Iberia has taken delivery of the first Airbus A321XLR, the longest-range variant of the A321neo family.
The Spanish flag-carrier is set to become the initial operator of the type.
Iberia’s reservations engine indicates that it will put the twinjet into service on the Madrid-Boston route on 14 November.
“The A321XLR will allow us to reach new destinations, operating transoceanic routes and doing so in a more efficient way,” says Iberia chief executive Marco Sansavini.
Powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines, the aircraft (EC-OIL) is scheduled to depart from Hamburg Finkenwerder to Madrid on 30 October.
The jet is configured with 182 seats in a two-class layout.
Airbus says the carrier will use it on European familiarisation flights before deploying it on the transatlantic sector.
The airframer secured European certification of the A321XLR in mid-July, just over two years after its maiden flight.
It features a large aft centre fuel tank, replacing smaller auxiliary tanks, and gives the aircraft a range of up to 4,700nm.
But handover of the first aircraft to Iberia – which Airbus had hoped to achieve around the end of September or beginning of October – has taken longer than expected.
Airbus commercial aircraft chief Christian Scherer says the XLR “truly opens a new chapter in air connectivity” and enables “countless new nonstop destinations”.
