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The first American Airlines Airbus A321XLR entered revenue service on December 18, 2025, on a turn from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX). And I spent virtually that entire day on board.
From gate to gate and back again, the journey amounted to over 11 hours. And you might wonder why I spent that long on a narrowbody airplane. And that’s fair. I still am, even days after the fact.
But as the airline receives more of these airframes to retrofit its transcontinental fleet and starts deploying them to international markets in Europe and beyond, you too might be spending a considerable amount of time on the XLR.
So, to give you an idea of what that experience is actually like, I booked a round-trip ticket to get a feel for the airplane in a way that’s otherwise impossible at a media preview event.
Here’s my honest opinion after six hours in coach and five hours in premium economy.
Page Contents
On Board the American Airlines A321XLR Inaugural Flight
Part of the allure of taking an inaugural flight, especially on a brand-new airplane, is the pre- and inflight festivities. That was certainly true ahead of and during AA3, which marked the first Airbus A321XLR flight operated by American Airlines.
Ahead of the scheduled boarding time, American pre-gamed the experience with live music and speeches, talking up the new airplane and just how important it will be to the airline’s future fleet plans.
If you ever have the chance to take an inaugural flight, you should.
Boarding began a few minutes behind schedule, but nobody seemed to mind, considering the entire passenger manifest appeared to consist of people who booked this flight for the sole purpose of flying the A321XLR.
At each seat, American Airlines placed a small goodie bag with a luggage tag, a cookie, a sticker sheet, and a postcard to commemorate the event.
After pushing back, we took a roundabout route to the runway queue for a water cannon salute, which was pretty cool.
What wasn’t cool, though, was the wait to take off. At one point, the queue stretched to more than 30 aircraft, which added close to an extra hour to a flight scheduled to clock in at just over five and a half hours.
I came to get a feel for the aircraft, and that's exactly what happened.
Related: Inside the American Airlines A321XLR: Where to Sit and How to Book Flights on AA’s Brand-New Plane
American Airlines A321XLR Main Cabin: First Impressions
Once American Airlines announced the A321XLR's inaugural routes, I booked two one-way tickets in main cabin to avoid basic economy. The outbound itinerary took me from Boston (BOS) to New York (JFK), with the return heading straight back to JFK later the same day.
For the entire trip, I redeemed Rove Miles at a rate of about 1.3 cents apiece, using roughly 45,000 miles and saving nearly $600 in the process.
The outbound flight sold out quickly, and there was virtually no shot at an upgrade. Booking early, though, did let me snag one of the best seats in the main cabin.
Seat
On the flight from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX), I sat in 15A, which is one of two rows labeled as Main Cabin Extra on the A321XLR. I selected this non-bulkhead exit row seat at the time of booking thanks to my AAdvantage elite status.
These seats don’t recline, but I’d rather have more legroom than a few inches of recline, especially on a daytime flight when I probably wouldn’t be sleeping anyway.
I thought I made the right call with the seat selection, though about halfway through the flight, the seat started getting a little uncomfortable. That was compounded by the fact that it’s kind of a challenge to get up and move around on the A321XLR.
And it’s a challenge in two ways. First, the A321XLR has ample power outlets, including universal AC and USB-C sockets. If your rowmates have multiple devices plugged in, you may have to weave your way out of the row. But that’s very much a your-mileage-may-vary situation depending on who you’re sitting with.
The other challenge is that the aircraft will regularly remind you it's a narrowbody. There just isn’t much room to navigate the aisles, and there’s next to no space to congregate, especially in the back of the aircraft near the three lavatories.
Rarely were there moments when someone wasn’t standing near the last three rows of the plane (rows 32 to 34), which makes those seats ones to go out of your way to avoid.
As the flight dragged on, I became a little more jealous of those sitting in premium economy and Flagship Business, though main cabin still had some redeeming qualities.
Entertainment
One of those was the inflight entertainment. Each main cabin seat is equipped with an 11.6-inch 4K touchscreen. The system was incredibly responsive, offered Bluetooth headphone pairing (that actually worked), and was loaded with plenty of content.
Watching movies and playing around with the inflight map was a preferable alternative to paying $20 for an hour of Wi-Fi or $29 for the entire flight. Nope, it’s not free until January 2026.
Food and refreshments
I also found the inflight meal pretty decent. On this flight, American served a complimentary choice of a turkey sandwich or a cheese plate. I chose the former, though the hard-boiled eggs on the turkey sandwich were somewhat off-putting.
That said, I was happy to get anything more than a Biscoff or a packet of pretzels, especially considering that’s all that’s offered on some of the airline’s other cross-country flights.
About an hour before landing, American offered drinks along with pretzels or cookies. However, there was no water service during the middle portion of the flight, which may or may not be the norm, but would have been appreciated instead of having to get up or ring the call button.
Takeaway
Despite the hour-long departure delay, the flight touched down on time at LAX, and the plane was quickly tidied up before boarding began for the return flight to JFK.
At that point, I can’t say I was thrilled to get back on the aircraft. I didn’t find the seats comfortable enough to want to spend more time in them, though I was perfectly happy to do so for the sake of this review.
If you recall, this aircraft will eventually fly to Europe, and some passengers may be spending upwards of eight (or more) hours in these seats. After sitting in them for just over six, I can definitively say that's not something I’d want to subject myself to.
Ultimately, the A321XLR is tolerable in main cabin for a transcontinental flight, but I wouldn’t actively seek it out over a widebody or other aircraft operating these routes.
I’d probably say the same once Europe routes launch. In main cabin, I’d be willing to take a connecting flight to Europe to get more space in coach and, hopefully, a slightly more comfortable seat.
