TAP Air Portugal receives first Airbus A321LR

In a ceremony held in Airbus’ Hamburg facility, TAP Air Portugal took delivery of their first A321LR, making them the first airline to operate the type alongside the widebody A330neo.

The aircraft, MSN 8593, registered CS-TXA, is powered by two CFM LEAP-1A32 engines and is the first of twelve on order by the airline.

Here’s an infographic on the aircraft:

Congratulations @TAPAirPortugal on becoming the 1st airline to operate the #A321LR and the #A330neo, the winning combination to cover the needs of the medium to long haul market with unrivaled commonality for operations and higher & harmonized comfort standards for passengers. pic.twitter.com/6MPQCJmhAv

— Airbus (@Airbus) April 5, 2019

Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of TAP Air Portugal, reflected on the aircraft in the following statement:

“The A321LR is critical for TAP’s expansion plans. With its superior range, we can comfortably explore markets in North America, South America, and Africa from Portugal, and it’ll fit in seamlessly with our A330neos.”

Cabin

Configured in a three class layout, the aircraft holds 171 seats. The following table breaks the cabin down:

One of our writers, Catarina Madureira, was able to get access to the new cabin and gather these excellent photos!

Business

Business class is configured in a staggered layout, with three rows setup in 2-2 and two in 1-1. Each seat comes with its own high definition entertainment display and ample storage space.

Economy

Economy class is bright and airy, featuring TAP’s color pallet and mood lighting. The cabin is configured in a 3-3 layout, with all seats having high definition, touch-screen displays. Just like business class, USB power charging is available.

Airbus notes the “combination of the A321LR and the A330neo within a single fleets provides operators a powerful lever to cover the needs of the medium to long-haul market”.

Potentially a subtle hit to the proposed Boeing New Midsize Airplane (NMA), Airbus has always maintained the combination as “market leading”. In this case, they’ve even dubbed the combination as “Airbus NEO Midsize Aircraft” (A-NMA), which they say offers “unprecedented capacity and transatlantic range with similar aisle cost with the A321LR, and unbeatable unit costs and flexibility for true long haul with the A330neo.”

Since its launch, Airbus has gained over 6500 orders from 100 customers worldwide for the A320neo Family. Offering 30 per cent fuel savings and a 50 per cent reduction in noise, the family has become one of the best selling commercial aircraft programs in history.