Airbus “Studying Options” To Extend Range Of A321 Written 19 June 2018

Bloomberg News reports that Airbus is considering options to “extend the range of its A321 narrowbody” ahead of a decision by The Boeing Company on “whether to push ahead with a competing model, according to a person familiar with the matter.” The A321 already has a “long-range variant” able to fly 4,000 nautical miles, and may be equipped with additional fuel tanks that would allow the aircraft to fly even farther, according to the source. The new model, which is in “an early stage” of considering, could be called the “A321XLR.” Any move by Airbus to develop the variant “will depend partly on whether Boeing opts to go ahead with a new midmarket plane, dubbed the 797, which could be available to airlines by the middle of the next decade.”
More Info (Bloomberg News)