FLIGHT REVIEW: Qantas A321XLR Sydney to Melbourne

Well, this was a surprise. I booked it months ago, back in March ’26, during a Double Status Credits promotion. It was around the same time Qantas was changing rules for access to what had become Economy Plus rows of seating.

I didn’t think much of the fact that Economy seemed to start at Row 6, not the usual Row 4 of a Boeing 737-800. Turned out that I should have paid more attention. This flight was on a Qantas A321XLR. It has five rows of Business Class, hence economy starts at row 6.

Flight Details

Flight: QF481
Route: Sydney (SYD) – Melbourne (MEL)
Date: Friday, 7 August 2026
Depart: 18:30
Arrive: 20:05
Duration: 1 hr 35 min
Aircraft: A321XLR
Seat: 7 D & F (Economy Class)
Cost: AU$372 return per person.

We were delayed by 25 minutes because of air traffic controllers. There had been an incident earlier in the day, so both our departure from Sydney and our arrival in Melbourne were delayed. We were close to an hour late by the time we arrived in Melbourne, as it turned out.

Introduction

The Airbus A321-XLRs are single-aisle aircraft that Qantas has purchased to be used predominantly on domestic routes, replacing the current fleet of Boeing 737-800s. They have more capacity for passengers, and they have greater range, making it possible for use on long, thin international routes. From Sydney, they can reach Hong Kong. For the B737-800s, they are maxing out at roughly Bali.

The A321XLR’s (v 737-800) have seating for 197(168) passengers with 20(12) in Business (2-2) and177(156) in Economy (3-3). That’s basically room for another 29 passengers in some configurations.

Boarding

Qantas has improved boarding to some extent. Their explanation and call for groups are clearer now, and in Sydney, the check-in machines reject passengers who are trying to board outside their group. I’m looking at all you Gold FF’s in Economy. Here is the rough guide to boarding groups on Qantas:

Group	Description
1	Priority boarding (Business class, Platinum frequent flyers)
2	Priority boarding (Gold frequent flyers)
3	Standard boarding (aircraft middle rows)
4	Standard boarding (aircraft middle rows)
5	Standard boarding (aircraft rear rows)
6	Standard boarding (aircraft rear rows)

Because I didn’t realise this was an A321XLR until we got on the aircraft, I didn’t try for poll position, which I usually do when travelling on a new aircraft type

Seat and cabin

Our seats were in row 7, which gave us Economy Plus space. The current tactic we have adopted is to book an aisle seat (me) and a window seat (my husband). We are both platinums, so we often have the middle seat left open, though not always. On this flight, we were lucky.

The new seats feel different. It’s the fabric, I think. The seats also feel a bit less deep, although that may be an illusion. A couple of things to note, though: the armrests seem thinner and shorter, and you can’t easily flip them up on the aisle. There is no easily identifiable button to press to make that happen, like there is on the 737-800. Now that might seem insignificant. But when you have a damaged ACL like me, being able to swivel your legs around and stand up facing the aisle is a safer way for me to stand up. Of course, there is no screen-based entertainment.

There is seat back power, and a holder to watch your device once in the air, including USB-C in Economy, and wireless charging under the armrest in Business

Another plus is the cabin’s sense of space, especially for the knees. I know they are Economy Plus seats in these rows, but it does seem like there is more pitch. Again, that might be an illusion.

Instead of lighting being recessed like on the Boeing 737-800, on this Airbus, the lighting is provided by strips running the length of the aircraft under the luggage lockers. It feels much more contemporary and is a definite improvement

The overhead lockers don’t look as sleek as on 737s, but that’s because they are taller and more bull-nosed to have the space to place most carry-on luggage on its side, and therefore fit more bags.

The seat backs don’t seem as wide either. This again contributes to the airiness and perceived spaciousness of the cabin.

The one odd thing I noticed is I could hear and feel every bump of luggage loading. Much more so than on a B737. Other than that, the cabin is a lot quieter when on the ground and in the air. For example, I could hear every word exchanged between the cabin crew at the front of the cabin while we were taxiing. I could also hear the flight attendant telling business passengers what their meal choices were, even from row 7.

Meal Service

New aircraft does not mean new meal service. But, you have to be thankful for small mercies, and we actually go for something a little more substantial than a snack pack. These days that means some miniature Jatz with some processed cheese, or hummus with some carrot and celery sticks. So, here, an actual chicken sandwich was quite an upgrade.

I watched the Business Class service and noted that there were two staff doing meal service in that cabin, whereas on a 737, it’s a single staff member. I suspect that on such a short flight, it needs two staff to service the 20 passengers rather than only 12 on the 737.

Entertainment & WiFi

With no seatback screens, the brunt of the work is done by the onboard WiFi delivering Qantas Entertainment, including the map service

With WiFi and the seat back power, you can do quite well for entertainment. Personally, I had a book and a bunch of podcasts on my phone.

Bathrooms

Now, this was a pleasant surprise. The bathrooms are sooooo much better designed on these A321XLRs than those installed lately on the 737-800. They feel much bigger, with more headspace, and ergonomically, they are just better designed. For instance, unlike on the 737s, the towel dispenser actually works

Landing

Landing was late, but smooth, and we deplaned at a gate that is part of the refurbished parts of the Tullamarine terminal.

2PAXfly Takeout

There are some aspects of this aircraft that are very impressive. The sense of space, lighting, overhead luggage storage, unimpeded legroom (by entertainment systems), and the bathrooms, especially.

On the downside are the new fabric seats. In less than a year ( I think), they are already beginning to show their age, and there are scuff marks developing on those black plastic seat backs. The fabric can be replaced, so that shouldn’t be an issue if Qantas keeps up its maintenance.

I like these planes, and can’t wait to travel in Business Class. Would I like them on a 10-hour trip between Sydney and Hong Kong? I’m not so sure.