Airbus unveils longest single-aisle plane, ready by 2023

The European plane maker Airbus launched a new single-aisle long-range aircraft on Monday, June 17, at the Paris Air Show, announcing that the plane will be ready for sale in 2023.

The new A321XLR jet is set to beat rival Boeing to the market in this category of aircraft.

Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer was at the air show event in Le Bourget in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, to announce the debut.

The A321XLR, capable of flying 4,700-nautical-mile range, will allow airline operators to open new long-range routes, said Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer at the 53rd International Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, France, on June 17, 2019. (Screenshot/AP Video)

Speaking at a news conference, Scherer introduced the new fancy A321XLR to a team of journalists.

The A321XLR jet is “an aircraft capable of 4,700 nautical miles of range in a typical longer-range configuration,” said Scherer. He stated that the new single-aisle jet is “the lowest risk investment deployment for an airline opening new routes in that sector range.”

This means that the newly announced jet will enable airlines to operate a lower-cost single-aisle aircraft on longer and less heavily traveled routes, according to a press statement on airbus.com website.

Ad will display in 09 seconds

Scherer mentioned the type of ranges the new single-aisle jet could achieve.

“We can fly from northeastern Asia into south Asia, Delhi for example,” said Scherer. “We can fly from the Middle East down to Bali,” he continued citing more examples. “We can fly from Japan deep into Australia, across the Atlantic” and “deep from Europe into deep into North America,” added Scherer as he talked about the wide-ranging potentials of the A321XLR.

The A321 Extra Long Range jet combines fuel efficiency and enables airlines to pioneer new global routes, like Tokyo to Sydney, Delhi (India) to London, or London to Miami, on June 17, 2019. (Screenshot/Airbus.com)

This will mean that airline operators can pioneer new global routes, like China to Australia or India to Europe.

And passengers will enjoy a cutting-edge airspace cabin and seats that offer the same comfort as the long-haul wide-body aircraft.

But, Scherer would not reveal the price of the new jet. He stated that the A321XLR is essentially an improved version of the existing A321 and hence the cost will be much less than constructing an entirely new aircraft.

Airbus’s announcement took the limelight at the Paris Air Show that is attended by key players in the aviation industries.

The European plane maker took the limelight on the opening day of the Paris Air show that will take place from 17 to 23 June 2019 at the Exhibition Center of Le Bourget, a few kilometers north of Paris, June 17, 2019. (Screenshot/AP Video)

Immediately after the new jet’s debut, Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corporation signs a letter of intent to buy 27 of the new Airbus planes.

Meanwhile, Boeing is also looking at building a new jet, dubbed the New Midsize Airplane, or NMA that will match the A321XLR in size. The NMA will fill a void in the Boeing’s range of aircrafts, between the smaller 737s, the larger 777, and the 787 aircraft.