Airbus A321

The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the baseline A320 and entered service in 1994, about six years after the original A320. The aircraft shares a common type rating with all other Airbus A320-family variants, allowing A320-family pilots to fly the aircraft without the need for further training.
In December 2010, Airbus announced a new generation of the A320 family, the A320neo (new engine option). The similarly lengthened fuselage A321neo variant offers new, more efficient engines, combined with airframe improvements and the addition of winglets (called Sharklets by Airbus). The aircraft delivers fuel savings of up to 15%. The A321neo carries up to 244 passengers, with a maximum range of 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) for the long-range version when carrying no more than 206 passengers.
Final assembly of the aircraft takes place in Hamburg, Germany, Mobile, Alabama, United States, Tianjin, China, and Toulouse, France. As of January 2025, a total of 3,404 A321 airliners have been delivered, of which 3,323 are in service. In addition, another 5,209 A321neo aircraft are on firm order. American Airlines is the largest operator of the Airbus A321 with 301 examples in its fleet.
The Airbus A321 was the first derivative of the A320, also known as the Stretched A320, A320-500 and A325. Its launch came on 24 November 1988, around the same time as the A320 entered service, after commitments for 183 aircraft from 10 customers were secured.
The maiden flight of the Airbus A321 came on 11 March 1993, when the prototype, registration F-WWIA, flew with IAE V2500 engines; the second prototype, equipped with CFM56-5B turbofans, flew in May 1993. Lufthansa and Alitalia were the first to order the stretched Airbuses, with 20 and 40 aircraft requested, respectively. The first of Lufthansa's V2500-A5-powered A321s arrived on 27 January 1994, while Alitalia received its first CFM56-5B-powered aircraft on 22 March 1994. The A321-100 entered service in January 1994 with Lufthansa.
Final assembly for the A321 was carried out in Germany (then West Germany), a first for any Airbus. This came after a dispute between the French, who claimed that the move would incur $150 million (€135 million) in unnecessary expenditure associated with the new plant, and the Germans, who claimed that it would be more productive for Airbus in the long run. The second production line was located in Hamburg, which later produced the smaller Airbus A319 and A318. For the first time, Airbus entered the bond market, through which it raised $480 million (€475 million) to finance development costs. An additional $180 million (€175 million) was borrowed from European Investment Bank and private investors.
The A321 is the largest variant of the A320 family. The A321-200's length exceeds 44.5 m (146 ft), increasing maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) to 93,000 kg (205,000 lb). Wingspan remained unchanged, supplementing various wingtip devices. Two suppliers provided turbofan engines for the A321: CFM International with its CFM56 and International Aero Engines with the V2500 engine, both in the thrust range of 133–147 kN (30,000–33,000 lbf).
Over 30 years since launch, the A321 MTOW grew by 20% from the 83 t (183,000 lb) -100 to the 101 t (223,000 lb) A321XLR, seating became 10% more dense with 244 seats, up by 24, and range doubled from 2,300 to 4,700 nmi (4,300 to 8,700 km; 2,600 to 5,400 mi). By 2019, 4,200 had been ordered—one-quarter of all Airbus single-aisles—including 2,400 neos, one-third of all A320neo orders.
The Airbus A321 is a narrow-body (single-aisle) aircraft with a retractable tricycle landing gear, powered by two wing pylon-mounted turbofan engines. It is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional tail unit having a single vertical stabilizer and rudder. Changes from the A320 include a fuselage stretch and some modifications to the wing. The fuselage was lengthened by a 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) plug ahead of the wing and a 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) plug behind it, making the A321 6.94 m (22 ft 9 in) longer than the A320. The length increase required the overwing window exits of the A320 to be converted into door exits and repositioned in front of and behind the wings. To maintain performance, double-slotted flaps and minor trailing edge modifications were included, increasing the wing area from 124 m (1,330 sq ft) to 128 m (1,380 sq ft). The centre fuselage and undercarriage were reinforced to accommodate a 9,600 kg (21,200 lb) increase in maximum takeoff weight, taking it to 83,000 kg (183,000 lb).
The variants of A321ceo and A321neo family aircraft are mainly defined by its cabin layout and fuel configuration.
Airbus offers customers with only one fuel configuration with the A321-100.
Airbus offers customers with 3 different fuel configuration options with the A321-200: customers can select up to 2 auxiliary fuel tanks (ACT) in the after cargo hold.
