Onboard Air Canada’s New A321XLR with John Kirk, Mark Nasr and Alex Lefevre

It has been a big week for Air Canada as the carrier showed off its first A321-XLR at events in Montreal and Toronto. Media, employees and family and friends were invited to check out the new narrow-body aircraft that AC sees as a game-changer.

More than 3,000 people toured the plane in Montreal, and an even larger crowd was expected in Toronto. Travel Market Report Canada was on hand at Air Canada Hangar 5 at Toronto Pearson, and Editor-in-Chief John Kirk interviewed two senior executives: Mark Nasr, executive VP and chief operations officer, and Alexandre Lefevre, vice-president of network planning and global sales.

The arrival of the aircraft was a long time coming – it was originally scheduled to join the fleet nearly two years ago, but was delayed by supply chain and labour issues.

Nasr told Kirk that the 182-seat aircraft, including 14 lie-flat suites and 168 economy seats, will enable the airline to explore new possibilities for destinations and add flexibility to seasonal routes. 

He said he would stack up the economy product on the A321-XLR against any airline in the world. “This plane is unique,” Nasr said. 

By 2030, Air Canada expects to have 30 of the Airbus planes in its fleet, with options for 10 more by 2032.

During a conversation with Nasr, he was proud to reveal that Air Canada’s net promoter score (NPS) in May was the highest in the airline’s history, and the latest in a series of month-to-month improvements.

Check out the video to find out more and do a walk-through of this innovative aircraft.