Airbus has completed the first transatlantic flight of its forthcoming A321LR aircraft, ahead of expected entry into service later this year.
The single-aisle plane flew between Paris Le Bourget and New York JFK, which Airbus says demonstrates the aircraft’s “ability to serve new markets and operate on heavily-travelled North Atlantic routes with the highest levels of efficiency and comfort”.
The A321LR has a range of 7,400km, which will allow it to operate routes such as New York-Paris, Lisbon-Recife, Dubai-Beijing, Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo and Singapore-Sydney.
The aircraft which operated yesterday’s test flight has been painted with a special livery featuring the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty.
Airbus has received over 100 order for the A321LR, with future operators including Norwegian, Air Transat, Aer Lingus, and all-business class carrier La Compagnie.
The aircraft took its first flight at the end of January, and will complete around 100 hours of test flights in advance of the jetliner’s airworthiness certification.
For a look at six new and forthcoming aircraft, including the B787-10, A350-1000, B737 Max 8, A330-900 neo and B777-9, see:
