[2] The similarly lengthened fuselage A321neo variant offers new, more efficient engines, combined with airframe improvements and the addition of winglets (called Sharklets by Airbus).

[3] Final assembly of the aircraft takes place in Hamburg, Germany, Mobile, Alabama, United States, Tianjin, China,[4] and Toulouse, France.

[6][7] Its launch came on 24 November 1988, around the same time as the A320 entered service, after commitments for 183 aircraft from 10 customers were secured.

[13][3] The A321-200's length exceeds 44.5 m (146 ft), increasing maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) to 93,000 kg (205,000 lb).

[14] The Airbus A321 is a narrow-body (single-aisle) aircraft with a retractable tricycle landing gear, powered by two wing pylon-mounted turbofan engines.

It is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional tail unit having a single vertical stabilizer and rudder.

[6] The original derivative of the A321, the A321-100, had shorter range than the A320 because no extra fuel tank was added to compensate for the increased weight.

[citation needed] Airbus began development of the heavier and longer-range A321-200 in 1995 to give the A321 full-passenger transcontinental US range.

This was achieved through higher thrust engines (V2533-A5 or CFM56-5B3), minor structural strengthening, and an increase in fuel capacity with the installation of one or two optional 2,990 L (790 US gal) tanks in the rear underfloor hold.

[20] In October 2014, Airbus started marketing a longer range 97 t (214,000 lb) maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) variant with three auxiliary fuel tanks, giving it 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) more operational range than a Boeing 757-200.

[26] The A321XLR is an A321LR variant with a further increased MTOW[27] intended to compete with the Boeing NMA,[28] which has since been put on hold.

The variant was launched at the June 2019 Paris Air Show, with a range of 4,700 nmi (8,700 km; 5,400 mi).

It included a new permanent Rear Centre Tank (RCT) for more fuel, a strengthened landing gear for a 101 t (223,000 lb) MTOW and an optimised wing trailing-edge flap configuration to preserve take-off performance.

[35] On 17 June 2015, ST Aerospace signed agreements with Airbus and EFW for a collaboration to launch the A320/A321 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion programme.

[1] American Airlines and Delta Air Lines operate the largest A321 fleets of 301 and 196 aircraft, respectively.