American Airlines A321XLR Premium Economy: First Impressions
Perhaps the universe felt bad I'd be doing a same-day turn, but on the return flight to New York (JFK), I lucked into a complimentary upgrade from main cabin to premium economy.
In the days leading up to departure, American Airlines was offering paid upgrades to premium economy for $568. I’m glad I didn’t pay it, because after experiencing the product for “free,” I find that price nearly impossible to justify.
Seat
American Airlines’ A321XLR has 12 premium economy seats, and I was assigned 12F, a window seat in the middle of the cabin.
These recliner seats feature adjustable calf rests, foot bars, and hard plastic privacy wings. They’re a big upgrade from the main cabin seats immediately behind them.
When I sat down, I found a complimentary water bottle and an American Airlines branded bag containing an ostrich pillow, a blanket, over-ear headphones, and a small Raven + Lily amenity kit.
At first glance, there’s a lot to like about these seats. I found mine decently comfortable, even after several hours of flying in a seat I wouldn’t describe the same way.
My biggest gripe, though, was how thick the seat shell is. American advertises these seats as having 37 inches of pitch. But the effective legroom is much less because of how much space the shell itself takes up.
When fully reclined, the seat in front of you looks and feels like it's in your lap. And even more so when tray tables are out.
The strain on the space also made it nearly impossible to get out of the row. The one time I tried, I had to climb over 12D because there wasn’t enough room to walk out normally.
If you’re flying premium economy on the A321XLR, do everything you can to snag a bulkhead seat in row 11. You won’t have anyone reclining into you, you’ll get more legroom, and you’ll have a grab bar to help hoist yourself out of the seat.
Related: How to Fly American Airlines' Best Business (and First) Class Seats Within the U.S.
Entertainment
There are two noticeable differences between premium economy and main cabin as far as entertainment goes.
The first is that the 4K touchscreen measures 13.3 inches instead of 11.6 inches. The second is that American Airlines offers complimentary over-ear headphones for use during the flight. These aren’t as high quality as the Bang & Olufsen headphones you’ll find in Flagship Business, but they’re still a massive upgrade over the plastic earbuds offered in main cabin.
The in-flight entertainment options themselves were identical to those in the main cabin, as were the Wi-Fi prices. The rates on the return flight to JFK matched those on the outbound to LAX.
January 2026 can’t come soon enough as far as Wi-Fi goes.
Food and refreshments
The food service in premium economy on the A321XLR is effectively what you’d get on another American Airlines flight in domestic first class.
Shortly after takeoff, flight attendants offered a choice of chicken parmesan with pasta or cauliflower biryani. I went with the former.
The dish, along with a side salad, bread roll, and what I believe was tiramisu-flavored cake, was served on a single tray. For airplane food, I’d say it was pretty decent, and I was genuinely happy to get a hot meal rather than another sandwich, which is what I would’ve received without the upgrade.
I think you’ll notice this as well if you fly this cabin, but the food service falls squarely between the main cabin and Flagship Business experience. Yes, you get a hot meal served on ceramic plates, but beverages come in plastic cups. I’m not a stickler for glassware, but that felt a little odd, especially considering this cabin is significantly more expensive than the one behind it.
Speaking of main cabin, the same flight attendants serve both main cabin and premium economy. That means premium economy is served first, which works well in theory, but it also meant it took a while for the crew to return and clear trays after the meal.
It was a similar story later in the flight when flight attendants offered a pretzel, cookie, and beverage service. Getting the items themselves was quick enough, but it took some time before we saw the crew again afterward.
Part of the challenge here is, once again, the A321XLR’s narrow aisle. I saw several instances where flight attendants were serving food or drinks, then had to push the cart all the way to the back of the aircraft to accommodate a passenger heading to the restroom.
That adds a noticeable amount of time to service, and there doesn’t seem to be a great alternative given the layout.
Takeaway
Premium economy on the A321XLR replaces lie-flat business class on the Airbus A321T. Based on that, I’m not convinced premium economy on the A321XLR is an upgrade from a passenger experience perspective.
These seats do have some positives, like the large, responsive touchscreen and the added layers of privacy, but there are downsides too. I think your opinion of the experience will vary significantly depending on whether you’re in the bulkhead and, if not, whether the person in front of you chooses to recline.
My biggest takeaway from sitting in premium economy is that these seats really do live up to their name. Yes, you get some premium touches, like a wider, more cushioned seat and an elevated dining experience, but you don’t get those without the economy trade-offs.
The aircraft’s layout means longer waits for the crew to clear dishes, and you’re still sent all the way to the back of the plane to use the lavatory. This cabin feels stuck in the middle.
And I’m glad I didn’t pay extra to sit here. The added creature comforts were nice, but for me, it would’ve been money not particularly well spent.
Bottom Line
After nearly 12 hours spent on the American Airlines Airbus A321XLR, I can definitively say this isn’t my favorite aircraft in AA’s fleet. I wanted it to be, but for now, it's not. While it may be the airline’s favorite from an economics standpoint, I’m not convinced many passengers will feel the same way.
On transcontinental flights and longer, you’re constantly reminded that you’re on a narrowbody aircraft, not a widebody.
There isn’t much space to move around, and I wish American had invested in an extra layer of seat padding in the main cabin. In premium economy, the recline situation is a bit curious, and I’m personally not a fan of having my inflight experience hinge on whether the person in front of me chooses to recline.
Ultimately, I’d be willing to try the A321XLR again, but probably in Flagship Business. On a longer flight, I’d feel the urge to splurge for one of those seats.
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