Airbus’ new A321XLR is undoubtedly having a moment. With a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles and flight times of up to 11 hours, this long-haul, single-aisle aircraft has attracted nearly 500 orders from 20-plus customers.
The A321XLR is heralded as a “game-changer” for its Swiss Army Knife-like capability to reshape networks, bypass hubs and right-size markets. Airbus projects over 500 new markets are just ripe for disruption.
It’s not surprising that Iberia’s 14 November debut of the world’s first A321XLR on the Madrid-Boston route was greeted with so much enthusiasm. Yet for all the hype, the A321XLR technically represents an evolutionary step in air travel.
Long-haul flying in narrowbodies is certainly nothing new; it dates back to the original Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s at the dawn of the jet age. In the 1990s and 2000s, ETOPS-certified Boeing 757s plied many a transatlantic route.
In more recent years, the Airbus A321LR and Boeing 737-8 MAX have been pressed into service to cross the proverbial pond, such as JetBlue’s new A321LR flight between Boston and Paris; and SAS’s A321LR service linking Copenhagen and Washington D.C.
That said, the A321XLR can fly fully 700NM further than the LR, and is the first subsonic narrowbody plane wholly optimized for long-haul since the Vickers VC10s of the 1960s. (Bonus AvGeek cred if you remember that gorgeous plane.)
Iberia’s first A321XLR long-haul route between Madrid and Boston does not require the twinjet’s full range potential, but this is just the starting point, a sort of tease of the type’s hub-busting capabilities.
When it came time to review Iberia’s A321XLR debut, I could have opted to snag one of the swanky lie-flat Thompson VantageSOLO suites up front while indulging in a lavish DO & CO three-course meal replete with fine sangrias. And when I boarded the aircraft, I certainly paused to appreciate the hard product (and snap some photos).
But Iberia’s premium product on the A321XLR is designed to be on par with its well-received widebody business class product so sitting up front would hardly answer the question: “Is the economy cabin on this long-haul narrowbody actually a form of purgatory?”
And so I trotted past the suites to my lowly seat on the other side of the curtain.
(On a side note, even though this was an inaugural flight, Iberia decided to forgo a special ceremony. While passengers were gifted Iberia bag tag swag and Panasonic wireless ear buds, there was nary a balloon at the gate nor a champagne toast onboard. Even the water cannon salute was bereft of water. While I was disappointed at the lack of pomp, I also appreciated that I’d be reviewing a rather routine flight.)
“At least this is a daytime flight,” I kept telling myself as I gazed at the dense cabin with some trepidation.
Iberia’s A321XLR LOPA (layout of passenger accommodations) has a lot of rows in economy class, 28 to be precise. Had I mistakenly boarded Vueling, Iberia’s ultra-low-cost sister within the IAG Group?
With eight hours of flight time ahead of me, I knew I’d have plenty of time to contemplate the carrier’s passenger experience (PaxEx) choices.
Seat pitch at the bulkhead seats and in the two emergency exit rows is, rather generously, up to 40 inches. But most of the seats are configured in a potentially knee-crushing 30-31″ range.
Fortunately, Iberia furnished the Y cabin with Recaro Aircraft Seating’s top-of-the-line economy class seating platform. The R3, formerly known as the CL3810, is optimized for increased comfort on medium- and long-haul flights. Iberia’s are finished in a rather austere gray fabric with pops of its signature red hue on the six-way adjustable headrests.
The seats recline up to four inches for greater comfort — though I am one of those avowed never-recliners if someone sits behind me — and there are two additional pockets to store personal items. A comfy blanket and pillow were placed on each seat (small amenity kits are reserved for overnight flights).
With their firm support and excellent padding, I am happy to report that the Recaro seats are comfortable. Even my row mates said they felt the seats were more comfortable than those aboard the Iberia A330 on which they’d arrived in Madrid.
Most passengers seemed unaware of the historic nature of this flight until they saw the gift bags. Those I spoke with couldn’t care less that they were on a narrowbody. An elderly couple behind me who flies the route frequently was less enthused, however.
Airbus’ extra-large flip-up XL overhead bins, which boast 60% more luggage capacity than the previous generation pivot bins, ensure that even in a dense configuration like this one, passengers’ carryons can be accommodated.
The downside of facilitating so many bags is a grindingly slow boarding process, which amps up the boarding anxiety even as Iberia lovingly pipes flamenco music into the cabin.
Our pilots told me that the A321XLR — heavier due to the rear center fuel tank — subtly rides smoother, particularly in turbulence.
Long-haul lasts a little longer (try saying that seven times) on a single-aisle versus a twin-aisle aircraft.
That’s because the A321XLR cruises at a slower Mach .78 (or about 598mps) versus the A330neo’s .82 and the A350’s .85. On the Madrid-Boston route, this translates into longer flight times of 20-30 minutes when flying westbound, and 10-15 minutes when flying eastbound, according to the Iberia Captain onboard.
Regardless, you’re still saving time by bypassing a hub airport. Our flight enjoyed favorable headwinds which reduced our 8hr planned flight time by 40 minutes.
With lots of time to kill, passengers seek distraction. Iberia has equipped its aircraft from nose to tail with in-seat, ultra high-definition IFE screens from Panasonic Avionics.
