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Our first Airbus A321XLR lifted off for its inaugural flight in Hamburg and we want you to soar along.
Sleek, efficient and built for long‑range productivity, this jet is ready to go far.
Our first Airbus A321XLR lifted off for its inaugural flight in Hamburg
MONTRÉAL, Nov. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Air Canada today announced its most comprehensive cabin renewal program yet, designed to make every flight across North America more comfortable, more connected, and more consistent for customers and crew members. Spanning Air Canada mainline, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express, this multi-year investment reimagines the onboard experience with new interiors, next-generation technology, and thoughtful details inspired by customer and co-worker feedback. This includes the industry’s most comprehensive Fast, Free Wi-Fi offering, sponsored by Bell.
“When customers step onto an Air Canada aircraft, they should instantly feel a sense of comfort, care, and pride,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada. “Supported by award-winning service from co-workers across the company, this renewal program is about delivering that feeling consistently, across every flight. Whether traveling for business, leisure, or something in between, every update is designed with our customers in mind. Notably, this program includes an entirely new Air Canada Rouge product with cutting-edge in-flight entertainment, Fast, Free Wi-Fi, and seats that recline for all customers.”
A New Experience for Air Canada Rouge
All Boeing 737 MAX 8 currently part of Air Canada’s mainline fleet will transition to Air Canada Rouge through 2026. The updated cabins will feature 12 Business Class seats, 18 Preferred extra legroom Economy seats, and 147 Standard Economy seats – each reclining, featuring personal on-demand entertainment screens and Fast, Free Wi-Fi for Aeroplan Members.
To support this fleet transition, a new Rouge crew base will be opened in Vancouver, providing more choices for leisure travelers from Western Canada.
Mainline Comfort with a Modern Touch
As part of this transformation, all Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft will operate at Air Canada mainline. Those interiors will be upgraded to Air Canada’s latest standards, including new seating, the latest In-Flight Entertainment, and upgraded Fast, Free Wi-Fi. These renovated cabins will complement Air Canada’s new design standard: a distinctly Canadian aesthetic that is modern, accessible and warm, reflecting the beauty and sophistication of Canada. The program is well underway, with 15 Airbus A321s already flying with the upgrades.
Growing the Airbus A220 Fleet
Air Canada will continue to invest in its A220 fleet: a game changing aircraft providing category-leading comfort, technology, and efficiency – designed and built in Quebec. Air Canada has an additional 26 Airbus A220-300s on order and will introduce its new design standard on future deliveries, including Airbus’ larger XL overhead bins, as of March 2026.
Cabin upgrades extend to Air Canada Express
The customer experience uplift extends to regional travel. Air Canada Express aircraft operated by Jazz, including the Embraer E175 and Mitsubishi CRJ-900, will be fitted with the new cabin standard from 2026. Next generation Fast, Free Wi-Fi is being rolled out, with 55% of the fleet already completed. This is in addition to the previously announced upgrades to 25 De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft, which will undergo a full cabin redesign to install new seating, new interiors and, on aircraft flying from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, next generation Fast, Free Wi-Fi.
Complimentary Beer, Wine, and Snacks
Alongside these cabin upgrades, Air Canada is also elevating the onboard experience across its North American network with complimentary beer, wine, and premium snacks on all flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, and Air Canada Express (Jazz). Customers can look forward to Canadian-made favourites such as MadeGood Morning Bars on flights departing before 10 a.m., TWIGZ seasoned pretzels, and Leclerc Célébration cookies, all served alongside a selection of complimentary beverages designed to make every journey more enjoyable.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada’s largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is Canada’s premier travel loyalty program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world’s largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers more travel choices than any other Canadian tour operator to hundreds of destinations worldwide, with a wide selection of hotels, flights, cruises, day tours, and car rentals. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada’s passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada’s climate-related ambition includes a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
MONTREAL, Oct. 23, 2023 /CNW/ – Customers on board Air Canada flight AC692 operated with Fin 451 (C-GITU) Saturday shared a pilot’s eye view of the take-off due to new exterior cameras connected to the aircraft’s seatback entertainment system. The new camera feature, a first for a narrow-body aircraft, is one of several innovations unveiled with the airline’s first upgraded Airbus A321, which has been redesigned from nose to tail.
