The Airbus A340 airplane was built to rule long-haul travel. Now it’s vanishing from the skies
While the A380 superjumbo is enjoying a steady resurgence after having been on the brink of retirement during the pandemic, its older sibling – another four-engined aircraft from Airbus – seems dangerously close to being grounded for good. The A340 was introduced 30 years ago with Lufthansa and Air France, but only 380 have been produced since, the last in 2012. By comparison, Airbus has already made 565 of its successor, the A350, since its introduction in 2015. Despite the lackluster commercial response, Airbus had high hopes for the A340, which was meant to replace aging Boeing 747s and DC-10s, and was touted as having an unbeatable range. Just after entering commercial service, in 1993, an A340 set records by flying from the Paris Air Show to Auckland, in New Zealand, and then back after a five-hour layover, totaling over 42 hours in the air. It was the first-ever nonstop flight between Europe and New Zealand and the longest-ever nonstop flight by an airliner. In its heyday, the plane was used to operate the longest nonstop scheduled flight in the world, and was for a while the aircraft of choice for heads of state around the world due to its range and size. But its main characteristic – the four engines – soon became a drag as fuel costs started rising and twin-engine jets began offering the same performance with lower operating costs. By the early 2000s, the A340’s main competitor — the twin-engined Boeing 777 — was outselling it 10 to one. It had even taken away the longest flight record, with a nonstop journey from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur in 1997. “The A340 disappeared essentially because twinjets could fulfill its mission more efficiently,” says Gary Crichlow, an aviation analyst at consulting firm AviationValues.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-02-23/general/the-airbus-a340-airplane-was-built-to-rule-long-haul-travel-now-it2019s-vanishing-from-the-skies
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The Airbus A340 airplane was built to rule long-haul travel. Now it’s vanishing from the skies
While the A380 superjumbo is enjoying a steady resurgence after having been on the brink of retirement during the pandemic, its older sibling – another four-engined aircraft from Airbus – seems dangerously close to being grounded for good. The A340 was introduced 30 years ago with Lufthansa and Air France, but only 380 have been produced since, the last in 2012. By comparison, Airbus has already made 565 of its successor, the A350, since its introduction in 2015. Despite the lackluster commercial response, Airbus had high hopes for the A340, which was meant to replace aging Boeing 747s and DC-10s, and was touted as having an unbeatable range. Just after entering commercial service, in 1993, an A340 set records by flying from the Paris Air Show to Auckland, in New Zealand, and then back after a five-hour layover, totaling over 42 hours in the air. It was the first-ever nonstop flight between Europe and New Zealand and the longest-ever nonstop flight by an airliner. In its heyday, the plane was used to operate the longest nonstop scheduled flight in the world, and was for a while the aircraft of choice for heads of state around the world due to its range and size. But its main characteristic – the four engines – soon became a drag as fuel costs started rising and twin-engine jets began offering the same performance with lower operating costs. By the early 2000s, the A340’s main competitor — the twin-engined Boeing 777 — was outselling it 10 to one. It had even taken away the longest flight record, with a nonstop journey from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur in 1997. “The A340 disappeared essentially because twinjets could fulfill its mission more efficiently,” says Gary Crichlow, an aviation analyst at consulting firm AviationValues.<br/>
