Review: Qantas A321XLR business, economy

Travellers stepping onto a domestic Qantas flight may soon be making their trip on an all-new type of aircraft.

It’s the Airbus A321XLR – a sleek, modern jet which will steadily replace the ‘last-gen’ Boeing 737 as the backbone of Qantas’ domestic fleet.

The first red-tailed XLRs are now flying on the busy Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Perth routes.

Sydney-Brisbane is next, from 16 November, with more cities to follow as the jets steadily spread their wings across Australia.

So what will it be like to fly on the shiny new Qantas A321XLR?

Executive Traveller joined the first XLR flight from Sydney to Melbourne to find out.

Join Executive Traveller as we detail what's new and noteworthy on the Qantas A321XLR.

Our take-away: you can look forward to a quieter, more comfortable and more enjoyable ride compared to the workhorse Boeing 737, with one caveat.

The biggest difference between the A321XLR and the Boeing 737 is what the XLR doesn’t have: there are no seatback video screens, not even in the high-priced business class cabin. 

That means you’ll need to rely on your own phone, tablet or laptop, or the delights of a good book, to keep the inflight boredom at bay.

At least the Wi-Fi flows free and fast – we clocked it at 20Mbps – so you can stay connected above the clouds.

Introducing the Qantas A321XLR

Qantas is the first airline to fly the Airbus A321XLR in the Asia-Pacific region, and only the fourth around the world, although more airlines are standing in line.

Airbus spent years developing the XLR, which stands for ‘eXtra Long Range’ – indicating that this plane can travel a staggering 8,700km, equivalent to as many as 11 hours of non-stop flying.

So not only will the XLR dominate Australian skies, it can connect Australia to most of Asia: think Melbourne to Manila, Brisbane to Bangkok, Perth to Phuket.

“The extended flight range enables us to operate these aircraft on both domestic and short haul international routes, including destinations across South East Asia that are not viable with our current narrowbody fleet,” says Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson.

Qantas sees plenty of international flights in the A321XLR's future.

To that end, Qantas is developing a special international version of the XLR with lie-flat business class beds and video screens for every seat.

Hudson says those flatbeds will be “well suited for longer domestic sectors like Sydney and Melbourne to Perth, and creating new possibilities for our international network on routes like Perth to India or Adelaide to Singapore.”

One of Qantas' many options for the XLR's international business class.

“They’ll also provide a more consistent premium experience for customers flying domestically and connecting onto our long-haul international network, like Brisbane-Perth-London.”

Read more: Qantas A321XLRs get flatbed business class 

For now, a growing fleet of domestic XLRs will allow Qantas to retire its stalwart Boeing 737s in a transition phased across as many as ten years; the oldest 737s, with almost 25 years on the clock, will soon be put to pasture.

Each XLR will be named after “iconic Australian walks, rivers, and roads” – the first two have been christened Great Ocean Road and Outback Way, with the Seven Peaks Walk joining them in November.

As the XLR is almost five metres (16 feet) longer than the 737, Qantas has been able to fit in more seats without any compromise on legroom.

There are 20 business class seats, compared to just 12 on the 737, with 180 economy seats against 162 on the 737.

The Qantas A321XLR: first impressions

Perhaps the first thing you notice after stepping on board the XLR is how much roomier this plane feels compared to the older design of the Boeing 737.

While only slightly wider, with an extra 18cm (7”) from wall to wall, those walls are more sculptured and flow into a higher ceiling, so the entire cabin feels larger and more open.

Airbus also refined the shape of the frame or bezel surrounding the windows so that they seem a little larger, while also providing more of a view and, again, bringing a sense of extra space into the cabin.

Addressing a common pain point for passengers are the XLR’s extra-large overhead lockers, with room for 60% more bags than the 737.

With four standard-sized cabin bags able to sit vertically in each bin, the XLR can carry one wheeled bag for every passenger.

Once the XLR is up in the air, it’s clearly a quieter ride than the Boeing 737.

