Image courtesy of Conor O’Flaherty

Aer Lingus 26th July received the first of fourteen Airbus A321NEO-LR ordered with a further three aircraft to be delivered by year end. The aircraft EI-LRA MSN 8887 was delivered Hamburg Finkenwerder to Dublin as ‘Shamrock 2395’ touching in Dublin at 2116 local then proceeded to Hangar 6 for post delivery modifications.

Aer Lingus’ A321LR will feature 16 lie-flat Business Class seats  produced by Irish seat maker Thompson and customised by London’s Factory Design to include more personal storage and space in the seat zone and and 168 Economy Class seats. The aircraft is powered by CFM International’s LEAP-1A engines.

Aer Lingus A321LR will be operated on the Dublin-Hartford route at its entry into service scheduled 2nd August.

Aer Lingus becomes the fifth operator of the A321LR joining Air Transat, Arkia Airlines, Azores Airlines and TAP-Air Portugal.  The Blue Swan Daily stated “The A321neoLR certainly has the potential to change the market and open up significantly more thinner medium and long haul point to point markets” ( February 2018).

The A321LR is a member of the A320neo Family, with over 6,500 orders by more than 100 customers. It delivers 30% fuel savings and nearly 50% reduction in noise footprint compared to previous-generation competitor aircraft. With a range of up to 4,000nm (7,400km) the A321LR is the unrivalled long-range route opener and for increasing frequencies on existing city pairs.

Aer Lingus operates 52 Airbus aircraft with 34 Airbus A320, 3 Airbus A321, 1 Airbus A321NEO-LR and 5 Airbus A330-200 and 8 Airbus A330-300 in its fleet.

IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling, placed an order at the Paris Air Show for 14 A321XLRs, including eight for Iberia and six for Aer Lingus which will launch in 2023 and will have a range of 5,400 miles, giving it 15% more range than the A321LR.

Irish Aviation Research Institute © 27th July 2019 All Rights Reserved