1 week Ago By Jake Hardiman
In recent years, narrowbody aircraft have often been touted as the future of long-haul flying, particularly for non-stop flights between smaller markets that wouldn't be able to sustain widebody demand. The Airbus A321XLR has been at the forefront of this movement, and its launch last year with Spanish flag carrier Iberia came with considerable fanfare. However, there have been some concerns about comfort.
Specifically, some passengers who are used to the lie-flat comfort of long-haul business class onboard spacious widebody aircraft may fear that narrowbodies wouldn't have enough space to support similarly luxurious products. However, with this being a growing market, airlines are investing heavily in their medium to long-haul narrowbody passenger experience, including the use of fully lie-flat beds. 1 Aer Lingus Airbus A321LR and A321XLR Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has both the A321LR and the A321XLR models from the next-generation A320neo family in its fleet.
According to aeroLOPA , both of these aircraft types are fitted with a two-class configuration with space for 184 passengers onboard. This figure consists of 168 in the economy class cabin, with the best 16 seats in the house being the business class flatbeds at the front of the jet. These are laid out in an alternating configuration that has either four (2-2) or two (1-1) seats per row.
Specifically, rows two, four, and six are laid out four-abreast, with the prized two-abreast throne-style seats being found in rows three and five. Regardless of which row passengers are sitting in, these Thompson Aero Vantage seats are 22 inches wide, and convert into fully lie-flat beds that measure 77 inches. After a period of lengthy and eager anticipation, Aer Lingus eventually got an early Christmas present when it received its first two examples of the Airbus A321XLR in December of 2024.
As Simple Flying reported at the time, the Irish flag carrier hopes to receive all six of the units that it ordered by the end of this year. Flying out of Dublin Airport, it has earmarked Indianapolis and Nashville as routes for the type. The Irish carrier hopes to receive all six A321XLRs by the end of 2025.
2 Air Astana Airbus A321LR Over in Kazakhstan, Air Astana has also got in on the act by flying A321LR twinjets fitted with fully lie-flat business class seats. While these modern aircraft have fewer economy class seats than those at Aer Lingus, with a grand total of 150, their business class cabins are identical, with 16 flatbeds in an alternating configuration that consists of three four-abreast and two two-abreast rows. Dimensionally speaking, these Thompson Aero Vantage seats differ ever so slightly compared to those found onboard Aer Lingus' long-haul narrowbodies, with a width of 21.
5 inches and a bed length of 78 inches. Air Astana explained at the time of the type's first delivery in 2019 that " t he new Airbus A321LR aircraft will gradually replace the fleet of Boeing 757s, which have been in operation since 2003 ." The arrival of long-range narrowbody aircraft will be made more appealing if airlines follow Air Astana's lead with its business class product 3 American Airlines Airbus A321T American Airlines represents something of a step change compared to the first two carriers covered in this article, as its lie-flat narrowbody seats are not found onboard aircraft from the A320neo family.
Instead, it has fitted them to certain examples of the previous-generation A321-200, with these twinjets specifically being designated as the A321T to highlight their use on transcontinental routes. According to aeroLOPA, these aircraft, which provide higher levels of onboard comfort for passengers traveling coast-to-coast within the US, have 10 Flagship First, 20 Flagship Business, and just 72 economy class seats (of which 36 have extra legroom) onboard. The first two of these cabins feature flatbeds, with the former laid out two-abreast in a 1-1 configuration, and the latter having four seats per row.
Going forward, American Airlines will be adding to its narrowbody fleet with an order for 50 examples of the A321XLR, making it one of the type's largest customers. As detailed in the video embedded above, the US legacy carrier and oneworld founding member is placing a strong emphasis on a premium onboard experience on these planes, the first of which made its maiden flight in Hamburg last month. The next-generation narrowbody has an exciting future ahead of it.
4 BeOnd Airbus A319 and A321 Luxurious carrier BeOnd, a boutique airline based in the Maldives, is notable for being an all-business class operator . According to current fleet data made available by ch-aviation , the carrier currently has a 21.3-year-old Airbus A319-100 and a 23.
