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Iberia must be happy as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the type certificate for the Airbus A321XLR, and the aircraft model can now enter service in Europe.
Following common practice, other regulators around the world will likely follow EASA's lead and will soon approve the type certificates required for the operation of the A321XLR in other regions.
EASA and Airbus held over 400 joint meetings of technical experts, 900 flight test hours on three test aircraft, more than 500 certification documents were produced, reviewed and signed off, tests were witnessed, inspections carried out and audits completed.
The program is much delayed, but the Airbus A321XLR, powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, has now received the Type Certificate from the EASA, that will allow the new aircraft to enter service at the end of summer. In its press release, Airbus said,
The award to Airbus of a Type Certificate for the A321XLR marks the end of a certification process for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency that lasted more than five years. Airbus’s aim for the new model was to offer a narrowbody aircraft which has additional fuel capacity and so is suited to long-haul flights.
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The aeronautical document was handed over by Florian Guillermet, Executive Director of EASA, to Isabelle Bloy, Chief Engineer of the A321XLR. Certification of the Pratt & Whitney-powered version is scheduled for late 2024.
As per EASA, Airbus proposed to build in a new fuel tank, known as the Rear Central Tank or RCT. The proposal was classified as a major significant change, based on the closest derivative aircraft, the A321Neo.
The RCT represented a novel unusual design, that was not fully covered by the existing CS-25 certification specifications, the main technical requirements that have to be complied with in the certification of large commercial aircraft.
EASA laid down Special Conditions to address any gaps or inadequacies in CS-25. The special condition defines safety standards which any manufacturer wishing to adopt this type of change would have to meet to achieve certification approval, without prescribing exactly how they should achieve this.
A revised design with special conditions was approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration in December 2022.
In this case, the safety challenge was posed by the addition of the new fuel tank, integrated within the fuselage, in the underbelly of the aircraft.
The special conditions set focused on crash safety, fire safety and occupant protection. For example, the risk of fire had to be mitigated to allow for a safe evacuation of passengers and crew in an accident.
EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet, said :
“The aim of every action taken by EASA is to ensure that the aircraft is safe,” “Our requirements can be quite stringent and pose significant challenges to the manufacturer, in this case Airbus. But we have a truly common aim of ensuring safety.”
Airbus responded by providing a sophisticated design for the tank integration which made it more crash resistant, by introducing stronger material compositions and additional supporting structural provisions to protect the fuselage for the case of an uncontrolled landing, and by introducing an inner liner to the tank to limit any potential leakage.
The changes to the aircraft went far beyond the RCT itself. The landing gear was reinforced and local structure changes made to accommodate the increased take-off weight resulting from the extra fuel carried. The fuel system was adapted to integrate the RCT. Some other product enhancements were made, for example to the flight controls.
Michael Singer, Head of Department – Large Aeroplanes at EASA, said :
“We needed to be sure that the design location of the tank would not in itself trigger a safety issue, that the tank was adequately robust and crash resistant, even in a case where the landing gear failed or an unknown threat such as an item on the runway could damage the tank, and finally we wanted proof that if the tank was compromised, the leakage rate would be limited so as not to pose a threat.”
The A321XLR is designed to be the longest-range variant of the A320 family. It is capable of flying non-stop routes of up to 8,700 kilometres, which is 1,300 kilometres more than the A321LR, which was previously the world's longest-range single-aisle aircraft in service.
It is actually based on the A321LR, but it incorporates an extra fuel tank in the rear of the fuselage, which was the subject of special interest by the EASA , a more robust landing gear that allows it to weigh 101 tonnes on take-off – more fuel is needed – and redesigned flaps so that it has the same take-off performance as the A321neo.
International Airlines Group — IAG's Iberia will be the first carrier worldwide to take delivery of the Airbus A321XLR (‘Xtra Long Range’) later this year.
It was fellow IAG member airline Aer Lingus, that had the opportunity to be the Launch Customer for the plane model, but the Irish carrier had to relinquish the delivery due to a pilot pay dispute
Christian Scherer, CEO of the Commercial Aircraft business of Airbus, says :
"Here comes the A321XLR, a differentiated product that brings new value to the market, expanding the possibilities for our airline customers and passengers. With its long range, the A321XLR enables a host of new direct routes, offering natural growth opportunities to our customers and the travelling public."
"It provides airlines with the efficiency of commonality inside the A320/A321 product range and its versatile cabin a range of service possibilities that are just unique. It is quintessential Airbus!”,
“With the certification, we have reached a key milestone. The next step is to prepare the aircraft for its first commercial missions with customers worldwide. We look forward to working with XLR customers to support the integration of the aircraft in their fleets.”
Other major customers of the aircraft include United, American Airlines, IndiGo, Qantas, AirAsia X, Wizz Air and JetBlue.
The A321XLR is expected to replace the routes of Boeing 757. Icelandair, which owns several 757s, announced in April 2023 that it had entered into an agreement with Airbus to introduce the A321LR and A321XLR into its fleet.
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