PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus is preparing to stage the maiden flight of its A321XLR jetliner, a major milestone in the race to improve the range of narrowbody jets, but it is struggling to pin down key certification and delivery dates, industry sources said.
Airbus recently delayed the entry to service by at least three months to early 2024 to allow part of the lower fuselage to be modified amid regulators’ concerns over the risk of fire in the event of a belly landing, due to its fuel tank design.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Chris Reese)
