Air Canada to add 26 A321neo(XLR)s

Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau) is set to secure twenty-six A321-200NX(XLR)s, including six ordered from Airbus, fifteen from Air Lease Corporation, and the remaining five from AerCap.

The carrier said deliveries of the longest-range variant of the A321-200neo, which has yet to be certified, are scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2024 and will continue through the first quarter of 2027. Air Canada also has a further 14 options with Airbus, with deliveries running from 2027 through 2030.

The airline will outfit the aircraft for up to 182 passengers, including 14 lie-flat business class seats and 168 economy class seats. Air Canada said it would seek Transport Canada’s authorisation to deploy the type on transatlantic routes.

The A321-200NX(XLR)s will replace older aircraft in Air Canada’s fleet, although the carrier did not provide any details. It projects the new type will have up to 17% lower fuel burn per seat than the previous generation narrow-body on a typical transcontinental flight and a projected reduction of up to 23% versus previous generation wide-body aircraft on transatlantic flights.

The XLRs will become Air Canada’s first A321neo variant. The carrier has been analysing the extended-range variants of the model for a few years and has looked at both the A321-200NX(LR) and the (XLR). The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Air Canada’s A320ceo fleet, including aircraft operated by Air Canada rouge (RV, Toronto Pearson), comprises twenty-six A319-100s, twenty-three A320-200s, and twenty-nine A321-200s. It also operates thirty-two B737-8s with a further eight on order from Boeing.