June 8, 2021 / Philadelphia International airport (PHL) will be the “house” of American Airlines (AA) fleet of Airbus A321XLR, the airline’s vice-president of Network and schedule planning, Brian Znotins, said during a FlightGlobal webinar on June 2.

Speaking with Americas Air Transport Editor at FlightGlobal, Pilar Wolfsteller, Znotins explained that “you’ll probably see them (i.e. the A32XLRs) out of Philadelphia as we will be looking to add more non-stops from Philadelphia to secondary European destinations“. Znotins, then, added that “Chicago as well as Boston and Charlotte would be logical markets [for the aircraft] as well”.

American was among the initial airlines to commit to buying the ultra-long range twinjet as it ordered 20 of the type in 2018 and then converted 30 of its A321neo orders in the extended range version during the 2019 Paris Air Show. The Dallas-based carrier is expected to receive the first A321XLR in 2023.

With an advertised 4,700nm (8,704km)-range, the jet could fly from the eastern half of the USA to European cities. Airlines view A321XLRs as optimised to serve “thinner” routes that would not support larger widebody aircraft or to support the growth of “secondary” hubs like the one American has in PHL. (Photo Wikimedia Commons / Glenn Beltz)