31 Years of Airbus A340 Operations

DALLAS — On March 15, 1993, a crowd of aviation enthusiasts watched as a new four-engined aircraft took off from Frankfurt-Main Airport (FRA) in Germany bound for the United States.

It was the Airbus A340-200, entering service with Lufthansa (LH) on its daily flight from Frankfurt to New York (JFK) 31 years ago this month.

This airplane has changed the course of the commercial aviation industry. Now that its operational life is slowly ending, we wanted to share the legacy the Airbus A340 family has left.

As of January 2024, only 70 out of 377 Airbus A340 jets remain active. Airways has collected the history, variants, records, and interesting anecdotes of one of Airbus' most iconic aircraft.

Early Design History

Work on the Airbus A340 began in the 1970s when Airbus aimed to develop a family of commercial aircraft to compete with American manufacturers such as Boeing or McDonnell Douglas.

At the time, the airplanes conceived by Airbus were derivatives of the A300B, the first Airbus aircraft. They varied mainly in length, capacity, range, and engines, but their general structure and design remained similar.

While Airbus designated A300B1, B2, B3, and B4 to all the following generations of the A300, the following versions became associated with variants showing significant structural changes. The A300B10, for example, is the aircraft we know today as the A310.

However, with the launch of the A320 family, Airbus created a new designation standard to differentiate single-aisle jets (SA) from twin-aisle jets (TA). It launched the Airbus TA9 (later known as A330) and TA11 (A340).

The A340 "Originals"

The Airbus TA11 was released in 1982. It was an aircraft capable of transporting between 240 and 280 passengers within a range of 6830 nautical miles. Thanks to its four CFM56-5C4 engines mounted onto its wings; it had the advantage of flying over the Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operation Performance Standards (ETOPS) range.

The A340 was released in two variants that varied in capacity and range: the shorter A340-200 and the longer A340-300. These were the only versions that featured the well-known CFM56-5C4 engines, which looked very small compared to the aircraft's wings and fuselage but gave the airplane enough trust to take off fully loaded in less than three miles of distance.

The Airbus A340-200 can carry 201-250 passengers in a typical layout and fly 6.700 nautical miles nonstop. The -300 variant is a longer version of the type, and it was the most successful of the family, with 200 units produced. It could carry up to 40 passengers, more than its younger sister, and fly 600 nautical miles further fully loaded.

Three years after the first commercial flight of the A340-200, Airbus launched the next series of the type: the A340-400, 500, and -600 variants. These were essentially stretches of the earlier versions with improved aerodynamics, reinforced wings, more capacity, and longer range.

From those, the -400 variant was discarded afterward, leaving a gap in the naming of the A340 family, while the -500 and -600 versions went on into production.

Stretching the Family

The main advantages of the A340-500 and -600 stretches were their length and range. Unlike the A340 original series, the A340-500 and -600 are fitted this time with larger and more powerful Rolls Royce Trent 553 and Trent 556 engines, respectively. The Airbus A340-500 has a range of 9,000 nautical miles, the larger among the aircraft family.

The A340-600 is the longest member of the A340 series, with 75.36 meters from nose to tail. It can transport up to 370 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. It is the longest aircraft ever made by Airbus, 1.5 meters longer than the A350-1000. The -600 was also the longest commercial passenger jet ever produced until 2010 when the first flight of the Boeing 747-8 took place.

Since its launch in 1982, the Airbus A340 family was advertised as the optimal substitute jet for aging airplanes such as the Boeing 707-300 and the Douglas DC-8. Among its main features, the A340 included the Fly-By-Wire system and side-stick control inherited from the A320.

Airbus even considered incorporating a variable camber wing, which would eventually improve the aerodynamics of the A340 in specific phases of the flight, but this was later discarded due to the high cost and complexity of the design.

A340 Airline Fleets

Since its launch, the Airbus A340 has received 377 orders, and many important carriers operated the aircraft until very recently. In 1993, Lufthansa (LH) and Air France (AF) were the launch customers of the A340 200 and 300 variants, respectively.

Airbus received 28 orders for the first and shortest version. Apart from LH, the largest and most significant operators of the type were AF, South African Airways (SA), and Philippine Airlines (PR), with between four and six units each.

Airbus built 218 aircraft of the second and most popular -300 variant. The largest operators of this version were AF and Iberia (IB), with 28 and 21 units, respectively. Other carriers like LH and Cathay Pacific (CX) are also remembered for the legacy the A340-300 left in their fleets.

The A340-500 and -600 variants were less successful. However, they ended up playing a pivotal role in Asian airlines such as Etihad Airways (EY), Thai Airways (TG), and Singapore Airlines (SQ), among many others. In total, 131 units of the second generation of the Airbus A340 were built.

https://airwaysmag.com/conviasa-worlds-last-a340-200-pax/

Today, fewer than 80 units remain in operation worldwide. However, most stay on the ground due to insufficient demand or crew to operate them.

