Airbus goes the extra mile with A321XLR

The Airbus A321XLR took to the skies for the first time on 15 June. STEPHEN BRIDGEWATER was there to
witness the event unfold first hand.

At 11.05am local time on 15 June the prototype Airbus A321XLR lifted off from Hamburg-Finkenwerder
Airport at the start of its historic maiden flight. The four-hour and 35-minute-long flight marks the start
of a test programme that Airbus hopes will result in an airliner that will change the way we fly.

The XLR (Xtra Long Range) is an evolution of the popular A320neo single-aisle family of aircraft but has
been designed to meet post-pandemic market demand for increased range and payload, creating more
value for airlines by enabling economically viable services on longer routes than comparable aircraft
models.

By the time of the prototype’s maiden flight, the A320neo family has accumulated over 8,000 orders
from over 130 customers worldwide and A321XLR accounted for more than 500 of those sales with over
20 customers.

Xtra Long Range

As with all Airbus types the A321XLR is a multinational effort. The sections in green are constructed in
the UK and then shipped to Hamburg for final assembly. (Airbus)

The project was first announced in October 2014 as the 97-tonne A321LR, and Airbus promised an
aircraft with 120 miles greater operational range than a Boeing 757-200 with the same number of seats
along with 24% lower per seat costs. The ‘LR'' was launched the following year with an order from Air
Lease Corporation as the launch customer and was offered in both 164 seat (20 in business, 30 in
premium economy and 114 in economy) or a two-class 206-seat configuration (16 in business and 190 in
economy).

Joint FAA/EASA certification was achieved in October 2018, including 180 minutes ETOPS capabilities
enabling it to operate any of the transatlantic routes.

However, growing demand for even longer range led to Airbus to begin exploring an Xtra Long Range
(XLR) variant in early 2018. According to the manufacturer, the A321XLR will deliver an unprecedented
single-aisle aircraft range of up to 4,700nm (8,700km) – 700nm (1,600km) more than the LR. It will also
offer 30% lower fuel consumption per seat compared to previous-generation aircraft, as well as reduced
NOx emissions and noise.

The aircraft also features the Airbus Cabin Flex configuration, in which a second pair of doors are added
behind the wing, and, crucially, new fuel tanks. The permanent Rear Centre Tank (RCT) replaces the
Additional Centre Tanks (ACTs) fitted to the earlier A321LR and takes up less space in the cargo hold.

Built by Premium Aerotec, the RCT has been designed to maximise the use of the lower fuselage but still
allows capacity for cargo and baggage. In turn, the centre wing box has had to undergo 200
modifications to support the weight of the RCT and its fuel lines.
The 12,900 litre RCT sits behind the main landing gear bay and increases the XLR’s total fuel capacity to
40,000litres. This additional fuel capacity increases the airliner’s MTOW to 101t and this has
necessitated the use of strengthened landing gear as well as a special optimised single-slotted wing
trailing-edge flap. The latter not only preserves take-off performance compared to conventional A320
Family aircraft but also reduces weight, drag and complexity compared to the original double-slotted
inboard flap.

Flight test fleet

The first prototype A321XLR is pushed back prior to its maiden flight on 15 June. It will be joined by two
other flight test development machines. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS)

Following completion, the prototype was handed over to Airbus'' Flight Test department on 3 June and
its engines ran for the first time three days later. High power runs and taxi trials began on 8 June and the
aircraft performed a rejected take off trial on 13 June ahead of its maiden flight two days later. The test
aircraft benefits from a new generation of flight test instrumentation (FTI) and Airbus execs describe it
as “the first ‘fully’ instrumented aircraft.”

Speaking at the post-flight press conference, Airbus’ Head of A321XLR Programme, Gary O’Donnell,
confirmed that the second flight test article – FT#2 – had already confirmed the final assembly stage and
had been passed to the Working Party group where the FTI was being fitted. FT#3 is also complete and
will be fitted with a mix of FTI and a representative cabin interior. Whereas the first prototype is
powered by CFM LEAP 1A engines, FT#2 will be test the Pratt & Whitney GTF powerplant.

O’Donnell also confirmed that the CFM units had been undergoing test aboard a specially configured
A321neo testbed (MSN 6839) to “maximise their readiness for entry into service.”

