The question is inevitable. Are very long flights on new-generation single-aisle aircraft an endurance test or a game-changing activity? The answer, as usual, is highly subjective, and it depends on the context, not least the specific airline and cabin. Some very historical narrowbodies flew farther.

Given the increasing number of Airbus A321XLR operators, both with active aircraft and frames being delivered soon, the list of the variant’s longest scheduled flights will keep changing. But a new milestone has been achieved, although whether that’s desirable or not is very personal. The first service timed at over ten hours is now available.

The World’s Ten Longest Scheduled XLR Flights

Credit: Airbus

The order is based on the maximum block time, which is measured as chocks-off-to-chocks-on. It is what is shown in an airline’s booking engine, on other websites, in schedules, etc. It is based on the taxi time at both airports, flight time, and a period for short delays. Where appropriate, it reflects slot possession.

The list includes various entries that have not appeared in previous iterations of this article. They include Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul Airport, with Delhi to Istanbul now the world’s longest scheduled XLR-operated flight. More on this route later in the article.

Then there’s Aer Lingus from Dublin to Barbados, which, for now at least, is only scheduled for two months. Meanwhile, there’s Air Canada from Copenhagen back to its busiest hub. What was the carrier’s longest service, Palma de Mallorca back to Toronto, does not feature because all XLR flights have now been removed. That’ll be covered separately.

IndiGo From Delhi To Istanbul

Credit: IndiGo

IndiGo, which is by far India’s largest airline, began flying this route in 2019. Like its link from Mumbai, it primarily exists to feed partner Turkish Airlines, whose bilateral traffic rights to/from India are massively limited. Moreover, IndiGo uses Istanbul as its gateway to Europe, influenced by its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines. But IndiGo’s growing nonstop routes across the continent mean this role is diminishing.

The airline currently operates daily from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul utilizing very high-capacity, 500+ seat Boeing 777-300ERs leased from Turkish Airlines. But this will change soon. From February 28, both routes will switch to the 195-seat XLR. However, the airline’s schedule submission to Cirium Diio suggests they’ll switch to the A320neo from March 28. Given the sheer length of the routes, this is highly improbable. It is bound to just be a placeholder, presumably for the XLR.

Let’s focus on Delhi to Istanbul. On March 1, for example, 6E11 will depart from Northern India at 6:45 am and arrive in Turkey at 2:30 pm local time (10h 15m block). Returning, 6E12 will leave at 4:50 pm and get back at 4:40 am+1 local time. One frame can be used. Assuming the very long time to Istanbul is not a scheduling error, it is influenced, in part, due to avoiding Pakistani airspace. But it also reflects the slower speed of the XLR, with the 777-300ER down at 8h 50m from early February.

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Iberia To JFK Is Featured, But Newark Isn’t

Credit: Iberia

The Spanish flag carrier was the launch customer of the XLR. It accounts for half of the entries, fewer than before as more and more airlines schedule flights on the variant. Timed at up to 9h 15m, Madrid to New York JFK is now the XLR’s sixth-longest scheduled service.

Readers might wonder about Madrid to Newark. Iberia will begin this route on March 29, when northern carriers switch to summer schedules based on IATA slot seasons. It’ll run daily through the summer, with the 182-seat XLR exclusively used.

While JFK flights are timed at up to 9h 15m, driven by the winter-only service with strong headwinds and the Big Apple airport’s lack of slots, Newark flights are ‘only’ up to 8h 50m. It’s a bit of a chalk-and-cheese comparison.