The United Airlines placed an order for 50 A321XLRs, which is the new ultra long range and fuel efficient evolution of the A321. The plane is expected to enter service in 2023 and will only be delivered to United in 2024.
We have a sense of what to expect from the interiors of these jets.
What to expect from the cabins of United.
Patrick Quayle, United's SVP of International Network & Alliances, was interviewed by Executive Traveller and discussed United's plans for the A321XLR. None of the keyTakeaways should come as a surprise.
The Polaris business class seat can't be installed on narrow body aircraft, so United will introduce an all new Polaris seat.
Premium Plus premium economy will be installed on the A321XLR, which is only found on wide body aircraft.
Newark to Edinburgh and Newark to Bogota are some of the routes where the plane could be found.
United will use the A321XLRs to replace Boeing 757s in some markets that the economics didn't make sense in the past, and also to expand to some markets where the economics didn't make sense before.
United Premium Plus is on a plane.
I think this is what we would have expected. Many airlines will likely be configuring their A321XLRs in a premium configuration, since that is how the economics most make sense for long haul service. The seat counts on these planes will be closer to 150 than 200.
American has the same plans for its A321XLRs.
American Airlines was the first major US carrier to order the A321XLR, and the airline has ordered 50 of the aircraft, which will be delivered in 2023. American is expected to get 22 of these planes in the next two years, and 20 of them in the next five years.
American plans to install a business class product with fully flat seats and direct aisle access, as well as a premium economy cabin. American retired its entire Boeing 757 and 767 fleet, which makes them more of an immediate need than United.
American can't currently serve many long haul markets because of the smallest long haul aircraft, the Boeing 787.
American Airlines has 50 A321XLRs on order.
What kind of product can we expect?
How much innovation can we expect in business class? Some of the most impressive products we currently see on long haul configured A321s are interesting to look at.
La Compagnie is an all-business class airline. The seats are not cutting edge, but the layout is.
The A321neo cabin is named La Compagnie.
Aer Lingus, TAP Air Portugal, and Scandinavian Airlines all have business class seating. That is a good product for the type of plane and the single seats are good. This is not a cutting edge product, as these seats have been found on wide body planes for years.
Aer Lingus has a cabin.
The first A321s to feature direct aisle access from every premium seat are being used by JetBlue. The seats on the plane are a step backwards, as they are not up to date and are facing the aisle.
The cabin of the airline is called the A321LR.
The only new seat I know of is STELIA's OPERA seat, which is a modified reverse herringbone seat with a door. This looks great for a narrow body aircraft, so my money would be on airlines like American and United selecting this as their business class seat.
The bottom line.
New Polaris business class seats will be added to United Airlines' Premium Plus premium economy cabin. It matches American's plans, so it shouldn't come as a surprise.
The cabins of some of the A321XLRs will be on order soon. We will have to wait a bit longer for United to reveal their cabins, though American should have their A321XLRs in service next year.
What do you think about United's plans?
