Aer Lingus operated the inaugural A321XLR service to Shannon Airport on Saturday 17 January, marking the aircraft’s first commercial operation into the airport. The flight was operated by EI-XLW, an Airbus A321-253NY(XLR) (msn 12463), flying a W-pattern rotation in lieu of an Airbus A320neo.
The aircraft operated as EIN164 from Dublin to London Heathrow before continuing as EIN385 to Shannon, arriving at 15:28 local time. It subsequently departed Shannon as EIN386 at 17:12, returning to Dublin as EIN177. The deployment demonstrates the A321XLR’s flexibility on short-haul services.
Aer Lingus has configured its A321XLR fleet with 184 seats in a two-class layout, comprising 16 full-flat Business Class seats and 168 Economy Class seats. The cabin features Airbus’ latest Airspace enhancements, including larger overhead bins offering up to 60% more capacity for cabin baggage, wider seats, updated in-flight entertainment systems and improved acoustic engineering to reduce cabin noise.
The A321XLR delivers up to a 20% reduction in fuel burn per seat compared with previous-generation single-aisle aircraft and is capable of operating with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
Image Credit: BNA Airport
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