Here’s what’s inside the new US long-haul Airbus A321 XLR

American airlines On Thursday, the first customers boarded a slim, long-haul plane that he hopes will change air travel. The airline’s network planner must now decide where it wants to fly.

A U.S. airline’s first Airbus A321XLR took off Thursday from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport around noon ET, bound for Los Angeles International Airport.

XLR stands for extra long range, and with the ability to go up to 4,700 nautical miles, the aircraft can fly much further than cross-country, although New York to Los Angeles is a very lucrative route.

American will focus on routes to smaller European cities from its Philadelphia hub or from New York, which may not justify planes in its fleet that are larger and more expensive to operate, such as a Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

American’s senior vice president of network and schedule planning, Brian Znotins, suggested in an interview with CNBC that it was considering destinations like Bordeaux and Marseille in France; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Majorca and Seville in Spain.

“It really opens up the menu for all those destinations that are just too small for a widebody,” Znotins said.

The airline will launch its planes in Europe starting in March with a non-stop flight from New York to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Airlines are increasingly turning to smaller planes for longer, nonstop flights. JetBlue Airways said it would push its Airbus A321LR – a plane that sits between a regular 321neo and an XLR, for flights to Barcelona, ​​Spain and Milan next year. The XLR debuted on Spanish airline Iberia, a US partner, in November 2024.

American rolled out its new interior and configuration for the jets with the first flight on Thursday.

The carrier is focusing heavily on premium seats which will take up a fifth of the plane as its executives try to catch up with more profitable rivals. Delta Airlines And United Airlines. In the first nine months of the year, these two airlines together accounted for almost 98% of the profits of the four largest US carriers – which also include American and Southwest Airlines.

Unlike the American Airbus 321T which has 102 seats and separate cabins in first class and business class, the 321XLR will have 155 seats: 20 in business class, 12 in premium economy and 123 in the main cabin. This is even less than the standard Airbus A321s which are part of the American fleet and have 190 seats.

The new interior, with dark blue and caramel hues, is meant to be an “ode to Americana,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s senior vice president of customer experience design, who previously worked at Delta.

The suites’ private doors, however, cannot be closed until early next year due to a certification delay, a problem that has delayed deliveries of new planes as airlines increasingly seek premium seats.

American ordered 50 XLR jets in 2019. The carrier said it plans to have 40 XLRs available by the end of the decade. United also has the planes on order and hopes to receive the first ones next year.

American retired its Boeing 757s and 767s, planes often used for international routes, during the pandemic and is now looking to redesign its network, while United – and Delta to a lesser extent – ​​have retained older long-haul planes.

American has also increased its investments in cabin refreshes and larger lounges. The airline announced Wednesday that it will revamp its Admirals Club at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to increase the number of seats by 50 percent.

As these investments are made, the company’s managers are now trying to balance their spending (on products such as new salons and champagne) and their earnings.

“You’re not going to close the margin gap by just continuing to drive costs alone,” Nat Pieper, American’s new chief commercial officer and longtime airline executive, told CNBC. “Are Americans going to spend more so they can pursue premium income and improve their bottom line? Yes, we do, but let’s do it smart.”

Meanwhile, American this week quietly removed the ability for customers on its cheapest, basic economy tickets to earn frequent flyer miles and status points.

American was the first U.S. carrier to place an order for XLR more than six years ago. The planes have an extra fuel tank that gives them greater range, ushering in an era of lighter flights for long journeys that can easily exceed eight hours, and testing passengers’ willingness to take a smaller plane.

The 321XLR also shows how aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing continued to rely on older aircraft designs rather than creating an entirely new aircraft.