American's new Airbus A321XLR is finally crossing the Atlantic as the long-haul narrowbody race heats up

American's first-ever Airbus A321XLR.American AirlinesAmerican Airlines will fly its brand-new A321XLR between New York and Scotland beginning in March.The super-range jet flies city pairs too thin for big planes or out of reach for similar-sized ones.United Airlines will soon welcome its own A321XLR to replace existing Boeing 757 routes.American Airlines is reviving a type of flying it hasn't done in years: long-haul trips on single-aisle jets.The carrier took delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR in October — a new narrowbody plane built specifically for long-distance routes.With an extra fuel tank, the jet can fly about 5,400 miles, or up to 11 hours nonstop, while burning less fuel than previous-generation options.American will first use the A321XLR on a domestic transcontinental route in December. But its long-haul debut comes on March 8, when the airline launches seasonal service between New York and Edinburgh, Scotland, through October 24.Tickets go on sale November 3. Pricing isn't yet public for the Edinburgh route, but roundtrip fares on the A321XLR's first route, New York to Los Angeles, start at about $750 in economy and around $3,000 in business class in December.American last flew a narrowbody across the Atlantic in 2019, relying on the Boeing 757. The plane's eventual retirement, accelerated by the pandemic, was due to high fuel and maintenance costs.The A321XLR is meant to fix the efficiency issue for American — and the airline has configured it for long-haul comfort.Customers can expect a premium-heavy cabin, including lie-flat business-class seats and a dedicated premium economy section. The amenities include hot meals for all 155 passengers, with upgraded dining and amenities up front.The new narrowbody business class cabin will appear on A321XLR transcontinental and transatlantic routes.American AirlinesThe Edinburgh route will complement American's existing widebody service from Philadelphia, while adding to a growing list of seasonal transatlantic flights such as Prague and Budapest next summer — those still scheduled on larger aircraft.Edinburgh is just the first stop on the A321XLR's expected European tour.The A321XLR is designed for long, thin routes: City pairs that don't have enough demand for a widebody but are too far for existing narrowbodies to fly comfortably and economically — like Charlotte to Venice or Milan. That opens new possibilities on both sides of the Atlantic.The move aligns with a broader industry shift of airlines sending narrowbodies across the Atlantic. And that's significant for American, after it had largely ceded the market to rivals but is now leaning back in.American isn't aloneData from aviation analytics firm Cirium show that American, Delta, and United flew about 10,000 long-haul narrowbody flights in 2019 — all on 757s.This type of flying tapered off through the mid-2010s as the 757 grew less efficient, and the pandemic nearly halted international travel in 2020.But, with the rising popularity of Airbus' long-haul narrowbodies, JetBlue revived the trend in 2021, flying its 4,600-mile-range A321LR to cities such as London, Paris, and Amsterdam. Like American, its planes feature a premium-heavy cabin.That move let JetBlue enter major business markets without investing in a widebody fleet — planes with two aisles that are far more expensive to build and operate and harder to fill consistently in competitive markets.A JetBlue A321neoLR at the Paris Air Show in June 2023Taylor Rains/Business InsiderIn 2025, Delta, United, and JetBlue are scheduled to operate more than 14,000 long-haul narrowbody flights, per Cirium. That number is only expected to increase as American joins the mix in 2026.United Airlines, for its part, has doubled down on the strategy — using Boeing 757s and 737 Max jets to connect the US to smaller leisure European destinations, like Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Portugal, and Tenerife, Spain.The airline plans to soon replace many of those 757s with its own A321XLRs.It has also signaled interest in opening more niche transatlantic markets with the aircraft. That could mean new nonstop options from the US East Coast to places like West Africa or Northern Italy — spots that previously required a connection.In other words, more single-aisle planes are now capable of crossing oceans — and that's reshaping how people fly long-haul.Delta has been the outlier, scaling back 757 transatlantic flying and relying more heavily on widebodies. It remains the only major US carrier that has not ordered the A321XLR.Read the original article on Business Insider

Comments

Business News

The Celtics Are Making Good On Payton Pritchard's Declaration

Forbes

Comments

Similar News

American farmers welcome China's promise to buy their soybean

Most Americans Are Upset Trump Bulldozed The East Wing, Poll Says

Ford CEO says the US-China EV war is just like the American auto industry's 1980s showdown with Japan, but 'on steroids'

‘The Future Is Ours’ Stellar Latin American Cast Powers Netflix Ambitious SciFi Series

American adventure for Barclays: It is good to see a British bank on Wall Street, says ALEX BRUMMER

Consumer confidence dips modestly in October with Americans concerned about the future

How Americans are dealing with the spookiest thing about Halloween: the price of candy

Americans brace for food stamps to run out: ‘The greatest hunger catastrophe since the Great Depression’

See inside American's new Airbus A321XLR, a long-range jet loaded with premium seats soon flying to the US and beyond

Big Tech and other firms pressed over donations to Trump's East Wing project: 'You owe Americans an explanation'

American Airlines Says It Won’t Give In To United At Chicago O’Hare

Billionaire Mark Cuban says abolishing billionaires would mean destroying the stock market and wiping out Americans' savings

Americans are going back to cheap, simple beer

‘Junk IRAs’ set to drain $43B from Americans’ nest eggs by 2030: report

Most Americans Think Trump Uses Law Enforcement To Target Enemies, Polls Find

American big business faces a $1trn capex question

American Airlines Posts Loss But Says This Quarter Will Be Profitable

We flew basic economy with Delta and American Airlines. Both were better than expected, but one key difference surprised us.