Air Canada is continuing to invest in customer comfort across its fleet of Airbus A321s and A320s which will feature a new cabin interior, new technologies and services such as Bluetooth audio, and free high-speed internet sponsored by Bell.
“We’re proud to welcome customers on board to experience the comfort, convenience, and connectivity of our latest cabins. These upgraded fleet interiors will align the A320s and A321s to the highly popular A220 experience, further strengthening our industry leading product offering,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital, and President of Aeroplan at Air Canada. “Additionally, new features such as our inflight entertainment system streaming exterior aircraft camera feeds, Bluetooth connectivity, and free, fast internet connectivity will be extremely popular with travellers. We will continue advancing our product leadership by trialing more new in-flight experiences with this A321 and expanding those learnings to additional aircraft in our fleet.”
Highlights of new cabin features:
The new IFE system being installed on the Airbus A321 and A320 fleets will feature Air Canada’s award-winning in-flight entertainment via screens at each seat, offering the most extensive content overall of any airline in the Americas. Customers will also enjoy live TV on their flights with this new cabin, featuring BNN, CTV, LCN, RDS, TSN1 and TSN2 available on all flights operated by this aircraft, including when flying over the US.
Air Canada’s remaining 14 Airbus A321s and its eight A320s will be retrofitted starting this fall through to the end of 2025. With these upgrades, customers will benefit from an elevated narrow-body cabin experience, in line with the cabins of the Airbus A220 and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that comprise the majority of Air Canada’s narrowbody fleet.
The new cabin also reduces the overall weight of the A321 by approximately 240 kilograms, which will reduce fuel consumption for the entire fleet once the work is completed by more than 2.4 million litres and reduce GHG emissions by 6,256 tCO2 equivalent per year, or the equivalent of the electricity used annually by 4,185 Canadian homes.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada’s largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is Canada’s premier travel loyalty program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world’s largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental rewards. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada’s passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada aims to achieve an ambitious net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050.
The airline also resumes operations to Cozumel
MONTREAL, Aug. 11, 2023 /CNW/ – Air Transat, recently voted World’s Best Leisure Airline for the fifth time at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, is proud to announce it will offer exclusive direct flights to Lima, Peru, from both Montreal and Toronto this winter*. This program expansion will create a new gateway to South America for fans of gastronomy, history and breathtaking natural sites, in addition to the flights already offered to Colombia. Recently, the company also announced that it will be relaunching its route between Montreal and the tropical island of Cozumel, Mexico.
“We are proud to add Lima to our portfolio of destinations on three continents,” said Michèle Barre, Transat’s Chief Revenue Officer. “This strategic expansion allows us to diversify our long-haul offering by maximising the use of our A321LR aircraft, and to capitalize on the sustained growth of tourism in South America. Meanwhile, we are consolidating our presence in the Mexican market – a key destination of our Caribbean winter program – by restarting our operations in Cozumel.”
Toronto–Lima flights will be operated twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from December 20 to April 24; in addition, Montreal–Lima flights will be operated once weekly, on Fridays, from December 22 to April 26.
Montreal–Cozumel flights will be operated once weekly, on Fridays, from December 15 to April 26. It should also be noted that Transat offers all-inclusive packages to Cozumel at select hotel partners.
These flights will be operated with new generation Airbus A321LR aircraft featuring spacious cabins, state-of-the-art in-seat entertainment systems and the lowest fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and NOx) in their class.
