The airline is not making a big deal of it, but it is an exciting new plane for the airline and it has today operated its first passenger flight with it.
The airlines are getting three A321LRs.
SAS wants to make it more fuel efficient. The airline is acquiring eight new A350-900s and three new A321LRs.
SAS has already taken delivery of two of the planes, but before today they hadn't entered service due to lack of demand.
The plane is owned by the airlines
The longest range version of the A320 family is the A321LR. The A321 has been around for a long time, mostly on regional flights. The A321neo, A321LR, and A321XLR will be introduced by Airbus in the next two years.
We have seen service with the plane on airlines like Aer Lingus, and we have seen it on other airlines. SAS will be joining that group soon.
The business class of the airline is the A321LR Mint.
The cabin configuration of the A321LR.
SAS has just 157 seats in the A321LRs. This also includes:
There are 22 business class seats that alternate between a 2-2 and 1-1 configuration.
There are 12 premium economy seats.
The seats are in a 3-3 configuration.
Aer Lingus has 184 seats in its A321LRs, while TAP Air Portugal has 171 seats. The most premium configuration of the bunch is by JetBlue, with just 138 seats on the entire A321LR.
He kindly shared some photos of the cabin from the first SAS A321LR flight this morning. There are no surprises when it comes to the layout. SAS' A321LR business class is the same as what you'll find on Aer Lingus and TAP Air Portugal. The cabin is larger and the finishes are the same.
The business class of the airline.
The business class of the airline.
The business class of the airline.
The existence of a true premium economy cabin is most interesting. There are 12 seats that look like domestic first class seats in the United States. SAS is the only airline with a three cabin layout on the A321LR.
The A321LR is a premium economy plane.
The A321LR is a premium economy plane.
This is something we should see more of with airlines taking delivery of the A321XLR. I think the A321XLRs are similar to what we should expect.
Mood lighting, high speed wi-fi, and the usual quiet cabins are what the A321LRs have to offer. The galleys are in the back of the plane, and there are three lavatories in the front, which isn't great for premium economy passengers.
Where are the A321LRs?
SAS is only flying A321LRs for the time being due to lack of long haul demand. SAS has scheduled the two A321LRs to operate the following routes.
As of March 27, 2022, the city of Washington was to be called CPH.
Boston (BOS) to Copenhagen (CPH) as of March 27, 2022.
That is the plan as of now, but it is highly subject to change. The Boston route was supposed to get the A321LR in September 2020. Hopefully the timelines stick this time around.
The first A321LR flight was quietly operated by Scandinavian Airlines. It is cool to see the cabins that will be available when these planes are used for long haul flights. SAS' A321LRs have just 157 seats, and are in a three cabin configuration with a premium economy cabin.
The A321LRs are scheduled to fly between Boston and Washington in late March of 2022, so hopefully that will stick.
What do you think about SAS?
