The Airbus A321XLR is the next big thing at American Airlines, with the Fort Worth-based legacy carrier and 
oneworld founding member using it to shake up its European network by opening up secondary transcontinental routes. Going forward, however, we may yet see American deploy the type on routes to another major market, namely South America, as its fleet continues to grow.
In recent years, this has become something of a forgotten continent for American, with the carrier’s share declining as it serves fewer destinations in the region. However, according to recent reporting by Cranky Flier, the Airbus A321XLR will expand into Latin America in the coming years. What’s more, it will operate from an airport where American doesn’t currently fly the XLR.
American Airlines Eyes South American Growth Out Of Miami With The Airbus A321XLR
A spokesperson for the airline reportedly said the carrier “will continue to harness the power of [the XLR] by extending it to our Latin America network in the coming years as we take delivery of more aircraft.” With more than 30 units of the A321XLR still on its order book, there is certainly plenty of room to grow.
American has mainly deployed the A321XLR on transatlantic and transcontinental routes out of its East Coast hubs. Its planned Latin American expansion, however, will center on 
Miami International Airport (MIA), where it will “add new routes and destinations, grow frequencies, and extend the season of operations.” With routes deep into South America potentially being up to nine hours long, the type is a good fit. The carrier explained how the change in season can alter its deployment of the aircraft.
“Many of the markets in Latin America are counter-cyclical, so we could deploy XLRs to Europe in the summer months and redirect them southbound in winter months.”
A Closer Look At American Airlines’ Existing South American Network
Given its convenient location in the southeast of the US, it is unsurprising that MIA serves as American’s main gateway for flights to South America. According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Miami accounts for 644 of the carrier’s 795 South American flights from the US this month and 126,652 of the 162,713 seats on these services.
While much of American’s network across South America is centered in the north of the region, where narrowbodies and even regional jets make short hops from Florida, Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliners serve cities farther south. These would likely be the sorts of markets where the A321XLR would be a compelling option.
Loading map…
Drag to explore
Elsewhere, American also operates much smaller South American networks out of New York-JFK and Dallas/Fort Worth. From New York, it flies daily to Buenos Aires with the 777, Georgetown with the 737, and São Paulo with the 787. Dallas/Fort Worth, meanwhile, has daily flights to São Paulo and Bogotá, with a sole service to Rio de Janeiro on September 25.
How Does The Carrier Configure Its Airbus A321XLRs?
According to ch-aviation, American currently has a total of eight A321XLRs in its fleet. Going forward, it has orders for another 32 units, meaning that its sub-fleet of the long-range narrowbody will eventually be 40-strong. These aircraft are presently just 0.6 years old on average, making them by far the youngest planes at American.
American Airlines’ Airbus A321XLR Layout | |
|---|---|
Cabin | Seats |
Business Class | 20 |
Premium Economy | 12 |
Economy Class | 123 |
Total | 155 |
Some flyers may worry that the use of a single-aisle jet on long-haul routes could come at the cost of their comfort. However, that is not the case at American, as 32 of the 155 seats on its A321XLRs are in premium cabins. At the front, there are 20 Flagship Business flatbeds laid out in a 1-1 setup, followed by 12 premium economy recliners in a 2-2 configuration.
