Brussels: Luis Gallego, IAG CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG), has outlined his first experience flying Airbus A321XLR long-haul flights with an eye on future opportunities.
“We wanted to know if flying in a narrowbody for this [long] distance would be something [passengers] don’t like,” Gallego told Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Airlines for Europe (A4E) event on March 27. “On the contrary, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Customers have reported really positive experiences. We are really pleased with the A321XLR.
Iberia, an IAG member, was the first airline in the world to begin operating transoceanic routes with the A321XLR on November 14, 2024.
The CFM Leap 1A engine-powered aircraft has a range of up to 7,500 kilometers (4,000 nautical miles) and a two-class cabin arrangement (business and economy) with a total of 182 seats.
“We have one A321XLR at Iberia and two at Aer Lingus.” This year, we plan to add 12 A321XLRs to our fleet. Gallego speculates that there may be some delays due to Airbus deferring supplies. “For the time being, no other IAG carrier is receiving the A321XLR. We have fourteen aircraft in all.”
Iberia will acquire a total of eight A321XLRs, with Aer Lingus expecting to take six.
Parent firm IAG anticipates 26 aircraft deliveries in 2025, including one Boeing 787 and one Airbus A350.
When addressing the prospects the A321XLR can provide for IAG, Gallego cited the United States East Coast or Northeast Brazil, as well as thinner routes comparable to those operated by Iberia to Boston and soon to Washington, D.C. “The A321XLR feeds very well to develop new markets or to put more frequencies,” according to Gallego.
Aer Lingus, for example, intends to employ the A321XLRs to serve both existing transatlantic routes and new U.S. destinations such as Nashville and Indianapolis commencing in the summer of 2025.
Gallego stated that Iberia has become a more diverse airline group serving North and South America. Regarding Latin America, Gallego mentions an IAG goal established in 2023: to earn more than €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in operating profit. “I think we are close to that, and I think we can improve that,” he explains. “We continue to gamble on the region. “The South Atlantic is an expanding market.”
Looking ahead, Gallego anticipates another problematic summer in terms of operations, particularly in Europe. “Air traffic control is going to be difficult,” adds the man. “However, we had a good year in 2024. We improved timeliness by 12%. But also client satisfaction. But you have to keep repeating that.”
IAG is awaiting the results of an investigation into the March 21 London Heathrow shutdown, which suspended operations for much of the day owing to a fire at a nearby substation. “Our British Airways employees performed admirably at Heathrow. Gallego claims that in less than 24 hours, they had the airplane back in the air, overcoming a challenging scenario.
“We are waiting for the investigations,” he says. “Does it make sense for a facility like Heathrow to close due to an electric power station failure? This is tied to the Heathrow model, and it needs to be modified to be more resilient.”
“It is the most expensive airport in the world, and the service you receive is not that what you pay for,” Gallego told reporters.
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