Maiden flight

Lift off. The A321XLR performs its maiden flight on 15 June. (Stephen Bridgewater/RAeS)

The A321XLR is the first prototype to be assembled and built at Airbus’ Hamburg facility and on 15 June
the excitement among everybody on the airfield was palpable. Coaches shipped in VIPs and proud family
members, eager to see history being made.

Then, as the moment of the first take-off approached seemingly the entire workforce downed tools and
made their way to their chosen vantage point to witness the aircraft taxi out for departure. A sea of hi-
viz jackets could be seen massing on embankments, staircases and scissor lifts across the airfield and as
test pilots Thierry Diez and GabrielDiaz de Villegas Giron eased forward the throttles the cacophony of
camera shutters was soon drowned out by spontaneous cheers, applause and whistling. Years of design
and months of construction culminated in the prototype easing into the sky and climbing away to FL100
to evaluate general handling before retracting the undercarriage and proceeding to FL300 for flutter
tests and other assessments by test engineers Frank Hohmeister, Philippe Pupin and Mehdi Zeddoun.
Test pilots Thierry Diez and GabrielDiaz de Villegas Giron were joined on the maiden flight by test
engineers Frank Hohmeister, Philippe Pupin and Mehdi Zeddoun. (Airbus)

Ahead of the sortie, Airbus said the flight was expected to last between two and a half and three and a
half hours depending on how comfortable the crew were, but in a sign of how successful the test was
considered it was four-hours and 35 minutes before F-WXLR returned to Hamburg. The crew performed
a celebratory wing rock down the runway before landing and taxiing in and being welcomed by the
customary water cannon salute from the airport fire crew.

Safety and certification

Airbus’ Head of A321XLR Programme, Gary O’Donnell explained that EASA concerns over faire safety
were "part of certifying a new aeroplane.” (Steve Bridgewater/RAeS)

Ahead of the test flight news reports began to surface suggesting EASA had fire safety concerns over the
design of the XLR variant. The regulator wants Airbus to take action to lessen the risks associated with
the RCT, which of course is the major component that enables its much publicised extra range. However,
when quizzed during the maiden flight press conference O’Donnell was keen to play down these
worries. “It is perfectly normal for a regulator to raise queries” he repeatedly stated, “that’s part of
certifying a new aeroplane.”

While the XLR is essentially a modification of an existing design, O’Donnell went to great lengths to
emphasise that it was being certificated as if it were a brand-new aircraft.

It is likely that whatever modifications are needed to the RCT to satisfy EASA will add weight to the jet,
and in turn reduce fuel capacity and range – but it could also result in delays to a project that has
already seen the first anticipated A321XLR delivery slip from 2023 to 2024

Game changer?

The A321XLR during its maiden flight. Will it revolutionise air travel? (Airbus)

The Airbus A321XLR is an exciting aircraft in terms of the new point-to-point routes it opens up and it
will expand the narrowbody possibilities for airlines and bring in a new era for passengers. Seldom has
there been so much anticipation ahead of the introduction of a new variant and there have been several
large orders from US carriers keen to use it on transatlantic and transcontinental routes. JetBlue has said
it will use the type for its New York to London flights and other obvious routes include those to Hawaii,
Alaska and South America.

From a European perspective A321XLR operators will have the widebody range to fly to India and the
Middle East and Wizz Air plans to deploy its 47 A321XLRs to Abu Dhabi.
From the Middle East, the aircraft will be able to reach a number of African destinations and Asian
operators could fly from Tokyo to Vancouver, the West Coast of the US, India, Australia and China – it
really could be a gamechanger for the airline market.

In the post-pandemic era, the lower capacity, long range of the XLR could be a preferred option for
many airlines, especially in parts of the world like India where the low cost carriers are really gaining
traction. It is therefore no surprise that the largest XLR order placed so far is for IndiGo, which upped its
requirement from 37 to 69 airframes earlier this year.

However, one thing is yet to be proven – will passengers want to travel such long distances without the
comfort or facilities of a widebody aircraft?

The relative lack of space will doubtless become very noticeable on longer flights, especially in Economy
class areas, but will perhaps be most evident to the crew. Whereas long-haul widebody airframes have
rest areas and sleeping accommodation for crew this is a ‘luxury’ unlikely to afforded to A321XLR cabin
and flight crew.

Nonetheless, the era of long-haul narrowbody flying is upon us – and with Boeing shelving its New
Midsize Aircraft (NMA) programme in January 2020 (just prior to the pandemic), Airbus currently seems
to have unchallenged access to a potentially lucrative marketplace.