Air Canada’s First Retrofitted Airbus A321 Is Now Flying

Air Canada is ready to show off its first Airbus A321 aircraft that’s been equipped with a new interior and major technology upgrades.

The 22-year-old Airbus A321-200 with registration C-GITU is now flying with its all-new look on the inside. And with state-of-the-art technology onboard, passengers should have no idea the aircraft is over 2 decades old.

“We’re proud to welcome customers on board to experience the comfort, convenience, and connectivity of our latest cabins. These upgraded fleet interiors will align the A320s and A321s to the highly popular A220 experience, further strengthening our industry-leading product offering,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital, and President of Aeroplan.

Let’s take a look at what you can expect as these retrofits begin to make their way through Air Canada’s fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.

A New Look and Feel

Air Canada has made a significant investment to bring its A320 and A321 fleets up to the latest standard when it comes to passenger comfort and available technology, and customers are now starting to see the return on that investment.

As the retrofit program progresses, flyers can expect to see the following features on these aircraft:

• Larger overhead bins
• New seats in both first and economy class with improved ergonomics and more personal space
• Bluetooth connectivity at every seat, allowing passengers to connect their own headphones to the IFE system
• Camera systems: Air Canada says its A320s and A321s are the first in their class to feature cameras, allowing AvGeeks like us to follow along with takeoff, flight, and landing in a narrowbody aircraft
• New LED mood lighting
• Upgraded onboard Wi-Fi
• Power at each seat, featuring AC outlets along with USB-A and USB-C ports

Air Canada has been making a big push in terms of improving its inflight entertainment options recently. These retrofitted aircraft will feature the latest the airline has to offer including the aforementioned Bluetooth connectivity, faster and more reliable Wi-Fi with complimentary messaging, and several channels of live television.

The airline says there are 8 A320s and 14 A321s left to retrofit. This should be completed between now and the end of 2025, and will bring the experience in line with the airline’s newer narrowbody types including the Air Canada Airbus A220 and the Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX.

Final Thoughts

Air Canada has debuted some major upgrades to its A320 and A321 aircraft fleet. With new interiors and a whole suite of new technology packed inside, this will surely be a welcome update for flyers, especially when the program is complete by the end of 2025.