Why airlines are all-in on new single-aisle planes for transatlantic flights

29.11.2024 - 17:05 / insider.com / Patrick Quayle / United Airlines

New narrow-body planes designed for long-haul flights are changing how people fly.

This evolution has been largely propelled by the Airbus A321neo family, smaller planes that can flyer further than previous single-aisle aircraft. Its longest-ranged variant, the newly launched A321XLR, can fly up to 11 hours nonstop and carry up to 240 people.

These planes are popular with airlines because they can connect profitable cities that previously required a high-capacity wide-body plane like the Boeing 767 or Airbus A330. Flexible cabins mean airlines can offer different cabin configurations, like all-economy or a mix of business and coach.

Airlines can also earn extended-range allowances that govern how passenger jets can safely fly over the open ocean.

In 2024, 39,000 flights between North America and Europe are scheduled on single-aisle planes made by Boeing and Airbus, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. That's a 14% increase from the previous year and 40% more than in 2019.

Such a focus on single-aisle planes that can tackle long flights has been a boon for Airbus.

JetBlue, for example, started flying between New York and Europe in 2021 with about 400 total flights on its A321neoLRs. In 2024, that figure is set to hit 7,200 in 2024.

The launch of Iberia's A321XLR has added at least another 1,400 flights for 2025, per Cirium, with more to come as the jet is delivered to more airlines.

Such growth has come at the expense of Boeing's 757. The jet has been a transatlantic workhorse since the 1980s but now only represents 23% of flights to and from Europe, down from 82% in 2019.

With no replacement available, airlines are turning to the A321XLR — paving the way for Airbus to continue dominating the growing market.

Before long-haul single-aisle operations became popular, airlines struggled to fly lower-demand city pairs with widebodies because the bigger planes weren't always full — meaning they weren't making money.

This effectively eliminated direct routes to smaller leisure markets, forcing flyers to make one or more stops to reach smaller cities.

New narrowbodies solve this problem thanks to their powerful engines, fuel efficiency, and lighter weight.

United Airlines, for example, uses single-aisle jets between unique city pairs that other carriers don't fly, such as those from Newark Liberty to Malaga, Spain, and Chicago to Shannon, Ireland.

United's SVP of global network planning and alliances, Patrick Quayle, told BI in August that a Boeing 787 or Boeing 767 widebody wouldn't economic make sense in these smaller markets. The carrier plans to expand its long-haul operations with the cost-effective A321XLR.

Meanwhile, Icelandic low-cost carrier Play learned from its predecessor,