"A340" redirects here. For the road in Hampshire and Berkshire, see A340 road.
Airbus A340
An A340-300 of Lufthansa, its largest remaining operator.
Role
Wide-body jet airliner
Type of aircraft
National origin
Multi-national
Manufacturer
Airbus
First flight
25 October 1991; 32 years ago (1991-10-25)
Introduction
15 March 1993; 31 years ago (1993-03-15) with Lufthansa & Air France
Status
Out of production, in service
Primary users
Lufthansa Mahan Air Edelweiss Air SWISS
Produced
1991–2012[1]
Number built
380 (377 delivered to airlines)[2]
Developed from
Airbus A300
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with the A330 twinjet. In June 1987, Airbus launched both designs with their first orders and the A340-300 took its maiden flight on 25 October 1991. It was certified along with the A340-200 on 22 December 1992 and both versions entered service in March 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France. The larger A340-500/600 were launched on 8 December 1997; the A340-600 flew for the first time on 23 April 2001 and entered service on 1 August 2002.
Keeping the eight-abreast economy cross-section of the A300, the early A340-200/300 has a similar airframe to the A330. Differences include four 151 kN (34,000 lbf) CFM56s instead of two high-thrust turbofans to bypass ETOPS restrictions on trans-oceanic routes, and a three-leg main landing gear instead of two for a heavier 276 t (608,000 lb) Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW). Both airliners have fly-by-wire controls, which was first introduced on the A320, as well as a similar glass cockpit. The later A340-500/600 have a larger wing and are powered by 275 kN (62,000 lbf) Rolls-Royce Trent 500 for a heavier 380 t (840,000 lb) MTOW.
The shortest A340-200 measured 59.4 m (195 ft), and with a 12,400 km range (6,700 nmi; 7,700 mi) with 210–250 seats in 3-class.
The most common A340-300 reached 63.7 m (209 ft) to accommodate 250–290 passengers and could cover 13,500 km (7,300 nmi; 8,400 mi).
The A340-500 was 67.9 m (223 ft) long to seat 270–310 over 16,670 km (9,000 nmi; 10,360 mi), the longest-range airliner at the time.
The longest A340-600 was stretched to 75.4 m (247 ft), then the longest airliner, to accommodate 320–370 passengers over 14,450 km (7,800 nmi; 8,980 mi).
As improving engine reliability allowed ETOPS operations for almost all routes, more economical twinjets have replaced quadjets on many routes.
On 10 November 2011, Airbus announced that the production reached its end, after 380 orders had been placed and 377 delivered from Toulouse, France. The A350 is its successor; the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the Boeing 777 were its main competitors. By the end of 2021, the global A340 fleet had completed more than 2.5 million flights over 20 million block hours and carried over 600 million passengers with no fatalities. As of March 2023[update], there were 203 A340 aircraft in service with 45 operators worldwide. Lufthansa is the largest A340 operator with 27 aircraft in its fleet.
^"Completion of production marks new chapter in the A340 success story" (Press release). Airbus. 10 November 2011.
^Cite error: The named reference Airbus_Orders was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The AirbusA340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives...
below is a list of former and current operators of the AirbusA340 airliner. There were 214 AirbusA340 aircraft in commercial service as of November 2022[update]...
Competition between Airbus and Boeing Related development Airbus A300 Airbus A330 MRTT Airbus CC-330 Husky Airbus A330neo AirbusA340Airbus Beluga XL Aircraft...
777-300ERs. On 16 November 2003, Emirates ordered 41 Airbus aircraft, comprising two A340-500s, 18 A340-600s and 21 A380-800s. On 20 November 2005, Emirates...
aircraft from Airbus, which joined the fleet the following year. Other Airbus models flown include the Airbus A310 from 1984 and the AirbusA340-300 from 26...
and the AirbusA340, the carrier chose the latter as the replacement of the DC-10. The Boeing 737-400 was added in 1991, and the first AirbusA340 in 1993...
succeeds the A340 and competes against Boeing's large long-haul twinjets: the Boeing 787, the 777, and its future successor, the 777X. Airbus initially rejected...
leased two second hand AirbusA340-300s from Airbus Financial Services (AFS) to replace the 747's. On 24 February 2012 SAA's new Airbus A320-200, registration...
several conceived derivatives of Airbus's first airliner, the A300. The A330 was developed in parallel with the A340, which shared many common airframe...
Norris; Mark Wagner (2001). Airbus A340 and A330. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0-7603-0889-6. "World Ranger | Airbus Press Release". Airbus.com. Archived from the original...
and a range of 10,400 nmi (19,260 km). Based on Airbus' first four engine design, the ETOPS immune A340-300 Prestige offers a 7,700 nmi (14,300 km) range...
component being manufactured by Airbus, including the then-heaviest planned part, the wing of the larger AirbusA340 variants. A speedy development program...
Brussels Airlines and replaced by AirbusA340-300s inherited from parent Swiss. In 2021 Lufthansa moved Edelweiss Air's two Airbus A330-300s to Eurowings Discover...
day, Airbus announced that it planned to formally launch the A330/A340 programme by mid-April 1987, and was on track to deliver the first A340 by May...
airline Hi Fly. Hi Fly Malta started operations in early 2013 with one AirbusA340-600 formerly operated by Virgin Atlantic with one more pre-owned on order...
Canada Jazz. Air Canada's AirbusA340-500s were retired in November 2007 and replaced by Boeing 777-200LRs. Air Canada's AirbusA340-300s were retired in November...
A330, AirbusA340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Additionally, Lufthansa currently has orders placed for new Airbus A320neo...
China Airlines placed orders for various airliners including the Airbus A330, AirbusA340, Boeing 737-800, as well as for additional 747-400s (both the passenger...
Ecuador). In July 2020, Conviasa bought a 23-year old AirbusA340-300 to supplement its single A340-200, as well as to reinforce air cargo and long radius...
from the IAE V2500. It was offered as the primary engine option for the AirbusA340 in January 1987. Although several customers signed preliminary contracts...
AirbusA340-600 fleet will be retired with immediate effect and not return to service anymore. This decision was later overturned, with several A340-600...
an unusual side-by-side combination of two fuselages from its A340, the largest Airbus jet at the time.: 19 The A3XX was pitted against the VLCT study...
the Southern Hemisphere to fly the A340-300. A second A340-300, named "Pink Pigeon" and purchased directly from Airbus, was handed over by the aircraft...
transport 3/60 Esterel, which operates three Airbus A310-304 and two AirbusA340-200s. Both AirbusA340-200 aircraft have been sold to Kenya for AMREF...
routes to North America and Europe. The A350-900s also replaced the aging AirbusA340-300s that serves North America and Asia. In February 2018, Jaime Bautista...
from Auckland to Dubai with a stopover in Melbourne, operated by an AirbusA340-500 aircraft. On 21 March 2009, the flight failed to take off properly...
Global Information
