Canada’s Air Transat expects to become the first North American operator of the Airbus A321neoLR after it takes delivery of the first of ten it has agreed to lease for 12 years from AerCap starting in 2019. Scheduled for delivery between the spring of that year and the fall of 2020, the A321LRs will replace Air Transat’s aged Airbus A310s, which the airline plans to gradually retire.

Air Transat said it will deploy the single-aisle jets on both holiday destinations and transatlantic routes, alongside its Airbus A330s and Boeing 737s. The A321LRs will come configured with 200 seats in a dual-class layout.

“The A321neoLRs will perfectly complete our fleet of A330s and B737s,” said Transat president and CEO Jean-Marc Eustache. “These aircraft are also an ideal solution for replacing our A310s. This agreement with AerCap will allow us to continue offering our customers the service and comfort they are used to, at the best possible price.”

Once introduced in 2019, the A321LR will offer the longest range of any single-aisle jetliner, capable of flying up to 4,000 nautical miles. Air Transat calls it ideal for its combination of routes, given that its size offers “major flexibility in terms of flight commercialization and frequency” while its fuel efficiency will keep cost per seat as low as possible.

Airbus has characterized the A321LR as an ideal platform for transatlantic routes carriers such as United Airlines now serve with aging Boeing 757s.

Air Transat's fleet currently consists of 31 permanent aircraft in what it calls a unique flexible-fleet model that allows it to deploy more widebody aircraft in summer for the high transatlantic season, and narrowbody aircraft in winter to cover the high season for leisure destinations.