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Airbus poised to provide first A321XLR, sources state

Jet is in the procedure of settling delivery of its longestrange singleaisle jet, the A321XLR, to Spanish airline Iberia, market sources stated on Tuesday.

The keenly waited for delivery - the first of a new version of the very popular A321 jet - involves an official handover and transfer of ownership, though the Spanish airline will not officially welcome the aircraft into its fleet up until next month.

The airplane is scheduled to depart Hamburg, Germany, where it was put together, for Madrid at 1500 GMT on Wednesday, just ahead of Plane' quarterly revenues announcement, according to departure info published by FlightRadar24.

A Plane spokesperson declined remark.

Iberia did not instantly respond to a request for comment, however its parent IAG, which also owns British Airways, said the Spanish airline would hold a ceremony to mark the delivery on Nov. 6.

The delivery, originally due in 2023, will restore market attention towards a hotly objected to part of the market in between Plane and Boeing.

Released in 2019 to steal a march on Boeing's plans at the time to build a brand-new jet in the middle of the marketplace, the A321XLR targets a gap left by the out-of-production Boeing 757, where the A321 household outsells the largest versions of the 737 MAX.

The delivery likewise exhibits pressure on Boeing to get accreditation for the largest member of its single-aisle family, the 737 MAX 10, delayed by a concern with an anti-ice system. Boeing has actually said certification timing is a matter for regulators.

The A321XLR is designed to perform missions previously booked for wide-body jets, permitting airlines like Iberia to fly deeper into Europe from the United States, for instance, without the business threat of needing to fill a bigger plane.

Its style required a novel kind of rear main fuel tank, moulded into the shapes of the fuselage, to eke out more space for fuel and extend the variety.

But the design raised concerns amongst regulators about the threat of fire and evacuation times in the occasion of an mishap, prompting modifications before it might be licensed.

Airplane has said it has offered more than 500 A321XLR jets however does not separate them out from orders for the A321 family.

Boeing has argued the XLR addresses only a little portion of the market for single-aisle jets, the busiest part of the industry, which it pegs at 33,380 aircraft over 20 years.

(source: Reuters)