Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau) has taken delivery of its first A321-200NY(XLR), on lease from SMBC Aviation Capital, the manufacturer Airbus announced in a press release.

It is the first of thirty A321-200NY(XLR) aircraft the company is expected to take, and marks a “milestone” in its fleet renewal strategy, “enabling the carrier to bridge the gap between its narrowbody short-haul and widebody long-haul operations.”

The aircraft, C-GXLR (msn 12696) was ferried from Hamburg Finkenwerder to Toronto Pearson, via Windsor on April 24, ADS-B data shows. It has capacity for 182 passengers in two classes consisting of 14 full-flat seats in a 1-1 configuration and 168 economy cabin seats.

ch-aviation data shows Air Canada’s fleet comprises 266 aircraft, including those in its Air Canada rouge subsidiary, namely forty-two A220-300s, sixteen A319-100s, twenty-six A320-200s, thirty-four A321-200s, one A321-200NY(XLR), twenty A330-300s, forty-seven B737-8s, six B767-300ER(BDSF)s, six B777-200LRs, nineteen B777-300ERs, eight B787-8s, thirty-two B787-9s, and nine DHC-8-Q400s wet leased from PAL Airlines (Canada) (PB, St. John's).

Three more A321-200NY(XLRs) have already received their Canadian registrations and are set to be delivered to Air Canada shortly: C-GXAN (msn 12799), C-GXAU (msn 12913), and C-GXBK (msn 13056).