Air Canada A321XLR to Feature 14 Private Lie-Flat Business Class Suites
Air Canada placed an order last year for 30 Airbus A321XLR jets that were originally expected to start delivery in late 2024. The delivery date is now pushed back to 2025, but the airline has revealed some details about the new aircraft.
Air Canada’s fleet of Airbus A321XLR jets will feature 14 private lie-flat business class suites, which will also feature a fresh, warmer and even more Canadian ‘look and feel’. The news comes from an Executive Traveller interview with Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President Marketing and Digital.
“Those aircraft will feature 14 Signature Class suites in a 1-1 layout – so that’s all-aisle access, obviously – and these will be private flatbed suites,” Nasr says.
Air Canada has chosen London-based studio Acumen to work on the A321XLR business class suites. That’s the same company that worked on JetBlue’s A321LR Mint business class and Etihad’s Airbus A380 The Residence and The Apartment suites.
The A321XLRs will not have any premium economy seats. “The major reason they won’t have premium economy is that we’re going to fly those aircraft on our longer transcontinental routes within Canada and the US, and also on the Atlantic,” Nasr said. “The market for premium economy is very strong across the Atlantic but it’s still a developing market within North America, so we figured the business/economy split was ideal for this aircraft.”
Nasr said the A321XLR fleet “will introduce a new design standard for our cabins, our interiors, our lounges, really for all facets of our customer-facing experience.” That design will also feature in the second generation of Air Canada’s twin-aisle Boeing 777 and 787 business class seats.
