I think the reason that they have the ability to seat 239 is because Door 2 was removed in the A321NEO and the addition of overwing exits. This would be an interesting change in AS because that could mean an addition of a row or 3.
There are several MODs offered for a 321. In total there’s 9 different max seat limits pending on the variant/MOD.
The latest cert. issue states the following:
The standard A321ceo/neo has a limit of 220.
With overperforming front and aft type C exits this is raised to 230.
The A321ACF (A321-2…NX) has a standard max seating of 235.
With overperforming type C this is raised to 244.
A 321neo (HD) would exist in AS but was considered not needed and so not patched yet. This need might indeed have change with the ORS tweaks and might be reviewed.
The 321LR (being a 321-2…NX) in AS reflects this by adding slightly more cabin length.
The increase is subtle in order to not stretch the cabin too much as it’s already on the long end.
Still no decission made as to how to proceed with the 321 in AS since Airbus announced to switch from N to NX all the way.