THE A321LR AND XLR: RANGE AS AN AIRCRAFT PROGRAMME
Airbus records the first A321LR delivery to Arkia in November 2018 and the A321XLR launch in June 2019. These were developments of the neo single-aisle family. They are not equivalent to adding fuel to a ceo aircraft without changing its approved configuration and performance assumptions. [19, Programme main dates; LR delivery and XLR launch]
The first A321XLR flew on 15 June 2022. Testing and certification then preceded the first customer handover. Its additional range involved a defined aircraft and fuel-system configuration; an advertised capability does not attach automatically to every aircraft carrying an A321 name. [41, First-flight release]
Iberia received the first A321XLR on 30 October 2024. Airbus described initial regional operations before a planned transatlantic mission. Fleet entry and the first headline long-haul route therefore need not be one event. Here the XLR remains comparative history, rather than a substitute for the Fenix A321ceo performance model. [42, First delivery and initial-operation plan]