Qantas has ordered 20 additional Airbus A321XLR aircraft. The airline will take delivery of the narrow-body aircraft in 2028, taking its total order for the next-generation A321XLR to 48 aircraft.
Sixteen of the new aircraft will be configured with lie-flat business-class seats for long-haul routes.
The airline said its first two A321XLRs, which are configured for domestic and short-haul international flights, were expected to start operating later this month.
The aircraft will initially operate Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Perth flights and will be progressively rolled out on other routes.
Qantas said the extended range of up to 8 700km was 3 000km more than the Boeing 737 it replaced and would enable the airline to launch direct flights to destinations across South East Asia and the Pacific Islands that are not currently viable.
