SAS will fly the new single-aisle A321LR to Boston
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has joined a growing number of full-service European carriers planning to use new, longer-range narrowbody aircraft on transatlantic routes. The airline will take delivery of the first of three Airbus A321LR (the LR stands for "long range") aircraft in September 2020 and plans to deploy it on routes to Boston. The new plane will be put on the currently seasonal Copenhagen (CPH) to Boston (BOS) route, replacing the widebody Airbus A330 currently operating the flight. With fewer seats to fill, the A321LR will allow SAS to operate the route year-round.
The airline has explained in a press release on Friday that the new aircraft "gives SAS an opportunity to offer travelers more intercontinental routes, fewer stopovers and shorter travel times to and from Scandinavia. The new aircraft is equipped with a service concept at par with the rest of SAS' long-haul fleet." SAS plans to operate a three-class configuration with 22 flat-bed business-class seats, 12 premium-economy seats and 123 economy seats. While premium-economy seats on widebody aircraft are usually wider than standard economy seats, the space limitations in the single-aisle A321LR mean the premium-economy seats will likely be more like extra-legroom economy seats; it's unlikely SAS will use anything less than a 3-3 layout in premium economy, the same as in the economy cabin.
SAS follows TAP Portugal and Aer Lingus, which are already using this aircraft type for some services between mainland Europe and the east coast of North America.
Related: Lie-flat on a narrow-body: What it's like to fly on Aer Lingus' A321LR in business class
Boston Logan Airport will see more A321LRs in the future, with JetBlue planning to launch its first flights to Europe from Boston and New York (JFK) to London using the aircraft type.