The first American Airlines flight on an Airbus A321neo took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and landed in Orlando International Airport on Tuesday.
The flight marked the first American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) route flown on the jet, which the Fort Worth airline recently took delivery of. The A321neo, made by the French plane maker Airbus, carries 196 seats with 129 in the main cabin, 47 extra-legroom seats and 20 in first class.
The 20 first class seats are four more than previous iterations of the A321 as American looks to up its investments in premium passengers. The plane also features Airbus XL overhead bins, which American says hold 65 percent more bags than other A321s.
American has ordered a total of 100 321neos.
"We worked closely with Airbus to develop this cabin configuration with the features our customers want," said Janelle Anderson, American's vice president of Marketing, in a prepared statement. "Today’s flight is a culmination of years of planning and work to make sure this plane is a good fit for everyone onboard, and we think customers and team members are going to love it."
To take an exclusive look at the A321 via a tour from our sister paper, the Pittsburgh Business Times, received of the aircraft when it was in Pennsylvania after flying over from a Germany factory, see the attached slideshow.
The A321neo is the latest in long-range aircraft, and is ETOPS-certified. If that special designation sounds familiar, it was the process Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) finished earlier this year to get its long-awaited Hawaii service off the ground.
