American will start operating the Airbus A321XLR later this year, which will come with new cabins in a premium heavy configuration. We’ve already seen many photos and renderings of this aircraft, and it’ll be a much-needed improvement over the current A321 Transcon jets.
One limitation of American’s A321XLRs will be the galley space. To put it simply, the ones they ordered have less space, meaning it’s more of a challenge for the crew to conduct efficient service.
Knowing these galley limitations on this aircraft, American has to devise a workaround and address this. According to JonNYC, they are going to start by testing getting rid of bread and butter in economy and premium economy class on several routes.
He does note that the A321XLR is, by nature, tighter than a traditional widebody aircraft. Although Airbus customers theoretically can make their galleys as large as they want, American presumably didn’t want the galley space to cut into their seating. Instead, some amenities will take a hit.
Anyways, JonNYC says that American is looking to test getting rid of bread in butter on 3 routes: Boston (BOS), Charlotte (CLT), and Raleigh (RDU) to London (LHR). Based on customer feedback, American may or may not serve bread and butter when the A321XLRs officially enter service. However, if it’s not bread and butter, I assume that some other amenity will be cut.
The Airbus A321XLR’s unique abilities have created some interesting workarounds for airlines. American is using Collins Aerospace’s Aurora seats for these jets, which are inward-facing herringbone seats that, interestingly, face more towards the aisle than the front of the plane. This, again, helps maximize space on the A321XLR’s smaller interior dimensions.
I’m very excited to see these enter service, which will probably be within the next year. It’s interesting to see American actively working on the tweaks and issues with the new jet entering service. With that said, it’ll be kind of disappointing to see bread and butter service go away for A321XLR flights, especially in premium economy. And again, if it’s not bread and butter, something else will probably get cut.
Featured image by American Airlines.
