I saw this article which was quite interesting on the possibilities of easyJet if they ordered the xlr . Would they be able to operate these kind of routes profitably?

https://simpleflying.com/easyjet-airbus-a321xlr/

8 hours flight in a 29" seat pitch ? No thanks

The whole article is a complete fantasy. Easyjet have shown no interest in anything like this at all. The current CEO is certainly not the man to lead the company through a major revolution. This is not going to happen and is barely worth talking about. The easyjet A321s have no additional centre tanks. That on its own shows the company’s intentions.

Looking at this article, the author says that EasyJet has always been an Airbus operator. EasyJet started as a Boeing operator (737-300 and 737-700). The potential destinations which are mentioned are nice but a business case will determine if any of those routes are interesting, not just the range capability of the A321XLR. Let's see what EasyJet will do.

A388

Rifitto wrote:

8 hours flight in a 29" seat pitch ? No thanks

Im a decently tall person and when I flew easyJet last summer, I found the seat and legroom to be very good and comfortable, which surprised me greatly.

I would say it was unlikely that they will convert any orders to this . However I never saw wizz getting any either . If they did any longer sectors I think it would mostly be holiday destinations sold

They'd have to introduce a new onboard product (realistically, who is going to fly 8hrs+ at 29" pitch without IFE or WiFi), meaning the aircraft couldn't also be switched onto intra-Europe routes to maximise utilisation. It doesn't make any sense if they are going to stick to their current business strategy. There is still expansion potential within europe for shorthaul routes and I think they will make the most of this before even considering going longhaul with the XLR

This guy has no idea what he's talking about. First of all, EasyJet is headquartered in LTN, but their main hub is LGW. Next, why is everyone so hung up on all these LCCs doing long-haul? EasyJet is doing well, one of the most profitable in Europe, and for the foreseeable future, are gonna stick with what they know best, short-haul intra-Euro flying. Long-haul low-cost flying is a saturated niche market. Many have tried, many have failed.

What i'll say is, the A321XLR will be a fine aircraft. EasyJet will be fine. They know what they're doing.
Also, who cares about 29" pitch and no IFE. It's not that bad. If the ticket is cheap enough, people will come. I personally don't care at all. I just want to get from A to B as cheaply as possible. I love flying, but at the end of the day airlines are a mode of transport. Everything else is just a bonus.

The article really doesn't make too much sense. There is no way a XLR is flying LTN to South India in a high density config with alt+rsv intact. The article just shows routes within a 4700nm radius which are clearly not possible.

I have heard A rumour easy are looking to go to Cape Verde (assume from Gatwick ) are their current a321neo able to get there with a full load ? GC is 2500 miles I imagine add a few looking at 2700 ish

f4f3a wrote:

I have heard A rumour easy are looking to go to Cape Verde (assume from Gatwick ) are their current a321neo able to get there with a full load ? GC is 2500 miles I imagine add a few looking at 2700 ish

It says 2363 nmi great circle to BVC. I think the A320 NEO could. Possibly too far for the A321 NEO without an ACT.

f4f3a wrote:

I have heard A rumour easy are looking to go to Cape Verde (assume from Gatwick ) are their current a321neo able to get there with a full load ? GC is 2500 miles I imagine add a few looking at 2700 ish

Certainly they can make it. Thomas Cook is flying the A320 to Cape Verde from Gatwick (seasonal) and Manchester (year-round). Thomas Cook Scandinavia even flies seasonal charters to Cape Verde from Oslo and Stockholm which are a good deal further than Gatwick.

f4f3a wrote:

I have heard A rumour easy are looking to go to Cape Verde (assume from Gatwick ) are their current a321neo able to get there with a full load ? GC is 2500 miles I imagine add a few looking at 2700 ish

Novair flew OSL/ARN - Cape Verde nonstop this winter with their standard 221-seat A321NEO.

PatrickZ80 wrote:

f4f3a wrote:

I have heard A rumour easy are looking to go to Cape Verde (assume from Gatwick ) are their current a321neo able to get there with a full load ? GC is 2500 miles I imagine add a few looking at 2700 ish

Certainly they can make it. Thomas Cook is flying the A320 to Cape Verde from Gatwick (seasonal) and Manchester (year-round). Thomas Cook Scandinavia even flies seasonal charters to Cape Verde from Oslo and Stockholm which are a good deal further than Gatwick.

