(CNN) — In journey new this week: repression of overtourism in Florence and Pompeii, new developments in the world of long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights, without forgetting the Californian couple who settled in France, where things did not go as they expected ‘hoped.

Launch of the Airbus A321XLR

It’s slim, stylish, has a third fuel tank and is ready to open up uncharted long-haul routes.

This is the new Airbus A321XLR — the XLR » means “Xtra Long Range” – and it has just made its inaugural flight on Thursday with the Spanish airline Iberia, with a jump from Madrid to Boston.

Iberia’s 182-seat aircraft is the longest single-aisle commercial aircraft in the world, with a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles (just over 5,400 miles).

For comparison, the distance between New York and Istanbul is approximately 5,000 miles. Airbus also claims it uses 30% less fuel per seat than previous generation planes.

This kind of autonomy on a single-aisle plane means it can open up routes and frequencies that weren’t possible with a larger, less economical plane – like the new routes from Dublin, Ireland, to Nashville and Indianapolis that The Irish carrier Aer Lingus plans to launch this aircraft next year.

Aviation writer Miquel Ros, invited by Iberia to preview the plane on the ground, told CNN he found the cabin “a good compromise between known space limitations and the need for efficiency “.

“Business class seats are slightly narrower than those on the airline’s twin-aisle aircraft, but they still offer a clearly differentiated premium experience as well as the ability to sleep flat.

“Economy class offers a similar location to larger planes as well as the same in-flight entertainment system.” He adds that two “state-of-the-art” galleys should offer comfort to those concerned about the reduced cabin size.

The problem of “overtourism”

The A321XLR’s ability to open less-visited destinations to more tourists could help ease the load on some of the world’s crowded travel hubs, many of which are under pressure.

In Italy, the historic city of Florence bans key boxes used by short-term rental owners and loudspeakers used by tour guides. The ancient site of Pompeii also introduces a limit on the daily number of visitors. This follows the news that Venice plans to increase its tax on day-trippers and impose a two-tier entry system.

In the Portuguese capital, Lisbon residents call for a vote on restricting vacation rentals, and the Indonesian island of Bali prepares a ban on new hotels.

This is clearly a huge problem, not only in Europe but worldwide. So the question now is: Can tourism be saved? We took a closer look at the issues involved.

More news from the air

The A321XLR wasn’t the only long-haul new product this week. Planes used on the world’s longest non-stop commercial flights – between Singapore and New York – get a makeover. Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350-900 upgrade includes the addition of first-class seats on some aircraft.

And in a big new feature for the popular Apple AirTag With the tracking device, customers will be able to share the location of their lost suitcases directly with airlines, so they can hopefully be reunited sooner.

Luggage trackers aren’t the only hot new innovation in travel technology. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a CNN-owned product ratings and recommendations guide, have put together 12 awesome tech wearables for travelers, from posture correcting clothing to smart rings.

Goodbye, my darling

California couple Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo and Ed Kierklo moved to spend their final years in the south of France. Their French dream turned into “nightmare.” They wanted to come back – until Donald Trump made his own comeback.

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Move over, Japan.

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The-CNN-Wire
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