Airlines bring long-haul lie-flat luxury to narrowbody jets
September 14, 2025
A growing number of airlines are equipping long-range narrowbody aircraft like the Airbus A321LR and A321XLR with true lie-flat business class seats — blurring the line between single-aisle and widebody travel.
Once confined to long-haul twin-aisle jets, lie-flat beds are now making their way onto more compact aircraft. Airlines are tapping into the extended range and lower operating costs of the A321LR and A321XLR to open “long-thin” routes. These services often link secondary cities across the Atlantic, bypassing congested hubs — but with no compromise on premium comfort.
Narrowbody premium shifts from recliners to real beds
For decades, narrowbody aircraft offered business class passengers nothing more than extra-wide recliners in a 2-2 layout. These seats delivered more legroom, but not much more privacy. As Adam White, Director of London-based Factorydesign, tells AGN:
“Historically, narrowbody aircraft had managed business class passengers with extra-large, generously pitched seats in a 2-2 layout, meaning you had to clamber over a possibly sleeping neighbour to get out. Bad enough if it was your partner — worse if you didn’t know each other.”
Around 2014, Factorydesign began exploring how to deliver true long-haul comfort on the new generation of long-range single-aisle jets. Drawing inspiration from what passengers had come to expect on widebodies — direct-aisle access, lie-flat beds, side furniture, large monitors and generous stowage — White and his team proposed a radical rethink.
“We came up with the idea that by adopting a herringbone layout, either outward or inward facing, a new benchmark product could be created. And indeed, Thompson Aero shared this vision, and the subsequent development has become the highly successful, market-leading Vantage SOLO.”
Vantage SOLO, now flying on several A321LR fleets, helped spark a wave of similar herringbone-based layouts that have transformed expectations for narrowbody premium cabins.
Airlines flying narrowbodies with lie-flat beds
Today, several carriers already fly long-range narrowbodies equipped with fully flat business seats:
- JetBlue A321LR — JetBlue’s transatlantic A321LRs feature 24 Mint Suites, including two larger Mint Studios, each with a door, direct aisle access, and a fully flat bed.
- Aer Lingus A321LR — Aer Lingus offers 16 staggered solo-and-pair lie-flat seats (with beds approximately 6’5 “long) on US routes, such as Dublin–Hartford.
- TAP Air Portugal A321LR — TAP’s features 16 business class seats arranged in a staggered 2-2/1-1 configuration with a 6’1” lie-flat bed on the A321LR serving routes to North America, Brazil and Africa.
- SAS A321LR — SAS flies A321LRs with 22 lie-flat business seats, on routes like Copenhagen–New York.
- La Compagnie A321neo — Boutique carrier La Compagnie flies 76 lie-flat business seats on all-business A321neo aircraft from Newark to Paris, Milan, and Nice.
- Etihad Airways A321LR — Debuted a 3-class layout with enclosed First Suites and lie-flat Business seats in a 1-1 layout, designed to bring widebody luxury to shorter-haul routes.
- Air Astana A321LR — Features staggered 2-2/1-1 lie-flat business seats on long-haul routes such as Almaty–London and Almaty–Frankfurt.
- Iberia A321XLR — Iberia’s new A321XLR fleet offers 14 lie-flat business suites in a 1-1 inward-facing herringbone configuration for transatlantic services.
More lie-flat premium seats for narrowbodies on the horizon
Other major airlines have formally announced lie-flat cabins for upcoming A321XLR fleets.
- American Airlines A321XLR — Will debut 20 Flagship Suite seats with privacy doors, chaise-lounge mode and fully flat beds, plus 12 Premium Economy seats.
- Air Canada A321XLR — Will feature 14 lie-flat Signature Class suites in a 1-1 layout, and 168 economy seats.
- Qantas A321XLR — Sixteen of Qantas’ 48 on-order A321XLRs will have lie-flat business class suites — the first time the airline will offer beds on a narrowbody — arriving from 2028. Qantas announcement
Narrowbody cabin design challenges and trends
White notes that herringbone layouts have sparked debate about inward- versus outward-facing orientations.
“There’s more privacy facing the window, but less eye-to-eye with the crew — and having paid to be in the part of the aircraft where service is important, that’s not ideal,” he said. “We all know how important a sightline is in a restaurant to get good service.”
White also points to the rise of privacy doors and enclosed footwells to enhance comfort. For airlines opting against doors, taller dividers and fixed shells can deliver privacy more simply and cheaply. However, White adds, “we’ve recently seen a significant and ongoing debate about angled seat design, revolving around certification issues and passenger safety … it remains unresolved at this point in time.”
Meanwhile, in-flight entertainment is going wireless — a shift White welcomes as it eliminates the “tangle” of cords when passengers want to get up mid-flight.
A new era of comfort for long-thin routes
As more A321XLRs enter fleets later this decade, airlines will be able to profitably serve thinner long-haul markets while offering the same premium experience passengers expect on widebodies.
“Looking back at where we were, it’s remarkable how far we’ve come,” says White. “The choice is yours — or perhaps the airline’s and the seat type they select for you.”