* Subject to government approvals
About Air Transat
Founded in Montreal 35 years ago, Air Transat is a leading travel brand. Its program offers access to international destinations, mainly in Europe, the Caribbean and the East and West coasts of the U.S. Voted Best Leisure Airline by passengers at the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards, Air Transat is recognized for its excellent customer service. By renewing its fleet with the most energy-efficient aircraft in their category, Air Transat is committed to a more sustainable industry. Based in Montréal with major hubs in Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), it has near 5,000 employees with a common purpose to bring people closer together. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX: TRZ). www.airtransat.com
Recent distinctions and awards
March 28, 2023
This week the A321XLR development flight-test aircraft (“FT3”, MSN11080) dedicated to the cabin returned from its four-day cold-weather ground testing at Iqaluit in northern Canada.
A few weeks earlier, one of the other A321XLR test aircraft (“FT2”, MSN11058) made a similar visit to Iqaluit. On that initial occasion the mission was to test the operation of the hydraulics and other systems at extreme cold temperatures – after an overnight soak at minus 40 degrees Centigrade.
“The objective of this most recent cold-weather campaign was to validate the aircraft operation in cold weather for ground operations,” says Tuan Do, Lead Flight Test Engineer.
He notes: “This time around we tested the cabin water and waste system – which required the temperatures inside the unheated cabin to ‘soak’ at below -15 degrees Centigrade overnight. To this end, several cold soaks and subsequent ground service operations were conducted over successive days.”
In each case different heating and insulation configurations were applied for subsequent comparative analysis by the engineering department.”
As part of this, a new ‘cold weather option’ available for A321XLR operators, was tested in real conditions for the first time, which adds insulation and heaters. The tests also validated the ‘standard aircraft’ configuration – i.e. without the optional package activated.
Of course, every airliner cruises at high altitudes where the outside temperatures are much lower. However, inside the cabin the water and waste systems operate in above zero temperatures. This is why ground testing (in a completely powered-down state) is specifically called for – so that the ambient environment inside the cabin and below the passenger deck, where many systems are located, can cold-soak at sub-zero temperatures. Following this, in the morning the built-in defrosting/heating equipment was demonstrated, to allow ground servicing to proceed.
“During our first five-day visit to Iqaluit a month ago, when we powered-up the aircraft in the morning, we would ‘wake-up’ the hydraulics, electrics, and other systems and see how long it took to operate the aircraft and get it ready for taxiing and takeoff.”
“There were also some flights to validate the landing gear operation in very cold temperatures. Notably, the A321XLR features an uprated landing gear – to support the higher maximum take-off weight of the aircraft (whose MTOW is 101 metric tonnes, vs 97 tonnes for the A321LR). Consequently, the shock-absorbers on this new variant are designed to handle higher loads compared with those on the other A320 Family members.
The test objective was to check the ‘weight-on-wheels’ signal, so the aircraft knows when the main landing gear shock absorbers are compressed or extended.
“There are many systems on the aircraft which depend on the weight on wheels signals to tell them whether the aircraft is in flight or on ground. So during our first visit to Iqaluit we verified how the weight-on-wheels function is affected by the physical changes in the main landing gear, and how shock absorber stiffness is affected by cold temperatures,” recalls Tuan.
Another design feature of the -XLR related to hydraulics which needed to be evaluated in the cold environment were new hydraulic lines which pass through Rear Centre Tank, located aft of the Landing Gear bay. “Our design office colleagues wanted us to check that the routing of the pipes did not significantly affect the hydraulic temperatures and operations after warm-up of the aircraft,” notes Tuan.
Other cold weather challenges, applicable for any aircraft, include ensuring that hatches don’t freeze shut, or that the systems in general don’t freeze up – not only the water pipes, oil and hydraulics systems, but also the electrical system, especially batteries. “Batteries don’t hold as much charge or provide as much power output when they are at low temperatures. Meanwhile, oil and hydraulics become very viscous at very low temperatures which makes it hard to move flight control surfaces around and drive pumps etc. So you need to heat the aircraft up and its pipework to be able to operate the aircraft,” explains Tuan.
The challenges behind the cold weather campaign also include human ones,” he notes. “We have maintenance and ground support teams who need to prepare and configure the aircraft, and check everything outside. They need to have the right clothes and equipment compatible with operations outside. But even with those provisions, the wind-chill factor is so strong in Iqaluit that it’s difficult. You can only work for a limited time outside, so we have shifts to ensure that nobody stays outside for too long.”
