Flight Notes – how to fly the Airbus A321

The Airbus A321 is a stretched version of Airbus' best-selling short- and medium-range jetliner, the A320. The A321 has slightly increased wing area, stronger landing gear with larger tires, and engines with increased thrust.

The A320 program was started in the early 1980s with the intention of supplanting what was then the most popular medium-range jetliner, the Boeing 727. By the time the A321 entered service in 1988, its avant-garde avionics—"glass cockpit" instrumentation, the first digital fly-by-wire control system used in an airliner, and sidestick controllers—put it a generation ahead of many others.

In less than 20 years Airbus has delivered more than 2,500 A320 Family aircraft; more than 300 of them are A321s, capable of carrying up to 220 passengers, though the typical two-class configuration seats 186—practically identical to the standard passenger load of the 737-800.

Specifications

	U.S.	Metric
Cruise Speed	Mach 0.80 (447 knots/530 mph)	828 km/h
Engines	Two 30,000 lb thrust CFM56-5B3 high-bypass turbofans
Maximum Range	2,454 nm	4,352 km
Service Ceiling	41,000 feet	12,497 meters
Fuel Capacity	6,260 U.S. gallons	23,700 liters
Empty Weight	105,906 pounds	48,038 kilograms
Maximum Gross Weight	205,000 pounds	92,986 kilograms
Length	146 feet	44.51 meters
Wingspan	111 feet, 10 inches	34.13 meters
Height	38 feet, 7 inches	11.76 meters
Seating	186