XL Airways France (Paris CDG) is considering acquiring an unspecified number of A321neo for transatlantic operations, airline president Laurent Magnin has said.

In an interview with Business Travel News, Magnin said the aircraft, if acquired, would be used to relaunch flights to New York JFK from secondary French cities that had previously proven unfeasible given the use of oversized A330 aircraft.

"America continues to be a big destination for us. We are in Miami International, in Los Angeles International, in [San Francisco] and New York," he said. "[Maybe after] two years, we will also be at other points in the United States. We also are questioning whether to start some things from different cities in France to New York. We tried to fly Marseilles three or four years ago. It was not unsuccessful. Our plane was too big. We use 400 seats, and starting from Paris CDG it's no problem, but starting from the province, we need a little aircraft. Maybe an A321 will be next."

It is recalled that XL Airways' sister carrier La Compagnie (B0, Paris Orly) will add two A321neo from GECAS in April and September 2019. They will be used to gradually replace its existing fleet of two B757-200s of which one will be retained at least until the end of 2019 while the other will not be returned to its owner until 2021.