On-site Airbus for its part, had brought a team of more than 30 people. These included: six flight crew – pilots, flight test engineers, and a test-flight engineer; a cabin specialist engineer; a maintenance team – comprising mechanical specialists, electrical specialists, quality inspectors; instrumentation specialists; systems design specialists; technical photographers; as well as an operations colleague to oversee the logistics for the overall journey.
The human challenges are not simply on-site in Iqaluit, rather, they begin much earlier. The flight-test engineers will have agreed the test requirements with the design engineers’ office several months in advance, and from that will have prepared the campaign mission plan together with the mission flight-crew and ‘test-flight’ engineer colleagues. Together they determine how they need to configure the aircraft inside and out, when to start taxiing and then take-off, and what the ambient and systems temperature conditions should be etc. They will sequence all the testing and planning of the campaign, and of course, ensure that the whole mission is conducted safely.
LOS ANGELES, California, September 8, 2022 – Today Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) announced long-term lease placements for four new Airbus A321XLR aircraft with Air Transat (Canada). Three new aircraft are confirmed to deliver to the airline starting at the end of 2025 through 2026 from ALC’s order book with Airbus. The agreement also includes an option for one additional A321XLR aircraft to be delivered in 2027.
“ALC is pleased to announce this lease placement for four new A321XLRs with Air Transat and be the first to introduce the XLR to the Canadian airline,” said Steven Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “The A321XLR will bring new levels of comfort and excellent service to Air Transat’s passengers, while providing significant enhancements to the airline’s operational efficiency.”
“Air Transat’s new leasing agreement with our long-trusted partner ALC represents another key milestone in the renewal and simplification of our fleet undertaken since 2017. Along with A321LRs, XLRs figure as a cornerstone of Transat’s 2022-2026 strategic plan. These aircraft can improve the quality of our transatlantic program by increasing the number of frequencies per week with the same capacity, representing a more attractive offer for our customers. Adding these three new XLRs to our fleet – with a fourth optional one – will allow us greater operational flexibility as this type of aircraft is very well suited to our needs across our programs annually,” stated Annick Guérard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transat.
About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL)
Air Lease Corporation is a leading global aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing new commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. The company routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the “Investors” section of its website at www.airleasecorp.com. Investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult Air Lease Corporation’s website regularly for important information. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, ALC’s website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release.
About Air Transat
Founded in Montreal 35 years ago, Air Transat is a leading leisure travel brand. Voted World’s Best Leisure Airline by passengers at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, it flies to international, transborder and Canadian destinations, striving to serve its customers with enthusiasm and friendliness at every stage of their trip or stay, and emphasizing safety throughout. It is renewing its fleet with the greenest aircraft in their category as part of a commitment to a healthier environment, knowing that this is essential to its operations and the magnificent destinations it offers. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX: TRZ). To find out more, visit airtransat.com.
EAST HARTFORD, Conn., April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX) and Air Canada have announced the selection of Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines to power 30 firm and 14 purchase right Airbus A321XLR aircraft. Pratt & Whitney will also provide Air Canada with engine maintenance through an EngineWise® Comprehensive service agreement. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024.
“The Pratt & Whitney GTF family of engines have saved operators more than 600 million gallons of fuel and helped avoid six million metric tons of carbon emissions since it entered service in 2016,” said Rick Deurloo, Chief Commercial Officer at Pratt & Whitney. “What’s good for the environment is also good for business, and marquee operators such as Air Canada will continue to serve their customers with the most efficient engines on offer today.”
In 2020, Air Canada became the first airline in Canada to operate the Airbus A220 family and the first in North America to operate A220-300 aircraft. The airline currently operates 28 A220-300 aircraft with an additional 17 on order. Pratt & Whitney has a long history with Air Canada, dating back to the airline’s first aircraft, a Lockheed Model 10 Electra with Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines. Prior to the A220, Pratt & Whitney powered Air Canada’s fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft.
