The Real Reason Why Air Canada's New Airbus A321XLR Couldn't Hold Down Its Most Important Transatlantic Route

Air Canada is in the process of bolstering its fleet with the Airbus A321XLR. The longest-range single-aisle jet available today, Airbus’ latest addition to the A320neo family has been specifically developed with long and thin routes in mind. That is, the market for long-distance, direct links between airports where demand is not quite there to justify the use of widebodies. For Air Canada, that makes it ideal to cover a range of transcontinental and international flights. In fact, up until recently, it had been earmarked to carry out services on the airline’s arguably most vital transatlantic link.