The first delivery of the new Airbus A321XLR will take place in the second half of October, a spokesman for Spanish airline Iberia said after being consulted by Reuters.
This reflects a delay of several weeks, as planned by the European manufacturer. In July Airbus said it expected the first A321XLR to be delivered “at the end of the summer.”
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The airline will initially operate the aircraft on two European routes, Madrid-London and Madrid-Paris, before making its transatlantic debut on the Madrid-Boston route.
The A321XLR was launched in 2019 with an initial target for entry to service of 2023 to help airlines open new routes without the need to fill up larger wide-body aircraft.
The debut A321XLR delivery was originally earmarked for Iberia’s sister airline Aer Lingus but was switched to the Spanish network by parent group IAG earlier this year amid uncertainty during a recent Aer Lingus pilots’ strike.
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