While I agree with the principal that Thomas Cook did the route with an A320/321, it’s worth pointing out that Thomas Cook have since pulled their Cape Verde operations.

One issue with Easyjet doing Cape Verde (and what Thomas Cook found out) is lack of hotel rooms. From the U.K., TUI has a near monopoly on the market as RIU hotels are the main player, and have a very tight contract with TUI. Therefore, the flight only market will struggle.

One route that could do well for Easyjet is Banjul. Currently a Thomas Cook monopoly from the U.K. and, well, it’s well documented about their woes right now.

Gatwick, Gatwick, Gatwick, Gatwick

They’d be better off doing Banjul in the winters above Cape Verde. TUI have so much of the hotel stock tied up through ownership in Cape Verde that I think it would be a very difficult sell.

The range map shown by the article’s owner is inaccurate and is based upon the actual published range of 4700nm in a standard configuration.

With 230 seats on board and 95kg average pax/baggage weight, the A321neo-XLR can do 3400 nautical miles out of LGW. This means that the aircraft cannot even reach any Indian city with a full payload and not even Lahore/Islamabad in Pakistan.

Eastbound maximum it can do is Muscat. Southbound it can do Douala and Westbound it can do Detroit.

What is standard config for a 321 210 seats?
I can see certain places being able to do with their brand presence from Gatwick such as Florida and Caribbean doing ok . Average sector lengths have grown over the years but possible destinations outside of what they do now seems to be like a big jump in range

f4f3a wrote:

What is standard config for a 321 210 seats?
I can see certain places being able to do with their brand presence from Gatwick such as Florida and Caribbean doing ok . Average sector lengths have grown over the years but possible destinations outside of what they do now seems to be like a big jump in range

Standard A321Neo configuration is 180 seats in a two class configuration ie 12J @ 45 inch pitch + 168Y @ 32 inch pitch.

The writer of this article could do with getting their head out of the clouds!

They’d never turn a profit on any of he routes the writer has plucked out!

Utter Madness

OMAA

AlexBrewster03 wrote:

Rifitto wrote:

8 hours flight in a 29" seat pitch ? No thanks

Im a decently tall person and when I flew easyJet last summer, I found the seat and legroom to be very good and comfortable, which surprised me greatly.

I would be more worried about the entertainment options. No seatback IFE systems, nor do they have one of those wifi and app based solutions. Do they even have USB chargers?

Rifitto wrote:

8 hours flight in a 29" seat pitch ? No thanks

You mean 28in pitch. Apart from the odd seat here and there, the standard EasyJet pitch for the vast majority of their seats is 28in. I have measured this on multiple occasions myself

I hate that EasyJet misrepresent this. This is not a slight on them - I fly them often - I just wish they would be a bit more transactionally honest with customers as to exactly how much space they are (not) getting.

pfletch1228 wrote:

Rifitto wrote:

8 hours flight in a 29" seat pitch ? No thanks

You mean 28in pitch. Apart from the odd seat here and there, the standard EasyJet pitch for the vast majority of their seats is 28in. I have measured this on multiple occasions myself

I hate that EasyJet misrepresent this. This is not a slight on them - I fly them often - I just wish they would be a bit more transactionally honest with customers as to exactly how much space they are (not) getting.

I'm guessing there's slightly less legroom on the older aircraft (eg pre 2013 A320s and all A319s) due to the thicker seats? I have always found that with the new seats it feels a little more spacious though I've never actually measured it

jghealey wrote:

pfletch1228 wrote:

Rifitto wrote:

8 hours flight in a 29" seat pitch ? No thanks

You mean 28in pitch. Apart from the odd seat here and there, the standard EasyJet pitch for the vast majority of their seats is 28in. I have measured this on multiple occasions myself

I hate that EasyJet misrepresent this. This is not a slight on them - I fly them often - I just wish they would be a bit more transactionally honest with customers as to exactly how much space they are (not) getting.