1-year-old A321-200 at its disposal, with these narrowbody twinjets respectively seating 44 and 68 business class passengers on flatbeds laid out four-abreast. While the layout of these seats means that passengers at the window don't have direct aisle access, they certainly aren't short of luxury, with footwell ottomans in certain rows providing an extra layer of comfort. The seats are 21 inches wide and equipped with both universal AC and USB-C power outlets.
While they don't feature IFE screens, passengers are provided with tablets to stream visual content. 5 Delta Air Lines Airbus A321neo & Boeing 757 Much like its US legacy carrier rival American Airlines, Delta Air Lines has also equipped certain narrowbodies with a lower-density premium-heavy seating configuration in order to offer greater comfort to passengers flying onboard its longer transcontinental routes. One such aircraft is the Boeing 757-200, of which certain units have 16 76-inch Delta One flatbeds at the front in a 2-2 configuration.
However, while the Boeing 757 has been a reliable workhorse for Delta Air Lines for a long time, these aircraft are also among its oldest, clocking in at an average age of 28.1 years old at the time of writing (according to current fleet data made available by ch-aviation). With this in mind, the carrier has begun looking to the future regarding its premium transcontinental flights, and landed on the A321neo.
Delta currently has 73 A321neos in its fleet (and another 82 on order) with an average age of just 1.7 years old. According to aeroLOPA, this year will see certain examples enter service in a three-class layout aimed at transcontinental travel, with this configuration including 16 Delta One flatbeds.
These will be laid out two-abreast in a 1-1 setup, offering a considerable upgrade compared to the 757. 6 Iberia Airbus A321XLR Spanish flag carrier Iberia made history last October by becoming the first-ever airline to take delivery of the Airbus A321XLR. It initially put the type into use on the short-haul route from Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) on November 6th, 2024.
However, it wasn't long before the A321XLR's long-haul career began at Iberia, starting with a flight to Boston on November 14th. Iberia has now taken delivery of three examples of the A321XLR, and has another five units of the type still on order. The type has 182 seats onboard in a two-class configuration, with the best spots being the 14 business class flatbeds at the front of the aircraft.
Laid out in a two-abreast 1-1 configuration and angled towards the aisle, these Thompson Aero Vantage Solo seats are 76 inches long when flat. 7 JetBlue Airbus A321, A321neo, and A321LR US-based hybrid carrier JetBlue has long been at the forefront of lie-flat business class seats onboard its narrowbody aircraft, with three different designs featuring them today. This product is specifically known as Mint, and, as part of this initiative, certain previous-generation Airbus A321-200s have 16 80-inch flatbeds in the alternating four and two-abreast layout seen at Aer Lingus and Air Astana.
However, while this is a compelling product, the window seats in the four-abreast rows do suffer from a lack of direct aisle access. This, however, is not the case on the carrier's Mint-equipped A321neos, whose 16 business class flatbeds are laid out two abreast in every row. Rather than being throne-style seats like in certain rows on the older configuration as seen above, they are all angled inwards.
JetBlue's Airbus A321LR aircraft, which have formed the basis of its post-pandemic transatlantic network expansion, feature the same two-abreast business class flatbed product as its Mint-equipped A321neo narrowbody twinjets. However, a key difference here is the fact that there are eight more seats, with 24 in total. The best of these are the Mint Studios in the front row, which offer guests even more space.
8 La Compagnie Airbus A321LR Completing the list, we have French boutique airline La Compagnie, which is known for its all-business-class operating model. The carrier previously flew a pair of Boeing 757-200 narrowbody twinjets with 80 business class flatbeds onboard in a VIP configuration. While one of these has since gone on to be scrapped after leaving the airline, the other now operates luxury charters for National Geographic.
Aircraft Seats Airbus A321LR 76 Boeing 757-200 (historic) 80 Today, La Compagnie's fleet consists of two Airbus A321LR narrowbody twinjets, which feature a similar configuration, albeit with four fewer seats. These 76 business class flatbeds are laid out four abreast in a 2-2 configuration, and they offer USB charging and in-seat video. For those who can afford it, La Compagnie's boutique services certainly make for a classy way of flying from Europe to North America.
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