Air Canada says it is acquiring 26 new extra-long range Airbus A321neo aircraft that will have a range of approximately and 8,700 km. (11 hours) and be able to operate non-stop anywhere across North America and, pending Transport Canada approval, also fly transatlantic routes.
The aircraft will be able to carry 182 passengers with 14 lie flat seats and 168 economy class seats.
Fifteen of the aircraft will be leased from Air Lease Corp. and five will be leased from AerCap. Air Canada will also buy six under a deal with Airbus S.A.S. that includes purchase rights for an additional 14 aircraft between 2027 and 2030.
Financial terms of the deals were not immediately available.
The A321XLR will be used both for incremental growth of Air Canada’s fleet and to replace older, less-efficient aircraft expected to exit the fleet. As a result, the new aircraft will yield significant operational cost savings and environmental benefits. Air Canada projects it will have up to 17% lower fuel burn per seat than the previous generation narrow-body on a typical transcontinental flight and a projected reduction of up to 23% versus previous generation wide-body aircraft on a transatlantic flight.
The aircraft is also expected to be quieter for passengers and airports than the aircraft being replaced.
“Air Canada is committed to further strengthen its market-leading position, especially through investments in new technology,” said Michael Rousseau, President and CEO of Air Canada. “The acquisition of the state-of-the-art Airbus A321XLR is an important element of this strategy and will drive our core priorities of elevating the customer experience, advancing our environmental goals, network expansion and increasing our overall cost efficiency. This order also shows that Air Canada is emerging strongly from the pandemic and is ideally positioned to grow, compete, and thrive in a reshaped global aviation industry,”
The airline says deliveries are to begin in the first quarter of 2024 with the last aircraft to arrive in the first quarter of 2027.
As of Dec. 31, 2021, Air Canada had a combined 214 aircraft in its mainline and Air Canada Rouge fleets, including 136 single-aisle, narrow-body aircraft.