Air Canada has taken delivery of an Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
This is the first of 30 aircraft on order and is being leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. Of the aircraft on order, 15 will be leased from SMBC Aviation Capital and the remainder will be purchased directly. Air Canada is the first Canadian airline to introduce this aircraft type. The aircraft is equipped with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.
The business class cabin features fully flat seats in a “1-1” configuration, providing direct aisle access from every seat. This is the first time Air Canada has installed fully flat seats on a single-aisle aircraft. The economy class cabin has 168 seats. Both cabins are built to the “Airspace” specification, with AC power outlets, Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-Fi, and overhead bins that are 60% larger than previous designs.
The aircraft will enable Air Canada to bridge the gap between short-haul routes operated by narrow-body aircraft and long-haul routes operated by wide-body aircraft. The airline expects the aircraft to support network expansion and improve operating efficiency on new and existing long-haul routes. Air Canada plans to deploy the aircraft on transatlantic routes from Montreal and Toronto, as well as on major transcontinental routes within North America.
Air Canada currently operates 136 Airbus aircraft and has a further 61 on order, including recently ordered Airbus A350 aircraft.
