Here’s what’s inside American Airlines’ new long-haul Airbus A321 XLR

american airlines is about to fly passengers to California for the first time in a slender, long-range plane in hopes of changing air travel. Airlines’ network planners now need to decide where else to fly.

The first Airbus A321XLR aircraft to be flown by a U.S. airline is scheduled to take off from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday.

XLR stands for ultra-long range and can fly up to 4,700 nautical miles, so while the New York to Los Angeles route is a very lucrative route, planes can fly much further than cross-country.

American Airlines plans to focus on routes from its Philadelphia hub or New York City to smaller cities in Europe, so it may not need to use the larger, more expensive aircraft needed to operate the fleet. boeing 777 or boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Brian Znotins, American’s senior vice president of network and schedule planning, suggested in an interview with CNBC that the airline is considering destinations such as Bordeaux and Marseille in France. Oslo, Norway. Stockholm, Sweden. Copenhagen, Denmark. and Mallorca and Seville in Spain.

“We have really expanded our menu to accommodate all the destinations that are too small for a widebody,” Znotins said.

The company plans to debut the aircraft in Europe starting in March with a nonstop flight from New York to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Airlines are increasingly switching to smaller planes for long-haul, non-stop flights. jet blue airlines The airline has announced that next year it will launch an Airbus A321LR, an aircraft that sits between the regular 321neo and the XLR, on flights to Barcelona and Milan, Italy. XLR first debuted in November 2024 on Spanish airline Iberia, a partner of American Airlines.

American Airlines unveiled the jet’s new interior and configuration during its maiden flight Thursday.

Company executives are trying to catch up with more profitable rivals and are focusing on premium seats, which account for a fifth of the planes. delta airlines and united airlines. Together, the two airlines accounted for nearly 98% of the profits of the big four U.S. airlines in the first nine months of this year. southwest airlines.

American Airlines’ Airbus 321T has 102 seats with separate first class and business class cabins, but the 321XLR has 155 seats, 20 in business class, 12 in premium economy, and 123 in the main cabin. That’s still less than American’s standard Airbus A321, which seats 190 people.

The new interior, with its dark blue and caramel hues, is meant to be “an ode to Americana,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s senior vice president of customer experience design, who previously worked at Delta Air Lines.

But the suite’s privacy doors cannot be closed until early next year due to pending certification, and the issue is delaying deliveries of new planes at a time when airlines increasingly demand premium seats.

American Airlines ordered 50 XLR jets in 2019. The airline said it plans to deploy 40 XLRs by the end of 2019. United Airlines has also ordered the plane, with the first plane expected to arrive next year.

American Airlines retired Boeing 757s and 767s that were heavily used on international flights during the pandemic and is now considering overhauling its network, while United Airlines and, to a lesser extent, Delta Air Lines continue to have older long-haul jets in their fleets.

American Airlines is also increasing investment in cabin renovations and larger lounges. The airline announced Wednesday that it will renovate the Admiral’s Club at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, increasing seating capacity by 50%.

Amid these investments, company executives are now trying to balance revenue with spending on products such as new lounges and champagne.

Nat Pieper, a longtime airline executive and newly appointed chief commercial officer at American Airlines, told CNBC, “You can’t close the margin gap by just continuing to focus on cost.” “Is American going to spend more to chase premium income and improve top-line? Yes, it will, but let’s do it smartly.”

American Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to order XLR more than six years ago. The planes are equipped with extra fuel tanks to extend their range, ushering in an era of lean flights on long-haul routes lasting well over eight hours, and testing passengers’ appetite for flying in small jets.

The 321XLR also shows how aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have continued to build on older aircraft designs rather than develop entirely new aircraft.