Air Canada unveils first upgraded Airbus A321

MONTREAL – Air Canada unveiled its first upgraded Airbus A321 during flight AC692 this past Saturday. According to the company, the aircraft has been redesigned “from nose to tail.”

Customers had the option of checking out a pilot’s eye view of the take-off as part of the in-flight entertainment thanks to new exterior cameras that can be viewed through the aircraft’s seatback entertainment.

Air Canada is investing in its fleet of Airbus A321s and A320s, which will be equipped with a variety of features including a new cabin interior, new technologies and services such as Bluetooth audio, and free high-speed internet sponsored by Bell.

“We’re proud to welcome customers on board to experience the comfort, convenience, and connectivity of our latest cabins. These upgraded fleet interiors will align the A320s and A321s to the highly popular A220 experience, further strengthening our industry leading product offering,” said Mark Nasr, executive vice-president, marketing and digital, and president of Aeroplan at Air Canada. “Additionally, new features such as our inflight entertainment system streaming exterior aircraft camera feeds, Bluetooth connectivity, and free, fast internet connectivity will be extremely popular with travellers. We will continue advancing our product leadership by trialing more new in-flight experiences with this A321 and expanding those learnings to additional aircraft in our fleet.”  

Highlights of new cabin features:

• Larger overhead bins – Latest Airbus Airspace XL design, the largest overhead bins in-class that will also be installed on the Airbus A321XLRs.
• Upgraded seating – Presents a standardized product across the Air Canada narrowbody fleet in both Business Class and Economy. The new seats are designed to optimize passenger personal space, improve ergonomics, and provide more storage giving customers a more comfortable experience.
• Bluetooth audio – Air Canada’s newest IFE system will feature a Bluetooth-enabled seatback monitor. Customers will be able to connect their personal headsets while watching video on demand, live TV, or listening to podcasts or music. This initiative helps reduce usage of single-use headphones and supports Air Canada’s sustainability objectives in reducing waste.
• New exterior cameras – Customers can now watch their flight live thanks to a new first-in-class narrowbody tail and belly camera system providing high-resolution, real-time video of the aircraft exterior. 
• Full colour LED mood lighting – New cabin lighting system will allow different ambiances to be set depending on time of day and phase of flight.
• Fast and reliable Wi-Fi – Upgraded satellite-based connectivity.
• Power options at all seats – All customers have access to power outlets, USB-A, and USB-C.

According to Air Canada, the resigned Airbus A321 and A320 fleets will feature “the most extensive content overall of any airline in the Americas.”

Air Canada stated that the new cabin design reduces the overall weight of the A321 by about 240 kilograms, which will result in reduced fuel consumption. The company expects this to generate a savings of 2.4 million litres of fuel and a reduction of GHG emissions by 6,256 tCO2 equivalent annually, once the entire fleet is outfitted.

Retrofitting of the rest of the company’s fleet of A321s (14) and A320s (eight) is expected to begin this fall and be completed by the end of 2025.

Source: Air Canada.