“Air Canada is pleased to be partnering with Pratt & Whitney by selecting GTF engines for our new fleet of Airbus A321neo aircraft. The GTF’s efficiency and reliability will help us lower costs and also allow us to expand our network. As well, the GTF’s state-of-the-art technology will advance our environmental program by reducing emissions and noise,” said Richard Steer, Senior Vice President, Operations and Express Carriers, at Air Canada.
The Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine is the only geared propulsion system delivering industry-leading sustainability benefits, mature dispatch reliability and world-class operating costs. GTF engines for the Airbus A320neo family reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 16 percent, regulated emissions by 50 percent and noise footprint by 75 percent. The engine’s revolutionary geared fan architecture is the foundation for more sustainable aviation technologies in the decades ahead, with advancements like the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage™ engine and beyond. Learn more at pwgtf.com.
About Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines, and auxiliary power units. To learn more visit www.prattwhitney.com.
MONTREAL, March 22, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ – Air Canada today announced it is acquiring 26 extra-long range (XLR) versions of the Airbus A321neo aircraft. The aircraft has sufficient range to serve all North American and select transatlantic markets, while offering customers added comfort and improving the carrier’s fuel efficiency to advance its environmental programs.
Deliveries are to begin in the first quarter of 2024 with the final aircraft to arrive in the first quarter of 2027. Fifteen of the aircraft will be leased from Air Lease Corporation, five will be leased from AerCap and six are being acquired under a purchase agreement with Airbus S.A.S. that includes purchase rights to acquire an additional 14 of the aircraft between 2027 and 2030.
“Air Canada is committed to further strengthen its market-leading position, especially through investments in new technology. The acquisition of the state-of-the-art Airbus A321XLR is an important element of this strategy and will drive our core priorities of elevating the customer experience, advancing our environmental goals, network expansion and increasing our overall cost efficiency. This order also shows that Air Canada is emerging strongly from the pandemic and is ideally positioned to grow, compete and thrive in a reshaped global aviation industry,” said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.
Air Canada’s A321XLRs will accommodate 182 passengers in a configuration of 14 lie flat Air Canada Signature Class seats and 168 Economy Class seats. Among the aircraft’s amenities, customers will enjoy next generation seatback entertainment, access to inflight Wifi and a spacious cabin design featuring generous overhead baggage storage bins. With a range of approximately 8,700 kilometres and an ability to fly up to 11 hours, the A321XLR can operate non-stop anywhere across North America and, pending Transport Canada approval for overseas operations, also fly transatlantic missions, bolstering the carrier’s hubs and network. Air Canada is in the process of selecting an engine manufacturer for its A321XLR aircraft.
GHG reductions
The A321XLR will be used both for incremental growth of Air Canada’s fleet and to replace older, less-efficient aircraft expected to exit the fleet. As a result, the new aircraft will yield significant operational cost savings and environmental benefits. Air Canada projects it will have up to 17 per cent lower fuel burn per seat than the previous generation narrow-body on a typical transcontinental flight and a projected reduction of up to 23 per cent versus previous generation wide-body aircraft on a transatlantic flight. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help Air Canada fulfill its environmental commitments, which include the achievement of net carbon neutrality by 2050. The A321XLR is also expected to be quieter for passengers and airports than the aircraft being replaced with the A321XLR.
As of December 31, 2021, Air Canada had a combined 214 aircraft in its mainline and Air Canada Rouge fleets, including 136 single-aisle, narrow-body aircraft.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking from the independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which in 2021 also named Air Canada as having the Best Airline Staff in North America, Best Airline Staff in Canada, Best Business Class Lounge in North America, as well as an Excellence award for its handling of COVID-19. Also in 2021, Air Canada was named Global Traveler’s Best Airline in North America for the third straight year. In January 2021, Air Canada received APEX’s Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+ biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline in Canada to attain the highest APEX ranking. Air Canada has also committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050.