Airbus offers customers with 4 different fuel configuration options with the standard A321neo: customers can select up to 1 auxiliary fuel tank (ACT) in the front cargo hold and up to 2 ACTs in the after cargo hold. The A321neo-ACF with 3 ACTs is exclusively branded as A321LR (Long Range).
Airbus offers customers with 2 different fuel configuration options with the A321XLR: customers can select up to 1 ACT in the front cargo hold.
The original derivative of the A321, the A321-100, had shorter range than the A320 because no extra fuel tank was added to compensate for the increased weight. The MTOW of the A321-100 is 83,000 kg (183,000 lb). The A321-100 entered service with Lufthansa in 1994. Only about 90 were produced; a few were later converted to the A321-200 variant.
Airbus began development of the heavier and longer-range A321-200 in 1995 to give the A321 full-passenger transcontinental US range. This was achieved through higher thrust engines (V2533-A5 or CFM56-5B3), minor structural strengthening, and an increase in fuel capacity with the installation of one or two optional 2,990 L (790 US gal) tanks in the rear underfloor hold. The additional fuel tanks increased the total capacity to 30,030 L (7,930 US gal). These modifications also increased the maximum takeoff weight of the A321-200 to 93,000 kg (205,000 lb). This variant first flew in December 1996, and entered service with Monarch Airlines in April 1997. The following month, Middle East Airlines received its first A321-200 in May 1997. Its direct competitors include the 757-200 and the 737-900/900ER.
On 1 December 2010, Airbus launched the A320neo family (neo for New Engine Option) with 500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) more range and 15% better fuel efficiency, thanks to new CFM International LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines and large sharklets. The lengthened A321neo prototype made its first flight on 9 February 2016. It received its type certification on 15 December 2016. The first entered service in May 2017 with Virgin America.
In October 2014, Airbus started marketing a longer range 97 t (214,000 lb) maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) variant with three auxiliary fuel tanks, giving it 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) more operational range than a Boeing 757-200.
Airbus launched the A321LR (Long Range) on 13 January 2015; it has a range of 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) with 206 seats in two classes. On 31 January 2018, the variant completed its first flight.
Airbus announced its certification on 2 October 2018. On 13 November 2018, Arkia received the first A321LR.
The A321XLR is an A321LR variant with a further increased MTOW intended to compete with the Boeing NMA, which has since been put on hold.
The variant was launched at the June 2019 Paris Air Show, with a range of 4,700 nmi (8,700 km; 5,400 mi). It included a new permanent Rear Centre Tank (RCT) for more fuel, a strengthened landing gear for a 101 t (223,000 lb) MTOW and an optimised wing trailing-edge flap configuration to preserve take-off performance.
In June 2022, the A321XLR completed its first flight. Aer Lingus was originally to be the launch customer of the A321XLR, however, due to internal pilot contract disputes. The first A321XLR was repainted and transferred, making Iberia the launch customer. The first A321XLR was delivered to Iberia on October 30, 2024. The first flight with passengers was on November 6, 2024. The first long-haul flight with passengers was on 14 November 2024, from Madrid to Boston.
While no freighter version of the A321 has been built new by Airbus, a first attempt of converting used A320/321 into freighter aircraft was undertaken by Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH. The program, however, was canceled in 2011 before any aircraft were converted.
On 17 June 2015, ST Aerospace signed agreements with Airbus and EFW for a collaboration to launch the A320/A321 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion programme. The initial converted aircraft first flew on 22 January 2020. On 27 October 2020, the first A321-200P2F was delivered to launch operator Qantas Freight.
The A321-200PCF is a passenger to freighter conversion, developed by Precision Conversions and certificated in 2021.
Sine Draco Aviation also offers an A321 passenger-to-freighter conversion programme; its first conversion is expected for the first quarter of 2022.
On 15 March 2022, Lufthansa Cargo started to operate its A321F, a cargo variant of the A321.
As of January 2025, 3,323 Airbus A321 aircraft (1703 ceo+1620 neo) were in service with more than 100 operators. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines operate the largest A321 fleets of 301 and 196 aircraft, respectively.
Data as of January 2025
For the Airbus A321, 32 aviation accidents and incidents have occurred, including six hull-loss accidents or criminal occurrences with a total of 377 fatalities as of August 2019.
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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