Greek carrier Aegean is to acquire a pair of long-range Airbus A321XLR which will enable it to bring forward its plans to open Indian services.

The airline already had commitments to 58 Airbus single-aisle jets – including four A321LRs, 33 A321neos and 21 A320neos – and the XLRs will take this total to 60.

Thirty-six of these 60 jets have already been delivered.

One of the XLRs is scheduled to arrive in December this year and the other in January 2026.

They will be designated a “special-purpose” sub-fleet to which Aegean will also allocate its A321LRs when they arrive in 2027-28.

The carrier will configure the XLRs with just 138 seats including 24 in the business-class cabin.

It plans to initiate a five-times weekly service to Delhi in March next year and a thrice-weekly operation to Mumbai in May.

Introduction of the XLRs “accelerates our access to the extremely-important Indian market”, says Aegean chair Eftichios Vassilakis.

Aegean says the XLR’s capabilities will give it 2.5h greater flight duration over the A321LR and “facilitate” its exploration of new connections.

“This fleet investment will enable an upgraded level of comfort and a differentiated travel experience to destinations outside the European Union of more than four hours’ flight time,” it adds.

Aegean says additional Indian cities – such as Bengaluru – will be considered once the A321LRs arrive, as well as possible routes to the Seychelles, Maldives, Nairobi, Almaty and Lagos.