Here is Jetstar’s A321XLR business class
The extended-range jets will feature 12 business class recliners from Recaro.
By David Flynn, October 20 2025
Not all budget-minded travellers are created equal, as Jetstar can attest.
Qantas’ low-cost sibling is more than doubling the size of its Boeing 787 business class, from 21 to 44 seats – and those seats will be the same well-regarded Recaro premium economy model selected by the likes of Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Riyadh Air and Starlux, to name just a few.
Jetstar's new Boeing 787 business class seat.
The revamped Dreamliners will take wing from early 2026, and they’ll be followed from 2027 by a fleet of Airbus A321XLR jets which will also feature a business class cabin.
That’s a first for Jetstar: for more than two decades since its debut in 2004, the airline’s single-aisle workhorses have sported economy seats from tip to tail.
But with the extra-long range A321XLR set to make extra-long flights between Australia and Asia – up to 11 hours in the air – Jetstar is dialling up the comfort with 12 business class seats.
The airline has confirmed to Executive Traveller that these will be from the Recaro R5 series, which is the same platform as the QantasLink Airbus A220.
Don't expect Jetstar's A321XLR business class to be as fancy as the QantasLink A220 version.
Jetstar hasn’t released official photos of its A321XLR seating, but the R5 is proving popular with many airlines for domestic or regional business class, including Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737s (as seen below).
Alaska Airlines' latest Boeing 737 business class features the Recaro R5.
Recaro is able to customise the flexible R5 family with valued convenience features such as headrest wings and seatback video screens.
Seatback video screens are among the many options available on the Recaro R5.
Although it’s not known if Jetstar has opted for those headrest wings, video screens are not on the cards – although there will be fast satellite Wi-Fi available for a fee.
Jetstar's R5 XLR business class seats will forego the screens.
In economy, Jetstar is sticking with the same Recaro R2 seat already flying on its A321neo and A321LR jets (which also appears on the QantasLink A220).
Jetstar's A321LR economy seat is bound for the A321XLR.
Every business and economy seat will come with two USB-A ports and one high-power USB-A socket, allowing passengers to keep their tech charged up en route; there’ll also be an obligatory fold-down shelf for a phone or tablet.
Depsite its all-economy history on these types of aircraft, Jetstar came close to fitting business class to its A321neo jets, which arrived in mid-2022.
“Because of the distance they can fly, we’re able to hit Bali and parts of south-east Asia from east-coast Australia,” then-CEO of Jetstar Gareth Evans told Executive Traveller in 2018, when the configuration was still being assessed.
“That will enable us to fly these planes in domestic Australia during the day, and then off international overnight so that they’re back in Australia for the start of the next day.”
“So primarily these are going to be domestic aircraft, but they are going to be flying internationally as well.”
With that in mind, Jetstar ran the numbers on the expected revenue uplift from having business class on those international turn-arounds, as well as how this premium product would fit into the domestic market.
As history shows, the airline opted for the familiar and predictable territory of an all-economy layout.
Also read: Jetstar’s new 787 business class
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Jan 2015
Total posts 45
Good news and a good move for the XLR !
07 May 2015
Total posts 76
Nice one. Jetstar doesn't need proper business class, these will do fine, especially long flights up into Asia and back. Not ideal for overnight but this is Jetstar, if people want beds in business class they can pay the full ticket price at a full-service airline. Re: Wi-Fi, I hope that in business class it's free or at the very least you get something like one hour free and a discounted rate for longer.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Feb 2015
Total posts 132
Please bring these to Perth, PER-HKT needs J, or at least i want it.
Also 2x USB-A that can’t be accurate? Or if it is that’s not a very smart decision
07 May 2015
Total posts 76
It's usually a standard configuration for seats like this, they get 2 x USB-A and 1 x USB-C.
QF
03 Jul 2015
Total posts 26
Time for Jetstar to fo with the flow, maybe USB C?
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 612
They will have USB-C. Are you suggesting they ditch USB-A?
01 Jun 2017
Total posts 24
QF and JQ service all these countries in South East Asia - Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and most definitely Singapore. QF used to service Malaysia until 2000 and never returned. Since then, AirAsia came into the picture which also made the route highly competitive thus less reasons for QF and JQ to send their metals there. Hopefully, with XLRs QF and JQ could consider a return after more than 2 decades.
06 Oct 2021
Total posts 18
Certainly not a 'Business Class' product. Why not be honest and sell it as what it is - Premium Economy? I can only guess that QF wants to keep the redemption price at the higher points level by misleading.
Scoot changed their front end description from Scoot Biz to Scoot Plus, which I have found to be excellent value and a good PE product..
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 612
Jetstar's business class is the same type as so many other low-cost carriers, so it's perfectly suited to the carrier and its target audience, so why bother trying to blame Qantas for this? Oh that's right, any chance to criticize Qantas is a good one.
I agree that it's more like 'premium economy' but if you flew Scoot Plus and liked it, well guess what, Jetstar's business class will be the same. Sure they could call it 'Premium' if they want to, and years ago it was called 'Star Class' I think, but that clearly didn't work from a marketing perspective.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1383
Jetstar once called these premium seats StarClass.
They change the name to Business when Scoot went with Scoot Business, just didn't follow them back when Scoot switched names
08 Feb 2018
Total posts 185
The Jetstarification of Qantas continues. I'm not sure the Qantas group competing with itself makes business sense.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 612
How is this anything do to with Qantas? It's about Jetstar. There's clearly a market for what Jetstar is selling, and the XLRs will expand this. Are you complaining that the two airlines are using similar seats from the same company? Well that makes good business sense, and there's no way the JQ XLR seat will be as good as the Qantas equivalent. And given the profits of both Qantas and Jetstar, if you think the two-carrier approach does not "make business sense" then maybe that says something about your business sense, or lack of it.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Here is Jetstar’s A321XLR business class