Airbus drew on technology and techniques developed for the big Airbus A350 so there’s less noise in the cabin, while the XLR’s turbofan engines are also quieter than their 737 equivalents.

Qantas XLR business class

The A321XLR’s business class cabin is almost twice the size of the 737, with 20 seats instead of 12.

In the short term, this 66% boost is resulting in more business class seats appearing at low Classic Reward rates – something we’re already seeing on XLR flights – while also lifting your chances of snaring a points-based upgrade from economy.

In keeping with the jet’s domestic duties, the comfortable claret leather-clad seats (supplied by Recaro) are essentially a modern version of those on the 737.

Across five rows of that familiar 2-2 layout, these recliners are 64cm wide, or 8cm more than their 737 equivalents, and set at the same 37” pitch.

Each business passenger gets an extendable calf-rest and footrest...

... while the seat reclines by 5”, which could be a bit close-quarters for the person behind.

Again, we should point out that this is a domestic configuration: the international XLRs arriving from 2028 will sport flatbed business class suites, with just one either side of the aisle.

Under the centre armrest of each business class seat are USB-A and USB-C power outlets – the latter is rated at a fast-charging laptop-friendly 60 watts – plus a wireless charging pad.

There’s no AC outlet, as this can probably be considered redundant for most tech-toting travellers on the XLR’s short- to medium-range hops.

In place of the conventional seatback video screen, there’s a concealed fold-down ‘device holder’ shelf for tablets and phones.

This is positioned at eye level and handily located next to a second pair of USB-A and USB-C outlets.

An easy-to-miss metal arm slides up from behind to help hold your tablet in place.

Here’s a tip: iPads are best oriented with the Home button facing towards the window, because otherwise the volume buttons can be repeatedly and annoyingly triggered.

As you’d expect, there’s plenty of room for your laptop on the tray table, and the 60W USB-C port is up to the task.

Something else to note: between the business and economy cabins, these first three XLRs sport translucent divider panels, similar to those on the Boeing 737s.

From the fourth aircraft onwards these will be replaced by a full-height partition wall and curtain, as shown in concept renders (the first three XLRs will be retrofitted at a later stage).

For now, this gives the gift of insane legroom to passengers in the first row of economy.

Qantas XLR economy class

Down the back of the (Air)bus there are 180 economy seats ranked in a 3-3 layout.

They’re from the same manufacturer – Recaro – as the Qantas A220 and forthcoming Qantas A350.

Comfort is pretty much in line with the 737: the seat itself is a barely-noticeable 1cm wider, at 17.6”, and most rows are set at a standard 30” pitch.

However, the design of the Recaro XLR seat delivers a little more space around the knees, which is usually where things get tight, and there are no floor-mounted boxes for the inflight video system eating into your already-limited legroom and causing your feet to be splayed at an awkward angle.

And passengers in the window seat benefit from an extra inch of space at shoulder level, due to the reshaped cabin walls.

Above the tray table you’ll find a flip-down ledge where you can perch your smartphone or tablet, with USB-A and USB-C outlets sensibly located next to this.

That same USB-C outlet supplies 60w of power for your laptop – just forget about using it if the person in front reclines their seat.

Now to the big question for economy flyers: “what about the legroom?”

Most rows in the XLR’s economy cabin have a 30” pitch: as a refresher, pitch is measured as the distance between one seat and the same point on the seat directly in front, such as the tip of the armrest.

Qantas' A321XLR economy class.

Pitch isn’t actually the same thing as legroom, but it serves as a fairly reliable stand-in.

So here’s what that legroom looks like on most XLR economy seats, which measure around 26cm from the front of the seat cushion to the rear of the seat in front.

It’s decent, if nothing to write home about, which pretty much describes economy class in a nutshell.

Happily, the Qantas XLRs have six ‘extra legroom’ rows boasting anywhere from 38cm to 75cm ahead of you, which it says can be booked for an additional fee.

These are:

• rows 6 and 7
• rows 15 and 16
• rows 17 and 18

They’re not just about having more room to stretch out – they’re also brilliant if you need to work on your laptop without worrying about what happens when the passenger in front reclines their seat.

