Aegean Airlines is adding the A321XLR to its fleet, with plans to serve India from early 2026. The deal calls for two aircraft to join the the fleet, in addition to the prior A321LR order of four planes announced in 2024.
At the time of that order announcement Aegean teased India service as a potential with the A321LR aircraft. Mumbai and Delhi are, however, at the edge of the nominal range of the A321LR from Athens. With the XLR order those destinations are now more accessible, and coming online faster.
The A321neo XLR and LR aircraft mark the beginning of a new chapter for AEGEAN, with new possibilities for growth but also new options for our passengers and the connectivity of our country.
– Eftichios Vassilakis, AEGEAN Chairman
The carrier confirms the new aircraft will be configured with 138 seats, including 24 “Business Class Suites” promising lie-flat beds with “increased privacy” (but not explicitly doors) and direct aisle access.
Aegean also indicates the aircraft will include satellite Wi-Fi, 4K screens for inflight entertainment, and charging points for personal electronics in the cabin.
Perhaps most notable with this announcement is that Airbus managed to find two A321XLR delivery slots on such short notice. The production line is theoretically sold out more or less through the end of the decade. Finding two XLRs for delivery in six months’ time implies another airline declined to accept units already in the production flow (though likely not at the FAL yet). And does this mean Aegean is accepting the interior fittings – seats, entertainment, connectivity – of the prior order holder or its own kit?
Perhaps it is worth mentioning JetBlue‘s A321LR is configured with 138 seats, including 24 business class. And the configuration is rather comfortable, both in business class and economy. That carrier deferred more than 40 A321neo orders just last year. Theoretically a couple of those could be these new Aegean planes??
Narrowing, Delaying the Future
The XLR announcement also tips two other bits about the A321LR fleet plans. When the order was announced the deliveries were expected in 2026-2027. That’s now slipped a year to 2027-2028. No doubt that slip is part of why Aegean is keen to add these two planes sooner to get the India service running.
Additionally, Aegean tipped several potential long-haul markets as part of the initial announcement. That group narrowed in the more recent release, and added a few new potential destinations, while dropping mention of others.
The Maldives, Seychelles, and Bangalore are among the new destinations mentioned this time around. Those three markets are all further flung than Delhi and Mumbai, so it will be interesting to see if those other four pending aircraft pivot to the A321XLR rather than arrive as A321LRs. Or is Aegean simply taking the XLRs because they were available sooner?
Map generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.
The carrier also put several other destinations – from China to South Africa – on its map above, so there is plenty of room to grow.
On the plus side, with the accelerated XLR deliveries Aegean is sharing its expectation for 5x weekly service to Delhi from March 2026 and 3x weekly to Mumbai from May 2026. Specific schedules will be finalized in the months ahead, with tickets expected to be available from the end of September.
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ex Wizz Air XLRs?
For all the reasons detailed in the post I believe they’re JetBlue NTUs, not Wizz. Among other things, I don’t think Wizz has formally deferred any yet. And unloading them that quickly – and getting them retrofit – after shutting down the AUH ops would be an incredible pace.