Qatar Airways announced that it will convert ten of its 50 Airbus A321neo on order to Airbus A321LR. A321LR is a variant of the A320 family, a type of A321neo which has extra fuel tanks as well as a higher maximum take-off weight.

Qatar Airways will use the A321LR to connect Doha to new growing markets where current demand is not sufficient for wide body aircraft or where current narrow bodies (A320/A321) are unable to reach. Alternatively, the new aircraft will be adopted to provide additional frequencies on existing Qatar Airways routes, giving passengers more choice and flexibility when they travel.

According to Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker, they reassessed the requirements of their fleet and determined that the A321LR will bring the additional capability and range to their existing portfolio, to successfully support their global route expansion.

Based on this analysis, we have agreed with Airbus that we will convert ten of our 50 A321neo on order to the longer range A321LR, the first of which will be delivered in 2020.’

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer, said the A321LR will add a new level of flexibility to Qatar Airways operations.

The aircraft will support the airline to better serve its existing network while equally accessing new long-haul markets with optimal performance and efficiency. Offering superior wide body comfort on single aisle, the A321LR will perfectly match Qatar Airways’ award-winning on-board experience. We look forward to seeing the A321LR flying in the colours of Qatar Airways.’

Longer Routes

The A321LR, the latest member of the market leading A320neo family, is able to fly longer routes of up to 4,000 nm (7,400 km). The A321LR provides additional operational flexibility as it has the longest range of any single aisle airliner, making it ideally suited to transatlantic routes and enabling airlines to tap into new long-haul markets not previously accessible to single aisle aircraft. The A321LR can carry up to 206 passengers in a typical two-class layout, or up to 244 passengers in a single-class configuration on intra-regional flights, offering each passenger the possibility to carry up to three bags.

This aircraft is also improved with a maximum take-off weight of 97 tonnes compared, to 93.5 tonnes for a standard A321neo, with structural reinforcements at the wing and centre wing box, and the option of adding a third fuel tank in the cargo compartment, depending on the needs of the operator. This aircraft is characterised by passenger comfort, significant endurance, cabin layout adaptability, per-seat operational costs (30% lower than the nearest competitor), and all this with excellent environmental performance.

For updates and more information about Qatar Airways, visit qatarairways.com.