The super crisp 12″ screens in economy add a premium touch to the cabin. And I give plaudits to Iberia for offering a robust catalog of more than 250 movies, 1000+ episodes of TV shows, 250 music options, games, audiobooks, podcasts, and even a home-grown version of a Ted Talk channel.
The content is organized by genres, new releases, box sets, and special collections in multiple languages — all that’s missing is an AI algorithm and the ability to pre-select playlists on the ground. The UI is super responsive, silky smooth, and intuitive with no lag. My only quibble is the pre-roll ads on the TV programs were excessive.
AvGeeks and wanderlusters will enjoy the addictive and immersive Panasonic Arc moving map, which showcased Iberia fleet information, travel videos, and interactive destination information, in addition to our flight’s progress. Young explorers can avail of their own “follow the Dino” moving map.
Panasonic deserves some panning, however. Every seat is equipped with USB-A and USB-C power outlets, but they intermittently failed throughout the flight. The Panasonic representative onboard stayed quite busy keeping up with the complaints. I could have used AC power for my laptop for such a long flight but this perk is reserved for the premium cabin.
Pairing the Bluetooth-enabled wireless earbuds (provided as swag) was a pain point. It took a few tries, and I had to pair them each time I got up from my seat. I finally reverted to the old-school Iberia-provided earbuds.
Unfortunately, Panasonic’s onboard Wi-Fi proved to be a disappointment.
Messaging is free for passengers up front as well as for Iberia Plus members. Browse and stream packages were reasonably priced in all cabins for $14 for four hours and $19 for the entire flight. But while a handy QR code sticker on the seat allowed me to sign into Iberia’s portal, I could only briefly connect to the Wi-Fi at the onset of the flight, despite multiple attempts and two purchases.
The Panasonic rep and I quickly became fast friends as we tried to work through the problem on my phone and iPad. Some passengers had better luck than I. Being unreachable for an entire workday added unnecessary stress to my life. To its credit, Iberia processed the refund quickly the next day.
I was grateful for the IFE. Indeed, I could cancel my streaming subscriptions back home and easily subsist on this IFE library for months!
However, the A321XLR with its Space-Flex v2 galley-lav complex does present a number of challenges given Iberia’s dense layout. The airline has opted for higher-capacity ovens, allowing 32 meals to be heated simultaneously (as opposed to the usual 24).
The choices were pasta au gratin or a burger patty with potatoes, green beans, and lemon cake (there were no rolls or salad on the plate). While this is hardly Indigenous Spanish cuisine like paella or Iberian ham, it was the moistest piece of meat I’ve ever tasted on a plane (a testament to the oven technology, I was told). Everything was delicious, including the moist cake and veggies.
Francisco Javier Rueda Llamas, Iberia’s narrowbody fleet manager for cabin crew, said the airline strives to make the food as good as found on Iberia’s widebodies. Of the snacks offered onboard, I recommend both the sweet Crème tropical biscuits and savory Galletas Saludas crackers.
The premium cabin, meanwhile, gets a separate bread warmer and espresso machine.
Speaking of the crew, they could not have been more gracious. With 2 to 2.5 of the four flight attendants serving 168 passengers down back, they did their jobs with aplomb. The cabin crew chosen for the initial flights are all senior-level pursers who will begin training 1,000 crew members on the new service.
The four lavs are equipped with antibacterial surfaces, motion-sensor taps, and pedal-operated waste bins for better hygiene. They are well-appointed and beautifully lit as well. But I have no love for the lavatory layout. The three economy lavs are all located at the back of the aircraft (two in the Space-Flex v2 galley-lav combo and one D-lav directly opposite). The business cabin lavatory was strictly off limits to us proletariat in economy class.
To preserve cabin commonality with IAG sister carrier Aer Lingus’ A321XLR LOPA, and to create cabin flexibility, Iberia opted against installing a mid-cabin lavatory. As a consequence, the rear galley area saw a consistent queue of humans waiting to relieve themselves. I noticed that some passengers even missed the lav integrated with the jump seat. And when a member of the crew took a meal break, and used the seat, only one lavatory was accessible to 168 passengers.
This shortcoming is a bladder-punishing penalty on long-haul flights that’s tough on passengers and crew. And I must be frank, this design fail really began to “piss off” passengers, some of whom groaned that they didn’t experience this problem on the A330 widebody they flew over on.
Hats off to the crew for keeping the lavatories spotless throughout the flight.
So, what’s the verdict? Is long-haul flying on a narrowbody purgatory? Personally, a widebody is preferable to this flyer, but bypassing connecting hubs and increased scheduling flexibility is an appealing alternative. My seatmates, one a Gen Z’er and the other an older Gen X’er, both said they’d pay extra for nonstop and didn’t mind the more intimate cabin. They gave the A321XLR the edge for its “cool TVs” and “newness”.
Iberia’s cramped economy LOPA leaves a little to be desired, but its solid soft product, excellent inflight entertainment (cranky Wi-Fi aside), and, most of all, the lovely hospitality of its crews distracted from the squeeze.
That said, longer flight times and overnights would give me pause. The flying public, I suspect, won’t care and will just go along for the ride.
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All images credited to the author, Chris Sloan
