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New York to Rome on a Single-Aisle Jet? Sure, if Airbus Has Its Way

Zach Wichter
Zach Wichter
Aviation Industry Reporter
Zach has been interested in things that go since he was a kid. He previously worked at The New York Times and spent much of his time there covering the aviation industry, including contributing to the paper’s reporting on the 737 Max crisis at Boeing. He grew up in Bethpage, on Long Island, and graduated from Northwestern University in 2013 where he majored in journalism and gender and sexuality studies.
June 17, 2019
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2 min read
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New York to Rome on a Single-Aisle Jet? Sure, if Airbus Has Its Way
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Airbus introduced the newest member of its A320 family on Monday: the A321XLR. The new variant has a range of about 5,400 miles, and according to Airbus, a 30% increase in fuel efficiency over some of its competitors.

The new plane, introduced at the 2019 Paris Air Show, really expands the map of cities that could be linked by direct air service. With the A321XLR, airlines will have an extremely economical option for long-haul flights, according to Airbus. The plane can fit almost as many passengers as some smaller wide-body jets, but with narrow-body economics; that means airlines will be able to use the XLR on routes that did not have enough demand to profitably fill bigger jets with higher operating costs.

The plane is well-positioned to replace aging Boeing 757s in many fleets, especially as Boeing continues to focus on fixing its 737 MAX before releasing plans for its rumored new mid-range aircraft.

Here are just some of the city pairs that could (theoretically) see very long-range narrow-body service once the A321XLR begins flying:

New York – Rome

Boston – Dubrovnik, Croatia

Charlotte, North Carolina - Berlin

Atlanta - Barcelona

Washington – Lisbon

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida – London

Miami – Buenos Aires

Chicago – Casablanca

Houston – Honolulu

London – Delhi

Sydney – Tokyo

Dubai – Cape Town

Seoul – Doha

Istanbul – Maldives

Featured image by A rendering of the Airbus A321XLR