going to be made up of four A321LR aircraft. These were ordered in April 2024, with delivery expected in 2027 and 2028.
This fleet investment will enable an upgraded level of comfort and a differentiated travel experience to destinations outside the EU with more than 4 hours of flight time.
For the airline, the XLRs offer additional flight time (with more than 2.5 hours extra compared to an A321LR and 4.5 hours more than a regular A321neo). The airline will provide a new level of comfort and services, with a customised configuration of only 138 seats in total, of which 24 are Business Class Suites with fully lie-flat beds, increased privacy and full aisle access.
Economy class passengers can also enjoy a high level of comfort, in all six of its Long Range fleet, as all seats offer more personal space, an in-flight entertainment system with 4K screens, satellite Wi-Fi, USB and device charging ports and extra-large bins, specially designed for long-haul flights.
Operational plans
Following the delivery of the new A321neo XLR aircraft, AEGEAN plans to commence 5 weekly flights to New Delhi (March 2026) and soon thereafter 3 weekly flights to Mumbai (May 2026), the second destination of the company’s network in India.
The exact flight schedule will be announced at the end of September, when ticket sales start.
With the future deliveries of the A321neo LR aircraft in 2027 and 2028, the launch of additional new routes will also be considered, to destinations such as Bangalore in India, Seychelles, Maldives, Nairobi, Almaty and Lagos.
And if their range map from Athens is to be believed, there are a lot more options out there.
In Quotes
Mr. Eftichios Vassilakis, AEGEAN Chairman, stated:
“The addition of these two A321neo XLR aircraft with special configuration, which will be delivered in 2025, in addition to the four A321neo LRs that we plan to take delivery in 2027 and 2028, accelerates our access to the extremely important Indian market, but also allows for the immediate upgrade of our product and services to destinations outside the EU, longer than 4 hours in which we already operate. The A321neo XLR and LR aircraft mark the beginning of a new chapter for AEGEAN, with new possibilities for growth but also new options for our passengers and the connectivity of our country. With new fleet capabilities, strong vertically integrated support infrastructure and most importantly drawing upon the creativity and strengths of our people, we plan to move forward with ambitious but also careful and consistent steps as always.”
That’s a fast allocation
Considering the production line backlogs (with new orders going into the 2030s for some aircraft), Airbus has pulled a blinder to get two A321XLRs to Aegean in six months flat.
Interesting to say the least.
Paxex.areo has more the speculation, considering the aircraft will need interiors too.
With the interest some Indian airlines are showing in Europe recently, it’s interesting to see the reverse is happening – European airlines are considering India as a destination.
And with the economics of an A321XLR, for some carriers, it might just work, especially for the smaller or single-aircraft type carriers.
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