Let’s step through them.

Row 6 is the first row in the economy cabin. It’s usually the top pick, especially if you’re travelling without checked baggage and want to be quick off the plane and on your way.

On the XLR, row 6 affords an insane 75cm. You can appreciate why this row is nominally reserved for Platinum One frequent flyers and Chairman’s Lounge members!

Just be aware that the middle seats in this row, 6B and 6E, lose a little legroom due to the centre armrest module of the two business class seats in front.

Row 7 is another good choice if you value being up front and fast off the flight, although the distance from the front of a row 7 seat cushion to the rear of row 6 is a more modest 38cm.

Still, that’s a valuable 10cm more than most other rows.

Rows 15 and 16 are both emergency exit rows, as the XLR has two exit doors on either side.

Qantas' A321XLR economy class extra legroom rows.

Here you’ll find a generous 50cm in front of you, making the emergency exit rows second only to row 6 for the tallest travellers.

Just behind those emergency exits are rows 17 and 18, and with about 48cm of space in front of your knees these are also worthy of consideration.

Qantas' A321XLR economy class extra legroom rows.

Savvy travel tip: when online check-in opens at 24 hours before departure (also known as ’T-24’) you can usually select an extra legroom seat for free. This is known as the T-24 hack.

Read more: Unlock the best Qantas seats for free with the ‘T-24’ hack 

About those economy bathrooms...

Qantas has copped plenty of flak for a shortfall in the number of bathrooms assigned to the XLR’s economy cabin.

The first three A321XLRs suffer from a stingy config with just two lavs for all 180 economy passengers – if you’re numerically-minded, that’s a ratio of 1:90.

Realising the error of its ways, Qantas has confirmed that XLRs #4 onwards will lose a block of three economy seats in order to fit in a third bathroom, reducing the ratio to a more sensible 1:59.

That’s actually better than the Boeing 737, which comes in at 1:81.

(Up front in business class, there’s still one washroom shared between all 20 premium passengers, so expect more of a queue for the loo than on the 737s with their 12 business class seats.)

And down the track, these first three XLRs will also have that third economy washroom added – but we’re talking two or three years down the track, when the jets go in for their first ‘heavy maintenance check’ (at which point the new cabin divider will also be installed).

So what happened to the video screens?

Qantas’ rationale for removing seatback video screens from the domestic XLRs is that most passengers will bring their own devices, if they don’t already do so.

There are obvious savings here, too – less weight, a lower up-front cost, and no frustrating hassles with screens which start glitching or stop working entirely.

The airline’s extensive library of movies, TV shows and music will still be available beamed throughout the plane over Wi-Fi and can be accessed on phones or tablets through the Qantas Entertainment app, or to laptops across your Web browser.

Of course, thanks to fast and free satellite Wi-Fi, passengers can also enjoy streaming services like Netflix and Spotify, or just browse the Web, plough through their email inbox, or chat with friends and family en route.

Experience the Qantas XLR for yourself

Based on the Qantas timetable, here are the flights which are likely to feature the A321XLR over the coming months.

• Sydney-Melbourne: QF405, QF415, QF443 and QF483
• Melbourne-Sydney: QF422, QF432, QF454, QF498
• Sydney–Perth: QF641, QF643, QF649
• Perth-Sydney: QF646, QF648, QF652
• Sydney-Brisbane: QF544 (from 16 November)
• Brisbane-Sydney: QF555 (from 16 November)

Of course, these schedules are subject to change.

To check which aircraft is assigned to any given flight, click the flight number on the Qantas schedule and in the pop-up Flight Information box, look for the ‘Aircraft type’: the XLR is listed as an Airbus A321neo.

Yes, it’s a little odd that this shows as the A321neo ‘parent’ model rather than the actual A321XLR, but at least now you know what to look for.

David Flynn travelled as a guest of Qantas.

Also read: Qantas rolls out next-generation economy seat