Air Canada receives its first Airbus A321XLR

Little less than ten days ago, Air Canada had revealed its new cabin interiors designed for the A321XLR. Now it has just received its first aircraft of this type directly from Airbus. This could be a game changer for Air Canada’s long-range transatlantic operations.

In this post:

• Air Canada finally has its first Airbus A321XLR
• C-GXLR Is Air Canada’s first delivered Airbus A321XLR
• 29 More To Go – Operating Across the Atlantic

Air Canada finally has its first Airbus A321XLR

With American Airlines already having taken delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR, Air Canada is now a proud operator of the aircraft type too.

The Canadian airline released just a couple of weeks ago what its cabin interiors are going to look like on its Airbus A321XLRs. It will be fitted with a two-class configuration, with lie-flat beds in business class and a standard 3-3 configuration in economy class.

From Air Canada’s perspective, the Airbus A321XLR has all the potential to become a game changer. The aircraft fits perfectly into the airline’s schedule of flights operating transatlantically between Canada’s east coast and Europe.

It will enable Air Canada to operate thin and long routes between its major hubs and secondary destinations in Europe, or alternatively, to up frequencies on high-demand sectors.

C-GXLR Is Air Canada’s first delivered Airbus A321XLR

Funnily enough, Air Canada has chosen a rather telling registration number for this first Airbus A321XLR to join its fleet.

C-GXLR it is the first Air Canada Airbus A321XLR, the aircraft will feature 14 lie-flat business signature class beds. That is the first time that Air Canada has fitted this single-aisle aircraft with its flagship business class product.

Business class seats will be in a 1-1 layout in the first 7 rows of the aircraft.

The aircraft came off the production line in Hamburg and was handed over to Air Canada on April 24th, 2026. The aircraft then performed an 8h10 flight across the Atlantic on flight number AC7137 from Hamburg (XFW) to Windsor (YQG).

Last work will be applied to the aircraft, and then it will finally enter service with the Air Canada fleet.

29 More To Go – Operating Across the Atlantic

C-GXLR it was the first of a total of 30 Airbus A321XLR that Air Canada is planning to receive.

Fifteen of those thirty will come directly from Airbus, with the remaining fifteen handed over from leasing firm SMBC Aviation Capital.

The aircraft will become the backbone of many operations for Air Canada across the Atlantic. A321XLRs will be based in both Montreal and Toronto, which are Air Canada’s main hubs for transatlantic services.

However, it won’t be unusual to also see the A321XLR on transcontinental long-haul flights connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Canada.