Air Canada used air-to-air filming on Friday, Oct. 16 to capture its Airbus A321XLR flying around the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
The Story
Air Canada said it conducted air-to-air filming on Friday, Oct. 16, capturing its Airbus A321XLR aircraft around the Lower Mainland and throughout Vancouver Island.
In a post on X, the airline said it was planning to do the filming around YVR, the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island on Oct. 16, adding that people may see the new Airbus A321XLR flying closely with a Phenom 300 jet.
Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah said the airline is entering “a new era in fleet modernization” with the A321XLR and that the air-to-air filming “will produce visual assets which will be used across a broad range of Air Canada’s brand, communications, marketing and promotional initiatives globally.”
Mah said the carrier uses the filming aircraft because Air Canada does not own the Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300, and that the XLR operates to international destinations in Europe.
The airline said the A321XLR debuted at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in June, featuring its new “Glowing Hearted” cabin design.
Air Canada said the A321XLR seats 182 passengers, including 14 lie-flat Air Canada Signature Class seats and 68 economy seats, plus 36 preferred seats with additional legroom.
Mah said Air Canada currently has four XLR aircraft and plans to add 30 Airbus A321XLRs over the next few years.
Air Canada’s vice-president of network planning and global sales, Alex Lefevre, said at the aircraft launch that the A321XLR includes the first-ever lie-flat seats on a single-aisle aircraft in Canada.
Lefevre said the airline can operate select routes year-round that were previously seasonal, and he said the initial service will be from eastern Canadian cities to Europe.
He said Air Canada plans to begin flying the A321XLR into Vancouver in 2027 from cities such as Toronto and Montreal, with additional routes and markets to be announced.
← More stories