Aer Lingus expands transatlantic narrowbody routes with increased Airbus A321LR/XLR operations

Identifying whether an LR or XLR will be used on specific routes remains challenging since both types are configured with 184 seats and schedules do not distinguish between them. Flightradar24 data suggests that while some routes occasionally use the XLR—such as Dublin-Toronto and Philadelphia—the majority are operated by LRs.

For September, all flights on these routes will use single-aisle equipment: Dublin-Washington Dulles (10 weekly), Dublin-Hartford (daily), Dublin-Minneapolis (daily), Dublin-Newark (daily), Dublin-Philadelphia (daily), Dublin-Toronto (daily), Shannon-Boston (daily), Shannon-New York JFK (daily), Dublin-Cleveland (six weekly), Dublin-Indianapolis (four weekly), and Dublin-Nashville (four weekly).

The new route from Dublin to Nashville stands out for its duration; it covers 3,393 nautical miles each way and has a scheduled block time of up to nine hours and five minutes westbound in September. This makes it one of the longest scheduled narrowbody flights between Europe and North America for that month.

There is speculation about further expansion into U.S. markets such as Raleigh/Durham or St. Louis. St. Louis had approximately 730 daily round-trip passengers traveling between Europe and North America during the year ending June 2025. Its only direct European service is currently to Frankfurt with Lufthansa.

Aer Lingus was founded in 1938 and operates as a full-service carrier based at Dublin Airport.