Interestingly, the A340's more common use is not as a commercial airliner but as a private or government aircraft that transports VIPs across the world, as its range increases significantly when the payload is subtracted from its total weight.

A340 Long-Range Records

The Airbus A340 has proven its capability to fly ultra-long-haul routes thanks to its design. The A340-200 and A340-500 were designed almost exclusively for this reason, as they sacrifice length and payload in favor of fuel capacity to offer a longer range.

The A340-200 is so short that its wingspan is more significant than its total length. It ca fly 8,100 nautical miles nonstop in a less typical 240-passenger configuration. Of course, placing fewer passenger seats decreases total weight and allows the airplane to be filled with much more fuel without exceeding the MTOW.

As part of the demonstration of the new route possibilities with the A340, Airbus planned for the 1993 Paris Air Show a never-seen-before flight from Le Bourget (LBG) to Auckland (AKL) without refueling with a modified Airbus A340-200 registered as F-WWDA.

The aircraft, loaded with extra fuel tanks and 22 people on board, set a new milestone by connecting for the first time France with New Zealand on a direct flight and covering a stunning distance of 10,409 nautical miles in 24 hours and 11 minutes.

This flight was the longest non-stop journey made by a commercial airliner for 12 years until 2005, when a Boeing 777-200LR flew from Hong Kong to London for 11,664 nautical miles without refueling.

Singapore Airlines Flight SQ22

We can’t discuss aircraft range without mentioning its larger sister, the Airbus A340-500. Until 2006, it held the record for the aircraft with the longest range, capable of flying up to 9,200 nautical miles in a reduced yet typical two-class configuration.

The type was designed explicitly for ULH flights and allowed the launch and operation of crucial connections like Dubai to New York, which were unthinkable then.

However, the climax of the A340-500 operation came with the opening of flight SQ22, which flew nonstop from New York-Newark Airport (EWR) to Singapore-Changi Airport (SIN). This flight set another record for the longest commercial flight in the world, with an average flight time of 18 hours and 45 minutes.

Singapore Airlines operated these flights between 2004 and 2013 with A340-500s fitted exclusively with Business Class suites, as payload needed to be limited to include more fuel. Because the flight cost was so high, the airline could only break even by selling US$10,000 tickets.

Eventually, SQ halted the flight, switching instead to a connection with New York via Frankfurt with the A380-800 until 2018, when the airline resumed the direct connection thanks to the delivery of the Airbus A350-900 ULR, which continued to prove its profitability five years of its launch.

A340 Incidents, Accidents

The Airbus A340 family of jets has not experienced a single death due to any accident or incident. Despite this, some aircraft did experience critical circumstances that, on three occasions, resulted in the total loss of the plane. The main factor that caused the incidents was issues with the main landing gear.

On August 2, 2005, an AF Airbus A340-300, registered as F-GLZQ, was operating flight 358 from Paris to Toronto when meteorological conditions, including strong winds and precipitations, complicated the landing and resulted in a runway overrun.

Shortly after stopping 300 meters from the opposite runway end, the A340 caught fire, and the upper section of the fuselage was calcinated entirely. However, thanks to the efficient evacuation directed by the crew, none of the 309 people on board suffered serious injuries.

The media later called this last incident the “Toronto Miracle.”

Runway Overruns, Landing Gear

Another incident occurred on November 9, 2007, when an Iberia (IB) Airbus A340-600, registered as EC-JOH, was operating flight 6463 between Madrid and Quito, continuing to Guayaquil. Upon arrival at the first destination, Mariscal Sucre-Quito Airport (UIO), the horizontal visibility on the runway worsened.

As a result, the pilots of Flight 6463 performed a long landing. With the pavement's high humidity, the aircraft could not stop on time and overran the runway. The damage to the plane was evident, but all 349 people on board were safely evacuated. The structural damage was sufficient to write off the unit and dismantle it in Ecuador.

Finally, one of the most noteworthy incidents happened on November 15, 2007, when an Etihad Airways (EY) Airbus A340-600 performed ground testing before the airline's delivery. During a standard engine and brake power test, the crew forgot to immobilize the aircraft's wheels.

After applying full thrust power to the engines, the aircraft crashed into the concrete jet blast deflection wall. This damaged the airplane so that the nose broke away from the rest of the fuselage, causing irreparable damage.

Airways' Tribute to the Airbus A340

The Airbus A340 revolutionized the global aviation market. Thanks to its passenger capacity, record-breaking range, and exceptional operational safety, this aircraft will be remembered by manufacturers, airlines, and aviation enthusiasts as one of the most legendary airliners ever made.

The Airways photography team has gathered the following photos of the Airbus A340 aircraft family over the last few years.

Featured image: The front profile of the Airbus A340-600, with its unique main landing gear, has made many aviation enthusiasts fall in love with this aircraft. Photo: Lorenzo Giacobbo/Airways