Summary
- Icelandair reveals A321LR in iconic livery
- Orders 13 A321XLRs with 4,700 nm range
- Retiring Boeing 757-200s, fleet to transition
Icelandair
took another step towards retiring its fleet of Boeing 757-200
as it revealed pictures of its first Airbus A321LR
as it rolled out of the paint shop with Icelandair livery ahead of its delivery in November. In addition to four Airbus A321LRs, Icelandair has also ordered 13 Airbus A321XLRs. With a 4,700 nautical mile range,
Icelandair could service much of the continental United States with its XLRs
.
Icelandair shares first pictures of A321LRs in its livery
Icelandair posted images of its first A321LR in Hamburg on LinkedIn, along with pictures of workers adorning the aircraft with Icelandair colors. The aircraft is pictured with the registration number D-AZXZ. Still, the aircraft is not yet complete, as the engines and the seats need to be installed before Icelandair takes delivery in November. A total of new Airbus A321LRs are expected to join the Icelandair feet by the summer of 2025.
Photo: Icelandair
Bogi Bogason, the CEO of Icelandair, also shared the images on LinkedIn, mostly mirroring Icelandair’s post. He stated, “I’m excited to share that Icelandair’s first Airbus A321LR, TF-IAA was rolled out of Airbus’ paint shop in Hamburg yesterday. I wanted to share the first photos of the aircraft in Icelandair’s livery. Icelandair will take delivery of the first Airbus Aircraft in November later this year, and we’re excited to grow our fleet by a total of four new A321’s by summer 2025.”
Bogi Bogason added, “This is a huge milestone that we are very proud of.”
Icelandair fleet and Boeing 757-200 retirement.
Iceland is a tiny North Atlantic island nation with a population of around 380,000 (of which 140,000 live in the capital, Reykjavík – and 250,000 live in greater Reykjavík). Predictably, Reykjavik Airport (called the Keflavík International Airport) is the main hub of Icelandair operations.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
The airline operates a fleet of 45 aircraft, including 17 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, 13 Boeing 757-200s, and 3 Boeing 757-300s. Icelandair serves many destinations in Europe and the United States (Boston, Chicago-O’Hare, Denver, Newark, New York-JFK, Seattle, Washington-Dulles, and Toronto-Pearson in Canada). There are also seasonal routes to Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland (Oregon), and Canada’s Halifax.
Icelandair states of its Beoing 757 fleet, “Icelandair’s 757-200s have seating for 184 passengers, with seats arranged 3-3 in Economy and 2-2 in Saga Premium. Comfort is at the forefront, and passengers are provided with a personal in-flight entertainment system and gate-to-gate Wi-Fi access.” It also notes that the mid-sized jet is ideal for medium haul flights.
Photo: Icelandair
While the mid-sized Boeing 757 is one of the most loved airliners by pilots, it is aging, and Icelandair is soon to start divesting them. The last are expected to be retired by 2027 as they are placed by Icelandair’s new A321LR and A321XLR. Icelandair has previously stated that
the Airbus A321XLR can “do more” than the legacy Boeing 757
.