Central European budget carrier Wizz Air has delivered the first Airbus A321XLR and became the first operator to have a long-range type equipped with the Pratt & Whitney engine.
The airline comprises a Twinjet equipped with a UK registered G-XLRA and features a single-class layout with 239 seats.
Wiz was planning to receive the A321XLR at the event in Hamburg scheduled for mid-April, but this was ultimately postponed.
The airline had previously pushed back the jet's debut on the London Gatwick-Jeddah route, which was scheduled for the end of March.
There are 47 types of Wizz when you order. Airbus says the airline is “strengthening its ability to connect Europe with the Middle East” as a result of its delivery.
Wizz's first aircraft is equipped with a Turbofan engine with GTF gear. The previously deployed A321XLRS (carriers such as Iberia and AER Ringus) are equipped with the CFM International Leap-1A.
The GTF-powered A321XLR secured accreditation by the European Union Air Safety Authority in February, seven months after regulators approved the LEAP-1A version.
Wizz operates only the Airbus Single Islejet, and its XLR is part of the 295 aircraft backlog and is still reaching the carrier.
