Airbus SE lifted the veil on a new model, the A321 XLR, a bid by the European planemaker to capture untapped demand for long-range flights on smaller planes.
The manufacturer gave details about the jet on the first day of the Paris Air Show, seeking to take advantage of rival Boeing Co’s woes related to two fatal crashes and drum up orders for the long-anticipated jet. The A321 XLR could fly on transatlantic routes and has a range of 4,700 nautical miles.
The XLR is a new longer-range variant of the best-selling A320neo family aimed at part of the medium-haul segment that Boeing rival is also eyeing with its New Midmarket Airplane still in development.
Airbus won a mega-order for about 100 aircraft from Air Lease Corp that includes a mix of A321 XLRs as well as smaller A220 jetliners acquired from Bombardier Inc.
