The economy cabin of American Airlines A321XLR.Leslie Josephs/CNBCAmerican Airlines is about to fly passengers to California for the first time on a skinny, long-range plane that it hopes will change air travel. The airline’s head of network planning now has to decide where else it should fly.The first Airbus A321XLR for a U.S. airline is scheduled to take off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Thursday, bound for Los Angeles International Airport.The XLR stands for extra-long-range, and with the ability to go up to 4,700 nautical miles, the plane can fly much farther than cross-country, though New York to Los Angeles is a highly lucrative route.American will focus on routes to smaller European cities from its Philadelphia hub or from New York City that might not warrant the planes in its fleet that are larger and more expensive to operate, like a Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner.American’s senior vice president of network and schedule planning, Brian Znotins, suggested in an interview with CNBC that he is considering destinations like Bordeaux and Marseille in France; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Mallorca and Seville in Spain.”It really opens up the menu for all these destinations that are just too small for a widebody,” Znotins said.Read more CNBC airline newsFrontier Airlines replaces longtime CEO Barry Biffle with carrier’s presidentSouthwest CEO says airline ‘actively pursuing’ network of airport loungesDelta says government shutdown cost it $200 million, but forecasts strong travel demand into 2026The airline will debut the planes in Europe starting in March with a nonstop flight from New York to Edinburgh, Scotland.Airlines are increasingly turning to smaller planes for longer, nonstop flights. JetBlue Airways said it would push its Airbus A321LR — a plane that sits between a regular 321neo and an XLR, for flights to Barcelona and Milan, Italy, next year. The XLR first debuted on American’s partner, Spanish airline Iberia, in November 2024.Premium seatsAmerican Airlines’ Airbus A321XLR features 20 business-class suites with lie-flat seats.Leslie Josephs/CNBCAmerican rolled out its new interior and configuration for the jets with the first flight Thursday. The carrier is focusing heavily on premium seats that will take up a fifth of the plane as its executives try to catch up to more profitable rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Those two airlines in the first nine months of the year together accounted for for nearly 98% of the profits of the four biggest U.S. carriers — which also include American and Southwest Airlines.Unlike American’s Airbus 321T that has 102 seats and separate first-class and business-class cabins, the 321XLRs will have 155 seats: 20 in business class, 12 in premium economy and 123 in main cabin. That is still fewer than the standard Airbus A321s that are in American’s fleet and have 190 seats.The new interior, with dark blue-and caramel hues, is meant as an “ode to Americana,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s senior vice president of customer experience design, who previously worked at Delta.The privacy doors on the suites, however, won’t be able to be closed until early next year because of a certification hold up, an issue that has delayed deliveries of new planes as airlines seek more and more premium seating.American ordered 50 of the XLR jets in 2019. The carrier said it expects to have 40 XLRs by the end of the decade. United also has the planes on order and expects to receive the first next year.American retired its Boeing 757s and 767s, planes used often for international routes, during the pandemic and is now looking to rethink its network, while United — and Delta to a lesser degree — held onto older long-range jets.American has also been increasing its investment in cabin refreshes and larger lounges. The airline said Wednesday that it will revamp …
