"Airbus 321": description, best seats and layout

"Airbus 321" - the largest aircraft family 320 produced by the concern Airbus. The first flight was made in 1992. Production of aircraft continues to this day. According to the latest information from the company, in 2018 it is planned to assemble up to 60 aircraft per month. In terms of its technical characteristics and maintenance, it differs little from the prototype - 320th, but due to more powerful engines it is able to carry more passengers and luggage.

The aircraft is going to a specific order - the customer is offered a version only economy class with a capacity of 220 people or a business / economy with a capacity of 185 people.

History

The prototype 320 of the French company began to collect in 1972. In the 90's, first appeared the 319th version, the main difference being a shortened 7 meters fuselage. The rest of the parameters are repeated in the 320th. The first "Airbus 321" (321-100) received a fuselage 7 meters longer than the prototype and in 1992 had the shortest flight range among the entire 320-s family. Then, with the upgrade, the plane received reinforced brakes, more powerful engines and an additional tank located in the tail section of the cabin. The initial development was not planned, unlike the plans for the 320th, to create competition for the Americans, but the appearance of the Boeing 757 on the market forced the company to reconsider the decision on the release of the 321st, and the current model, 321-200, is a worthy competitor to the 757- Th, a little inferior to the range of flight, but with a more spacious fuselage.

The first customer for the new model aircraft was the German Lufthansa. Aircraft 321-100 flew to its hangars in early 1995. At the end of 1996, the first "Airbus 321-200" took off.

Arrangement of the cabin by the customer

As already mentioned, the customer receives at the factory one of two options for layouts. However, that's not all. In the process of operation, the customer himself can change the number of seats himself and thus re-equip the aircraft to transport more or less passengers. The documentation for the aircraft indicates how you can re-arrange the cabin. "Airbus 321" has a wide range of layouts. From the economy class, where there will be 6 seats in the row, three on each side of the aisle, to the business class, where four chairs will be installed in a row. Also, the layout is possible within a wide range. There are only two limitations - in any arrangement the aircraft will have 1 passage with armchairs on both sides of the aisle. The second restriction is laid in the design: at the end of the aircraft there will be only 2 chairs, one on each side of the passage, and 2 rows opposite the emergency doors also in any arrangement have 4 chairs.

Selecting a seat on an airplane

Even a short flight can be a burden if you sat down and found that because of the liner design, the backs of your seats do not recline, or people walk past you, going to the bathroom. Therefore, when going on a flight, you should ask yourself a series of questions. For example, this: "Do you like to observe the flight?" If you like, you need to choose places from the windows, meaning that opposite to some there will be wings, and all that you see is the movement of the automatics during takeoff, landing, direction change.

Such a disadvantage is the series from the 15th to the 22nd in the airplane "Airbus 321" economy class. In addition, the 25th row, being located before the second emergency exit, is not able to recline the chair. At the same time, these places are considered ideal for traveling couples, since in this row, even in the economy, there are only 4 chairs, 2 on each side of the passage.

But if the plane flies at night, the choice of a place for the portholes will not do anything, but being in the ranks before emergency exits can deliver many unpleasant minutes due to blocked backs. In addition to the 25th, the backs are also locked in the 10th row, but, unlike the 25th, the economy class includes 6 seats, three on each side of the passage. The numbering is given for the economy class aircraft "Airbus 321". The best places, except those already named, are in the 11th row - two seats on each side of the aisle, and there is an opportunity to stretch your legs. These places are behind the first emergency exit. Passengers sitting in the 26th row can also stretch their legs, and in front of them there is an emergency exit number two. So the planes of the company "Ural Airlines" are assembled.

At the same time, the official website of Lufthansa states that in the 10th row of the 321st liner there are only 2 seats - on the right side. The left side of the row is free.

Plans and schemes

For a better understanding, we present a couple of aircraft schemes in two uses. Poles drive only economy class, the Germans use planes in both the economy version, and in the business / economy.

This is the layout of LOT Airbus 321 (Poland), the layout of the cabin is also suitable for illustrating Ural Airlines aircraft. 321-e company uses only in the economy version. The 11th and 26th series are considered ideal. The places near the portholes in the 26th row, in view of the emergency exit directly in front of them, may have some changes. Since there are only 4 chairs in the 11th row, lovers can be advised to stretch their legs and the 12th row - two places by the portholes.

But for comparison, the airbus scheme used by the Lufthansa company. The Germans use planes and economy, and business / economy. However, only the first rows differ. The rest corresponds to the descriptions above. The 10th row is shortened, due to what in the 11th row there are 4 places from the category of the best. And due to the lack of one place in the 25th row, the person who bought the 27D seat will also be able to stretch his legs.

Reviews

As already run-in aircraft it is actively used by almost all companies in Europe. The comfort of the flight in many respects, of course, depends on the command of the airplane "Airbus 321". Reviews basically note a more spacious fuselage, more comfortable lounges compared to Americans. Sitting in the front section note good noise insulation.

Conclusion

"Airbus 321" - a European response to the American "Boeing 757". Having a slightly smaller flight range than an American, this aircraft firmly occupies a place in the fleet of companies for flights both on charter flights and on ordinary airlines in Europe and the countries of the East. Specialists note that more powerful engines and other control system for a long time will be able to maintain the distance between the European 321-m and American 757-m.