An American Airlines flight made an emergency landing after the pilots mistakenly thought someone was trying to break into the cockpit

Singapore’s prime minister warns of ‘messy’ transition to post-American order

Business News

The Celtics Are Making Good On Payton Pritchard's Declaration

Alignment Healthcare Reports Second Profitable Quarter By Taming Costs

Forbes Seeks Nominations For Its 2026 “Best In State CPAs” Recognition

Spanish Horror Series ‘Dime Tu Nombre’ Debuts On Prime Video For Halloween

U.S. Skiers, Snowboarders Begin To Qualify For 2026 Winter Olympics

Legendary Fashion Designer Bob Mackie Sues JCPenney—And His Lawsuit Mentions Taylor Swift

Canadian Brand Moose Knuckles Expands Its Global Retail Presence

Prince Andrew Will No Longer Be A ‘Prince,’ Buckingham Palace Says

A Preview Of Africa’s Hopefuls At The 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup In Qatar

NBA Approves $10 Billion Lakers Sale To Dodgers Owner Mark Walter

Meta, Microsoft shares plunge as investors fear AI spending is overhyped

Eric Schmidt’s scorned girlfriend’s $100M lawsuit exposes ex-Google CEO’s jet-setting love life — away from his wife

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hails US-China soybeans truce — but it could be too late for this year’s crop

Universal Music Group settles with AI music startup Udio

Trump's post on restarting nuclear testing doesn't make a lot of sense

Go behind the scenes at a New Jersey Spirit Halloween store

Planet Money team is getting into the board game business

Carney is set to announce immigration plan. Where do levels stand now?

How Do You Feel About Travel Right Now? We Want to Hear From You.

Chanel Picks South Korea For Largest Holiday Pop-Up At An Asia-Pacific Airport

Deforestation-Free Beef: Markets, The Economy, And The Environment Working Together

Senate Passes Resolution To Block Trump’s Tariffs

What Time Does ‘IT: Welcome To Derry’ Episode 2 Come Out On Halloween?

‘Wicked: For Good’ Early Tracking Points To $112 Million-Plus Opening

Making ‘It Was Just An Accident’ Wasn’t Like Making Most Movies

Jason Kelce Chimes In On Bryce Harper-Phillies Drama

Fintech Company Propel Announces $10 Million Fund For Food Stamp Recipients Affected By Government Shutdown

The NBA Is Forcing The Pistons To Change The Way They Play Defense

Trump Administration Limits Student Loan Forgiveness For Some Public Service Organizations

Fox revenue jumps 5% on strong advertising demand

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon worried about mounting US debt: ‘There will be a reckoning’

Universal Music and AI song generator Udio settle lawsuit, announces plans to partner on new platform

4 Republicans back Senate resolution to undo Trump's tariffs around the globe

American farmers welcome China's promise to buy their soybean

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.17% this week, Freddie Mac says, its lowest level in more than a year

DWP says more than 900,000 pensioners are missing out on up to £4,300 a year

Satellite images taken before and after Hurricane Melissa show the destruction it wreaked on Jamaica

'Compute' 22, 'metaverse' 0: The words Meta execs did and didn't say on its earnings

JPMorgan's analytics boss lifts the lid on how America's biggest bank is schooling 300,000 workers on AI

Tesla rival Polestar closes R&D sites in the UK and lays off 130 staff

American's new Airbus A321XLR is finally crossing the Atlantic as the long-haul narrowbody race heats up

Trial set over NPR allegations that CPB yielded to White House pressure

WPP woes keep lid on FTSE and pound extends falls

MPs criticise Ofgem’s ‘completely inadquate’ response to energy debt crisis

Rachel Reeves: What is a selective property licence and who needs one?

WPP woes keep lid on FTSE and pound extends falls

Former minister calls for ban on ‘exploitative’ estate management fees

MPs criticise Ofgem’s ‘completely inadquate’ response to energy debt crisis

Monzo hires Google executive to lead global growth as boss steps down

Gen Next? Marketers Look Beyond X, Y, Z And Even Alpha

Mark Zuckerberg Loses $25 Billion—Now World’s Fifth-Richest As Meta Shares Plummet

Fox News Reports Its Highest First Quarter Ad Revenue In History

Tesla Issues 10th Recall For Cybertrucks

Rodeo Dunes: Golf’s Top New Destination Isn’t Remote But Feels It

Legendary Fashion Designer Bob Mackie Sues JC Penny—And His Lawsuit Mentions Taylor Swift

K-Pop Group NewJeans Loses Court Battle Against Record Label—Group Says Trust ‘Completely Broken’

The Official ‘Stranger Things 5’ Trailer Makes A Classic D&D Mistake