Airlines Say Long-Range Narrowbodies Key To Cutting Risk

SEVILLE, Spain—Longer-range narrowbodies like the Airbus A321XLR will redefine networks through flexibility and efficiency—not just range, according to panelists at Routes Europe 2025.

Speaking here at the route development conference in Seville, representatives from Air Canada, Icelandair, Aer Lingus and London Gatwick Airport shared how such aircraft are enabling fresh approaches to seasonal scheduling, risk mitigation and hub expansion.

“We’ve been experimenting with long-haul narrowbodies for quite a while,” said Nicholas Draganovici, senior manager of network and fleet strategy at Air Canada. “We used to operate the A319 from St. John’s to Heathrow and flew the [Boeing] 737 MAX from Toronto to Shannon pre-pandemic. But the A321XLR is really going to push the envelope further east into Europe.”

Air Canada expects to receive its first XLRs within the year, but the exact timing remains uncertain. “It’s still ‘ish’—as firm as it can be,” Draganovici said. “We’ll be excited when we have it on the ground in Toronto or Montreal.”

While the aircraft has a stated 5,400-mi. (4,700-nm) range, it is the economics that airlines are most excited about. “The overall trip cost versus a widebody could be half in some situations,” Draganovici said. “That increases the threshold of what’s possible for us to fly, especially in the winter.”

The A321XLR is also central to Air Canada’s strategy of reinforcing its hubs, particularly in Montreal. “We’ve rebuilt our Montreal and Toronto hubs much stronger post-pandemic,” Draganovici said. “Montreal’s location in the northeast really captures a lot of the North American passenger demand over to Europe. We’ve focused on itineraries building into secondary points into the U.S., leveraging destinations already operated out of Toronto.

“The XLR will allow us to expand those unique connection points and further grow and leverage our geography further east.”

For Icelandair, the transition from 757s to 737 MAX and A321LR variants is already reshaping operations. “Nashville is a great example of a relatively thin route that we would not have been able to launch on the 757,” said Snorri Tomasson, Icelandair’s director of network planning and scheduling. “The MAX has a low trip cost and 160 seats—ideal for that kind of market.”

The flexibility is allowing Icelandair to rethink not just where it flies, but how it builds its daily hub structure in Reykjavik. “The 757s had low ownership costs, so we could leave them on the ground. But the MAX and XLR require high utilization,” Tomasson said. “We’re adjusting our bank structure to get more out of these assets.”

From an airport perspective, London Gatwick’s Stephanie Wear, vice president of aviation development, highlighted how aircraft like the A321XLR are helping airports maximize slot efficiency.

“At Gatwick, we’re the world’s busiest single-runway airport, so aircraft mix really matters,” Wear said. “A code C aircraft like the XLR can get off the runway faster than an A380, so we can maintain more movements per hour. It helps us to maximise the use of the runway.”

She added that the XLR’s role in making thinner, year-round routes viable is a major win for both large and small airports. “Seasonality has become a much bigger issue post-pandemic,” Wear said. “This aircraft allows you to do routes year-round that wouldn’t be viable with a widebody.”

Aer Lingus’s Marta Drozdz echoed that point, saying the XLR helps reduce risk. “You can flood the market too easily with widebodies,” Drozdz said. “Our A321XLR has 180 seats—significantly fewer than our A330s—and it’s just perfect for developing new destinations. The XLR lets us manage the risk much more carefully.”

Aer Lingus will launch its first A321XLR route on April 12, connecting Dublin and Nashville, Tennessee, four times per week. Drozdz said the airline sees the aircraft type serving routes with a range of about 4,000 mi.