AEGEAN, the Greek airline and a member of the Star Alliance, has set its eyes on India, and will do so with the Airbus A321XLR aircraft. They have just announced their plans, and they appear to be interesting.
AEGEAN to procure A321XLR aircraft.
AEGEAN has announced that the airline will add two (2) new Airbus A321neo XLR (Extra Long Range) aircraft with a range of up to 10.5 hours, while accelerating the initiation of its flights to India, in March 2026. With this addition, the Airbus A320/A321neo order now stands at 60 aircraft, of which 36 have already been delivered to the airline to date. The 2 XLR aircraft are the only aircraft with the extended long-range capacity for the airline at the moment, so they don’t have a massive backlog of these, but just these two.
The capabilities and comfort features of the A321neo XLR aircraft facilitate AEGEAN’s options for new additional connections (+ 2.5 hours more than the A321neo LR, + 4.5 hours more than the A321neo). At the same time, provide a new level of comfort. Services are introduced, featuring a customised configuration of only 138 seats in total, comprising 24 Business Class Suites with fully lie-flat beds, increased privacy, and aisle access.
The two (2) A321neo XLR aircraft, expected to be delivered in December 2025 and January 2026 respectively, increase significantly the fleet size and capabilities of AEGEAN’s “special purpose” sub-fleet, after taking also into consideration the existing order of 4 (four) A321neo LRs, previously announced in April 2024 (and scheduled to be delivered in 2027 and 2028).
Economy class passengers can also enjoy a high level of comfort, as all seats offer significantly more personal space, an in-flight entertainment system with 4K screens, satellite Wi-Fi, USB and device charging ports and extra-large bins, specially designed for long-haul flights.
In all probability, the only way AEGEAN is getting XLRs that quickly (almost on tap) is because they are taking over the A321XLR originally meant for JetBlue Airways. Given that the airline is not in a great financial place at the moment, it has deferred its deliveries into the 2030s. But the aircraft had already been prepped up, so they had to go somewhere. The configuration described by AEGEAN matches the one ordered by JetBlue.
https://twitter.com/fl360aero/status/1911768889777705277
AEGEAN intends to launch flights to India with the A321XLR.
Following the delivery of the new A321neo XLR aircraft, AEGEAN plans to commence five weekly flights to New Delhi (March 2026) and soon thereafter three weekly flights to Mumbai (May 2026), the second destination of the company’s network in India. The exact flight schedule will be announced at the end of September, when ticket sales start.
With the future deliveries of the A321neo LR aircraft in 2027 and 2028, the launch of additional new routes will also be considered, targeting destinations such as Bangalore in India, Seychelles, the Maldives, Nairobi, Almaty, and Lagos.
This move was one of the topics of discussion at the IATA AGM held in Delhi, and ironically, just a day before, IndiGo had announced that it would launch flights to Athens (Greece) with its first A321XLR as well.
Mr. Eftichios Vassilakis, AEGEAN Chairman, stated
The addition of these two A321neo XLR aircraft with special configuration, which will be delivered in 2025, in addition to the four A321neo LRs that we plan to take delivery in 2027 and 2028, accelerates our access to the extremely important Indian market, but also allows for the immediate upgrade of our product and services to destinations outside the EU, longer than 4 hours in which we already operate. The A321neo XLR and LR aircraft mark the beginning of a new chapter for AEGEAN, with new possibilities for growth but also new options for our passengers and the connectivity of our country. With new fleet capabilities, strong vertically integrated support infrastructure and most importantly drawing upon the creativity and strengths of our people, we plan to move forward with ambitious but also careful and consistent steps as always.
Bottomline
Aegean has announced that the airline will induct two A321XLRs (arriving in late 2025 and early 2026) and four A321LRs (coming in 2027 and 2028). This will enable Aegean to introduce services in markets that were previously inaccessible. Even beyond that, it’s exciting to think that such an enhanced passenger experience will be offered, which passengers will appreciate.
What do you think of Aegean’s arrival into India?
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