With its inaugural crossing of the Atlantic just 60 days away, a few new details have emerged about the Iberia‘s new A321XLR interior configuration. The carrier selected Thompson Aero (long rumored) and Recaro (previously confirmed) as its seating providers.
As part of a US DOT filing related to wheelchair accessibility on board (pax will be required to use an Iberia-provided aisle chair, not their own), several dimensional details around the cabin are now known. While dated January 2024, the details appear to align with the configuration now for sale by Iberia.
Vantage Solo for Iberia A321XLR Business Class
Iberia selected the Vantage Solo seat from Thompson Aero for its business class cabin. This is the same seat as flown by JetBlue on newer A321neo and A321LR aircraft for some transcon and all transatlantic service. Saudia also selected the seat for its A321XLR fleet. United is expected to go a different direction with the Adient seat while American Airlines chose the Collins Aerospace Aurora seat. The reverse herringbone layout places passengers heads near the window and feet closer to the aisle.
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The Layout of Passenger Accommodation (“LOPA”) document does not clearly indicate a special “first row” experience for passengers, simply noting that a monument is under development for Iberia. It also does not entirely rule that out. It does, however, show that row one will be equipped with bassinet mounting hardware. The first row does not show the same stowage cabinets at the seat as the other rows.
Within the business class cabin most of the rows are pitched at 34″, with a suite 62″ wide from the fuselage interior to the aisle. Row one (33″) and row seven (32″) are slightly tighter, which should lead to slightly shorter bed lengths.
Read more: Aurora single-aisle lie-flat business class seats unveiled by Collins Aerospace
The drawings also indicate that the stowage bins over 1A and 2A are not available to passengers. Instead they carry emergency equipment for the flight. The bin over 1F is partially filled with emergency gear as well.
Recaro’s R3 for Iberia A321XLR Economy Class
In economy class passengers will be seated in Recaro’s R3, formerly known as the CL3810. This is the top end seat in Recaro’s economy class product line, designed for increased comfort on medium- and long-haul flights. The LOPA shows most rows with 30″ of pitch, which is not great for longer hops, but this varies throughout the cabin.
The first row of Economy (marketed as “XL” by Iberia) has significantly more legroom, with nearly 25″ between the front edge of the seat and the bulkhead. Entertainment screens for that row are mounted on the wall rather than in the seat arms. Tray tables are in the arms instead, per the drawings.
This row is also designated for bassinet services if needed. Bulkhead seats will not feature an airbag seatbelt, per the LOPA. Instead they will have a “Y Belt” which includes four mount points (a “Y” on each end) to the seat frame to reduce head and neck injury risk in case of a crash.
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Row 27, just in front of the over wing exits, does not recline. Neither does row 28, the first of the two over wing exit rows. The latter does, however, have 40″ pitch to accommodate the exit. Row 29 is pitched at 39″. Both exit rows also have the tray tables in the armrests to accommodate the increased seat pitch. The window exit row seats have a “stub” armrest against the fuselage to accommodate the exits.
Aft of the exit row the economy class cabin becomes slightly asymmetrical. Rows 31-39 DEF are all pitched at 31″; on the ABC side only rows 31-32 get the extra inch. Row 48, at the very back of the plane, also gets an extra inch but limited recline in DEF and no recline in C.
Rows 37, 38, 47, and 48 are flagged as having slightly narrower seats due to changes in the fuselage dimensions. At 37/38 it is tied to a plugged exit door. At the back the taper of the plane drives the change.
For overhead stowage, the bins at rows 36-39 are slightly shallower than those in the rest of the cabin, owing to the exit door plug at 38. The bin over 48 is blocked from passengers use to carry emergency equipment.
Finally, the aft galley has a single lav forward of the exit door on the ABC side and a Space-Flex v2 double lav to the rear of the exit door.
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At last an airline (albeit a horrible one) has the sense to put Business Class widow seats next to the window and not the aisle.
It is still at a 45 degree angle, so looking out is rough. But, yes, closer to your head.
Hello Seth, any link to the detailled LOPA available? I was not able to find it in the article.
The filing that included the LOPA has been withdrawn: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2024-2374-0001.
I still have the original copies I downloaded, but I also respect – to an extent – the concerns expressed by the airline and manufacturer of the sensitive nature of their content. I’m not going out of my way to amplify the distribution, beyond the excerpts I’ve shared here.