I'm guessing there's slightly less legroom on the older aircraft (eg pre 2013 A320s and all A319s) due to the thicker seats? I have always found that with the new seats it feels a little more spacious though I've never actually measured it

There may be more legroom due to the newer SL series Recaro seats, but pitch is finite - its the distance between seat A and seat B at a fixed point (for example the start of the arm rest).

I don't find the new Recaro seats uncomfortable - they are certainly a step up from the old seats as they are thinner and pitch has remained the same, giving more legroom - but they are still considerably more cramped than what you get on the 737-800s at Norwegian or Ryanair. Norwegian in particular is much more comfortable - they went with a higher end model of the Recaro seat with actual padding (and not nets) and more legroom. You can definitely notice the difference.

That article is an abject disgrace. The XLR's range is based on a configuration including business class, in an easyjet all Y configuration there is no hope for it ever to get as far as Denver from Luton. Not even a sliver of a chance.

A388 wrote:

Looking at this article, the author says that EasyJet has always been an Airbus operator. EasyJet started as a Boeing operator (737-300 and 737-700). The potential destinations which are mentioned are nice but a business case will determine if any of those routes are interesting, not just the range capability of the A321XLR. Let's see what EasyJet will do.

A388

Sorry to be slightly pedantic but EasyJet actually started with the 737-200. I know because I flew on one in the days when their fleet consisted of two wet-leased -200s and ticketless travel was a huge novelty. I think it was probably in late 1995.

There is a lot of fantasy involved in this article.

However, it shouldn't come as a surprise that easyJet have been looking at longer routes, even with their 'basic' A321NEOs. Sub-Saharan Africa has several interesting destinations - Banjul, Lagos, Accra and Dakar for instance. I understand we could see service to Dakar from sooner rather than later.

I remember ba used to have business class seats on Europe that could turn into economy on Hugh dense routes . Could a seat like this be useful? Ie easily re-configable seats .

f4f3a wrote:

I remember ba used to have business class seats on Europe that could turn into economy on Hugh dense routes . Could a seat like this be useful? Ie easily re-configable seats .

All the European legacy airlines (unless you count Turkish as European) now use similar seats throughout the plane on their 737/A32x planes. Some of then have more legroom towards the front. When seats are sold as business, the middle seat in each block of three is left vacant and sometimes a console table is slotted into the unused middle seat space. Really, the differentiation between Business and Economy is not on seating but on catering, lounge access, baggage allowance and FF mile earning capability. With the current system a plane flying into a major city at key business times may have as many as 12 rows of Business, while the next trip may only need 3 rows, so the console tables are folded away and the cabin dividing curtain moved frontwards. Cabin crew can do this, whereas the now obsolete convertible seats you're thinking of required a ground engineer to come onboard and make the change. These seats were much heavier than the current system, took up more cabin space, and of course turnrounds were slower

Easyjet, in common with the other European LCCs, only fly in all-economy config. Some LCCs have products aimed at business travellers but the offering is changeability of dates or times, seat reservations included, guaranteed hand baggage carried in cabin, and better baggage allowance, not type of seat.

Edited to add - BA has 4 A321s in mid-haul config with long-haul lie-flat business seats and long-haul economy seats. The seats can't be reconfigured except as part of major maintenance, so this isn't any kind of option for Eastjet

This would not be about Easyjet ¬only adding a couple of far reaching destinations" - it would be ablut Easyjet completely changing their Business Mode towards becoming more like Norwegian.
The author of the article speaks as if it is simply the excercise to add one or another aircraft and get flying. Completlly senseless since he disregard the restructuring and implementation costs and process - as well as change in mentality - that would need to occur on Easyjet for they, for exanple consider adding Flights to Dubai, Thailand, etc.
I wonder if was worth printing - maybe the editor should have a word with the author towards making a more consistent and concrete point or abandoning the whole idea altogether.

It does raise the question carriers like easyJet and Ryanair have changed a lot from their original blueprint . Ryanair now operates four brand airlines as well as holiday section . EasyJet is also branching out with a re launch of its holiday arm . how
Are these carriers going to change in the next few years will be very interesting