Iberia will be the first carrier worldwide to take delivery of the Airbus A321XLR (‘Xtra Long Range’) later this year.
The honour had been set to go to fellow IAG member airline Aer Lingus, but the Irish carrier had to relinquish the delivery due to a pilot pay dispute.
Iberia has confirmed that it expects to receive the first narrowbody A321XLR – which took its first flight in 2022 – “by the end of the summer”.
The carrier said that Washington DC and Boston will “likely” be the first long-haul destinations – although “as with all newly delivered planes, for the first days it will operate medium-range routes”.
Iberia said that the 182-seat plane will offer 14 fully flat business class seats with direct aisle access, 4K IFE screens, a wide leather headrest and compartments for personal items.
It will also feature Airbus’ recently introduced larger overhead bins which can carry up to 60 per cent more carry-on bags, as well as six cabin lighting settings and “an innovative panel at the entrance to the plane”.
Economy will feature 168 Recaro CL3810 seats, with a four-inch recline, leather headrests and two pockets to store personal items. Both cabins will offer Bluetooth connectivity to allow passengers to use their own headphones with the IFE system, as well as type A and C USB charging ports.
There will also be wifi connectivity, with customers able to send inflight messages free of charge.
Iberia said that the A321XLR would use around 30 per cent less fuel than widebody models. Following the first delivery the airline is set to receive seven additional A321XLRs “in the following months”.
Other major customers of the aircraft include American Airlines, United, IndiGo, Qantas, AirAsia X, Wizz Air and JetBlue.
