The glorious quadjet that is the Airbus A340 has been a staple of many airlines’ long-haul fleets for almost 30 years. With 375 of the type sold, it wasn’t a bestselling aircraft, but was bought by more than 60 different airlines and leasing companies. Today, only portion of passenger A340s are seen flying per day.

The A340 was set for success

The A340’s arrival on the aviation scene looked to be gold-plated. At the time of its development, longer ETOPS rules had not come into play, so four engines were the best bet for airlines operating long-haul routes over large bodies of water.

Airbus thought the A340 would be a strong contender against the giants of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, and was its next move after the relative success of its A300 and A310 families. It was already in a strong position with its A320 family of aircraft, but wanted to hit the big league with a big plane.

With US operators preferring a twinjet, Asian operators calling for quadjets and European airlines somewhat split on the choice, Airbus hedged its bets and developed both. The result was the A330, aimed at the Americas, and the A340, targeted at Asian operators.

Initially, the A340 looked to be set for success. It snagged 89 orders by the end of the Paris Air Show in 1987 after being officially announced just prior to the event. The first A340-200 began service with Lufthansa in March 1993. Air France took delivery of its first A340-300 around the same time.

Airbus’ A340-200, dubbed the World Ranger, set a series of records by flying around the globe with only one refueling stop from the 1993 Paris Air Show. From Le Bourget, it flew to New Zealand, refueled, and then flew onwards to Paris, completing its round the world trip in 48 hours and 22 minutes.

Over the ensuing years, the A340 was ordered by many flagship airlines, including Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. Singapore deployed the A340 on the world’s longest route, connecting Singapore to Newark with an all-business class A340-500 (which is now largely plane of the past).

Virgin Atlantic became the launch customer of the A340-600 in 2002, operating 19 of the type alongside 10 A340-300s.

The A340 was introduced on March 15th, 1993. Today, it is a rare sight in our skies, but why?

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Why it failed

The fuel consumption of the A340 was its Achilles heel. The upgrading of ETOPS for 180 minutes meant the A340 was competing against the behemoth that was the Boeing 777 for market share. Two engines cost less to run than four, so for many airlines, it was a no-brainer to switch out the quadjet for a more efficient twin.

Adding to its problems was the dramatically rising fuel costs after the turn of the millennia. By the time the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2008, fuel costs had ballooned to almost $4 a gallon from under $0.5 a gallon 10 years before. The A340 was no longer cost-effective, and it slowly began to disappear from our skies.

The final sucker punch for the Airbus quadjet came with the onset of COVID in 2020. In January 2019, around 120 A340s were operating each day. By January 2020, this had naturally fallen to around 80 – 90 per day as the type’s attrition continued. But as the world locked down amid the spread of coronavirus, the A340’s exit accelerated at an unbelievable rate.

By the end of March, few days were seen with more than 20 aircraft flying per day. Its operations hit rock bottom on April 6th, when just 13 A340s took flight across the world. Things picked up across the summer, but the recovery continued to be choppy.

Today numerous airlines have retired units of the type, including its most prolific operator Lufthansa. It previously permanently decommissioned its A340-600s.

Virgin Atlantic has removed the type entirely, as has SAS. Air Belgium has retired its fleet, and Iberia’s last flew in August 2020. Across the globe, the likes of Aerolinas Argentinas had also stopped operating the plane.

The A340, whether considered a success or a failure, is now a rarer sight for passengers.

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Still a place

Regardless of the significant decline, a role remains for the A340. Notably, Mahan Air relies on the type - in part due to ongoing sanctions against Iran. The carrier holds five -300s and five -600s. However, two units of the family are currently parked.

Mahan Air Airbus A340
Photo: Omid Behzadpour/Shutterstock

Moreover, Switzerland's Edelweiss is a fan of the A340-300. The carrier has four units in its holdings, which arrived from October 2016. Just this week, we reported how the airline is also looking to add another unit to its fleet. The company shared that it could operate the type until the 2030s.

In another twist, Lufthansa began bringing back its -600s to support its -300s.

All in all, like its quadjet counterparts, the A380 and the 747, the A340's position in the market significantly shifted amid modern requirements. Last month, the final 747 produced rolled out of Boeing's facilities. Additionally, the A380 was retired by several airlines in recent years.

Efficiently is increasingly the priority for airlines as they seek modern twinjet solutions over outdated four-engined models. The A350, A330neo, 787, and the upcoming 777X will be long-haul staples in this next chapter.

If you'd like to fly on an A340 this year, check out this guide to find out how.

What are your thoughts about the Airbus A340's operations over the years? How do you feel the type has fared across the aviation industry? Let us know what you think of the plane and its operations in the comment section.