Qantas has announced an order for 20 additional Airbus A321XLR aircraft, including the introduction of lie-flat Business seats on its narrowbody aircraft for the first time. The new configured A321XLRs will begin arriving in calendar year 2028, taking the airline’s total order for the A321XLR to 48 aircraft.
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The expansion of the Group’s largest ever fleet renewal program will see 16 of the 20 additional A321XLRs configured with lie-flat Business seats and seat back entertainment screens to serve longer routes, including transcontinental services to and from Perth, and short and medium haul international routes.
The extended range of up to 8,700 kilometres is more than 3,000 kilometres further than the Boeing 737 it replaces and will enable Qantas to launch direct flights to destinations across South East Asia and the Pacific Islands that are not currently viable.
Qantas’ first two A321XLRs, which are configured for domestic and short haul international flying, are expected to start operating commercial flights in mid-September, making Qantas the first airline in the Asia Pacific to operate the aircraft type. The aircraft will initially operate on Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Perth and be progressively rolled out on other routes. By the end of this financial year Qantas will have seven of the aircraft type.
Jetstar’s A321XLRs will begin to arrive from calendar year 2027 and will be fitted with a two-class cabin to suit international travel.
Fleet overview
The Group’s total firm aircraft order now stands at 214 aircraft, with 32 delivered as at June 30, representing a multi-billion dollar investment in renewing and growing Qantas and Jetstar’s fleet. In addition to these firm orders, the Group has additional purchase right options with Airbus and Boeing which provide flexibility for future growth.
Qantas took delivery of 17 new aircraft in FY25. This increases to 20 new aircraft arriving this financial year and 29 in FY27, including 36 for Qantas, 10 for Jetstar and 3 for Qantas Freight.
The first Project Sunrise A350-1000ULR will move to Airbus’ final assembly line in October this year, with deliveries commencing from October 2026.