This week, American Airlines has taken delivery of its very first Airbus A321XLR, making it the first US carrier to start flying this aircraft. With the first of theses now in the United States, American has also shared some “real” pictures of what we can expect onboard, so let’s take a look at everything we know about the aircraft.
Many airline executives view the A321XLR as an exciting plane that can open up long and thin routes that couldn’t necessarily be served by wide body jets (and others don’t view the plane that way). The A321XLR is both a blessing and a curse for passengers, and I’ve reviewed the Aer Lingus A321XLR and Iberia A321XLR (the two airlines were the launch customer for the aircraft).
Initially, American was supposed to start taking delivery of A321XLRs in 2023. Heck, the airline was already supposed to have most of these jets — the initial plan called for eight A321XLRs in 2023, 20 in 2024, and 20 in 2025. However, due to delays with aircraft certification, that’s not how it played out.
Now American has finally taken delivery of its first of these aircraft. The plane has the registration code N303NY, and it flew from Hamburg (XFW) to Dallas (DFW) on October 22, 2025, in a flight time of 11hr9min.
American’s first A321XLR is expected to start commercial flights as of mid-December 2025, initially flying between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX). Eventually all premium transcontinental flights are expected to be operated by A321XLRs, replacing the special A321T subfleet. Those planes are starting to be reconfigured into a standard domestic layout, and American is temporarily flying 777s on some of those flights.
Then as of March 2026, we can expect the airline to launch transatlantic flights with the plane (though those flights aren’t yet on sale). American has already started pilot training for long haul A321XLR operations.
What to expect onboard American’s Airbus A321XLRs
American’s Airbus A321XLRs are in a three-cabin layout, with business class, premium economy, and economy. The planes feature a total of 155 seats, which includes 20 business class seats, 12 premium economy seats, and 123 economy seats (you can find the seat map here).
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
