Aer Lingus launches Nashville as its first A321XLR route

Whilst Iberia will be the first airline to fly the A321XLR from Airbus, Aer Lingus is a close follower and is expecting to receive two by the end of the year.

The A321XLR is the newest variant of the A321 family and extends the aircraft’s range even further, to 4,700 nautical miles. This puts it within spitting distance of 10 – 11 hour flights although realistically few will push it that far.

This makes it a very attractive aircraft for long, thin routes where the capacity of a widebody aircraft with 300+ seats is too much.

Aer Lingus already operates its ‘long range’ sibling, the A321LR, and is expecting a group of six A321XLRs to join them. All are due by the end of 2025.

Nashville is the first (announced) route

Aer Lingus has now announced its first A321XLR route: Nashville. It will become the 17th city in the United States to which it flies from Dublin.

For Nashville, this is its second nonstop flight to Europe, joining BA’s existing flight from London. Icelandair is also planning flights from later in 2025.

The new route launches on 12th April 2025 with four flights per week: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday:

• EI77 departs Dublin Airport at 14:05 and arrives in Nashville at 17:10 (9:05 hours flight time)
• EI76 departs Nashville at 18:40 and arrives in Dublin 08:50 the following morning (8:10 flight time)

The route will operate year-round, bar a six-week suspension in January and February.

One of the benefits of flying to the United States via Dublin is that you can pre-clear US customs and immigration at Dublin. This means you have no long wait when you arrive and can simply walk out as if you were a domestic passenger. You can see Rob’s review of the preclearance facilities and the ’51st & Green’ Aer Lingus lounge here.

What is Aer Lingus A321XLR business class like?

In terms of what you can expect on board, you will have fully lie-flat business class seating. This is appears to be the same Thompson Vantage seat as you can find on its A330s and A321LRs which already fly to the East Coast of the US and which Rob reviewed here (photo above)

Based on the seat map published on the Aer Lingus website it looks like the A321XLR will have 16 lie-flat business class seats on board in a staggered 1-2 / 2-1 configuration across five rows. This is the same as the existing A321LR fleet.

I’ve been told the “inflight entertainment systems are next generation compared to the A321LR”. I assume this means it will be equipped with improved 4K screens, Bluetooth pairing and hopefully USB-C ports.

Aer Lingus does not offer a premium economy cabin. 168 economy seats follow the business class cabin in a 3-3 layout.

Business class is on sale from €1,798 whilst economy is advertised as “from €499 return.” The flight had not yet been loaded for Avios redemptions last night, but don’t forget you can use your BA Amex 2-4-1 companion voucher on Aer Lingus flights.

The Aer Lingus website is here if you want to book or find out more.

PS. If you are reading this but are not a regular Head for Points visitor, please consider signing up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters. They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and deals to improve how you travel. To sign up, visit this page of the site or click any of the ‘Subscribe’ links on this page. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.