en.Wedoany.com Reported - Air Canada has recently adjusted its winter deployment plan for the Airbus A321XLR narrow-body twin-engine jet fleet. The airline has taken delivery of two A321XLRs, with a total of 30 on order, featuring a 182-seat two-class cabin layout, including lie-flat seats in business class. The most notable adjustment is the domestic route from Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW), with a block time of just 54 minutes. This route operates once weekly, with service from December 21, 2026, to January 5, 2027.

Mark Gallardo, Chief Revenue Officer of Air Canada, stated that the A321XLR offers premium customers the only lie-flat seats on a single-aisle aircraft for Air Canada on transatlantic and North American routes. In the North American market, the aircraft will be deployed on the existing Montréal to Calgary (YYC) route during winter, and from December 16, it will operate daily on the Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Calgary route. The Toronto to Los Angeles (LAX) route will be served by the A321XLR on flights AC791/794 starting December 15.

Montréal is the busiest hub for the aircraft's winter operations, adding several North American destinations beyond Ottawa, Calgary, and Toronto. Flights from Montréal include: daily service to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) starting January 15, 2027; a brief service to Miami (MIA) before Christmas; Los Angeles route service from October 25 (with an additional flight from November 15); and service to Halifax (YHZ) and Bridgetown (BGI) in December. Additionally, between October 25, 2026, and January 7, 2027, the A321XLR will operate the Toronto to Montréal route two to three times weekly.

On European routes, the introduction of A321XLR capacity on the Halifax to London Heathrow (LHR) route, with four weekly flights, has been postponed from December 1 to December 17. This aircraft will replace the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and will operate daily on the route from March 28. The Ottawa to London route, with three weekly flights, has been delayed from December 2 to December 16, replacing the previous four weekly A330 flights. The Montréal to Lisbon (LIS) route will be reduced from five to three weekly flights starting October 24, with a fourth flight supplemented by the A330. The Toronto to Copenhagen (CPH) and Manchester (MAN) routes will be operated by the A321XLR replacing the Boeing 787-8 from mid-November, with these adjustments originally scheduled for late October.